Evariste blinked at the shock of finding himself on horseback. He twisted in the saddle to look back at Angelique, who was riding an elven horse and chatting with Lady Alastryn.It took him a few heartbeats to recall the memory—it was the day of a large summer feast the elves threw annually. They were riding to Brandy Crest, the spot in Alabaster Woods where the elves held their biggestcelebrations.
Angelique laughed at something Alastryn said, then turned and met his gaze, her eyes sparkling withjoy.
Yes, it was just a memory, and when Evariste came to again, every piece of him was going to ache from the pain of being drained. But here he could escape. Here he could see the green of the world, the beauty of Alabaster Woods, joke with Emerys once more, and watch Angelique—beautiful, braveAngelique…
Chapter 22
“You usedwar magic, unsupervised!”Enchanter Tristisim thundered so loudly he dislodged dust from the ceiling beams of HallowedHall.
Angelique winced but forced herself to stand tall as she stood under the well-lit dais placed in front of the Council Members’ seats. “The basilisk was going to attack Pegasus—a constellation. No one was with me, so I couldn’t seek help. I didn’t see any otherway.”
“That matters not!” Enchanter Tristisim shouted. “You made anagreement!”
Enchantress Primrose coughed politely, and Tristisim finally looked away from Angelique and growled into his papers. Primrose set her folded hands on top of her desk and smiled sadly. “What I believe Tristisim meant to say, is that as part of us giving permission for you to be made an apprentice, you agreed not to use your core magic without Enchanter Evariste’ssupervision.”
Angelique mashed her lips together.I did, but how can I convince them I had no otherchoice?
“Might the Council take into account that theonlyreason Apprentice Angelique has not yet made Lady Enchantress is because her master is not here to advocate for her, and without him, she cannot take the evaluations,” Enchanter Clovicus said loftily. He leaned against the fence that enclosed Angelique’s dais and folded his arms across hischest.
Enchanter Crest rested his chin on his hand. “I will admit I’m slightly baffled regarding your presence, Clovicus, when this is supposed to be a closed-doormeeting.”
Clovicus smiled—which was more debonair and daring than polite. “I’m here to represent the interests of my previous student, of course,” he said. “The skies know Evariste would be here if he could—and perhaps he would beifyou put more manpower into findinghim.”
“If the committee charged with seeking out his captors needs more manpower, they will request it themselves, without your meddling,” Enchantress Felicienne said in a voice that was taut like a violinstring.
“As you say, Council Member,” Clovicus said smoothly. “Regardless, henceforth I’ll be attending any meetings involving young Angelique—for the sake of my dearly beloved previous student, thatis.”
Enchanter Lazare squinted. “When we dumped Evariste on you as a lad, you complained you didn’t want to babysit a spoiled brat who was too small to ride anything bigger than apony.”
“And yet look how well he turned out,” Clovicus said. “Besides, we became quite close.Eventually.”
Though the Council did not look amused, Angelique couldn’t help the slight smile that ghosted across her lips.The more I get to know Clovicus, the less Evariste’s ability to manipulate surprisesme.
“Fine,” Enchantress Felicienne said with an aggravated smile. “Be here if youmust.But all the worming in the world won’t erase the fact that Apprentice Angelique used her war magic without Evariste’ssupervision.”
“To save Pegasus,” Angeliquesaid.
“Yes, to save the constellation,” Enchantress Galendra murmured. “But why was he indanger?”
Angelique refrained from rolling her eyes. “Because I was facing a basilisk, and if I had not fought it, it would have gone after the seven Arcainian Princes.” It was a fight to keep her voice pleasant, but shewon.
“That’s right, the seven princes have been recently freed from their curse, yes?” Enchanter Crestasked.
“Yes,” Angelique said. “I was with them when they rode to Arcainia, but we separated when the basilisk wasunleashed.”
“But they went on to defeat Clotilde, did they not?” Enchantress Felicienneasked.
“It was a family effort, yes.” Angelique phrased her responsecarefully.
Steffen had made it clear he didn’t want the Veneno Conclave to know about Elise’s magic. Sybilla would hold her peace, Angelique was sure. The real danger was that she needed to speak the truth when answering the Council’squestions.
The Council Membersfrowned.
Clovicus sighed loudly. “Since none of you seem keen to remember, might I remind you that because he is not from our realm, Pegasus falls under special protection whilehere.”
Enchantress Felicienne’s mouth twitched, and Tristisim’s expression grewhard.
“Yes, Clovicus, we are aware of the constellation’s status,” the enchantergrowled.
