“I can’t be her,” Angelique said, her voice as hard assteel.
“There’s no one else,” Stil said. “And they’ve attacked youalready—”
“I am not her!” Angeliqueshouted.
Uncomfortable silence stretched betweenthem.
Somewhere on the lake, a fish jumped, as Gemma’s and Stil’s eyes bore holes intoAngelique.
Stil opened his mouth to speak again, but Angelique wasfaster.
She threw herself on Pegasus and forced herself to nod at Stil and Gemma. “After I speak to Severin about all that has taken place here at Swan Lake, I’ll send word,” she said, forcing herself to soundnormal.
Gemma stepped toward Pegasus. “Angelique…”
Angelique nudged Pegasus, who stretched out in a fast trot that turned into a canter once they left the lakeshore behind and entered thewoods.
Angelique pressed closer to Pegasus, trying to ground her racing thoughts and frantically beating heart, which felt like it might explode fromfear.
They couldn’t know, Angelique consoled herself.Gemma and Stil have no way of knowing howfrighteningit would be if I were like the Snow Queen. They have no idea how bad it would be for the world. It’s one thing for the people to follow a princess with powers of ice…but for a continent to follow me, a jaded mage with magic of blood anddeath?
I’m so tired. No matter how good my intensions, in my exhaustion, I might let the lure of my magic lead us all into a dark promise of power. Intodeath.
* * *
Evariste was surprisedbut happy to find that even when Angelique wasn’t present, he never returned to his nightmarishvisions.
Her magic, it seemed, had disrupted that spell and carved him from it. He was left, instead, to wander around her smudgy forest and watch her memories of her childhoodhome.
It was intriguing for the first few days, but it probably would have become boring…if he wasn’t so thankful to be spared the mental anguish and if he hadn’t spent the majority of his time thinking through the implications of his magic’s odd behavior and his lovingAngelique.
He paced back and forth in the forest meadow, pausing to hop on the stump. “The strong feelings—no, there’s no sense in not being honest in this instance. Mylovefor Angelique has imprinted so strongly on my magic that the spells and curses Liliane and her ilk forged with it all have that weak spot—romantic love. It’s likely why my magic reached for her in the middle of Liliane’s wretched spell, though I’m not so deluded to think that Angelique’s magic reacted out of love for me. Given how it sliced straight through, I think it’s more likely her magic reacted to the threat and broke the spell. It’s possible it reacted without her knowledge given that she was sleeping, and when I arrived, she was playing with her magic in herdream.”
He turned in a slow circle, his heels hanging off the edge of the stump. “There is no other logical explanation for it. I suspect Rothbart thought so, as well—he did say something about me caring for another. But how, then, can we use this to ouradvantage?”
“I AM NOT THE SNOW QUEEN!” Angeliqueshouted.
Evariste carefully swiveled on the stump and watched with concern as Angelique stomped through the forest with the elegance of an angrybull.
“Severin and the others havelost their mindsif they think I am at all like the Verglas Snow Queen.” Angelique stopped short of Evariste’s stump, her eyebrows slanted in an angry V. “And, obviously, this means he’s not talking to any other mages besides Stil. They would have immediately laughed the idea out ofexistence.”
She careened into motion again, circling the stump. “I mean, really.Me?I’m this generation’s Snow Queen? HAH!” She abruptly turned to face Evariste and scowled. “What areyoudoinghere?”
Evariste internally winced. “You don’t want to seeme?”
“No!” Angelique snapped. “Because you cannot be dead!” She glared at him for several moments, then relaxed slightly. “Well, you do finally look a bitbetter.”
“Thank you. I feel better. Now what’s this about you being the SnowQueen?”
“It’s not important. I’m certainly not going to waste my time thinking about it!” She ran a hand through her hair—which was loose and a littlewindblown.
“Really?” Evariste calmly inquired.I wonder if she would let me hug her, or if she’s so angry, she’d stabme.
“Yes!Why?”
It’s confirmed; she’d stab me. Evariste dropped off the stump. “Because you seem rather…incensedaboutit.”
“I’m not going to talk about my feelings with my personaldelusion!”
