She reached for the spell and feltnothing.
It had been unable to find any trace of the black mage and collapsed onitself.
How is that possible? He was just here! No, that can’t be right! I just did the spell wrong.It was my fault—this isn’t another deadend!
Pegasus started walking, goingeast.
“No, Pegasus, wait,” Angelique objected. “I did the spell wrong. You have towait!”
The constellation ignored her and moved into a fast trot, jostling her so all she could do was hold on or falloff.
Angelique gritted her teeth, and angry tears prickled her eyes.I’ll find that black mage. I’ll follow him all the way back toEvariste.
* * *
Evariste wokewith a crick in hisneck.
Another day, anotherdraining.
Though his body ached and his nerves felt raw, Evariste forced himself to stay in a collapsed heap. At least an hour or two passed before he heard footsteps and the soft murmur of Liliane’svoice.
“The second prince of Loire continues to be a problem.” Her voice was resigned, as if she were discussing a poorly madedress.
“Can’t you attack him?” asked a male voice that sounded faintlyfamiliar.
“It’s been tried, but ever since his curse broke, he’s been well guarded. The tenacity of his low-born wife hasn’t helped. She always sniffs out the few attacks that have managed to slip past the guards,” Lilianesighed.
“It seems, then, that we lost our chance when Apprentice Angelique was suspiciously on hand to alter hiscurse.”
Liliane lightly laughed. “As if your attack hasn’t gone afoul because ofher?”
“Princess Rosalinda sleeps—and has already been sleeping for months.” The male voice was haughty now. “Even better, Angelique put the entire capital under a sleeping spell. The Magic Knights and all of Sole are out of our way. Isn’t that what my assignmentwas?”
Princess Rosalinda? Then he mustbe—
“I suppose. You have done well enough, Carabosso,” Liliane unknowingly confirmed Evariste’s guess. “But I wouldn’t rest on your laurels justyet.”
“Yes, Liliane,” Carabosso said in a surprisingly meekvoice.
There was some quiet shuffling, and Evariste dared to crack his eyes open just enough to peer at thepair.
Liliane was prepping a canvas and starting to mix paints as Carabosso hovered a safe distance away. “There is nothing to be done, then, about the Loire prince?” heasked.
Liliane paused long enough to smile over her shoulder at the pale rogue mage. “Of course there is,” she said in a voice as sweet as honey. “We just have to change our strategy alittle.”
Carbosso tilted his head. “In whatway?”
“We will murder his brother, the Crown Prince of Loire.” Liliane mixed yellow and blue paints, adding in a swirl of red, to get the muddy shade of green she was lookingfor.
“Won’t he bemoredifficult to assassinate?” Carabossoasked.
“Surprisingly, no. To start with, he doesn’t have a wife capable of fending off murder attempts. And these days Prince Severin is forever surrounded by clouds of military men due to his endless strategizing. The Crown Prince—famous for being a well-meaning idiot—is not sooccupied.”
“I see. I imagine the death of the Crown Prince would shake Loire,” Carabossosaid.
Liliane dabbed her brush in the green paint and made the first mark on the white canvas. “Yes. But what we’re really after is that it will ruin Prince Severin and stop this little resistance of his in its tracks.” She offered Carabosso a warm smile. “He loves his brother with a foolish devotion. If the Crown Prince dies, the oh-so-intelligent Prince Severin will go into shock, giving us an opening tostrike.”
“I see.” Carabosso pressed his fingertips together as he appeared to think through thematter.
