“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

I frowned. “A long time? We were just with you at supper.”

She chuckled and shook her head. The lantern light wobbled. “No. I have been searching for you for months. Ever since you left Lord Thibodaux’s house aboard a godsforsaken airship. Tonight, I’ve finally found you.”

Ice flooded my stomach, encapsulated my heart, chilled my blood. “What are you saying?”

“I am disappointed, Lady Thunder.” The lantern light bobbed as she fiddled with the housing. The stark beam refracted into a softer, diffuse glow that lined the angles of her thin face, reflected off her spectacles, and illuminated her pale-yellow hair. “That you have put all your faith in this glorified stable boy and left none for the Master.”

My mouth fell open, and I gaped at her, wide-eyed and disbelieving. “Master?”

“Lord Faercourt.”

No. Not Jackie. She can’t mean Jackie....

The remains of my astonishment receded as loathing rose inside me, cold and thick. For months I’d feared him, that Magician haunting my nightmares. At that moment, fear gave way to disgust. I clenched my teeth, and my lips rolled back as a silent snarl buzzed in my chest. “Oh, no. I never doubted him. I always believed Jackie would find me again.” But I’d hoped to be better prepared for it—saturated with power and standing with my feet firmly planted on Inselgrish soil. “I was quite sure of it, in fact.”

She grinned, but no joy shone in her smile—only cold calculation. “Well then, I am glad he has lived up to your expectations.”

Beside me, Gideon rolled his head, stretching his shoulder and neck muscles. He drew his sword. “You should leave now, Mademoiselle Furnier. I won’t allow any harm to come to Evie.”

She arched a single eyebrow. “You would strike a lady?”

“An agent of Le Poing Fermé is no lady. This is your only opportunity for retreat. If you refuse, I swear the first and last blood drawn tonight will be yours.”

I inhaled and extended my senses. The thunder had defied me for so long, why should tonight be any different? But still, I had to try.

Vanessa chuckled sadly. “The thunder has abandoned you, my lady. Search all you like, but it will not come.”

I growled. “What do you know about it?”

“Your grasp is tenuous.” She raised a clenched fist. “Le Poing Fermé’s is not.”

Outraged, I lunged for her, but Gideon grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “What are you saying? You’ve caused this? You’ve taken away my power?”

“We cannot take it away. It is in your blood. But Le Poing Fermé can dampen it. Wrap the connection in insulation, so to speak. The thunder cannot hear you. It does not recognize your voice anymore. But the Master can hear you. He always could.”

I snarled and shoved against Gideon, but he held tight to my arm and thrust me behind him. Raising his sword, he twisted his wrist, and the blade swished past my ear as he lunged. Vanessa barked a sharp laugh and dropped the lantern as she dashed aside, dodging his strike. The lantern broke, hurling oil across the grass and labyrinth walls. Flames roared to life, spreading like spilled water.

“Run, Evie.” Gideon shoved me. “I’ll keep her busy, but you have to run.”

“No.” I planted my feet. “This is my fight, too.”

Gideon lashed out at Vanessa, jabbing his sword. The Magician flicked her hand, and the formerly shallow puddle of flames blazed high, reaching like appendages from some horrible, enflamed beast. Gideon and I skittered away, and the fire licked our feet. Vanessa threw her hands out wide, fingers splayed. The flames roared again, surging closer, forcing us against the tall shrubs at our backs.

“What do you want?” I demanded. “You tracked me here only so you can kill me?”

“No harm will come to you, Lady Thunder. And if you come willingly, I vow no harm shall come to your guardian, either.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Gideon said. “I can protect myself.”

“Don’t run, Stormbourne. I have not come alone. There is no escaping us.” Vanessa gestured again, and the fire roared into a twisting pillar. She shifted her weight, drew her hands together, and shoved as if closing a heavy door. The fire raced toward us.

I grunted and flung my senses as far as they’d go. The inner part of me that controlled the thunder hurtled out like a hook at the end of a line, angling to catch a wary fish. Distantly—so, so, distantly—the thunder mewled like a lost kitten. Its response was too little too late, though. Gideon sprang in front of me as the fire splashed like a wave. He groaned, sank to his knees, and collapsed.

I shrieked.

Thunder bellowed.

“You might have dampened the connection,” I shouted over the roaring flames. “But if I scream loudly enough, the thunder will always hear me.”

Gideon lay at my feet, singed and motionless. Around me an inferno raged, sucking the oxygen and moisture from the air and my skin. I drew in a hot breath and searched the sky.

There! Miles away, a feeble copse of storm clouds blundered toward me like blind men stumbling along an unmarked path. It’s not fast enough, though. Not nearly fast enough!

Vanessa spun in a grand pirouette, her skirts flaring. She raised her hands overhead, and the fire responded. Blazing tongues of amber and gold twisted together, forming a rope, then a ring. Her fingers worked as if crafting an invisible sphere. Above us, the fire gathered, shaping a miniature burning sun.

The Magician pushed her hands out, and the fireball shifted, hovering over Gideon. “It does not have to end like this. You can save him, if you come with me.”

I lowered to my knees, crawled to Gideon’s side, and threw myself over him as a shield. She couldn’t kill me—Jackie wanted me, and his want would force her to keep me alive. “You’ll have to burn me, too. I’m won’t go to Jackie.”

The Magician sucked her teeth and swore under her breath. “Such misguided devotion.” She shrugged. “Nevertheless, what must be done will be done.” She threw her arms open, and the fireball disintegrated into flaming shards. With another wave, she hurled those flames into the walls around me, and what little remained of the labyrinth’s shrubs went up in an inferno. Smoke billowed. I coughed and gagged.

“You will pass out soon,” she said. “Lack of air, inhaling too much smoke—nothing Magic cannot heal. Your guardian, though...he will perish, and nothing but his blackened bones will remain.”

I couldn’t deny Vanessa’s claims. Already, my vision was blurring, and my extremities tingled. Dizziness swirled through me, and smoke turned my throat to sandpaper and broken glass. “Stop,” I wheezed. “I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt him.”

Beneath me, Gideon’s heartbeat slowly thumped. His chest rose and fell in a shallow, unsteady rhythm. He was alive, but blisters had already risen on his reddened skin near his singed hairline. He’ll be in so much pain when he wakes up.

“You are in no place to make demands, my lady.”

Heat filled my head, and my brain thumped against my skull. Blackness stole into my peripheral vision and claimed my consciousness. The last of my protests died on my withering tongue.

But a shout followed by a high-pitched, horrible scream dragged me back into the moment. I blinked and squinted through the smoke. Indistinct figures swirled around each other, their outlines hazy and dark. When their voices penetrated my fading awareness, relief washed over me like a cool breeze. “Marlis,” I rasped. “Otokar.”

Vanessa moaned and crumpled to the grass. With the sound like a massive hiccup, like a giant clearing his throat, the flames disappeared. A wave of air blasted past me, and the smoke cleared. I drew in a deep breath, but it triggered a coughing fit. Cool hands clutched my shoulders and helped me stand.

“Evie, please tell me you are well.” Otokar held me firmly in his grip.

“Yes,” I croaked, rubbing my eyes. “But Gideon....”

Marlis appeared at my side, holding a lantern. She lowered into a crouch beside her brother and shone the light over his face. “He’s still breathing.” She glanced at Otokar. “He’s been badly burned though. Can you help him?”

He nodded. “See your lady inside and find her something to drink. I will attend to your brother.”

“She said she was with Le Poing Fermé.” I motioned to Vanessa’s crumpled form and sneered at her. “If she’s right, then the others know where I am. They’ll be coming for me. It isn’t safe here anymore.”

“That is not for you to worry about right now,” Otokar said. “Get inside. The castle is well guarded.”