The lantern’s blue light leached color from his face, and he looked like something carved from ice. He nodded.
“She has the luxury of playing politics,” I said. “I’m simply trying to keep us all alive. I’ll worry about Tereza’s motives when I’m not in such a tenuous situation.”
“It might be too late by then.”
If finding my powers felt like ascending a colossal mountain, then reclaiming a kingdom felt like trying to climb to the moon. How did I even begin, especially if I couldn’t navigate a simple relationship with someone like Tereza? “What if I’m not prepared for this? I’m ill-equipped, Gideon. Inexperienced. I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.”
He lowered his pitch and all but growled. “I know you very well. I’ve seen you at your highest and lowest.” He crossed the small rotunda, and his hands curled around my waist. “Throughout it all, one thing remained true. You are a queen to your core—thunder, or no.”
Like a Fantazike balloon taking off during a storm, my quavering heart swelled and rose into my throat. “How can you say that?"
“Because, whether princess or pauper, Evie, you’ve always commanded my heart. I’m sure I can’t be the only one who feels that way.”
A soft chuckle and a sudden light, harsh and bright, shattered the moment.
I stumbled away from Gideon and turned to face our interloper. A dark silhouette loomed behind a lantern that beamed at us like a spotlight. “Oh, um, Je suis désolé. I am sorry to intrude,” said the trespasser, whom I immediately recognized as Vanessa, the comte’s quiet attaché. “I thought it better to interrupt you before things became more...intime? That would have been very awkward.”
“What do you want?” I asked. “Why are you here?”
“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.
