“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.”
He motioned to Marlis, and she rose and took my arm. Holding me steady, we limped away as the Magician crouched beside Gideon and muttered something unintelligible. “Is she dead?” I asked as we shuffled past Vanessa.
“I didn’t ask,” Marlis said. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
We made our way to our rooms, and I sank into a chair before the empty fireplace. I stripped off my gloves, removed my beaded necklace, and wriggled out of my slippers. Marlis poured a goblet of water and passed it to me. I drained it, and she filled it twice again before my throat no longer felt like a burning desert. With my thirst quenched, I stood and strode to my bedchamber.
“Where are you going?” Marlis asked.
“I’m going to wash off this soot and get out of this ridiculous dress. Help me with the buttons, will you?”
Her nimble fingers flittered up my spine until the dress pooled at my feet. After she unlaced my corset, I gasped a huge breath and sighed. She tossed me a robe, and I shrugged it on while kicking away underskirts and petticoats. “Ridiculous,” I muttered.
She followed me into the lavatory. “What’s ridiculous?”
“All those layers. The stays, the bindings—it’s unnecessary. Who decides what’s fashionable anyway? I’d like to give them a taste of my lightning.”
Having found a rag in the lavatory, I poured water into a washbowl and scrubbed away soot and whatever tatters of my makeup remained. “Help me take down my hair. Would you braid it for me? Make it tight.”
Marlis nodded and followed me into the bedchamber. I plopped into the vanity chair, and she picked pins from my hair until impatience nearly boiled my blood. She brushed my hair, separated the strands, and wove them into a braid. The moment she knotted the ribbon in place, I leapt from my seat, retrieved my favorite trousers and a plain cotton blouse, and tugged them on.
Her eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”
“Getting dressed.”
“Why? You should be going to bed.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” I stepped to the wardrobe and opened a drawer. After selecting a clean pair of short stockings, I dropped to the floor and tugged them on, followed by my boots. “I’m not safe here. Maybe I’m not safe anywhere, but I’ll be damned if I’ll sit here and let them come for me.” An image of Gideon’s scalded face flashed before my eyes. “Or let them hurt you trying to get to me.”
She grabbed my arm. “We’ve tried running, remember? That didn’t work either.”
“Yes, it did.” I rolled to my feet, stood, and met her wide-eyed gaze. She looked like a frightened rabbit who had caught scent of a wolf. “It’s only when we stopped that they found us.”
“Evie, listen to yourself. You’re panicking and not thinking clearly.”
I tossed up my hands and growled an ineffable expression of frustration and fear. “Did you not see your brother tonight? He nearly died trying to protect me. So, don’t tell me I can’t run, Marlis.” I snatched a sheathed knife from my bedside table and shoved it into the top of my boot. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the people I love and care for safe.”
“Gideon chose to protect you, to be your guardian. He knows the risks. He made his own decisions. He wouldn’t blame you for that. No one blames you.”
My gaze flickered around the room as I searched for my Thunder Cloak. After spotting it lying over the chair in the sitting room, I jerked free from Marlis and hurried toward it. She followed me. “You can’t go alone, Evie.”
