Jackie’s cold mask slipped, and for a moment he revealed a flash of worry. Not fear, though. Not yet. “Make no idle threats, my lady.” He pointed at Gideon still captive on the opposite side of the clearing. “Your guardian will be dead before you make your first strike.”
I spread my arms out at my side, ignoring the strain the gesture put on my injuries, and opened myself up, letting faith pour in. Channeling the circus troupe’s devotion into the skies, I fed the storms, and they increased and grew until the atmosphere looked like an ocean of black and purple rage. “Kill him, Jackie, and you’ll never have me.” I rolled my hand, and a bolt of lightning as wide as a river split the sky. “I’ll destroy us all if I have to. It’s the price I’m willing to pay to make sure your plan never succeeds.”
When Gideon and I’d played prist that night in the empress’s apartment, I’d learned winning depended on two factors: luck and a talent for bluffing. Defeating Jackie would require an identical set of factors. Falak had once accused me of being too straightforward and plainspoken to be a convincing actor. In any other circumstance, he would have been right, but success in this moment depended on my ability to convince Jackie I was committed to executing every threat and promise I had made. I hoped that during the last two weeks I’d spent among them, some of Falak’s and Genevieve’s talent for showmanship had worn off on me.
I watched as a shadow of doubt crossed Jackie’s face. His brow furrowed, and he blinked.
His hesitation will be his doom, my grandfather hissed.
I spread my feet, bracing myself, and slashed a hand through the space between Jackie and me. At the same time, he cried out in a foreign tongue and crooked his fingers into a strange configuration. I looked across the clearing, caught Gideon’s gaze, and nodded as another rippling, shimmering barricade fell over Jackie, a barrier clearly meant to protect him from the lighting.
A bolt of energy streaked from the sky—
—and struck the ground at Gideon’s feet, or where his feet had been only moments before he’d disappeared.
When my vision recovered from the explosion of light, the two Magicians who had held Gideon captive were crumpled to the ground. Gideon was on his knees, arms wrapped protectively over his head, and Genevieve stood beside him, the Thunder Cloak unfastened to reveal her presence. I’d once told Gideon the cloak had many tricks up its sleeves. I hadn’t been lying. She bent and tugged a weapon from beneath one of the fallen Magicians: Sephonie, Gideon’s crossbow.
Gideon looked up, flashed a gesture indicating he was all right, and scrambled to his feet.
I waved at the princess. Keep him safe, Genevieve.
Jackie’s barricade fell, and he lurched toward me, muttering.
I extended my will again, gathering energy for another attack. Jackie was losing, but he wasn’t one to easily admit defeat. As I reached for another lightning bolt, he lunged, tossing his hands out as if throwing a pail of water at me. It wasn’t water, though. It was pain—the same mind-crushing agony Ruelle Thibodaux had used to keep me imprisoned in his home.
I nearly bit my tongue in two as my teeth clenched. I dropped to my knees then to the ground.
“Faercourt!’ Gideon yelled, his voice cutting through the swirling vortex of anguish in my head. “Let her go.”
The pain eased, and I blinked until the blackness faded from my vision. Gideon stood a few yards away with his arm raised, pointing Sephonie at Jackie’s head. The Magician raised his hands, splayed his fingers wide, and went still. Yet his silver eyes seemed to swirl with malevolent Magic.
I pushed myself to my knees and grunted. Genevieve appeared at my side and latched onto my arm, steadying me as I rose. “The lengths you’ll go through to claim me for your own wicked schemes...” I shook my head. “You called Sher-sah an abomination.” I hacked a wad of phlegm and spat it at Jackie’s feet. “What a hypocrite you are, Jackie Faercourt.”
A cold smile tugged at the corner of his lips—so beautiful, yet so wicked. “What a waste, Evie. All that fierceness and strength, and it’s so misplaced.” He jerked his chin toward Gideon. “What will you do with me, now, Sir Faust? Kill me in cold blood?”
“Stop!” A shout rose from behind us—a familiar voice. I was too afraid of letting Jackie out of my sight to turn around and see who else had arrived at our macabre gathering, but the speaker’s next words confirmed his identity.
“Magicians are not judged by mortal standards.” Otokar’s voice came nearer. A collection of clattering footsteps approached, sounding like a small herd of armored soldiers. Soldiers from the empress’s royal guard, if I had to guess. “Faercourt must stand before the Council of Magic for the crimes he has committed, including the attack he ordered on guests of Prigha castle, as well as jeopardizing the safety of her sister, the princess of Bonhemm, by attacking her today without provocation or cause.”
The empress’s royal Magician strode into my line of vision and stopped beside Genevieve. His black robes swirled about his legs. The breeze stirred his dark, wavy hair. From the corner of my eye, I watched for the princess’s reaction. Her face gave away nothing, but she stiffened, and her grip on my arm tightened. One problem at a time, princess.
“The empress demands justice for these offenses.” Otokar flicked his fingers, and Tereza’s guards hustled to surround the members of Le Poing Fermé who still lay insensible on the ground at the opposite side of the circus’s encampment. The Magicians Jackie had sent in search of Svieta came stumbling out from between two wagons. A pair of the empress’s guards followed close behind, pistols aimed and ready.
“This isn’t mortal judgment.” Gideon nodded at me. “Evie is a goddess, unless you’ve forgotten. It’s her right. Faercourt has committed several offenses against her as well.”
“Otokar,” I said, biting back a smirk. “Your presence here is uncanny. It’s almost as if you’ve been watching us.”
He snorted. “You knew I was. The princess has been invisible to me for days, and then she suddenly reappeared in my scryings. I was afraid you had set a trap for us, but I miscalculated the nature of your prey.”
“It’s an honor that you would make an appearance yourself. I was certain you were tracking her from the safety of your laboratory.”
He hacked in his throat, a sound of disdain. “And take the chance of losing her again? Hardly.”
I looked away from Jackie long enough to glance at Genevieve. She’d gone pale, but fingered the clasp at the neck of her Thunder Cloak. Regret and grief burned in my stomach as though I’d swallowed some bitter, medicinal brew. I was going to miss my beloved cloak. The princess caught my stare and held it. I winked at her and nodded. Her relief was instant, and her stiff posture eased. She might have fled with my cloak regardless of my consent, but having my approval obviously eased her guilt. How could I have denied her? Her survival was almost as important to me as my own.
“If I release Faercourt into your control,” I said, “what guarantee do I have that he won’t be a dog nipping at my heels again soon after. Will this Council merely slap his wrist and set him loose on the world again? I can’t take that risk.”
“And I can make no promises.” Otokar raised one long finger. “However, I can tell you that if you do not give him to me, the Council will be that dog at your heels. Le Poing Fermé is fierce. The Council is fiercer.” Jackie snorted at that, but Otokar continued, ignoring his mockery. “If I am not mistaken, my lady, you need allies. Believe me when you say you would rather have the Council on your side.”
I gritted my teeth hard enough to make my jaw ache. The fervor of battle had died, and any aggression against Jackie at that point would, indeed, be considered cold-blooded and brutal. Was that the reputation I wished to establish at the beginning of my quest to restore my throne?
If you start on that road, Granddaughter, your life will become a never-ending battle. You’ll have to fight to the blood for each gain you wish to make. Offer diplomacy instead, and you may receive equivalent considerations in the future, when you need them most.
Give mercy if you wish to also receive it.
I’d come to a similar conclusion myself. With a jerk of my chin, I conceded. “Take him, then. But you can tell your Council that if the captain of my guard”—I pointed at Gideon—“or I, set eyes on Jackie or any member of his cabal again, we’ll consider it a hostile act and respond accordingly.” Jackie might have been subdued for the time being, but Ruelle Thibodaux was as entirely dedicated to executing Le Poing Fermé’s schemes as Jackie had been. The cabal’s momentum had been temporarily stalled, but not defeated.
“Then it is agreed.” Otokar nodded and flicked his fingers. Two soldiers scurried to take Jackie into their possession, locking brass cuffs around his wrists before grasping him firmly by his upper arms.
Gideon glowered at the cuffs. “You think those are enough to hold him?”
Otokar’s chin jerked up. He peered down his nose “Those are not regular bindings. Those were designed to make a Magician impotent. He will be harmless.”
“Don’t underestimate him.” I slit my eyes at Jackie, and he returned my gaze boldly, a smirk playing on his lips. “He’s sly and devious.”
“He’ll be closely guarded until he’s in the Council’s custody.” Otokar jerked his head, and the soldiers towed Jackie away.
I released a huge breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. The clouds overhead immediately thinned. The winds eased. “What about Gen—Karolina? What are you plans for her?”
Otokar glanced at the subject of my inquiry and frowned. “She’ll return to the castle with me, of course. Tereza will be anxious to have her home.”
I twisted my lips into a wry grimace. Good luck with that. I hated leaving Genevieve to execute this part of our plan on her own—securing her own escape using the Thunder Cloak—but she’d have a better chance at success if I played along and did nothing to raise Otokar’s suspicions. We had to appear complicit. We had to get him to let down his guard.
She would escape. She would fend for herself. She was a survivor, like me.
Otokar bent a brief bow in my direction. “The empress wishes to extend her invitation to you. She bids you to return to the castle as her guest for as long as you wish to stay. Despite many unfortunate turns of events, she bodes you no ill will and hopes you feel the same.”
My stomach turned over as I considered Tereza’s offer, but I thought again about my grandfather’s counsel regarding diplomacy. “Tell the empress I’m grateful for her invitation, but I must decline. I’ve made other arrangements and won’t be returning to the east for some time.”
He cocked his head aside and scanned our surroundings as if noticing the wagons and tents for the first time. “You are staying with the circus?”
“For now.” Giving away my plans invited too much interference, especially if it increased the chances of Jackie learning of my intent to train with the Fantazikes. Only those I trusted needed to know the details, and I didn’t trust the empress or her Magician. I bobbed a curtsey, turned to Genevieve, and drew her into a tight embrace. “I’ll miss you, princess. Promise to take care of yourself.”
She squeezed me back. “Of course I will. Promise me the same.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve got Gideon looking after me, right?” I pulled away and stared into her dark eyes. “I hope to see you again soon.”
She winked and lowered her voice. “Maybe sooner than you think.”
