We were still teasing and poking at each other when we strolled into the Schulzes’ salon. Brigette was already there, looking lovely but unassuming in blue organza. She wore her hair pined up, curls tumbling around her face, and she seemed to prefer clinging to the shadows. Hannah strode toward us, as bright as a tropical bird in a gown of pink lace. Behind her stood two young men in black suits, their backs to us, heads bent in discussion. I recognized Brahm’s tall form, but the young man at his side was unfamiliar.

“Evie.” Hannah grabbed my hand, dragging me away from my companions, whom she hadn’t acknowledged. “Come let me introduce you.”

The two men turned in unison, but instead of looking at me, Brahm’s gaze shot to Niffin, and color rose in his cheeks. Before I could process his response, Hannah had me by the shoulders and was shoving me to a stop before the stranger—a young man with amber eyes that made me uneasy. Chestnut hair tumbled over his shoulders in sumptuous waves, and his cheekbones were as sharp as knives.

He was not handsome as much as he was striking. Alluring. His presence was powerful... and baffling. How could a stranger affect me in such a way?

Watch out for this one, Grandfather said.

You don’t have to tell me.

“Enson Graves...” Hannah beamed as if she were revealing the world’s largest diamond. “Meet Evelyn Stormbourne. I’m sure you know the name.”

Enson clicked his heels together and bowed. Humor glinted in his bright eyes. “A pleasure, my lady.”

“Evie.” Hannah squeezed my hand, excitement radiating through her like the subtlest earthquake. “Enson is a Magician.”

He took my hand while I stared at him, dumbfounded and blinking with my mouth half open. His touch was warm, but it raised goose bumps along my flesh. The air seemed to crackle between us, so I pulled a storm cloud close. Apprehensive, I narrowed my eyes at him. “What a coincidence.”

“You’ll never guess where he’s currently employed.” Hannah rocked on the balls of her feet, obviously eager to tell me. Too eager, which probably meant I wouldn’t like the answer. She wielded information like weapons, striking to cause the most pain and damage in one brutal blow.

“I’m afraid to ask.” Unconsciously, I stepped back and tugged my hand free.

Hannah batted her lashes at her brother. “You tell her, Brahm.”

“This was all your idea, sister.” His lip curled. “Take credit where it is due.”

She wrapped herself around Enson’s arm and flashed her teeth at me. Perhaps it was supposed to be a smile, but it seemed too predatory. Enson might have had the eyes of a wolf, but Hannah the personality of one. “Enson is Lord Daeg’s Magician.”

Everything went cold, dark, and muffled. I stumbled away. Niffin and Malita caught me, wrapping me in their embrace.

“I’ve convinced him to sneak away for the night and come have fun with us,” Hannah said.

“W-Why?” I stuttered. “Why would you do that?”

“You were looking for a Magician powerful enough to stand up to Le Poing Fermé, right?” She twiddled her fingers at Brigette, who stood away from the party, stiff and silent, her dark eyes watching everything like a hawk. “Brahm found you one, but she’s broken. I found you a better one.”

The muscles around my eyes tightened. My shoulders stiffened. “You brought me the Magician who works for a man who wants to own me or kill me or both.” I gritted my teeth. “What were you thinking?”

“Lady Stormbourne, wait.” Enson raised his hand. “Daeg doesn’t know I’m here. I came of my own accord.”

“I know Daeg’s Magician.” Tremors rippled through me. “You are not him.” Daeg’s Magician had been tall, haggard, and old. Nothing like this striking young man standing casually before me as though nothing were amiss. As if his employer weren’t thirsty for my powers and my blood.

“You mean Diodorus?” Enson’s lips puckered as though he’d tasted something sour. “Daeg sent that bumbling prat packing the night he failed to transfer your birthright to Aodan.”

“And now what? We sit down and have a pleasant dinner together and pretend like you won’t go back and tell Daeg I’m sitting here wrapped up like a gift waiting for him to come and take me?”

“I won’t tell him a thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” He placed a hand over his heart and gave me the full weight of his piercing gaze. “I want to work for you.”

I blinked at him as my brain spun, trying to process his meaning, but it was too absurd. “Why would you do that?”

“Daeg is a has-been, or if he isn’t, he will be soon enough.”

“As if I could ever trust anyone who would be so disloyal.”

He gave me an arrogant, cold smile. “If you need a strong Magician, Lady Stormbourne, I am the man for the job.”

Brigette’s snort broke through the tension. Enson turned, silently watching as the frail young Magician approached.

“You’re daring and clever, Enson. I’ll give you that. But when it comes to raw, innate power, you’re no match for Le Poing Fermé.”

He arched an auburn brow. “And you are, Brigette?”

She bit her bottom lip, saying nothing, and hostility filled the room like fog on a cold morning after a storm. The two Magicians had history, it seemed.

Brahm sighed and rocked back on his heels. “I’m sure dinner’s ready by now, and if it’s not, it will be soon enough. Hopefully everyone will be less testy on a full stomach.” He motioned to the open doorway. “Niffin, will you lead the way?”

Niffin folded Malita’s hands around his arm and strode from the room. Hannah claimed Enson as her escort, and they followed Niffin and Malita out. Brahm opened his mouth as if to say something to me. Instead, he let out a breath, shook his head, and marched away, leaving me alone with Brigette.

“I had no idea Hannah was going to do that,” I said apologetically. “I feel like I’ve been tackled by a charging bull I never saw coming.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was kind of fun to watch you struggle to keep up. You did, by the way.” She winked at me. “You might have been surprised, but you didn’t let it get the best of you.”

“Hannah is the worst.”

Brigette threaded her arm through mine and propelled us out of the room. “She is. I can’t disagree.”

“I don’t want to hire Enson.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“I want you.”

“Why?” She paused at the parlor’s threshold and stared at me, eyes wide and unblinking behind her spectacles. “Didn’t you hear Hannah? I’m broken.”

“We all are.” If I told her about my mechanical heart, would it sway her opinion of me in the right direction? Or would she shun me as too much of a freak? “My court is a band of misfits. You’d fit right in.”

Chapter 13

To my surprise, Hannah had arranged after-dinner refreshments on the terrace. Overhead, she had strung glass votives filled with lit candles in a crisscrossing pattern, and more tapers burned in elaborate candelabra placed in the terrace’s shadowy corners. Flowering shrubs added bursts of rose, carmine, and gold. Statuary of exotic animals perched on plinths stationed around the perimeter like guards. “She’s trying to impress you,” Brigette whispered as we approached our companions. “Show you what a worthy ally she would make for you.”

“I’ve already promised her brother my favor in return for helping me find you,” I said.

Brigette clucked her tongue, took a glass of champagne from a footman’s tray, and strode away. Enson and Hannah quickly took their places at my side. The footman offered champagne, but I waved him off. This was no night to be dampening my wits, and I hated the taste of champagne.