My mind reeled for an answer, for any way that I could use my powers to her benefit, but I had nothing that could save the old woman. Instead I watched in horror as Brahm and Niffin rushed to catch her. As small and frail as she was, though, I doubted they could do much to cushion her fall from such a height, and the impact might well kill them all.
Brigette appeared at my side. Her demeanor, her voice, her whole aura exuded calmness and control. She flicked her fingers, and the old woman froze in the air, inches away from certain death. “These people, Evie... These are the ones you’d give your favor to?”
With a graceful wave, Brigette set the old woman on her feet. The woman fainted, but Brahm and Niffin caught her before she crumpled to the ground. Brahm swept her into his arms.
“I didn’t give them my approval,” I said. “I only offered to trade them a service in return for their assistance. I knew it was a risk, but finding someone like you was worth it.”
“And this is not how I would choose to gain Evie’s alliance.” Holding the old woman like a fragile piece of pottery, Brahm stepped closer to me. He shot his sister a hateful look. “You go too far sometimes, Hannah.”
“Sometimes?” I muttered under my breath. Hannah was a goddess in her own right, a spirit of chaos and disorder. She claimed to be a master of manipulation, but instead she thrived on causing trouble. I glanced around the terrace, searching for signs of Enson, but he had disappeared while we were distracted. Probably on his way back to Lord Daeg like a dutiful dog, eager to hand me over for a reward and a higher place in Daeg’s esteem.
“I’ve had enough.” I kicked off my high-heeled slippers and yanked strands of pearls from my neck. “I’ve tried being nice, being patient, holding my tongue.”
Thunder growled overhead, low, rumbling, angry. It expressed my mood better than any words. Tugging pins, pearls, and feathers from my hair, I stormed away from Hannah and her surprised expression, not caring anymore about allies and diplomacy. Without looking, I knew Niffin and Malita were behind me. “I’m leaving.”
“You can’t leave in the middle of the night,” Hannah said.
I stopped and spun on my heel. Standing on the threshold between the terrace and an interior hallway, I folded my arms over my chest and cursed the corset pinching my ribs each time I heaved a breath. “Who in the Shadowlands is going to stop me? Enson is probably halfway back to Daeg by now. I won’t stand here and wait for him to come for me.”
Brahm glanced at his sister, then at the old woman in his arms, then at me. “I’m coming with you, Evie.” He jerked his chin toward a pair of footmen standing by the door. They rushed to his side and took the woman from his arms. He muttered instructions to them. They nodded and carried her away.
“Where are they taking her?” I asked.
Brahm maneuvered past Niffin and Malita and marched down the hallway. I started after him. “They’ll make sure she’s well taken care of,” he said. “When she wakes, they’ll take her home.”
“Then what?”
“Then she’ll be well compensated.”
“And that makes everything all right?”
He slammed to a stop in the middle of the hallway, turned, and faced me. Malita clenched my arm. Niffin positioned himself at my flank, coiled and ready to fight if I required his assistance. Brahm’s face flushed red, his hands balled at his sides. He had shed his mask of refinement and sophistication. The bare-knuckled boxer stared back at me, seething and ready to brawl, but I didn’t think his anger was directed at me so much as at the situation. He seemed as fed up with his sister’s scheming as I was. “Nothing about what happened is or will be all right,” he said. “But she’ll be looked after. In the meantime, my duty to you, as my guest, requires that I see you safely out of Steinerland before Daeg shows up on our doorstep.”
“She could fight him,” Hannah said from behind me. “This is the time to call in the favor she owes you, brother.”
He bared his teeth and lurched onto the balls of his feet. I felt like I’d wandered between a bull and the red cape he was determined to spear with his horns. But he didn’t charge. “This is what you had planned all along, wasn’t it, Hannah? You wanted to force Evie’s hand by bringing Enson here.”
“She could’ve hired him,” Hannah said, “and none of this would have happened.”
I rounded on her, snarling. A crackling, throbbing vein of electricity lanced through the sky. Thunder shuddered against the house. If Brigette was still on the terrace, she stood somewhere out of sight. If she were smart, she would’ve already run away. “But you were betting I wouldn’t. You read people like books, Hannah. You read me, and you knew I’d never go for a snake like Enson.”
Standing in the doorway, she pointed at the angry storm brewing behind her. “Look at all that power, Evie. What are you so angry about? I’ve tied Daeg up with a bow, and he’s about to be delivered to you. Now’s your chance to finish him. You’ve never been stronger.”
“You apparently aren’t aware of the terms of my agreement with your brother. I reserve the right to choose when and where I repay my debts, and I can refuse any request I find morally objectionable. Let me tell you, Hannah, everything about this night has been morally objectionable.”
“That is putting it mildly,” Niffin said.
Taking my friends’ hands, I marched us down the hallway.
“I’ll get the horses ready,” Brahm said. “You grab your things. I’ll meet you out front.”
“You don’t have to go with us, Brahm.”
He snorted. “You don’t really mean that. You’re just being polite.”
Pausing before we parted at the foot of the stairs, I nodded. “It’s true. You don’t have to go with us, but I want you to. I’m not sure we can escape Daeg on our own.” Having someone who knew Steinerland well would be an asset. “My fight isn’t with him. Not tonight, anyway.”
“What about Brigette?” Malita asked.
“If she’s still here, I’ll make sure one of my men sees her safely back to her shop.” Brahm waved toward the stairs. “Now go. Hurry.”
Malita, Niffin, and I raced up the stairs and into our rooms. Finding no maid waiting for me, I dragged my boots out from under my bed, pulled out my knife, and cut off my corset. I changed into my boots, donned the same split skirt and blouse I had worn earlier in the day, and slipped on my Thunder Cloak. After glancing around the room to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, I slung my bag over my shoulder and hurried into my friends’ room.
“How did you change so fast?” Malita paused in the middle of tying a dark scarf over her hair. Niffin had already changed and was gathering their things.
“Corsets come off quickly when you have a sharp knife.”
She pursed her lips, tightened the knot in her scarf, and patted the pockets of her dress, a sturdy skirt and bodice of tweed with buttons in the front. If nothing else, Hannah had at least provided us with a decent wardrobe. “Ready?”
Malita nodded. “Yes.”
We gathered our things and rushed to the foyer, but Hannah stood in the doorway, barring our exit. I called the lightning close and gathered static around me, channeling it down my arms, letting it pool into my hand. “Get out of the way.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“You’ve left us little choice.”
“Don’t run like a coward. Stay and fight him.”
