Brigette studied her soup, swirling her spoon through its contents. “There’s nothing to the story, really. You could probably guess he wasn’t around much. Le Poing Fermé consumed him. He had money, nobility, a fine house, a lovely family, but was only interested in power. How to keep it and how to get more. He only took interest in me once he noticed how strong my own Magic could be. But when the pain...” She fluttered her fingers around her head. “And when I left university...” She spooned up a bite of stew and sipped the broth. “Anyway, I haven’t seen him in about a year—not since I moved to Steinerland.”
“And when I came along, talking about defeating Le Poing Fermé, you couldn’t resist?”
She dropped her spoon into her bowl, and her big eyes flashed with a sudden hardness. “At first, I wasn’t sure you weren’t as power hungry as they were.”
“So you joined me in hopes of witnessing their defeat? Morbid curiosity? What was it?”
“I think I just wanted my father to see me. To see that I didn’t need him or his approval. But I underestimated him. I underestimated everyone, including myself.”
I patted her hand. “In time, I’ll return to Isolas. I’m going to take up the High Magus’s offer to establish diplomatic relations. I could use a powerful ally to whom, for once, I don’t owe a favor. I hope you’ll come with me.”
She stiffened. “You want me to talk to him, don’t you?”
“Take it from those of us who know.” I glanced at Gideon. “Fathers are rare and precious commodities, even the flawed ones. If there’s the least possibility of establishing a relationship with him, even a limited one, I think you should consider making that effort.”
She screwed her lips into a sideways grimace. “I can’t promise anything. But I’ll think about it.”
After dinner, we parted to search the house for bedrooms that had survived the Council’s attack. I led Gideon to my old room and rejoiced to find the windows and wall still intact. We sank onto my bed, both of us moving as though our bodies were filled with lead shot. Gideon removed his bloody shirt, and we argued about who should clean his wounds before he relented. I cleaned him up and applied fresh bandages before he slipped under the quilts and closed his eyes.
I crawled in and curled up next to him. “Tell me what you saw. There at the end, I wasn’t really aware.”
“It’s hard to put into words. There was a moment when you weren’t there at all. It was just storms. Thunder and lightning and wind. There was a flash so bright it took my breath. I could feel the electricity in my teeth. I thought...” He swallowed. “For a second I thought maybe you were gone. Maybe I’d died, and I had failed you and I’d be doomed to live with that knowledge as my eternal punishment. But when my vision cleared, Ruelle was chanting, still trying to fight, but his Magic was gone.” His lip curled into a sleepy smile. “Then there you were, falling into my arms.”
I pressed a kiss to the rough stubble on his jaw. He wrapped an arm around me, grunted once, and promptly fell asleep. I would’ve said he slept like the dead, except I’d recently witnessed how the dead slept. Gideon’s breathing was too deep, his color too bright, his spirit too vital to mistake him for anything else. Perhaps every day for the rest of my life I’d thank the gods for giving him to me and keeping him alive.
Jackie’s demise was a sharp wound that would be slow to heal, but Gideon’s death would have destroyed me.
I was drifting close to sleep when a knock at my door drew me back to the waking world. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and grumbled. “Come in.”
Niffin and Malita shuffled into the room. She carried a lit taper that threw gold light across her face. They wore matching sheepish expressions.
I groaned. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t find a room.”
“We found a room, but that is not why we have come.” She shook her head, refusing to meet my eyes. “We have to tell you something.”
My heart swelled into my throat. I knew what she was going to say, and I wasn’t sure I could stand to hear it. Not tonight. “You’re leaving me.”
She flinched. Her brow puckered. “Only for a short time. I must go home. I must tell my family I am alive. My mother should not have to grieve me any longer.”
“And I will go with her to make sure she is safe,” Niffin said. “If you allow it.”
“If I allow it.” I snorted and rolled my eyes.
“We will come back in time for your, um...” She glanced at Niffin and mimicked placing a crown on her head.
“Coronation,” he said. “We will come back in time to see you crowned.” His lips screwed into a crooked grin. “Um... when do you think that will be?”
I huffed and fell back against my pillows. Gideon stirred beside me but didn’t wake. “Give me three months. No, four. We’ll try to have this place back in shape by then, and we’ll make it the party of the century.”
“Party?” Malita gave me a skeptical look. “You hate parties.”
I smiled at her as I closed my eyes. “Not if I’m the one throwing it.”
Epilogue
The Queen of Inselgrau Does Something New
The first thing Niffin noticed upon his return to Fallstaff was that Evie had, indeed, managed to repair the damage the Council of Magic and Le Poing Fermé had inflicted on her home. Other than a few bare patches of grass that had not yet grown in, no one would be able to tell that a Magic battle had raged on these grounds only four short months before. Fallstaff was no palace—Niffin had seen enough of those to know the difference—but anyone who came upon this inimitable house would never doubt that someone of great substance and power lived there.
The next things Niffin noticed were the smells. He dragged in a long, deep breath as he dismounted Khosha near Fallstaff’s stables and handed off the reins to a young stableboy. Niffin recognized the scents of frying dough, caramelizing sugar, and the buttery odor of fresh popcorn. He held up his arms and caught Malita as she slid down from the saddle. He fastened the closures on his wool coat while she readjusted the lay of her fleece-lined cloak. Winter in Inselgrau was harsher than the perpetually warm climate of Nri, and they had yet to acclimate.
Niffin took Malita’s hand, and they strode across the lawn, heading not for Fallstaff’s front door but for the rolling acres of open field behind the house. Music swelled as they approached the grand affair spread across Evie’s estate. He recognized the sound of a Fantazike band practicing an old folk tune. Joy inflated his heart until he thought it would burst. Along the edges of the woods bordering the estate, the Fantazikes had moored their ships. They bobbed in the stiff breeze, and their silvery, iridescent balloons rippled like the surface of a pond on a sunny winter day.
His people had set up their usual fair with boxing rings, trinket booths, and music pavilion, but the attractions were mixed in among a collection of large, colorful wagons with arcing rooftops. Each wagon featured a painted mural or scrolling calligraphy that identified the troop as Le Cirque De Merveilles Mécanique. In the center of the field stood a tremendous red-and-white-striped tent.
The roar of an excited crowd exploded from the tent, explaining why the field appeared mostly empty. Niffin arched an eyebrow at Malita. She smiled and nodded. They hurried for the tent, hoping they’d arrived in time to catch the performance before it ended.
As Niffin stepped through the door flaps, the sound of pounding hooves drew his attention to the large ring in the center of the tent. A young woman in a spangled and glittering costume stood perfectly balanced on the back of perhaps the most amazing creature Niffin had ever seen—and that was quite a feat considering all the places he’d travelled and all the wonders he’d witnessed. The creature was a horse—no, a unicorn, and the entire thing was constructed of brass, steel, gears, cogs, and metallic joints that clinked in rhythm with the thudding of its hooves.
Awe froze Niffin in place as the girl raised her hands, steadied herself, then leapt from the unicorn’s saddle. She executed a midair somersault and landed soundly on both feet. A bright grin split her face, and the crowd roared and cheered. Niffin couldn’t help cheering along with them.
The girl bowed to the crowd. Then she rose and seemed to focus on a particular section of the audience. She strode forward and bowed again, lower, with more deference. Niffin stepped further into the tent and searched the crowds, looking for the recipient of the performer’s regard. He spotted Evie, resplendent in a bright-purple cloak, her hair arranged in a simple twist.
Gideon stood at her right shoulder. Understated gold braiding adorned the lapel of his black wool jacket, cut in a military style with brass buttons and a short collar. He undoubtedly took his new role as Captain of the Guard seriously and had dressed for the part. He leaned down and spoke to the person beside him, a girl who shared his coloring and facial features. His sister, Marlis, perhaps?
Niffin also recognized the young people at Evie’s left shoulder: Brahm and Hannah Schulze. Niffin pinned his top lip between his teeth to keep it from curling. Brahm had proven to be a reliable sort, but his sister was a rotten terror. Still, it didn’t surprise Niffin to find her there. Evie was generous and had a big heart. She’d want to share her success with anyone who contributed to it.
He scanned the other faces in the crowd and found Brigette standing behind Evie, looking healthier and a little plumper than the last time he’d seen her. Having a home, a purpose, and a regular diet of djageesh had made quite a difference. He picked out the faces of his own family next—his grandmother, father, mother, sister, and even his sister’s fiancé, Benoit. A burning ache filled Niffin’s throat, but he swallowed it. He touched the scar that had formed over his ribs from the bullet that had pierced him months before. When he’d left with Evie from the fields in Varynga upon Justina’s orders, he had feared he might never see his people or his family again. He’d feared that following Evie might’ve meant facing his death sooner rather than later.
