by Marisa Mills
Alexander’s eyes rounded, staring between Viviane and me.
“I’ll have no part of this,” Alexander said, holding up his hands. “You’re going to get caught, and if you’re—”
“If we’re caught, it’ll be bad. I’m not four, Alexander,” Viviane said, “But you can’t talk me out of this. This is something I have to do. I can’t explain it, but I have to figure out what happened between Nick and Gwen. Both my parents died young. I never knew them. I have to believe it was for something.”
Alexander’s head snapped to me.
“Wynter,” he said. “You know you can’t do this. You’re from the Lower Realms. My father won’t be merciful when you’re caught.”
“If we’re caught,” Viviane said.
“And you will be,” Alexander replied. “The security around the palace is the strongest in the kingdom. Viviane might get off with a warning, though her reputation would be shattered. The Rosewood family would be finished. Dorian and Eleanor would probably be tried for treason.”
“We’re just trying to find out the truth,” I said quietly.
Alexander bolted to his feet with such speed and ferocity that I nearly jumped. He pinned me against the bookshelf, his finger wagging in my face.
“This doesn’t even involve you! You’re no mage, or noble. You don’t even belong here. You can—you can walk away from this. There’s no reason to risk your—”
Viviane’s face reddened. “If Dorian says she belongs here, she belongs here!” Viviane cut in. “And you’re blind if you seriously think she isn’t a mage, after all she’s been able to do.”
“A few weeks ago you hated her,” Alexander said coldly. “Now, she’s your best friend? Besides, you don’t know where her magic really comes from.”
I looked at him, astonished. Was he going to tell her about Lucian, after he promised not to? Viviane paused, looking back and forth between us, but her anger was too heated to fall for the distraction.
“That was before everything that happened,” Viviane said. “Now, I—I don’t know. But who are you to determine who does and doesn’t belong here? You’ve never liked people from the Lower Realms!”
“Maybe I’ve changed,” Alexander said.
“Why don’t we just—” I began.
“Have you?” Viviane scoffed. “Is that why you brought up Wynter’s blood, then? Because you suddenly adore people from the Lower Realms? Tell me, Alexander. Is my blood not blue enough for you anymore? Is that why you’re suddenly so cold towards me?” There were tears in Viviane’s eyes and she was shaking. I had a feeling this argument was a long-time brewing, and somehow I’d been caught in the middle of it.
“You know that isn’t it,” Alexander said, his gaze suddenly softening.
“Admit it—you were fine hanging around the Rosewood heir before, but you always realized something was off about me. That I was the bastard child of a broken mage.”
“It wasn’t your blood that disgusted me,” Alexander retorted. “It was your ineptitude. If you two want to steal the brooch, I promise I’ll bring flowers to your graves after you’ve been executed for treason.”
Without another word, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. My heart pounded so much my chest hurt. Would Alexander turn us in, revealing me to his father? What would that mean for Briar and Sterling? I knew I should run after him, and try to fix this somehow, but I didn’t know where to begin. Things had escalated so quickly.
Viviane seemed to crumble in on herself, sinking to the floor. She clasped her hands together, but even that couldn’t hide how badly they were shaking. After a few seconds, Viviane fumbled with the purse tied at her waist and drew out a bottle. It was nearly empty, with just a few mouthfuls left of the blue potion. She downed it and licked the few drops of sparkling blue elixir from her lips. Part of me wanted to ask her to share, but she seemed to have forgotten I was even in the room.
Tatiana tentatively peeked in. “Is everything all right?” she asked. I glanced at Viviane, and she shrugged. It seemed cruel to keep Tatiana out of all this now, when she’d been the one to bring us to her father’s bookstore. I showed her the sketches in Nick’s book, of what we thought was Gwen’s pendant, and told her where we thought it was.
“The king has it, and you’re going to try and get it back?” Tatiana asked, in a hushed voice, as if the walls were listening.
“Alexander doesn’t want to be involved,” Viviane said. Her words were slurring a little and her lips were still stained blue. “But fine. We can do this all on our own. We don’t need him.”
“He’d have gotten us into the palace,” I said. “How can we get in without him?”
“That won’t be a problem,” Viviane said.
“How?” I asked.
Viviane tilted her chin up and smirked. “I’ll just tell them that my father is a baron, and my uncle is a count. The palace has guest apartments set up for nobles seeking an audience with the king. Sometimes he makes them wait weeks. Plus we were invited, remember? The difficult part will be getting into the royal chambers.”
“I’d like to go with you,” Tatiana said, “But my father and his family…are all banned from the palace because of his theories.”
Clearly, this kingdom enjoys free thought and expression, Lucian said.
“Don’t worry about it, Tati,” I said. “I’m sure Viviane and I can do it.” That sentence sounded strange when I said it out loud. Was I really teaming up with Viviane, to steal from Alexander’s father? This felt like a bad plan.
Viviane giggled to herself. “I’ve been trying to get Alexander to invite me to the palace for ages so I could spend more time with his family. Now, I’m breaking in to steal back my mother’s necklace. There’s some justice in that, somewhere. I think.”
I still don’t trust her, Lucian muttered. If you are caught, how do you know she won’t just blame you for all this?
“It’s a day’s ride,” Viviane replied, “But I’m sure Fath—Frederick would be willing to prepare a carriage for us without asking any questions. After all, he seems to think it’s a grand idea. We’ll go after classes next Friday, just like he said.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
It was raining outside, but Tatiana’s father let us borrow umbrellas. I turned back at the corner, looking back at the bookshop, lit up with warm lights, a bright spot against the gray. Euphrates sat in the window, flicking his tail slowly like a pendulum, watching us as we walked back to the Academy through the rain.
***
Since Viviane and I had planned to break into the palace, Alexander had stopped talking to us both. Which was awkward, because we’d be arriving at the palace as his guests, though Kit and the king had really been the ones inviting us. After a few stilted attempts to apologize, I’d given up trying to coax him into speaking to me. Viviane reacted by making snide comments that were clearly about Alexander, without actually using his name.
Friday came too quickly. I tried not to bounce my leg in Professor Gareth’s class. This was the last one before Viviane and I were supposed to leave, and although I liked Gareth, I wished Viviane and I had left just a little earlier.
Suddenly, the pre-class conversations around me softened. I turned around to see what had caught everyone’s attention, and there was Jessa. She leaned on a cane made of a red, polished wood as she made her way to her seat. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her. I’d barely seen her all week, and even when I visited, she hadn’t been conscious. I waited for her to tell me that she hated me. I had killed her, after all.
But Jessa only smiled. “Hello, everyone,” she said.
She seemed so genuinely happy to see us.
Alexander cleared his throat. “I’m glad to see you’re well,” he said.
“Me, too,” Jessa replied. “I might be able to greet my parents when they arrive.”
“They haven’t come yet?” Viviane asked.
Jessa shook her head. “
I’m told that a message was left for them, but they weren’t home. You know; correspondence between Reverie and Aubade has to go through so much, though. You’d think we were still at war with one another considering how rigorously Aubade’s Council searches the mail for malignant enchantments.”
“Let me know when they arrive,” Alexander said. “I’d speak with them, or I can send word to my father. I’m sure he’d be glad to thank them personally.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Jessa replied, even as she turned her attention to me. “How are you, Wynter?”
I tried to speak to her, but the words didn’t want to come. “Fine,” I rasped at last.
Jessa’s face softened. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be more help,” she said, squeezing my hand. “If I’d been stronger—”
“If I’d been stronger, you wouldn’t have had to save me,” I replied.
“Even if you’d been stronger, even if you’d been a grand mage, I think I still would’ve tried to help,” Jessa said. “You’re my friend, and I’d never forgive myself if you were hurt.”
I felt a tear on my cheek and I brushed it away, before pulling her into a tight hug. My eyes widened as I felt something cold and hard running down her spine. I gasped as she removed her cloak. A row of metal spokes were embedded between her shoulder blades, etched with glowing green runes. Some kind of mage tech.
“It’s a new technology,” Jessa said with a shrug.
Her body is literally being held together by a demon, Lucian said.
Professor Gareth entered. As he passed us, he paused suddenly.
“Jessa! It’s wonderful to see you again!”
Jessa smiled. “Thank you, Professor,” she said.
Gareth, then, went straight into his lecture with his usual aplomb. I let my cheek rest in my hand as he began talking about decay and growth, the theoretical forces at the base of most magic. Despite my best attempts to pay attention, my gaze kept drifting to Jessa, dutifully taking notes in her textbook. I ought to be doing that, too, but I just didn’t feel like it. There were too many more important things going on to care about schoolwork.
“Wynter.”
I swallowed at the sound of my name. Gareth was looking directly at me, flipping his pen with one hand. “Yes, Professor?”
“Stay after, won’t you? The rest of you may go.”
There was a titter of laughter and then movement as my classmates left.
“I’ll meet you in the dormitory,” Viviane whispered.
Jessa smiled sympathetically as she stood. “We’ll catch up later, right?” she asked.
I nodded. Assuming I survived this trip to the palace.
Assuming I went to the palace. With a start, I realized Dorian had warned me not to get trapped alone with my professors. I suppressed a shiver down my spine.
You’re not alone, Lucian said. I’m here, too.
Gareth tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes, almost like he’d heard Lucian’s comment. But maybe I was just being paranoid. Mages weren’t supposed to hear demons at all.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t concentrate today, Professor,” I said.
Gareth sat on the edge of his desk and smiled fondly. “It happens to the best of us,” he said. “I’d actually wondered how you were. I spoke with Jessa earlier this morning, and it occurred to me that I haven’t really asked how you are.”
“I’m fine, Professor,” I said.
“I think you’d tell me that even if you weren’t,” Gareth replied.
“Probably.”
Gareth ran a hand through his silvery hair.
This was it. He was going to ask me about the journal I’d stolen for Dorian. He must know I’d taken it, which would mean… he’d know I was a fraud and a thief.
“Well. Just know that if anything happens or changes or becomes too much for you, Wynter, you can always talk to me. Or if you don’t like me, someone else. Celeste or Delacroix. We really just want to create an environment where our students can succeed,” Gareth said, “And although I’m sure you know that, I think sometimes a little verbal reassurance is nice.”
“It is,” I replied. “Thank you, Professor.”
When Gareth smiled, his eyes crinkled at the corners.
“That’s all,” he said, smiling ruefully. “I’m afraid I have another class to prepare for.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, gathering my things.
“It’s fine,” I replied. “I’m meeting Viviane anyway. We have plans for the weekend.”
“Oh, very nice!” Gareth exclaimed. “It’s good to see that you’ve found that balance between your studies and being sociable. If you hadn’t found it, you might’ve ended up like me. The perennial bachelor.”
“But you have Elaine,” I said, confused.
Gareth’s smile abruptly faded. He didn’t look angry, just stunned. It was as if I’d crossed the room and slapped him across the face. “Elaine,” he stammered. “How do you know about Elaine?”
I swallowed.
“I saw you walking with her,” I said, “Out in town. I heard you say her name.”
Gareth’s eyes widened, and he leaned back against his desk with support. He studied me cautiously, though I wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Then he went back behind his desk, shuffling papers. When he looked up again, he gave me a small smile.
“Elaine is my…I feel so uninspired when I call her my girlfriend. In the old days, she’d have been called my paramour, which sounds far more romantic. But that’s what she is. Our relationship isn’t quite conventional, though, so we’re very discreet.”
“Not conventional?”
“We aren’t of the same station,” Gareth replied. “It would be very shameful for a man like me to marry a woman like Elaine.”
Or for your nobleman to marry his pet assassin, Lucian said.
“I see,” I said.
“It’s ridiculous, of course, but I fear I’m still needed on the Council,” Gareth said. “Eventually, I’ll marry her and likely retire to some lovely place, like she wants, but not yet.”
“I won’t tell anyone, Professor,” I said. “I’m glad you have someone to love, who loves you back. I think that’s really hard to find.” I thought wistfully about Viviane and Alexander. They’d seemed so perfect together when I’d met them. Charming, sophisticated, and impossibly beautiful. Now that we’re at each other’s throats.
“I would argue love isn’t something you find,” Gareth said, slyly. “It’s something you grow. You plant the seeds and take care of them. Then, one day, you have a tree. Or a rose. A skunk cabbage. Something. You can keep nurturing it, or if it’s not what you wanted, plant new seeds.”
I finished gathering my things and headed to the door. Gareth began going over his notes, but I felt his eyes on me as I left the classroom. Back outside, I headed towards the dorms to find Viviane. I felt like I was on the verge of something wondrous and terrible. I was about to put my trust in Viviane and join her in breaking into the palace. I swallowed past the bile in my throat. All my instincts were screaming at me to abandon this plan.
Maybe we should get the journal first, Lucian murmured. Surely stealing from Rosewood would be easier than stealing from the royal palace, and the penalty would be less severe.
“It’s too late for that now,” I said. Besides, we had an excuse to be there. We just had to be careful. It was risky sure, but part of me relished the idea of stealing from a king and handing Dorian the very thing he’d been searching for. Then he’d know his investment in me had paid out. He might even be impressed, or proud.
And if it was Gwen’s necklace, and it did open the chamber doors… what then? At the very least, we’d find out the truth. If Reverie was sinking and the king knew about it and was covering up, he was playing a dangerous game with everyone’s lives. I wasn’t sure I cared what happened to the mages, but I couldn’t let the Lower Realms suffer. Briar, Sterling, they
were down there too. If it was true, I had to warn them. I had to warn everybody.
Eighteen
I’D DRESSED NICELY FOR THE trip—pulling on my nicest pair of trousers and a light blue blouse. At least, I’d thought I was dressed nicely until Viviane saw me, scoffed at my clothes, and dove into my trunk to find something more acceptable. Now, I sat across from her in a pale pink dress with a delicate chiffon skirt and beading that must’ve taken someone days to finish. I’d only had this dress for about a week; shortly after I’d been released from the infirmary, I’d returned to the dormitory and found clothes piled across my bed.
And yet I still looked bland seated beside Viviane, who’d donned a corset and cinched it so tightly that my ribs ached just thinking about it. Her sapphire blue dress looked stunning on her. And despite the bumping of the carriage, she held a hand mirror and expertly applied her cosmetics. It reminded me a bit of the careful way she drew her sigils. This too was a form of magic.
Viviane pressed her lips together. “Did you want anything, Summer?” she asked.
“You’re very good at that,” I said.
“I can do yours if you want,” she said, gesturing towards her makeup kit.
“I don’t think I’d wear it as nicely as you.”
Viviane tilted her head imperiously, gazing down at me.
“Is that meant to be insulting?” she asked.
“I was being sincere,” I replied.
Viviane hummed. “You should look outside,” she said. “We’re nearing the bridge. It’s very beautiful if you’ve never seen it before.”
I peered through the carriage’s glass windows as we passed an arched stone bridge, lined with tall statues bearing swords and shields. A short, decorative iron railing was all that separated us from air on every side. Beyond that, the Lower Realms spread out like a blanket. I shifted onto my knees, trying to get a better look. Everything was so green! Even the forests in the Scraps hadn’t been so vibrant and so beautiful.
