twitch back and forth. “What do you take me for—a stumbling greenhorn? I cast it before I jumped from your shoulder. I’m certainly not going to risk anyone overhearing our subterfuge.”
“Sorry.” Gabrielle collapsed into a straight-backed chair and grimaced. She twisted awkwardly to massage her right shoulder with her left arm. “Have you put on weight? I thought my shoulders were going to give out around the time we left the cottage.”
“How dare you!”
Angelique barely noticed the banter as she stared at her hands, still trying to grasp the idea that Acri was real—that her dreams were real. How? Talking through dreams isn’t a magic I’ve ever heard of. I don’t think Evariste’s magic could have created the connection—he can jump locations, not consciousnesses. And he—
Angelique shook her head as she remembered the way his eyes smoldered. No.
“That was informative.” Elle set down the tray of food they’d gotten from the inn’s kitchens on an end table and scooted it closer to the fire that burned in the tiny fireplace.
“Really? I didn’t think we got much information—if anything, Nefari pumped us for intelligence.” Quinn took up a post by the door—though she stopped long enough to abandon her sword and take up a bow instead.
“First contact with a mark is almost always more about establishing your cover story than trying to wheedle out information,” Elle said. “Most marks of substantial intelligence will automatically be wary—it takes a few meetings before they’ll let their guard down long enough for you to snatch what you need.”
Quinn thoughtfully tilted her head. “That makes sense.”
“Excuse me.” Puss put a paw in the air, flashing his pink paw pads. “I have not been praised and admired enough considering I was the one who did the bulk of the work.”
“You and Elle,” Gabrielle corrected. “But you were wonderful. Thank you, Puss.” Gabrielle leaned forward and stroked his head, earning a deep purr from him.
“Yes, your magic worked better than I could have imagined. Thank you for your valuable assistance, Master Puss.” Elle winked at him before she set about preparing the snack they’d grabbed—fresh bread, a crock of raspberry jam, and a slab of warmed brie cheese.
Elle set the plate of brie cheese on the brick ground just in front of the fireplace, reheating it. “And we did get some useful information. The mage certainly didn’t want to leave us alone with the merchandise—we can use that to our advantage.”
“How so?” Gabrielle asked.
“We split the group,” Elle said. “He’ll stick with the ones in the store section of the cottage.”
“He did seem to act more like a merchant than a mage mastermind,” Gabrielle said. “Do you think we’ll really be able to get any information on Lord Enchanter Evariste from him? I highly doubt the Chosen higher-ups would choose to share such vital information with a middle man.”
“You’re right,” Elle said. “But I’m rather hoping we’ll be able to get information that will allow us to deduce where Lord Enchanter Evariste is. That large project he mentioned might be something. If they’re sending extra necklaces to any one particular spot, that might be an indicator that Evariste is there.”
“I imagine finding out what that project is would be helpful for the resistance in general,” Gabrielle said. “We could prepare for it.”
“Given his cagey wording I imagine that’s something that the rangers might have to look into since we’re dealing with a very short window for our investigation. But at the very least we should be able to find information on more Chosen encampments,” Quinn said. “Nefari openly said the gems were from Mullberg. I would assume that means they have several Chosen bases there. If we can get a list or a map of those encampments, we can hit those locations and see if they have any information on Evariste. If he really is in Mullberg, I’m sure they’d have some kind of notation of the fact.”
“Yes, that would be a help.” Elle bunched her shawl around her hand and grabbed the plate of melted cheese off the hot bricks. Using a knife, she slathered some across a piece of still-warm bread and smeared a dollop of raspberry jam on top. “I’m a little worried that the mage’s office is in the basement—with the workshop.” She offered the cheese-covered bread to Gabrielle.
Gabrielle took the offering and sat up straight. “I don’t think so. He told the little girl to go down to the workshop, but he just told her to fetch the forms when he sent