Trial of Magic (The Fairy Tale Enchantress #4) - K. M. Shea Page 0,102

resist him. I think this is the opposite. If they act afraid of you, they can make you doubt yourself. And wouldn’t that doubt affect how you use your magic?”

Angelique squinted up at the bright blue sky. “Maybe some mages treat me that way for that reason. Others are just plain rude—or only see the possibilities of my magic and don’t even think of me as a person.”

“Sounds like you’re thinking of a specific individual,” Quinn said.

“Not really—though there is a mage named Finnr that I don’t much care for because he’s willing to be careless with my life.”

“Why does he—a mage you said? So he’s not even an enchanter? Anyway. Why does he get a say on what you do with your life?” Odette asked.

“It was at the Summit—we were trying to decide how to best dispose of Rothbart. Finnr and a number of other mages decided it was best to send me to scout it out, and they’d send backup.”

Odette frowned. “Except backup didn’t arrive—unless you meant Stil and Gemma? But you specifically sent for them.”

“That’s just how things occurred,” Angelique said.

“Hmm,” Odette said.

“You are a Lady Enchantress. You have rank and power. You need to start telling others no,” Quinn said.

“Or you need to start charging for your services,” Odette said. “It will make them second-guess just how badly they need your help.”

Angelique laughed. “I’m not going to charge Prince Severin for helping him save the continent when he and the other royals are also investing so much into this.”

Odette made a grumbling noise. “You need to be more like me.”

“We already are alike—you run around the continent just as much as I do.”

“I meant be more selfish!”

Angelique laughed at the thought. “Odette, you might think you deceive others with that empty boast, but it’s far too late for that for anyone who has known you more than a day.”

“She’s right,” Quinn said. “Your character is obvious—you’re far too valiant.”

Odette made a few choking noises, then hurriedly changed the topic. “Isn’t Angelique supposed to be practicing magic? Quinn—you ought to continue drilling her!”

Angelique tilted her head back as she laughed from her belly.

In that moment, she felt freer than she had since the day her parents had died.

It’s not just that I have friends—as special as they are to me. It’s that I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not in order to keep them. I can be as sarcastic and rude as I want. And they encourage me to use my magic.

The only thing Angelique could think of that would make life better—besides beating the Chosen, obviously—was finding Evariste.

She wanted to apologize for how little she had valued his encouragement, and thanks to her time with her new friends, she was starting to understand just how much Evariste valued her as a companion.

But he didn’t treat me quite the same way Severin or Quinn treat me. What does that mean?

Dimly, the memory of her dream-that-wasn’t-a-dream rustled at the back of her mind.

“Angelique, are you ready for the next drill?” Quinn asked.

“Yes!” Angelique said with far too much enthusiasm, eager to shut down her thoughts. “Yes. Let’s do all drills—twice. Just to be sure I practice enough today.”

Odette gently poked her in the back of the spine. “What were you thinking?”

“Nothing of importance. Now—what’s the next drill?”

Angelique paused in the middle of dismantling a spell and sniffed the breeze. The wind felt damp and wet—still cold, but less icy and more like cold slush.

It’s the first thaw. I imagine spring will soon arrive.

The breeze played with the tips of her hair—which she’d quickly braided this morning—as impatient as Angelique felt.

Soon. In the next few days, we’re going to Juwel…and maybe…just maybe…he’ll be there.

“Is something wrong?” Quinn dumped snow on the sputtering fire—putting it out—then kicked the remaining embers into a snow bank.

“No—I was just thinking spring will soon come.” Angelique forced herself to dismantled the protection spell she’d put on the camp the night before. “Which means Emerys will come for you.”

Quinn shoved her bedroll into Angelique’s magic satchel, followed by Angelique’s. “Of course, he’ll come just as we narrow in on our target—after all of our careful searching,” Quinn said.

With practice brought from dismantling camp together over dozens of mornings, Quinn tossed Angelique a strip of jerky without looking, then set about brushing Fluffy.

“The pace we searched at was necessary,” Angelique said.

Except now it feels like we’re so close, yet we’re moving so slow!

“We needed to be careful,” Angelique added. She spoke with enough