even complain. He purred with such strength, his entire body vibrated.
Gabrielle slid her arms around Angelique, hugging her as Angelique hugged Puss. “We’re here for you.”
“Thank you.” Angelique’s voice was watery, and some of Puss’s hair was sticking to her face while her tears burned her cheeks, but Angelique felt happier than she had in years. “Thank you,” she repeated.
Quinn strode up to the still-embracing Angelique and Gabrielle. She set one hand on Angelique’s shoulder, then tipped forward so their foreheads touched.
“Wait! Me, too!” Elle dropped the bag she’d been holding and jumped into the huddle, throwing her arms around Quinn and Gabrielle.
“Careful—Angelique is holding precious cargo,” Puss chided.
Angelique laughed and enjoyed the closeness and companionship she’d been longing for ever since Evariste left.
She wanted the moment to last, but after a few heartbeats, she cleared her voice. “As lovely as this is, we probably ought to move camp—or we’ll be up half the night.”
“You have a point.” Elle let go and backed up, giving the other women space to part.
As Angelique watched them go, a part of her realized the hugs and companionship she experienced with Evariste were…different.
Not any less precious, but it has a different feeling to it. But why? Evariste was my master, but he was undoubtedly my friend as well. He’s only a few years older than I am.
Puss waited until everyone had settled back into their tasks before he touched his nose to Angelique’s. “You’ve done well,” he gruffly said. “I’m very proud of you.”
Angelique grinned. “Thanks, Puss.”
He flicked his tail, then jumped from Angelique’s arms to the snow-covered ground with a displeased sniff. “Just don’t let it go to your head.”
Elle finished securing some of the firewood to her pony and laughed sheepishly. “Since now seems to be the time for heartfelt moments, I feel like I should confess I didn’t contact Gabrielle just because I was aware she’s close with you, Angelique,” Elle said. “I was rather hoping she’d come.”
“Oh?” Gabrielle asked. “You thought you’d need muscle, and I could provide it?”
“That was part of it,” Elle acknowledged. “But it was that you’re incredibly deadly, and you’re a two-part deal with Puss and…” Elle held a finger up in the air. “You’re amazingly gorgeous.”
Gabrielle propped a hand on her hip, a frown twitching across her lips. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Why, everything!” Elle rubbed her hands together. “Because it opens up a great deal of possibilities with our disguises!”
Quinn swung onto Fluffy’s back. “Like what?”
“Oh-ho-ho-ho, just wait,” Elle chortled. “This is going to be my finest disguise yet!”
“This is the Chosen stronghold?” Angelique squinted at the building and tried not to let logic color her expectations.
It looked like any cottage owned by a small-scale merchant or tradesman that could be found in the countryside. A few tendrils of dead ivy dusted with snow clung to stone walls; smoke curled from the chimney, and the snow had been swept off the front step. Matched with the gray shingled roof, the building elicited a quaint feeling. There were a few windows with wooden shutters, but the cottage was smaller than Evariste’s home in Wistful Thicket. It was just a single floor with two visible doors.
But it wasn’t so much the inconspicuous outside—that was to be expected; the Chosen wouldn’t wish to declare they’d taken up residence. That would be a stupid mistake the centuries-old organization wasn’t likely to make. Rather, it was the size that had Angelique doubting their information.
“I thought you said it was a ‘moderate’ den?” Quinn asked—voicing Angelique’s doubts.
“It’s dug into the ground,” Elle supplied. She briefly peered around the tree trunk she was stationed behind—to avoid the detection spells and charms they had stopped far enough away from the cottage that Elle had to hunch awkwardly to see through the trees. “As best as the ranger could tell, the actual magic workshop is underground.”
Gabrielle gripped her shut fan in her hand rather more like a dagger than a lady wielding a tool of flirtation. “It’s a good plan—the smaller size makes them less noticeable.”
“It’s also probably why this is the first fortification of worth we’ve found rather than just piddling locations they abandon at a moment’s notice.” Elle scowled at the building. “It’s built to be a longstanding front—not something temporary. Is everyone ready? We know our parts?”
Gabrielle, wearing a beautiful deep blue gown with a dove-gray cloak that was decoratively spattered with embroidery, reluctantly opened her fan. “I am, but I think I have the easiest part.”
“I’m