Page 39 of Mistress of Hours

All Evienne could hear was the pounding of her own pulse as she surveyed the scene before her. Her heart clenched painfully; she knew she was pushing her magic too far. Black edged her vision as she scanned the square, searching for a spot of white in what was now a sea of red.

She felt him before she saw him; brilliant pain seared her as her gaze landed on him. Bright red blood marred his beautiful white coat, and Evienne screamed as she watched a Gevaud swipe its massive claws across his ribs.

The beast Orion was fighting lunged, sensing its opponent’s weakness, and latched its massive jaw around Orion’s neck.

Evienne didn’t hesitate, that deeper magic that was her greatest secret rushing out into the world. Every time she had used it, she hadn’t known how or why—but it came when she had need of it. Only in her most raw, desperate moments did this gift show itself.

From where she stood, it seemed a trick of the light when her magic first took hold of the beast. But as the seconds ticked by, she could see it. The Gevaud’s body was withering, decaying, before her eyes. Its eyes sank in, its skin went sallow and thin, and soon it sagged away from the creatures bones. It became bent, and the colors of rot spread, blossoming across the Gevaud’s body. Before ten seconds had passed, the beast was collapsing in front of Orion, its vicious bite long forgotten. Another breath, and it was no more than a pile of dust at Orion’s feet.

Orion raised his eyes to her, their gazes connecting across the short distance. Evienne shook her head slightly at him, hoping he understood and would wait until they were alone to discuss what had just happened.Too many secrets had just been laid bare for all to see. The mound of dust blew away on the ocean breeze as they stared at each other.

The few Gevaud that had managed to remain unscathed had turned to flee, running at full speed down the narrow streets. Evienne turned to the other Sangviere, giving them the order to pursue and kill on sight.She could only hope that everyone had been too concerned with the Gevaud to notice asnow leopardof all things in the middle of their seaside town. Her heart continued to protest her overuse of her power, thudding painfully beneath her ribs.

One of the town guards rushed over then, wanting Evienne’s instructions as the highest-ranking official on the scene. Once she had given all the orders that needed to be given, she turned to find Orion sitting against a wall nearby, back in his humanform. The Tuanadair magic seemed to somehow preserve the clothes their human forms had been wearing—a fascinating question for another time. Orion had an awful gash across his shoulder and several sharp punctures around his neck.Evienne quickly forgot the pain in her own chest.

“I need a medic, immediately,” Evienne shouted with command in her voice to anyone who could hear her. A medic quickly found her way over to Orion and knelt down to begin her work.

All three were silent as she worked, bandaging up the wounds. Finally, as she was packing up her supplies, she addressed her patient.

“Please take it easy for a while. These wounds were, thankfully, not deep, but there is a risk of infection. Go see the palace healers if anything seems amiss, and change your bandages regularly.”

“Thank you. I am in your debt,” Orion answered, trying to muster a smile that read more like a grimace. The medic nodded, looking to Evienne.

“Thank you for your service,” Evienne offered the medic a slight nod as she departed.

“We need to get back to the station,” Evienne said, bending down and offering Orion her arm despite her exhaustion. She didn’t let herself pause to think too long on what had just happened.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The journey backto Lucinne passed in a blur for Evienne; she could barely keep her eyes open. Expending so much power always took a physical toll.

When they returned to the palace, medics were on hand to treat any minor injuries the delegations had suffered in their flight back to the station. Thankfully no one other than the town guards and Orion had been seriously injured.

“What happened out there?” Orion’s voice was full of confusion and disbelief, but not reproach. They had made their way back to his room in the guest wing as quickly as possible when they arrived in Lucinne. Evienne knew she didn’t have long before she would need to seek out an audience with the queens to give her report of what had occurred. The attack had been unexpected and was certain to have everyone on edge.

“You remember I told you about how I sometimes see other people’s memories?” Evienne began. Orion nodded, but Evienne hesitated.

“You know I’ll believe you, love,” Orion took her face gently in his hand and turned her toward him. The certainty she felt in her soul at his statement was…a revelation. It took her breath away.

“Yes,” she said, surprised at her own soul-deep surety. “I do know that.”

Orion nodded, placing a kiss on her temple and pulling her close.

“Well, a few times it hasn’t been memories at all; it’s been similar to what happened today. It’s as if…” she trailed off, afraidto give voice to the words that had haunted her since that first time in the alley with Cecelia.

“It’s as if I’ve stolen the life right out of someone,” she said, barely a whisper. “Like I’ve taken hold of every moment remaining in their life and yanked it away until all that’s left is dust.”

Orion considered what she had said, his thumbs tracing circles gently on her shoulders where he still held her.

“Moments. You said moments when describing the way this has manifested,” he said finally.

“Yes, I suppose I did,” Evienne answered. “That’s what it feels like,” she continued. “Like I can walk through the seconds of people’s lives when I see their memories, or simply rip them away like I did this afternoon.”

“You have time magic,” Orion whispered, a look of realization on his face.

Evienne was silent, the words sinking into her spirit. She had known intuitively, of course, but hadn’t let herself look closely enough at what had happened to name it.

“I have time magic,” she echoed. “I didn’t think it was real; did you know it was real?”

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