Page 45 of Mistress of Hours

She took a deep breath, settling back into her own mind, training her eyes on the tournament below and trying to look engaged. What she had seen was worse than anything she had imagined.

She had been suspicious, of course; the trail of information they had followed had certain implications that she had considered over the past weeks. Her former wife conspiring with the queen to bind Léhiona using dark blood magic had not been on her list of possible outcomes.

Even more upsetting was the scene she had witnessed beneath the Centrale Lumine. It implied that not only did Aldith and Dominique do this awful thing in the past, but they were actively continuing their plot, whatever it may be.

Evienne suddenly understood the duplicate schedule she had found in Dominique’s office; it must be for a guard rotation stationed in that room she had seen below the facility. All of thepieces they had unearthed were clicking into place, and Evienne felt her horror solidify in the pit of her stomach.

Léhiona’s binding and the secret room were connected, and the fading magic aligned with the consorts’ presence in Ichorna going back two hundred years. Aldith had said the binding spell had been in her family for generations…

Evienne’s heart was racing and she needed to escape this confined space. Orion couldn’t leave with her without raising suspicions, so she would have to make this escape on her own.

She stood and gave her excuses to the group, though their focus didn’t leave the action below for long. When no one made to stop her or ask any questions, she quickly turned to leave, making her way swiftly down the arena stairs and out into the bustling city.

Her breath came in pants now, shallow and unsatisfying. There was a pinching sensation in her chest and her pulse pounded in her ears. Her steps slowed as she became overwhelmed by the sensations of her own existence, and before she knew it, she found herself leaning against the outer wall of a building, just trying to breathe.

She was lost to her own mind when a gentle hand grasped her upper arm, and a familiar face appeared before her—Hestia. Her lovely, kind mentor was somehow here, and Evienne couldn’t get enough air down to say hello.

“Come with me, Dove, it’s going to be alright,” Hestia said quietly, guiding Evienne off the crowded main street.

Hestia pulled her into an alley and looked around; when it seemed she was satisfied they were quite alone, she took Evienne’s hand, and the world fell out from under them.

Chapter Thirty-Five

When Evienne openedher eyes, she found herself—rather inexplicably—in Hestia’s sitting room.

She was laid out on one of the plush sofas with a cool cloth on her forehead. Hestia stirred in the armchair across from her and looked up.

“How are you feeling?” Hestia asked, closing the book in her lap.

“Well I’ve been better, I suppose, but I’ve certainly been worse,” Evienne answered, her voice a rasp. “What happened? Did you carry me here?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course I didn’t carry you here. We glanced,” Hestia said matter of factly.

“Glanced?” Evienne didn’t feel well enough to try to decipher what that meant.

“Yes, we bounced from one spot to another in the world; just popped back here to my home. I thought it would be better that we discuss whatever upset you so in private. Also, you were having a panic attack, and that’s never pleasant when out on a crowded street, now is it?” Hestia answered.

“Right…well ignoring the fact that you just told me you can hop around from place to place with some sort of magic…” Evienne began.

“Glancing, yes,” Hestia interjected.

“Glancing, sure. Aside from that, how did you know I was upset?” Evienne asked, sitting up.

“I felt you use your time magic, Dove,” Hestia said andEvienne’s blood ran cold. She had never told anyone but Orion about that facet of her magic.

Hestia held a hand up to stop her as she started to protest. “Don’t try that with me, Dove, I know what it was and it was the longest you’ve ever used it at once, so I had to assume you’d done it on purpose. Memory walking is no easy feat, so you must have had a good reason to attempt it purposefully today.”

“Memory walking?” Evienne asked, her voice belying her disbelief.

“Yes, Dove. I think it’s time we had a talk about your future,” Hestia said, not at all concerned with Evienne’s confusion. “I’ll start and then we can talk about what had you so upset, alright?”

Evienne just nodded, not even knowing how to respond to her mentor’s declaration. She had known this woman for fifteen years; she knew Hestia was no-nonsense, but this was drastic even for her.

“We will start with the Gevaud that you’ve been so diligently managing all of these years. They’re notours, per se, but they were created by the wild gods as a sort of backup for us. When the world’s magic is out of balance, the Gevaud can sense it, and they pursue the source of the imbalance with mindless ferocity, as you’ve witnessed first-hand. In this case, they’ve sensed some sort of imbalance originating here, but we haven’t been able to determine what it is.”

“I’m so sorry, I don’t believe I’m following you—who do you mean byus?” Evienne asked, wondering if she was, in fact, having some sort of fever dream.

“The Contrapensae,” Hestia said as if it were the most obvious thing.

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