by K. M. Shea
Sybilla shrewdly eyed him. “Clovicus told me you fancy her, so I’ll do you a kindness and tell you if you confess to her, with the emotional state she’s in now and her well-advertised disdain for romance, I’m fairly certain she’ll sock you in the nose.”
She meant for it to be a joke; he could see the humor playing in her eyes.
But for Evariste, given the seal on him, it was a cruel reminder that freeing himself would jeopardize his relationship with Angelique…who’d come to mean more to him than he’d ever dreamed.
Evariste tried to cover his pain with a short laugh. “She’s that against romance, is she?”
“She’s not against it, but I believe she finds it inappropriate in these times.” Sybilla winked. “No need to give up hope, though. Once we root out the Chosen and secure the continent, I imagine she’ll be open to it. And you mean more to her than I think either of you suspect.”
Evariste tried to laugh. “How encouraging.”
Finnr looked pained as he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. “What are the particulars of the curse that separates you from your magic?” he finally asked.
Evariste hesitated, but with Sybilla’s answer hanging like a cloud over his head, he wasn’t too eager to explain it. “It’s an old spell,” he evasively answered. “Clovicus and I plan to go over it in detail before Angelique and I leave for Loire.”
“Good,” Sybilla said. “If anyone can figure out a workaround for a spell, it will be Clovicus.”
“I hope so.” Evariste watched Angelique, who finally smiled when a teacher timidly asked her a question, making her beauty blinding. “I really hope so.”
“How could you reveal yourself?” Liliane’s voice was harsh and taut. “You were meant to stay at the Veneno Conclave until we made our move. This is far too early—we still have preparations to make!”
Liliane grabbed the painting she’d completed not an hour ago—just before the massive influx of Chosen mages fled the Veneno Conclave and converged upon their base. She chucked the artwork at Galendra, who sniveled when it smacked her shoulder.
All of Acri’s instincts told him to run—Liliane only sounded this enraged when she was on the verge of violence, and while her core magic was not innately one of pain, she was still very talented at inflicting it.
But her anger wasn’t directed at him. As long as he didn’t stir from his spot on the shadowy wall, he wouldn’t attract her attention—or fury.
“It wasn’t our fault!” Tears dripped down Galendra’s cheeks as her face scrunched in her misery. “Angelique attacked us!”
“Yes.” Liliane stalked across the cave chamber like a lion, her eyes set on the whimpering enchantress. “One half-trained apprentice against four of the Chosen’s best. I can see how that would be a one-sided fight.”
“Sh-she’s gotten better at her magic,” Galendra stammered.
“Much better,” Crest added. He held a potion saturated cloth to his still bleeding shoulder—a parting gift from Angelique. “I don’t know who taught her, but she’s improved greatly, even since we snatched Evariste. Maybe Clovicus was teaching her on the side?”
“Impossible,” Primrose scoffed. “He was busy being a constant thorn in our side in the Conclave. He couldn’t have trained her.” Despite her blustery huffing, she’d only just stopped whimpering several minutes prior over the dagger wound Angelique had inflicted upon her as well.
“I don’t care how much she improved! Running from her—stirring up such fear that you incited all our forces in the Conclave to flee—is the worst failure we’ve had since my deceased husband’s blunder in Baris!” Liliane leaned into Primrose’s face, her boiling anger making her skin pink. “You have ruined centuries of planning!”
“So we left early; what of it?” Lazare leaned against the cave wall and folded his arms across his chest. He was the only one of the bunch who didn’t fear Liliane, which Acri wasn’t certain was because he was truly unimpressed with his mother or if his advanced age made him a lunatic. “The Veneno Conclave is beyond repair. They won’t recover from this—at least not before we get our chance to strike.”
He pushed off the wall and prowled up to Liliane, his eyes glittering in the flicking torchlight. “What I’m most interested in is what excuse do you have to explain why that half-trained apprentice was able to yank Evariste out of the mirror like it was child’s play. Hmm?”
“Do not use that condescending tone with me, Lazare,” Liliane snapped. “You may be the oldest of our members, but I am the leader!”
Lazare smirked as he stood up straight and put his hands in the pockets of his robe. “Maybe so. But we almost lost the mirror. That seems like a larger problem than the loss of our control on the Conclave.”
Liliane balled her hands into tight fists and glared up at the Lord Enchanter, who dared to remind her of their failure.
He’s either a lunatic or stronger than I realized, Acri decided.
Liliane spun around. “The mirror was another failure. But, no more.” She paused next to her easel of paints and picked up a small paintbrush. “We cannot afford another mistake. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Liliane,” the enchanters murmured, Lazare with a little more cynicism than the rest.
Silence filled the cave.
Acri watched with amusement as Crest fidgeted, glancing at the other enchanters.
“At least Lazare is right: the Conclave is weakened. They won’t be a threat to us,” Crest said.
“They also have no knowledge of where our base is,” Primrose added.
Liliane perched daintily on a stool. She crossed her legs at her ankles and tucked them to the side. With her blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, she looked picturesque—if one ignored the anger in her eyes.
“Be that as it may, we will take no chances now. Begin preparations for war, immediately.” Her lips curled back from her teeth as she snarled. “And before we move, we eliminate Angelique. Or else.”
The End
For information about book 5 in this 6 book series and for a free short story about Angelique and Evariste, visit kmshea.com
Afterword
Thank you for reading Trial of Magic, I hope you enjoyed Angelique’s story! If you want to read more of my work, sign up for my newsletter to receive my free K. M. Shea Starter Pack ebook.
It contains:
A King Arthur and Her Knights prequel short story
A Red Rope of Fate prequel short story
An original fairy tale, Princess Snow and Queen Ruby
A fairy tale retelling, The Princess Who Chased Sheep
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Thank you for your support and encouragement. I am proud to say I have the best readers. Therefore, it is my dearest wish that Angelique and her friends made you laugh, and warmed your heart. Thank you.
Other books by K. M. Shea
The Snow Queen Series:
A completed Epic Fantasy series of two books and an anthology of short stories
Timeless Fairy Tales:
Beauty and the Beast
The Wild Swans
Cinderella and the Colonel
Rumpelstiltskin
The Little Selkie
Puss in Boots
Swan Lake
Sleeping Beauty
Frog Prince
12 Dancing Princesses
Snow White
Three pack (Beauty and the Beast, The Wild Swans, Cinderella and the Colonel)
The Fairy Tale Enchantress:
Apprentice of Magic
Curse of Magic
Reign of Magic
Trial of Magic
Book 5- Please check for updates at: https://kmshea.com/
The Elves of Lessa:
Red Rope of Fate
Royal Magic
The Prince’s Bargain
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br /> Hall of Blood and Mercy:
A complete urban fantasy series of 3 books
Court of Midnight and Deception:
A complete urban fantasy series of 3 books
King Arthur and Her Knights:
A complete historical fantasy series of seven books
Robyn Hood:
A compete historical fiction series of two novellas
The Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center:
A complete urban fantasy series of two books and an anthology of short stories
Other Novels
Life Reader
Princess Ahira
A Goose Girl
Second Age of Retha: Written under pen name A. M. Sohma
The Luckless
The Desperate Quest
The Revived
About the Author
K. M. Shea is a fantasy-romance author who never quite grew out of adventure books or fairy tales, and still searches closets in hopes of stumbling into Narnia. She is addicted to sweet romances, witty characters, and happy endings. She also writes LitRPG and GameLit under the pen name, A. M. Sohma.
Hang out with the K. M. Shea Community at…
kmshea.com