Lucky for her.
She trailed Gunnar for a little bit, but he was in his element,surrounded by attractive, fawning minions dressed in the latest fashion ofshort-waisted jackets and tight trousers that ended at the knee, showing offsilk stockings and crossed garters. Some bore bustles of tiered ruffles thatsplayed behind them as they walked, rather like a bird’s plumage. Thanawondered how often they had to practice to keep the large feathers in theirsleek hats from knocking into one another. Maybe they’d get tangled up and godown in a heap.
She’d have to practice not laughing her head off.
She let them get ahead of her and tried to enjoy the garden.Gunnar didn’t really need any protecting. He was just trying to get her outinto nature and sunlight and around people, three things she detested but thathe felt necessary for a person’s well-being. But without something to read, thegarden was just another sort of frippery. She turned down a lonely path, and a flashahead caught her eye. She paused, frowning before stepping forward, thinking ofpyramid crystal, but it was only some ornamentation on a noble’s sleeve.
The noblewoman stood along the path ahead near the decorativeinner wall, staring at nothing. As well-dressed as the rest of them, she wasclad in varying shades of green, and the cut of her clothing showed off hertrim waist and the swell of ample breasts. Her bustle curled across her back,the hanging fabric nearly shrouding her hips, giving them an enticing fullness.
Thana cursed herself for admiring a noble, even oneso…well-appointed.
This one wore no hat, and the sun caught her pale curls, a shadeblonder than the prince’s, nearly white. She turned, and Thana’s mouth went dryat the sight of her tanned skin, round cheeks, and wide, mint-green eyes. Herfull lips turned down in a frown or a pout, and she sighed as if infinitelysad.
Thana shook her head. The last thing she needed was to develop anobsession with some stuck-up, albeit beautiful, melancholic noble. She began toturn away when the noblewoman stiffened as if given a vision of her own grave.Thana looked for the source of her alarm but saw nothing.
When the noblewoman began to shake, Thana stepped forward to askif she was all right, but the woman fell to her knees, and the ground let outan alarming rumble. Thana grabbed hold of a tree, her mind whirling, but beforeshe could guess what was happening, the wall behind the noblewoman bucked likea runaway horse, the stones shifting and melting together before lurchingtoward the noblewoman like a wave, threatening to bury her.
Thana ran, heart pounding. She hit the noblewoman and heaved,carrying both of them out of the way before the stone crashed down. Thanarolled away from a spray of dirt and reached into her pocket for one of herpyramids. It was only half the size of her fist, but it blazed with enoughlight for ten of its kind. The five sides shifted like the wall had done,distorting the smooth crystal. Thana dropped it with a hiss, mystified aboutwhat was happening. She pulled another, a mild explosive pyramid that mightweaken the foundation of the wall which was currently lifting again as if foranother strike.
Desperate, she chucked the pyramid, trying to ignore her panic.The tinkle of breaking crystal disappeared in a roaring explosion. Thana gaspedas the force of it hit her in the chest, knocking her down before shock had achance to do so. Stone flew apart in hunks, showering everything in sharplittle strikes.
Thana winced, wiping the dust from her eyes. Since when could shemake a blast like that? She’d never crafted such a powerful pyramid in herlife. She couldn’t help a jot of pride.
The noblewoman moaned, and through a haze of dust, the wall beganto rise again, smaller bits rolling back to join the whole. Thana’s pridedisappeared in worry. Now what? She patted her pockets, but she’d only broughttwo pyramids.
Her first had come through the explosion intact; it was stillwrithing in the grass. Thana pushed to her feet and lurched toward it, notknowing what else to do but eliminate whatever strangeness she could find. Witha prayer to the spirits that this one wouldn’t explode, she smashed the pyramidunder her boot.
After a horrid grinding sound, the wall collapsed. Thana took amoment to breathe, a thousand questions hurtling through her mind. She listenedfor more commotion but heard nothing. Gunnar would be all right. He coulddefend himself against a mundane attack better than she could, and the onlymagic seemed to be centered on this woman.
The noblewoman coughed and blinked, head lifting, her prettyfeatures contorted in pain and fear. “Please,” she said, her voice hoarse.“They can’t know it was me. Please.”
Thana hesitated, but voices echoed from the garden in all directions.They’d be coming to find the source of the blast.
“You don’t know what they’ll do to me,” the noblewoman said.
Whatever else had happened, her fear was real, and Thana knewwhat it was like to have one’s power be misunderstood. She rushed to thenoblewoman and hauled her upright. Rumors circulated about areas of Farradaywhere pyradistés were still shamed or worse. She didn’t have time to ask. Shehauled the noblewoman into a clump of bushes and lowered her to the ground.
“Regain your strength, then sneak away.”
“Thank you.” Her grip tightened on Thana’s sleeve. “Thank you.”
Thana fought embarrassment, but her cheeks still burned. Gunnarwould have known what to say to make the noblewoman swoon, but Thana could onlymumble, “Welcome,” before she returned to the shattered wall.
* * *
Sylph sat in the clump of bushes and tried to breathe. The factthat she didn’t know what had happened should have unnerved her, but she’dbecome used to being unaware of what was going on from an early age. Her fatherhad simply ordered her about, ensuring he got what he wanted and only preparingher for the future he’d planned.
So she wasn’t really worried about why she’d been standing in thegarden feeling miserable one moment and the next, the world had gone mad. She justknew what she’d felt when all the chaos had erupted: every
