Her father would have no control over it.
The thoughts were pleasing even as they made her queasy. Itseemed a step away from anarchy.
But at least it was some kind of step.
She walked stiffly back to the fire, tired of her busy head. Theothers quieted as she approached. Thana didn’t look at her, and the prince’sgaze held a hint of censure. She balked. He was one of the few above her,people who could name her guilty.
Without title, how would she know who could command her heartlike that?
An easy question. Thana could do it just by being Thana.Friendship could do it, and romance had an even greater power.
“Everything all right?” Prince Gunnar asked.
“Yes,” Sylph said, trying to let some emotion into her words, butit was difficult when it wasn’t rage. She wanted to say she was sorry, anythingto get Thana to look at her, but there were too many eyes. She had to put hermask back on, or she’d fall to pieces.
And while wearing it, a different solution presented itself, onefor the present and the future. As much as it hurt, driving Thana away wouldsolve many problems. After all, Sylph would be a duchess one day, and shewouldn’t be as free to have friends or lovers as a prince was.
Or a peasant.
And if a wound could heal, so could a heart. “Tell me of yoursuspects for this pyradisté noble.”
His nod was slow, his look still a bit accusatory, but he began.
* * *
Thana barely listened as Sylph and Gunnar discussed Lord Whositsand Countess Whatsits and the Earl of Who-Gives-a-Shit. The very last thing shewanted to talk about was more stuck-up nobles, many of whom had dismissed heras trash twice over, once for her birth and again for her magic. And some ofthe bastards had known all along that a noble could have magic, too.
She cursed all of them with never-ending boils.
At the moment, she wanted to include Sylph in there, too. Gunnarand Queen Earnhilt barely escaped. All of them were too much trouble, too setin their ways. Too shortsighted and stupid and beautiful with soft lips andgreat skin.
Spirits above.
Thana’s dumb feelings wouldn’t just die, even after Sylph hadmade it clear that she would not bend, even a little. In the midst of danger orlovemaking, she could change her tune, but once her head cleared, she sang thesame song. She would never truly embrace her so-called peasant magic or thepeasant who wielded it.
Clearly, it would take a lot of work before Thana could finallysay good riddance. Work she did not need to be focusing on in the moment. “Howdid this mysterious pyradisté noble keep themselves secret for so long?” sheasked, interrupting.
Gunnar blinked before he shrugged. “No idea. We’re operating onintelligence that Calla gathered.”
Calla glared, which seemed the only expression she was capableof. “I heard that Headmaster Cyrus is working with a noble who’s ready to leada rebellion now that we…they…have access to a new source of crystal.”
Well, that slip of the tongue wasn’t worrying at all. “And youbelieve this, why?”
Her scowl built until she looked as if she’d eaten an entirelemon. “Because my source had no reason to lie, and he told other pyradistésthe same at the time.”
“But it could simply be a rumor?” Sylph said with a hollowquality to her voice. “A story made up to give the rebels someone to believein?”
Thana snorted. Most of the pyradistés she knew would rather nothave a noble in charge. “Gun, a word?” She stepped away from the fire withoutwaiting.
“If everyone gets a private convo in the forest, when’s ourturn?” Dina called, and the brothers laughed, though it didn’t seem to havemuch humor in it.
“Who is this Calla person?” Thana asked when they were out ofearshot. “How come I’ve never even heard of her?”
“I told you. She’s a cousin.”
One who had led the Order out here on no one’s word but her own.Thana’s insides went cold as the weight of that came home. She’d been toowrapped up in her conflict with Sylph to keep her guard up.
Which made more sense: that Calla was an Umbriel cousin who wasalso a pyradisté, and Thana had never met her; or that Calla was a roguepyradisté who had captured the Order and used a mind pyramid to control them?
And now that same group of pyradistés was attempting to takeThana and Sylph without a fuss because a mind pyramid wouldn’t work on them.
“What are you thinking?” Gunnar asked. “That Calla’s a traitor?”Skepticism dripped from his voice. He wouldn’t know he was being controlled.The trick with mind pyramids was to only change little things, nothingfundamental. The addition of a cousin who could be trusted wouldn’t take much.And he would have been told to defend Calla, too, if Thana knocked her teethin.
She cursed the fact that she had no mind pyramid to check whetherit was true. At least it was a problem she could do something about, even ifshe didn’t know what. Whatever she did, she couldn’t tell Gunnar and couldn’tlet Calla know and give her time to act.
“You know me,” she said, hoping she sounded natural. “Suspiciousof everyone.”
He rolled his eyes, and she tried to think fast. Calla now knewall about Sylph, but Sylph had destroyed her pyramids, so she couldn’t attackthem. No wonder she was so grouchy. And no simple mind pyramid would be able toconvince Gunnar and the Order to kill Thana. That much tampering would show.
“Fine,” Gunnar said. “Feel free to keep an eye on her. Is thatall you hauled me away for, or are you taking me up on my romantic advice?”
Spirits above, he sounded just like himself. Was he really underhypnosis? She couldn’t just sit around waiting to find out. “Yes,” she said,buying time but not listening as he began speaking of seduction. Maybe she andSylph could find a way to immobilize the Order before Calla’s comrades arrivedor whatever her plan was.
“Got it?” Gunnar asked.
“Yep.”
“Okay, now you also have to remember…”
She needed to get Sylph alone again. Wait until everyone went tosleep? That might be too late.
“It all depends on how long you want the,
