The prospect of knowledge to come seemed to mollify him. Henodded, but she noticed his hand going toward his throat where the pyramidnecklace was hidden under his shirt, the magic that kept him and the otherUmbriels from transforming into Fiends whenever they became enraged.
Spirits, she’d only ever seen the transformation once, when QueenEarnhilt, Gunnar, and the crown prince and his wife—both currently at home inthe Western March—were safely chained beneath the palace for the Waltz, theritual that pacified Yanchasa the Mighty, the great Fiend slumbering underMarienne. If they didn’t perform the ritual periodically, Yanchasa would awakenand destroy the city, the country, and probably the world. So the Umbrielscarried an Aspect of the Fiend, a little part of its nature, and a pyradistéused that Aspect during the Waltz to pacify Yanchasa. It was a burden they hadto bear, a secret that could never be revealed, and the reason the Umbriels hadto remain in power.
And the reason she had to keep her position even when she wantedto walk away. If her friend could carry around something so vicious inside him,the least she could do was watch his back. Not that Gunnar would ever need herfor that, not when he could remove his necklace and unleash his Fiend if he wasever in real danger.
“Hey,” he said.
She realized she’d been staring at where his necklace was and methis concerned gaze before looking away. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” He cleared his throat, sounding as embarrassedas if she’d been ogling him. “It’s a nervous habit I need to break.”
Thana glanced around, but they were quite alone now. “Have youever been tempted to take it off? When an enemy has backed you into a corner?”
He snorted and patted his hip where his sword rested. This oneseemed a decorative piece, the grip and hilt slathered in gold and jewels, butthe blade hidden in the sheath was as sharp as any other, a metaphor for Gunnarhimself. “My skills have sufficed so far.”
True. And what he couldn’t do, his old pyradisté had managed.Thana flinched at the thought that she’d have to go on a mission one day and bethe Order’s magical arsenal. She sighed, letting her shoulders slump.
“You’ll do fine,” Gunnar said, resting another damned sympathetichand on her shoulder.
“Stop pretending you can read my mind.”
“Stop being so easy to read.”
She snorted and waved toward the trees. “Catch up with yoursycophants before they come looking for you. I’ve got an investigation toconduct.”
He left without another word. She started shifting through therubble, thanking the spirits that this wasn’t the only barrier keeping riffraffout of the garden. A larger wall stood in the distance, one that encircled theentirety of the massive gardens. It was unadorned and harder to scale than thissmaller wall, and it kept most people out. But the shorter one was the moredangerous.
It contained trap pyramids.
Like those that guarded the royal apartments, these pyramids werepart mind magic and part destructive magic. They read intent and would explodeif anyone approached them with murder on their mind. Thana frowned as she movedhunks of stone aside, searching for a telltale sparkle. Maybe the trap pyramidswere why her own attack had done such massive damage. If she’d hit one with herexplosive pyramid…
There, a rain of sparkling dust. So she had hit a trap pyramidwith her own, igniting it. She tried not to let a well of disappointmentoverflow. It had been nice to be powerful for a moment. Then her frown deepenedas she warned herself not to get mired in sentiment. She had to use her brain,and it was telling her that trap pyramids didn’t go off just because they wereshattered. They required evil intent to work. And a pyramid never shifted itsfunction.
Or did it? She thought of the way the first pyramid she’d pulledfrom her pocket had seemed to writhe in her grasp, the crystal warping as itflared with light. And the noblewoman hadn’t had a pyramid of her own. Then howhad she controlled the stone? Thana had never constructed such a pyramid, hadonly read rumors of such. She was certain that no one in Farraday had createdone for the noblewoman to use.
Had the noble figured out a way to…retune a pyramid to anotherpurpose?
Impossible.
And yet a shattered wall lay at Thana’s feet. Its trap pyramidcould have been crushed. That wouldn’t have set it off. She supposed it couldhave been smashed when the stone wall warped, or maybe it had been warped bysomeone—like the noblewoman—until it collapsed under the strain.
Then she’d used Thana’s pyramid to control the stone?
Impossibilities on top of impossibilities.
Thana grinned as her excitement built. A pyramid puzzle, just thesort of thing she enjoyed. She’d have to dive into her books. Maybe she couldconsult a colleague or two, keeping her questions hypothetical, of course.
And no matter what, she’d have to speak to the noblewoman again.
Her belly warmed disturbingly at the thought. The warmth was dueto attraction, she knew, but she could not, absolutely would not, allow herselfto have any sort of feelings—no matter how transitory—for one of thespirits-cursed nobility.
As she stalked from the trees into the open paths through flowersand bushes, she made a mental list. First, find the noblewoman’s identity fromthe castle servants. Second, order the destroyed section of the wall rebuiltand try her best to replace the destroyed trap pyramid. Third, research. Thenshe’d find time to speak with the noblewoman.
Thana sighed as that warm fluttering passed through her again.Fourth through sixth on the list would be chickening out about seeing thenoblewoman and doing more research while berating herself. Finally, maybe, veryprobably, Thana would give in and go see her.
She gritted her teeth. She would not let some stuck-up beautyintimidate her.
Thana thanked the spirits that the garden party had broken up.She made sure Gunnar was heading back to the palace before scanning thestragglers, but the noble she sought was not among them.
After a few quick descriptions to the servants, she had the nameshe needed: Lady Sylph Montague, daughter of Duke Felix Montague of Baelyn. Oneday, she’d be Duchess
