The horse passed a refugee settlement - it had grown larger, she thought - and headed across the border into Alluvia. Emily tensed, although there was no visible danger. They were on the run, cut off from their friends and allies. And... her heart twisted in pain. Lady Barb was dead. Emily had never realized just how much she’d come to love the older woman until she was gone. She’d been the mother Emily had needed...
She forced herself to think about the future as they drove further into the kingdom. Where could they go? Where were they needed? Going into hiding wasn’t an option. Her friends - Alassa and Jade, Markus and Melissa, Frieda and Jasmine - were at risk. They needed her and yet... ice crawled along her spine. Void wasn’t a necromancer. He had a plan and the power to carry it out... she’d be surprised if he didn’t have an army already. God knew hundreds of experienced men had been discharged after the end of the war. Void could have recruited them himself.
Deal with that problem when you come to it, she told herself severely. Until then, don’t waste time worrying about it.
The cart stopped outside an inn, on the outskirts of a mid-sized town. It looked surprisingly peaceful, although she was aware of eyes peeking at them, fearful of what their arrival might portend. Emily hoped they didn’t know who she was. It crossed her mind, too late, that they might know Aiden. She’d been a rebel councilor... Emily forced herself to wait as Aiden and Jan headed into the inn to buy food and supplies. It wasn’t going to be easy. Anyone who had food to spare wouldn’t want to sell. She was grimly aware they might have to start stealing, just to remain alive.
Aiden returned, carrying a broadsheet. “The good news is that we won the battle,” she said, holding it out. “The king is in retreat, his forces are in ruins and half the country has risen against him. The bad news...”
She swallowed, visibly. “Emily, the White Council has blamed you for everything and pronounced you outlaw,” she said. “They’ve put a price on your head, alive or dead.”
Emily felt her heart sink. Void...? No, Void hadn’t wanted her dead. Master Lucknow? Or someone else who’d escaped the trap? Someone had been devious, scattering broadsheets with the details along all the possible roads she could take. The locals might spot her and try to claim the bounty... even if they didn’t, the threat would force her to remain undercover. It would be harder to rally people to her side.
She put the thought out of her head as she glanced south. The road behind them was empty, but that would change soon enough. There was never any shortage of bounty hunters willing to risk all for profit. The bounty was big enough to tempt them into risking their lives trying to kill or capture someone who’d taken on necromancers and won. It didn’t matter, she supposed. Right now, the bounty hunters and whoever had put the price on her head didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding safety, then devising a plan to stop Void before it was too late. Everything else could wait.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, as Jan returned to the cart. She’d lost this round. There was no point in denying it. But she still had cards to play. “Whatever happens, we’ll be back.”
Epilogue
WHITEHALL FELT... EERIE.
Nanette walked through the frozen school, marveling at the combination of spells used to keep the staff, students and guests entranced as she made her way to the Grandmaster’s office. It was hard not to feel unsure of herself, not after Emily had not only made it to Whitehall, but also escaped a far more powerful magician. Nanette had no doubts of Void’s ruthlessness - the fact he’d charged Nanette with spying on Emily, his own daughter, was proof of that - and she knew she was in trouble. She’d broken one of his strictest orders.
She forced herself to keep moving, despite the growing urge to run. Void had made it clear - when he’d revealed himself to her - that Emily was not to be harmed. And yet, Nanette wanted the other girl dead. She’d gambled, hoping the enchanted shopgirl would kill Emily without direct orders. It would have left her with some deniability, although she feared Void wouldn’t believe her. Emily was tougher than she looked - she had to be - but the odds of her surviving a bullet through the chest had been quite low. She hoped Void didn’t realize just how close his daughter had come to death.
The office had changed, in the years since she’d last entered the school. Grandmaster Gordian had decorated one wall with a list of his achievements, from early exam passes to degrees in various academic fields of magic and - finally - his appointment as Grandmaster of Whitehall. Nanette’s lips curled. Aurelius had always told her that anyone who showed off their achievements believed, deep inside, that they were unworthy. Nanette had never met Gordian, but she was inclined to agree with his unspoken self-assessment. Great men never needed to boast. Their achievements spoke for themselves.
She felt a flicker of hatred at the memory. Aurelius had been her father, to all intents and purposes. She’d known he intended to make use of her - as a spy, as an agent, as a tool - but it didn’t matter. Not to her. She’d risked her life, time and time again, for his approval. And then he’d died. No, he’d been murdered. Emily had killed him.
And she will pay, she promised herself, again and again. She will pay.
Void sat behind the desk, his eyes fixed on her. “Did I, or did I not, say Emily was to remain unharmed?”
Nanette braced herself. “She survived.”
“Indeed.” Void studied her for a long moment. “And
