After a few moments, she replied. “I know. But the least I can do is uphold her vision. It’s the correct course of action.”
“May I ask, what vision in particular?”
“Becka had intended to further race relations between human and fae. She argued we had not gone far enough in building trust and cooperation.”
“Respectfully, is that not an overly optimistic, or even fanciful ideal? Considering we are only two generations out from the Great War, how well are we expected to get along?”
“That’s exactly the challenge. If we do not work to improve relations, they will develop without our intention guiding the outcome. We need to drive to the future we wish our children to live within.”
“I see now why Becka’s vision inspired you. It’s a lofty goal, but perhaps, together, we can realize progress.”
“Thank you, Alain.”
Tesse regarded him afresh. Despite their short association, he appeared quite taken with her. His set jaw and heated gaze conveyed his regard to her in a way the conversation hadn’t. Perhaps it was a good match, despite her initial reservations and his adherence to etiquette. The conversation drifted as Tesse imagined a future with Alain by her side.
After a particularly long pause, Alain nodded. “Lady Tesse, I will take my leave of you, so you may enjoy the wonders of this starry night as you intended.”
“My apologies, Alain. I am afraid I am not the best company at the moment. Let me breathe in the night air and recharge just a few moments longer and I promise I will return refreshed to the gala.”
“My Lady,” he replied with another flourishing bow.
Tesse turned away. The sound of Alain’s retreating footsteps soon faded.
Tesse roamed her gaze out across the rows of roses, wishing life felt as sweet as they smelled. No doubt in time she’d warm to Alain. He hadn’t earned her ill temper.
She heard footsteps again, and yet Tesse refused to turn around. Instead, she cherished this moment of quietude. She considered casting an illusion spell to hide away for a little while longer. But what would be the point when whoever approached already knew where she stood? She waited for Alain, the guards, or whoever approached to announce themselves.
Instead of stopping, the person behind her sped up. Casting her gaze behind her, all she could make out was a form clad in black bearing down on her at full speed. Tesse took off running, an instinctive panic coursing through her veins driving her forward.
“Guards! Intruder!” she yelled.
Acting reflexively, Tesse spoke the words to summon two doppelgängers. With a flick of her fingers, she sent them running in different directions; the lamplight reflecting off each separate mirrored gown, creating a dazzling display upon the foliage. One of them followed her present path. She turned to the right, sweeping around a series of sweet briar patches and heard her pursuer hit one and stumble. Ideally, her pursuer wouldn’t know which of them to follow.
Crap! Her pursuer followed her turn to the right. Either he’d gotten lucky, or he’d seen through her magic. She looked back and tried to focus on her pursuer, but all she could make out was a nondescript form wrapped in darkness.
“Guards! Help!”
The manor was some distance away. Fae-touched were renowned for their enhanced senses, but would it be enough for them to hear her? Even if they heard the alert, could they save her in time?
Again she summoned her skills, speaking the words to vanish herself. Then Tesse turned and headed straight for the lights and crowds. Where earlier she had fled from her people, now all she wanted was to be safe within the walls of her home.
In her panic, she’d misjudged the twists and turns to evade her pursuer. From behind a triad of frolicking nymph statues, a dark form came at her from the right as she passed and crashed into her, hurling both of them down into the damp grass.
How had the illusion failed again?
Tesse gasped for breath, pushing up with her arms and flailing her legs, fighting to drive her attacker off. After a forceful kick, her attacker flipped Tesse over onto her back and pinned her down again. The fabric of his form-fitted clothes lacked ornamental detail but reminded her of how guards or trainers dressed except for the hood covering his head.
She searched for his face. A mask of moving shadows which reflected no light obscured their features. An illusion fit for her own Illusionists Guild...could he be one of them? But surely not, they quarreled but none of them would ever hurt one of their own. Perhaps the mask was commissioned, an easy enough thing.
Cool, gloved hands encircled her throat. She dug her nails into his arms, desperate for leverage.
In a last-ditch effort, Tesse whispered the words to a mind-bending spell reenacting a violent earthquake followed by an explosion of noxious gases she’d watched from a recording Becka sent her. Caught up in the illusion, the world around her appeared to rip asunder, rocks and earth heaving. The ground dropped away, slamming them down onto piles of ash. Flames engulfed them. The crackling and popping of nearby trees reached deafening levels.
Tesse had to remind herself it wasn’t real to forestall the panic mounting in her mind.
And yet, her attacker showed no signs of being impacted by her illusion. Could he not see it? Was he somehow immune? Tesse did not understand, all she could do was continue her struggle to push him off.
“What do you want?” she croaked out. “I can grant you whatever you ask!”
“I have what I came for,” he growled. “Yet you are such a disappointment.”
Tesse tried to scream, yet no sound escaped from under his vice-like grip. Keeping her pinned with one hand, he slashed his other hand across her neck and shoulder. Sharp claws ripped through her neck, followed by a warm river of blood gushing out in time with her heartbeat. Each breath burned in agony.
A mumbled cadence spilled
