Clearly, Hanna hadn’t informed the others about Ellery’s presence, because as soon as they sighted her, chaos broke out across the room. Peak and Iseul’s conversation abruptly died as Peak leapt in front of her and yanked Targath from one of the pockets of his cargo shorts. Glynn fumbled with the wine bottle he held, splashing pinot across the coffee table. And Sharpe, like a crack of thunder, bellowed,“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? WHAT IS SHE—?”
“Thank you for coming,” Domenic said smoothly. “We hoped a change of scenery might—”
“BOTH THAT GIRL AND THAT WAND ARE SUPPOSED TO BE UNDER OBSERVATION. SO HOW IS IT THAT—”
“I understand why my being here with Iskarius is a lot to take in,” said Ellery, gesturing at the sheath at her side. “But I promise that if you listen to us, it will all make sense.”
Domenic gazed at her admiringly, the strong stance of her posture, the determined set of her jaw. For all the fear he knew drifted beneath her surface, he couldn’t glimpse a single shard of it now.
Indeed, Sharpe’s shouts diminished to seething, and the other Councilors gazed at each other uncertainly. Hanna lurked in the corner, biting her cuticles.
“And why should we listen to you?” Sharpe demanded. “I’m lucky to still have all my fingers after your display last night. You and that wand are clearly dangerous. And yet, here you are, flaunting the crimes you’ve committed.”
“I’m truly sorry that I hurt you, and Councilors Seong and Mayes.” Ellery nodded at Iseul and Hanna. “But I swear Iskarius is now fully under my control.”
“I can vouch for her,” Domenic jumped in fiercely.
Sharpe scoffed. “Yes, becauseyouropinion is so infallible.”
“I pulled off a win in Oldermere, didn’t I? Just give us achance. Hear us out. And afterward, we’ll answer every question you’ve got.”
Sharpe grinded his teeth. Then he lowered onto one of the sofas and gave a show of making himself comfortable: enchanting away the spilled wine, seizing a glass, and leaning far back into the striped upholstery, an ankle crossed over his knee. As if to say,By all means, make fools of yourselves.
Domenic and Ellery claimed the opposite sofa. Noticing Hanna’s scrutiny, Domenic left an exaggerated amount of space between them.
Domenic cleared his throat. He’d always dreaded class presentations. “When I heard the prophecy piece in Oldermere, I realized something…”
He recounted the full story, from how he’d connected their parts of the prophecy to their battle in the Barren. As he described killing Decibel, Ellery withdrew the strange glowing stone from her skirt pocket and set it upon Iseul’s never-opened architecture coffee table book.
“You all see how great this is, right?” Domenic asked. “If prophecies have six to eight pieces in total, then we’ve already foundthree. We could already be halfway done beating this thing. And if not, then close to it!”
Except once he finished, rather than congratulate the two of them, Sharpe asked Peak, “Well? You ever heard of this Dire Three bullshit?”
“Yeah, I have.” Peak’s forehead creased. “They’re rookie superstitions. Claims of winterghasts of true intelligence. They’re apparently large—ridiculously large, mind you. I’ve heard one described as tall as a skyscraper. And they’ve all got some combo of ghast and human features. Standing upright, but with some other horror—like the spikes you mentioned. But there’s never been an official report. They’re just rumors, that’s all.”
“So you don’t believe us,” Domenic said flatly.
Peak blinked. “What? ’Course I believe you. The way youtook down that scurge? Valmordion knew what it was doing, Choosing you. I never doubted it.”
Domenic fidgeted, somehow both flattered and embarrassed. Peak’s unerring optimism could give a man sunburn.
Then Peak strode toward the stone. “And this thing… It shines winterghast blue, all right. Is it safe to touch?” When Domenic nodded, Peak scooped it up. The cerulean light glinted off his stubble, illuminating a pale scar across his cheek. “I’ve slain my fair share of ghasts, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. Have you, Hanna?”
Hanna didn’t answer. Her attention was fixed enigmatically upward, as if tracing the flourishes of the crown molding. At her side, she squeezed Syarthis.
“Mayes?” Sharpe barked.
Hanna jolted. “Oh, um, no. Syarthis doesn’t recognize it.”
Peak passed the stone to Iseul. “And what do you make of it?”
Iseul slid on her tortoiseshell reading glasses and inspected it. Then she pointed Calynia. Gold flooded through the wand’s perforations, casting shapes across the ceiling and carpet.
“It’s not an enchanted object,” she said. “But it certainly contains magic. It feels… Well, for lack of a better descriptor,cold.”
Peak stuffed his hands in his pockets, pondering. “I’ll admit, Caldwell, I’m no fan of that wand of yours. But this prophecy is about balance—and it’s the last of them, at that. And hearing you say you’ve fulfilled each other’s pieces, I kept thinking about that ghast you fought in Mercester Square. The city watch still can’t come up with an explanation for it. And the fact that it was you two… I’m no believer in coincidence. I—”
“Yes, yes, all right. Spare us one of your sermons,” Sharpe snapped, rising to his feet. “We’ve already wasted an entire day debating why Iskarius exists while these two deemed us, themost important magicians in the country,unworthy of knowing matters of national security.”
