Page 78 of The Duke’s Bloody Bargain

“The fog is my fault,” he said in a steady voice. “An experiment gone wrong.”

Cara stared at him with astonishment. “Ravenhill, what are you doing? You⁠—”

He silenced her with a hand. “Worried about our safety, I asked Darius to conjure a powerful protective spell around the mansion, but I interfered with the spell, and that’s the result. Rest assured, the servants are unharmed. I asked them to leave for their safety, and we’re working on getting the situation back to normal.”

“How?” Esmeralda sounded sceptical. Her aura, a magnificent display of golden and silver light, shrank a little.

“Well…” Alex raised an eyebrow at Darius. “We have everything under control.”

The mage cleared his throat. “A counter-spell. It’s all very complicated and technical. I won’t bother you with the details. Suffice it to say, I’m working on correcting the mistakes we made. Cheese and watercress sandwiches, anyone?” He lifted the plate and offered it around.

“What about the rogue?” Esmeralda refused Darius’s offer.

Alex remained unfathomable. “We have a plan. The rogue is after Rothbart, whom, coincidentally, we want to kill as well. Once the sorcerer is dead, the rogue will come to us.”

Something flickered in Esmeralda’s aura, but it was so quick I wasn’t sure what it was. “We still have to establish whether Rothbart is the same sorcerer who died during the Civil War.”

“Why it’s called civil is beyond me,” Darius said, sipping his tea. “There’s nothing more uncivil than war.”

I chuckled, but Esmeralda didn’t smile.

“What do you think, Carabosse?” she asked. “You were a wraith. You must have met Lord Rothbart. Do you think he’s alive?”

Cara straightened and gazed around like a student who had no idea how to answer her teacher’s question. “Rothbart worked closely with the Wraith Duke, who was a necromancer, and Koschei was called ‘the deathless’ for a reason, well, until he died, of course. When his head was severed from his neck, he couldn’t⁠—”

Darius cleared his throat loudly, shaking his head. Esmeralda recoiled, and the fairies gasped. Fairies hated violence and gore although they’d made an exception for the hunters—people who slayed supernatural beings.

Cara’s aura flashed with crimson embarrassment. “My point is that Rothbart was many things but not stupid. If there was a secret to exploit to cheat death, he would do it.”

Esmeralda remained frozen for a moment. “Fair point, but Rothbart was killed. I’m sure of that.”

Alex showed the first sign of anger as the corner of his mouth flattened. “He seems to be alive and well. Nevertheless, we’ll kill him and stop the rogue.”

She remained silent for a long time. Her aura was in hot turmoil. The mention of Rothbart had distressed her. “The Fair Court will be involved in the capture of the supposed Rothbart.”

Alex exchanged a glance with Darius. “With due respect, the fairies aren’t warriors. You didn’t take an active part in the Civil War. Koschei and the late Graves led the charge against the wraiths.”

She was flustered. “Well, yes, but I’ll send one of my trusted collaborators as a witness anyway. He’ll make sure no abuse of magic powers happens.”

A muscle in Alex’s jaw contracted. “We’ll share all the details with you as soon as we’re ready to intervene.”

Esmeralda rose. Her Prussian-green gown flowed down her legs, shimmering like a rough sea hit by sunlight. “Very well. And do something about this awful fog. It’s saddening. I’ve never felt so depressed in all my life, which is something.”

Darius stretched out an arm towards the corridor. “Let me accompany you to the door.”

“That won’t be necessary, but please, Mr. Strange, be more responsible with your use of magic.” She walked out of the drawing room, followed by her fairies.

The golden glow died down in the drawing room, and I had to admit I missed it. It’d kept the fog away.

The moment Darius closed the double doors behind her, we all talked together.

“Do you really want the fairies with us?” Darius was astonished if the orange glow in his aura was any indication. “They’ll object to everything we do. Their strategy will be to offer flowers to Rothbart and beg him to come out.”

“I couldn’t refuse,” Alex said.

“Why did you lie about me?” Cara’s tone sounded challenging.

“The duchess isn’t happy about the presence of a former wraith in my court. If I told her you created the fog, she would have asked for your exile. Besides, I started the whole situation.”