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“I used to think these robes were all I needed.” He turned to her as he watched her putting in her earrings. “And then the Ancients gave me you and our children, and I knew that these robes are only clothing.”
“Deep words, my love.” Miriam looked at him closely as concern creased her brow. “What is it?”
“I cannot believe he did it.”
“Cord?”
“Who else?” Garrick gave a rueful chuckle as he sat on the bed. “It comes soeasilyto him, I cannot fathom the brightness of his Flare.”
“He is your student; of course he is exceptional.”
Garrick grimaced at his wife’s gentle teasing. “I think he would excel no matter which Cast he chose.” Garrick scratched his chin absently.
Miriam regarded her husband. She knew those worry lines well. “What is it?” she asked softly. “Tell me what happened.”
“He just appeared in the kitchen with Leonid like it wasnothing. Twelve days he had been gone. Twelve days,” Garrick’s voice grew heated. “The Drakhyn advanced on the mountain, our Sentinels engaged them from behind, hundreds were injured and killed, and he just appears and tells us it is an illusion.”
“But what of the Sentinels who fell?”
“They didn’t, they were trapped in their minds, there wasnothingthere.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I treated the fallen, I cast on their army, none of it was real.”
“And Cord knew this?” Miriam asked as she sat on the bed beside her husband.
“He said Velvore wasn’t the only trickster in this war, and then he was gone again.” Garrick sighed as he remembered. Cord and Leonid had portalled into the kitchen. The three Primes had been tearing northern Russia apart trying to find him, and he appeared like he had been taking Reflection in the garden.
Yes, his clothing was torn and he had some minor injuries, but he was relatively unharmed. He had explained that Leonid needed blood and aid, and then he told the three stunned Primes that there was a game afoot and they were losing the battle of wit.
“How did he do it?” Miriam asked as she listened to the story. It wasn’t often that Garrick told her these things, as he was a firm believer in keeping work and homelife separate. Even though he was the Prime of his Cast, his robes came off before he stepped into their home.
“I wish I knew,” Garrick said wistfully. “It was like a curtain had been lifted from our eyes, as if the drapes were parted and the sunlight let into our minds.” He half shrugged. “One moment, there were hundreds and hundreds of Drakhyn, and the next it was merely a vanishing smoky haze.”
“An illusion.”
“A perfect illusion,” Garrick reaffirmed.
“Such power,” Miriam commented as she stood. “You will need to be strong with him,” she advised as she slipped her shoes on.
“Ha, I would have more success teaching water to flow backwards.”
“You can do it, he respects you,” Miriam told him confidently. “Helikesyou—there are few that can have that claim from him.”
Garrick’s face reddened self-consciously. “Well, he can be charming when he wants something,” he mumbled. “Actually, he usuallywantssomething.” Once again, he looked at his robes. “Another ball,” he remarked drily. “Not the time.”
“It is for the Sentinels’ morale. We have a Castor of the Crimson Cast, who bears the Mark of Velvore, who banished an army of Drakhyn single-handedly and who rescued the fallen Vampyre Leonid Novikov from the clutches of death. We should celebrate,” Miriam told him. The Crimson Cast was holding an evening of celebration in honour of the infamous Castor and his blessing by the Ancients. His Cast headquarters were hosting, and the honour of Cord in their ranks meant Garrick had been highly stressed for three days when he was informed by the Great Council he was hosting a ball.
“We should be preparing for war,” Garrick said.
“You sound like Dark Prime Chernov.”
“Because we know what is coming,” Garrick told her calmly. “A ball will not stop the war.”
“It will not.” She gave a light laugh. “It will not stop anything, but itcouldlift spirits. Even as an illusion, the thought of an army of Drakhyn is terrifying. We haveseenthem in their numbers, never before have we witnessed Drakhyn assoldiers. Cord may have dispelled a mirage, but we know the army is out there. Waiting.”
“And we should be training every able-bodied Akrhyn to counter the attack we allknowis coming. The Great Council is wrong to allow this. I cannot even fathom the insanity of the decision.” Garrick paced the bedroom floor as he spoke to his wife, who nodded calmly throughout.
“I agree, on both sides of the argument, which is why”—she gave him a sly smile and raised her dress to expose her thigh—“we wear the fancy dresses but have our weapons strapped to our thighs.”
Garrick smiled at his wife. “You have ensured all the females are so attired?”
