“How can the Couve Sentinels jump with Pop?” I worried my lip, almost breaking the skin. “It’s too dangerous.”
Bastien glanced over the article I’d been reading. “They do a library hop with your father between two Sentinels. The Monitors will sense human, but the Sentinel presence will register higher. It should confuse the Monitors.”
“Should.” I grimaced. “That’s not at all comforting.”
“My Sentinels are some of the best,” he said. “They will give their lives to protect your father.”
The council’s Sentinels killing people at will in the libraries caused a lead ball to drop in my stomach. I fingered the gold coins in my hand. The thought of separating from Bastien and Edgar scared me, but it made sense. We’d get what we needed from the heirs quicker. Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry anymore.
After I put on my breastplate and my cloak, Bastien took my hands in his. “Avoid crowds. Stay away from the main roads. You know where you’re going?”
“Yes. Three blocks up. Four right.”
He released my hands and lifted the hood of my cloak over my head. “If something happens to me, get back to Barmhilde and stay with The Red. He’ll protect you.”
I touched his cheek and fought back my emotions, not wanting to upset him. “You’re the one traveling through the gateways. You be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if—”
His lips on mine stopped me. He kissed me deeply, as if it would be the last chance we’d ever have. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting desperately to keep him there with me. Tears slipped from my eyes.
Cupping my face in his hands, he wiped them away with his thumbs and said, “I’ll be back before morning. Nothing will stop me from getting back to you. Have you forgotten? I’m a wizard. Best in my class. Let them try stopping me.” He flashed me that arrogant smile of his that stilled my heart.
I smiled. “I feel sorry for them.”
He smirked. “Besides, we’ll have to fulfill your fantasies one day.”
The blood rushed to my cheeks again. “Exactly what did I say? And it’s Edgar’s fault he gave me that drink. That Fey Water.”
“A gentleman never divulges such things.” He winked.
“All right, now,” Edgar said. “I am in the room with you. Let’s get this done.”
I followed them out into the hall, my embarrassment trailing me. Edgar stopped at what looked like a broom closet and opened the door. “Gia, you go through this back way. It leads down to the alley. Keep your head covered and your face down. Calina will be here should you need her.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “Good luck.”
Before I went inside, Bastien caught my hand and kissed my temple. “Stay strong, Gianna.” It was the first time I saw fear in his striking blue eyes. We’d been through scarier things than this, and he had never flinched. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.
“We’ve got this,” I said, holding his stare.
Bastien bounded down the stairs after Edgar. As I watched him disappear around the corner, my mind screaming that I shouldn’t let him go, I realized he was going without knowing my feelings.
I called out for him, but there was no sound of boots returning up the stairs.
He was gone.
Chapter Seventeen
The alley outside the inn was narrow. The cobblestones were cracked and broken. A white cat nosing in a tipped-over trashcan hissed at me as I passed on my way to the road. A noise sounded behind me, and I glanced back. The cat was following me.
“Go home,” I told it and continued on my way.
Mantello was alive with people rushing across the streets. Carts pushed by men and women or pulled by horses and goats bumped over the uneven stones in the road. It was like walking back in time.
There were no vehicles in the Mystik world. The Wizard Council had voted to ban them. They didn’t want their air polluted by them like in the human world. But the villages were small and walking made more sense anyway.
The small Tuscany-like village was beautiful with all its different-colored stucco buildings, cobbled roads, and flowerpots stuffed with beautiful flowers. I kept my head down, the hood blocking my face, and went three blocks up, then four right, and stopped in front of the bookstore. The sign above the door read, Libreria. I’d been here before when Bastien brought Nick and me to Mantello for Toad’s trial. Acting as nonchalant as I could, I sneaked a view of the bench.
A woman dressed in black with silver streaking her black hair waved.
I glanced behind me then back at her, pointing to my chest. Me? I mouthed.
She nodded. The woman was beautiful and resembled Sophie Loren, the actor from all those old movies Nana loved to watch.
Okay. It must be her.
“Hello,” I said approaching her. “Are you Mardiana Acardi?”
“I am. Now, I’m going to point at the bakery.” She did. “Go inside. Buy yourself a pastry and coffee. Then sit on the bench beside me. And act as if you aren’t talking to me.”
“Okay.”
“And remove your hood,” she said. “You look more suspicious with it on. Only wear it if it rains.”
I slipped off my hood and headed for the bakery. The smells inside were delicious, and I wanted to buy everything behind the display case. I chose a frosted pastry and a buttered coffee at the suggestion of the woman serving me.
The sky darkened as I crossed the street and sat on the bench next to Mardiana.
“I suppose you were told that I come here every morning.”
“Yes,” I said, took a sip of the coffee, and wrinkled my nose. It wasn’t bad, but I missed the sweetness of my caramel lattes.
The white cat from the alley sat in front of Mardiana. “You’ve done great, Angel Kitty. Come rest.” She patted her lap. The cat jumped and curled up on her black skirt.
“You had her following me?” I asked.
Her warm brown eyes were fixed on the bookstore. “Naturally, she’s my familiar. My spirit friends told me you were coming.”
“You’re a witch?” I took a bite of the pastry. The sweet goodness melted on my tongue and made up for the bland coffee.
She petted Angel Kitty, which was such a silly name to give a cat. “My granddaughter named her. It made her proud to have the honor.”
“So you’re intuitive?”
A thin-lipped smile wrinkled the corners of her mouth. “Actually, I am an enchantress. We have familiars just as witches do. Athela speaks to me, as well. I’ve known for years you’d come seeking me, even before you were born. I am Gian’s cousin. The oldest living heir of the First Wizard, Galante.”
Gian’s cousin. Does she know he’s dead?