Grandmama spelled me before we entered—a Misdirection spell that turned away the eyes of those who looked toward me. Anyone determined to see me would do so, but we hoped the subterfuge would suffice. I could only pray the Circle was busy pursuing me elsewhere, not believing me capable of overt confrontation.
A butler led us up a narrow flight of stairs to a simply furnished salon. The drapes were drawn tightly, giving the room a dank and dusty air. A small fire burned in the grate, casting flickering lights over my uncle and Herr Steinberg, seated in the center of the room as if they were holding a royal audience. Two footmen stood at attention by the door, though I suspected they were not servants but Luminate guards.
Their careful arrangement raised the hairs on my arms. They had been expecting us.
After a few pleasantries, Grandmama spoke directly to Pál. “We need your help. We believe that my cousin’s grandnephew was wrongfully apprehended. I wish you to open a conduit for me to speak with Prince Pál Anton Eszterházy, or his son, Prince Miklós.”
Herr Steinberg raised an eyebrow. “Wrongfully? We have evidence of treason against him and the others who were apprehended.”
“But why execute them so summarily? Why not give them a trial?”
“The Hapsburgs wish to send a firm message. Unlike the Bourbons, they have no wish to deal with recurrent rebellions. The crown has every right to execute known traitors.”
I was not supposed to betray my presence, so I swallowed my retort: You mean the Circle wishes to send a firm message. The Circle ruled the Hapsburgs, not the other way around. I might not agree with the means William and Pet?fi had chosen, but I still believed their aim was right: to free Hungary from Hapsburg law and Circle control.
“But what appears to be treason in one man may be patriotism when seen through another perspective,” Noémi said. “They only acted as they did for love of their country.”
“I’ve no doubt. But I will not stop the progress of the law. It should give you some comfort to know that your cousin and the others will be seen as martyrs for their cause. You Magyar love a good martyrdom.”
“We would rather they lived than died martyrs!” Noémi’s cheeks brightened with anger.
Herr Steinberg removed his spectacles and polished them with a handkerchief. “I am sorry, my dear. But there is nothing I can do. And your pleas to your cousins will be equally fruitless. They will not help you. The Circle will not tolerate any Luminate interference.”
My heart plummeted. Was this it? Was there nothing more to do but hope Pet?fi could manufacture an army? I refused to believe it. I would storm the prison myself before I would give up on Gábor or Mátyás. The Circle would have to bury us together.
He looked directly at me. “You may drop the fa?ade, if you please. I know Miss Arden is with you.”
I returned his gaze. “Did you spell my ring so you could hear my conversations?”
“Most illuminating they were too. Thanks to you, we have quelled a rebellion and rid the world of a dangerous heretic.”
Lady Berri deserved more. “At least she had some standards. Eavesdropping on the private conversations of a girl? Surely that was beneath even you.”
His eyes flashed cold. “You insult me. I serve only my Circle and the Binding. There was nothing prurient in my intent.”
“Very likely,” I said. “What happens now?”
“You will be tried before the Circle. If you are lucky, they will look kindly upon your assistance in the matter of the revolution—and they will let you live, under close supervision. If not, you will hang with your cousin.”
I jerked in surprise.
“Thank you for bringing her to me,” Herr Steinberg said to Grandmama and Noémi. “Your cooperation will be noted. Guards—”
He never finished his sentence.
Pál muttered something and stood, flinging his hands out, his fingers curled.
The salon seemed to explode, a wall of foggy air sweeping through it with hurricane force. Wind tore at my hair and the hem of my dress. An enormous vase shot across the room, smashing into the far wall with a tremendous clatter. Grandmama. I could only just see her beyond the whirl of mist and broken crockery, crouched low to the ground. I tried to cross to her, but the wind was too strong.
I clasped my arms protectively over my head. Shards of glass and porcelain sailed past me, slicing across my exposed knuckles. I prayed Grandmama and Noémi were all right.
The wind began by degrees to calm. When it was just a sluggish breeze, I put my arms down and looked around the room. Only four of us were mobile: myself, Grandmama, Noémi, and Pál. I rushed to Grandmama to help her rise.
Herr Steinberg and the two guards were flat against the floor, unmoving. One of the guards bled from a rather nasty cut in his head. Noémi started toward him.
“Leave him,” Pál said. “Someone will find him soon enough. But we must go. The Circle will come hunting as soon as they discover I am missing.”
“You will have a price on your own head now, fiam,” Grandmama said.
Pál bared his teeth. “Then let there be a price. I am tired of being a kept magician.”
The carriage rattled through the city streets of Pest and then bumped along the rougher dirt roads leading toward the village of Szentendre. We had escaped Herr Steinberg’s house with the aid of Grandmama’s Invisibility spell, which she used to hide Pál. To anyone watching, we would have appeared simply as three ladies leaving a morning call.
Grandmama had been the one to decide on Szentendre. We knew we could not return home, or anywhere the Circle might think to look for us.
As the miles rolled past, we discussed our options.
“We cannot simply let Mátyás and the others die,” Noémi said.
“Pet?fi told me he will try to help,” I said.
“The poet?” Noémi looked incredulous. “How can he hope to succeed where Will—where so many others did not?”
Pál’s pale eyes rested on me, unblinking. “He will need Luminate aid.”
“Why are you helping us?” Noémi asked. “We may be family, but you scarcely know us.”
Beside Pál, Grandmama stiffened. “It’s true. Pál has much to forgive me for.”
I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but wedged as I was between Ginny and Noémi on the opposite seat, I could not reach her.
“What’s past is past,” Pál said. “The Circle taught me much about my powers I could never have learned at home—but I do not owe them anything. They saw me only as a weapon, best kept close and shut away when not in use. They forgot that no caged thing loves its captor. You wish to bring down the Circle. So do I.” He turned to face Grandmama. “You taught me, as a boy, to love my country. If you mean to free Hungary from the Circle, I will help.”
Grandmama laid her hand on his, her eyes bright. Her son, lost for so many years, had come home. I wanted to ask Pál if we could trust him, but I did not know how to ask that without wounding Grandmama. Instead, I prayed he would deserve her trust.
Something Pál had said earlier about Luminate aid nagged at me. “But even if you and Noémi help Pet?fi—that’s hardly enough against the Circle,” I said.
“I meant you, Anna.”
“You know I cannot cast spells. And I cannot predict or control which ones I break.”