“You?” I pulled back to stare up at him. “Is that a jest?”
He shook his head, looking unperturbed. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “I work for the Boudiccate, you see. That’s more than enough to damn me in his eyes. He’s quite the young firebrand in every possible regard—he even got himself sent down from the Great Library for over a year after an epic public eruption over the ‘ignorance’ of his teachers there. He was only finally re-admitted after his family paid a fortune to incite their forgiveness...and even then it was only on the agreement that he would stick to weather wizardry, as none of the other teachers would agree to work with him for any payment.”
Wrexham shrugged. “He is genuinely brilliant, though, from all I’ve heard. He could have graduated at the top of the class, just like you, and specialized in anything he’d wanted, if he hadn’t been so keen to dismiss all of his teachers’ own work in his final projects.”
“Hmmph.” In my opinion, anyone who couldn’t see Wrexham’s own qualities could never be described as anything close to ‘brilliant.’ Still...
“If he really has developed his own new methods for weather wizardry,” I said, “perhaps that could account for his having such different results than any other weather wizard in history.” Our teachers at the Great Library had been firm about the limitations of any human wizard’s power, and those fell far short of controlling the natural world itself, even if we’d been allowed to try. Still, the weather around us spoke for itself.
...And I had no time to stand about theorizing any longer. “Very well.” I nodded firmly and stepped back, pulling my hands free. “We’d better find him as quickly as possible, then, and see what we can do.”
“Harwood!” Wrexham’s voice stopped me just as I took my first quick stride toward the opening of the knot garden and the house beyond. When I turned back, I found him smiling ruefully down at me. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Am I?” I blinked.
Of course Luton might not wish to talk to us, but we would simply have to overcome that obstacle somehow. After all, we could hardly—
“Us,” said Wrexham, shaking his head at me. “Are we betrothed again or not?”
“Oh, that.” I rolled my eyes, my shoulders relaxing. “Really, Wrexham, do keep up! You have been publicly compromised, remember? I wouldn’t be at all surprised if my brother has already sent out the notice to all of the London newspapers. In fact, considering all the time we’ve spent in here, Amy’s probably planned out the fine details of our wedding venue by now. I hope you weren’t expecting another long betrothal, because I doubt my family would stand for that again. They’re remarkably impatient people, you know.”
“I see.” Wrexham’s lips twitched. “Good to know. In that case...” His long fingers closed around my wrist and yanked me in. Before I could take another breath, I was pressed against his chest, all of my sensible thoughts disrupted and my heart suddenly beating with disconcerting speed while his dark, intent gaze held mine transfixed. “I’ve always appreciated your single-minded sense of purpose,” he murmured, “but even while we’re pursuing our other goals today, don’t set this too far out of your mind, will you?”
His warm, clever lips were remarkably persuasive.
So were his hands.
My own hair was mussed and falling around my face by the time he finally straightened, and my legs felt shockingly weak. Perhaps it was shock, come to think of it. After all, I’d spent two long months training my body not to expect this sort of thing anymore.
I clung to the open wings of his greatcoat for balance, sucking in shallow breaths as I waited for my disobedient heartbeat to settle and my foolish legs to regain their strength. His own heart hammered a rapid beat against my wrist. I flattened one palm against it, absorbing that beat into my skin.
“You always were...astonishingly good at whatever pursuit you put your mind to.” My voice shivered on the words.
“Good.” Wrexham sounded rather hoarse himself; he cleared his throat, his hands tightening briefly around my shoulders before he stepped back and let me go. “Don’t forget it this time, if you please,” he told me.
As if I ever had.
Foolish man.
But I had revealed quite enough vulnerability for one day. So I only smiled serenely and turned to sail out of the knot garden with as much grace and confidence as if I weren’t still ripped half-open and reeling inwardly.
Perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that I tripped. But the timing—just as I stepped out through the archway of the protected knot garden—was enough to send a jolt of cold fear like an icicle stabbing through the bubble of warmth and joy that had protected me for the past half hour.
I whirled around to peer up at the hillside beyond, where I’d glimpsed the elf-lord watching me that morning.
Nothing. It stood bleak and bare in the falling snow, and the flakes around me flew harmlessly away without ever landing on my skin. No spell had truly pierced my bubble this time. It had only been a stray branch on the ground that sent me stumbling.
Wrexham came up behind me, following my gaze. “What did you see?”
“Nothing.” I forced my fisted fingers to unclench. “He isn’t there...this time.”
“The elf-lord?” Wrexham’s voice hardened. “You mean you’ve seen him again since we spoke to him yesterday?”
“Apparently, he likes to keep an eye on his investments...and make certain they see him doing so.” My lips curled into a humorless smile. Lifting my chin, I deliberately turned my back on the hills and any watchers beyond, reaching out to take Wrexham’s arm and pitching my voice loud enough to be heard by anyone. “I’m sure it’s all part of the amusement of the game for him. Tame housecats always like to play with their prey before they go in for the kill, don’t they?”
The muscles in Wrexham’s arm were rigid with tension as he gazed out toward the hills beyond with narrowed eyes, resisting my tug toward the house. His voice dropped to a dangerously low pitch, like the warning growl of a decidedly non-tame tiger. “Does Lady Cosgrave know yet that she has an elf-lord lurking about her property and menacing her guests?”
“He told her that he’s here on behalf of his king, making sure that all’s prepared for the solstice celebrations...which are scheduled for the same date as my own day of reckoning.” I shrugged. “Apparently, Lord Ilhmere has never been a fan of our treaty.”
“So he’s timed all of this with great precision.” Wrexham let out a hissing sigh through his teeth. Then his muscles finally relaxed, and he looked down at me with a rueful expression as he turned, following the tug of my hand. “You do keep life interesting, don’t you, Harwood?”
“Just wait until you hear what I have planned for the Great Library,” I told him as we started toward Cosgrave Manor and our next move in the game. “We only have to solve this one tiny problem first.”