Thirty-Seven

 

Briska didn't take her eyes off the pair. She'd matched enough couples to know this was the crucial night. She was no seer, so she didn't know the precise moment, but they were both humming with so much...potential for love, something important would happen tonight, and she would ensure it was the right something.

She watched them eat without even a twinge of hunger, unable to remember how long it had been since she'd last eaten. Years, maybe.

He asked the girl to dance, then stood up with her, to Briska's surprise. Oh, commoners sometimes danced with the opposite sex, but nobility like this pair were not unlike her people – the ladies danced together, and the men just watched.

Ah, it surprised Zuleika, too – but it made her smile, so that was all right. And it gave the pair an excuse to link hands, which certainly helped. The room raged with lust – the townspeople might be invisible to anyone else, but Briska saw them clearly. The musicians caught the mood and changed the tune, so that the dancers broke from their long chain into pairs.

Vardan's spirits soared as he took the enchantress in his arms. He needed no help from Briska at all, for his feelings for Zuleika had proceeded far beyond lust.

But nothing more could happen in this crowded room. Vardan was the ruler of these people, and while he was certain of his own feelings, he was unsure of hers. A ruler would not want to lose face before his people.

Briska blinked. No, it wasn't about losing face at all. He cared what his people thought about her, if she rejected him. How strange. A ruler loved by his people.

So the push must come from Zuleika, not Vardan.

Zuleika's tongue darted out, moistening her lips, and it gave Briska an idea.

She concentrated, intensifying the girl's thirst just as one of the servants brought a tray of drinks into the hall. There. She had the pair close to the door, and if they chatted for long enough, one of them would...yes!

Vardan took her hand and led her out.

Briska leaned forward, so her nose almost touched the glass, as she watched them go to...a library? A peculiar place for a tryst, but there was no accounting for some people's taste.

Sure enough, this pair were soon distracted by a hand mirror, their lust fading fast.

Not if Briska had any say in the matter, she resolved grimly, hitting them both with a seduction spell. "Resist that, I dare you," she muttered.

She gave them ten seconds, but it only took them six before they kissed. Briska knew her job well. She allowed herself a silent victory cheer.

A scream pierced the silence, so loud it shook an icicle free from the ceiling to crash into the floor behind Briska.

Briska cursed. What had she done this time?

Had Zuleika heard her? Seen her? Somehow known Briska was there?

All colour drained from Briska's face. If she knew this was Briska's second mistake...if she could pin the blame for Thorn on her...

Briska watched with mounting dread as she saw Zuleika flee from the other brother, knowing her flight would end in her casting a portal to take her far away. Far from Beacon Isle, but to where?

Here. Where Briska was no match for the powerful young enchantress.

Briska fell to her knees. She was doomed. The enchantress would destroy her, and rightly so.

Briska's eyes fell on the lamp. Kun's mysterious gift.

She could scarcely conjure a spark any more, so it took some time with the tinder box before a trembling flame sat atop the lamp wick.

Briska breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe, for no magic could touch her here, and the girl's portal would never reach this eyrie.