when angelique first said elise could defeat clotilde, elise wanted to cry. hadn't she done enough? she almost died freeing her brothers, and more was required of her? but even as she wallowed in her misery, the faces of her friends and servants back home played a continuous loop in her mind.

there was sweet gretta from the treasury department; she always made sure elise had tea to serve any visitors; flora, the pastry chef-she slipped elise extra treats whenever it had been a rough work day; and otto, king henrik's valet who thought to routinely send elise a stomach tonic when she first joined the royal family and, unused to the sheer amount and richness of food, made herself sick with her greed on a daily basis. even those elise didn't personally know she remembered-the guards on their patrols who took the time to bow and smile, the hotheaded bunch of secretaries from the commerce department who ate like a flock of seagulls, even the kind-hearted stable hands of the royal stable that knew of her fear of horses and worked with her to disguise it.

the treasury department employees alone were enough to make elise reconsider, but the longer elise remembered who was back in arcainia, the more convinced she was that she had to do something. what forced her to make up her mind was the memory of her father, king henrik.

he was a great man, always warm and friendly. even though the royal brothers sometimes took pains to remind elise she was a fosterling, king henrik never withheld affection or love from her. he showered gifts and attention on her like she was one of his own children.

elise couldn't abandon him to clotilde's clutches.

chapter 13

in the late hours of the night, elise slid out of her warm bed. she shivered in the cool air and felt her way around the room. she found the slippers angelique had given her and slipped them on. she eased the door open and was halfway through it when brida spoke.

"you're leaving."

it wasn't a question.

"it is unlikely my brothers will allow me to try to take clotilde on," elise said.

"i agree."

"but if there's a chance i can free arcainia, i must try, even if it is risky and foolish."

"i agree," brida repeated, lighting a candle before she tossed blankets off her body. like elise, brida went to bed fully clothed. however, she went a step further and still had her weapons strapped to her. "which is why i will accompany you."

elise stared at the captain. "you knew i was going to leave tonight?"

"i suspected," brida said, shouldering the supply bag she had brought into the bedroom. "let's go."

elise and brida tiptoed through the strange house, blowing out the candle when they found the salon. coals still glowed in the fireplace, giving them just enough light to see by as they slinked through the treacherous maze of male bodies.

elise's brothers were strewn through the room, and their outstretched limbs made it difficult to wade around them and get to the door. elise almost fell once to avoid stepping on mikk's arm when he moved it unexpectedly, but brida caught her and set her upright before they sprang the last few steps to the door.

they exited the salon, or tent as it was, and almost rammed into angelique.

"princess elise, captain meier. how surprising," she said, her face illuminated by the glittering sky.

"good evening, lady enchantress. what brings you outside at this hour?" elise asked, stalling so she could come up with a legitimate reason for their presence.

angelique indicated to the sky. "i was checking on my mount. i rode him longer than usual, and i wasn't sure what condition he would be in."

"oh," elise said, wondering why the beautiful enchantress pointed to the sky.

angelique studied elise and brida, but refrained from imposing a similar question on them. all the same, elise blurted out, "do you really believe i can take on clotilde?"

angelique nodded. "i do."

"what do i need to do?"

"your bare touch should be enough. it seems that you do not toggle your powers on and off, but you constantly use them. as a result, you do not need to worry about activating anything on your end. clotilde keeps her tools for her dark magic on her at all times. if your magic is strong enough, your touch will cancel her magic, as well as the artifacts' magic. it will be her end," angelique said.

"if my magic is strong enough?" elise asked.

angelique nodded again. "i have no way of measuring your magic, so i cannot tell you if your powers are enough to smother everything. the way you attack her would make a difference, i suppose. skin to skin contact would provide the best channel for your magic to reach her. the more contact, the better."

"i see," elise said.

brida slid her pack off her shoulders as she approached her tethered mare. "your powers were enough to keep you from being cursed, furstin. i am certain you are strong enough to defeat that witch."