Page 11 of Marked By Moonlight

I made space for my plate on that tray, then carried the entire stash to my room, picturing Bene sneaking back later to find dessert gone.

Mean? Childish? Vengeful?

Absolutely. But I didn’t haveclassyin me just then.

I sat on my little balcony, scanning the sky for wayward dragons and drowning my sorrows in crème brûlée.It didn’t help, and Marius didn’t appear, leaving me with my thoughts and roiling emotions for company.

He was AWOL, and that threatened his contract with Gordon — a contract that would set him free of obligations to Gordon. Free, for example, to choose me…

…if that was what he wanted. But it sure didn’t seem that way.

Later, I lay alone in bed, gazing at the paintings on the wall. Several were by my father, and a few stemmed from my grandparents’ collection. Another was a recent addition — Van Gogh’sThe Painter on the Road from Tarascon.

Propped up on my dresser near that was a painting I’d recently finished. It showed the south face of the château on a misty dawn. A lion prowled across the lawn, and a tiger stalked through the bushes, both blending in so well, they were nearly invisible. The same went for the bat weaving through the west wing chimneys, and for the two figures in the windows of my suite, one tall, the other a little smaller.

I gazed at it for a long time, then pulled the covers over my head and closed my eyes.

Chapter Four

MINA

The next day, everyone went about their usual routine, but nothing felt normal. Bene didn’t crack any jokes. Roux didn’t bluster. Henrik didn’t snicker or let out bored yawns. They had breakfast as usual, then walked to the far edge of the lawn, speaking in low tones.

Did I pique my ears and make the most of my super-sharp sense of hearing? Of course I did. But they quickly moved out of range, and I didn’t catch a word.

Roux said something to Henrik, who glanced back at the house and leaned even closer to the others to reply.

Then it hit me. I could shadow-walk over and listen in.

It also struck me that I shouldn’t, but I was so desperate for information, I shoved my reservations to the very bottom of the regret bin and went ahead anyway.

Grabbing Madame Picard’s week-old newspaper, I sat with my back to them in a chair on the rear patio. I settled in for a moment, noting every detail, from the slight slouch of my shoulders to the height and angle of the newspaper. Then I conjured up an identical image directly on top of myself, took a deep breath, and slid away.

My hands shook as I tiptoed a few steps and glanced back. The illusion was perfect. Which wasn’t too hard since it was justthe back view, and the newspaper would explain why I didn’t move.

But move I did — the real me, at least — feeling grateful for an overcast day that freed me from having to erase my shadow. I slunk across the lawn the way Roux did in tiger form… Okay, okay — nothing like Roux, whose movements were smooth and graceful. For me,silentandinvisiblewould do.

On and on I crept, with no one noticing a thing. I stayed upwind, not ready to attempt to mask my scent too.

Then Henrik glanced at the illusionary me, and I froze. He looked away, then looked again, tilting his head.

My heart hammered. Summoning all my concentration, I made the corner of the illusionary newspaper wobble in the breeze. Then I went all out and made fake me turn the page.

Henrik watched for another few seconds, then turned back to Bene and Roux.

So, whew. I snuck closer. And closer…

“…if we don’t hear from him in another two days…” I caught Roux saying.

I took another step, then stopped as my moral compass went from spinning aimlessly to true north. This felt wrong. Very wrong.

On the other hand, they were keeping information from me and generally being mean. Didn’t that give me license to do the same?

No, it didn’t,I scolded myself while creeping away. Friends didn’t spy on friends. I didn’t spy, period. I had principles to uphold.

Principles that were sorely tested, but they held on, if barely. I retreated to illusionary me, adjusted the real newspaper to the exact position of the imaginary one, then let the magic go.

And,poof!The air pressure dropped slightly, and I exhaled, then hastily turned another page. A page that remained as blankto me as the conversation taking place just out of earshot, but oh well.