Chains of Silver (Alchemy Empire Book 1)

Chapter 34

She shook her head, her lips pursed. "Lord Deverey is sending a carriage for me. When he heard what had happened, he made a trip into town. I'll be gone from the theater for a few days."

Meaning, she'd be staying at the house he rented for her. 

A bitter heat spread in my heart. I wished she could be free of him. She deserved better than to be some aristocrat's mistress. 

But I couldn't stop a mischievous grin. "Master Fenrey will miss you."

She shot me a knowing smirk. "You know you've scarred him for life, don't you? He was utterly mortified, poor man."

"Him? What about me? That will rank as the absolute most awkward moment in my entire existence. I'll never be able to see him again without blushing."

She giggled like an apprentice. "That's what you get for meddling."

I huffed in faux outrage. She just laughed and wrapped her arms around me. "When I return, I'll have you come for tea, just like always."

Just like always. That sort of normalcy sounded wonderful. 

In the carriage, the three of us didn't talk much. Thea seemed moody, withdrawn. She sat next to me, and kept looking off into space somewhere to the right of Raymond, who sat across from us.

I didn't know what to say, either. We'd been through so much of the past few weeks together, and yet when it had come down to the moment that I'd been torn between life and death, we had all faced it largely alone. There was so much to say, but it seemed too personal to actually speak the words. I knew my friends so well, and yet in so many ways they were strangers to me. Where should I begin in knowing them?

Raymond finally broke the silence. "So...you're a big celebrity now," he told me.

"Really?" I frowned.

He nodded. "The papers are full of stories about the mystery shape-shifter who defeated the Peacock. Most of it is complete fiction, but it's made for entertaining reading the past few days while we waited for you to wake up."

"But I...didn't really do much." 

"Don't be cogged. Of course you did. When you finally shifted into that hummingbird, most of the audience couldn't see it because it was so small. What they saw was Nadine Fairchild plunge off the catwalk, then disappear at the last second, and then reappear as some unknown girl that crashed onto the stage. Could you have been more dramatic? No wonder you're such a sensation."

As he spoke, I could see the images bright and life-like in my mind. I'd never take Raymond's fabulamancy for granted again. 

"Not to mention the tales flying of how you singlehandedly fought Wallace and Creston on the catwalk." Thea must have decided to pull out of her funk and talk to us.

I snorted. "It wasn't that good of a fight, and I lost. Quickly. And anyway, how would they know?"

Raymond shrugged. "I guess Creston has been talking."

I shook my head. "It's all so ridiculous. If I'd actually known how to fight, or if the police had been more interested in keeping me safe, we wouldn't have had all those problems. We got lucky. That's all there is to it."

"Regardless, you're famous now." Raymond grinned at me. "When we took you to Mistress Davies' house, we had to sneak you into the carriage so that the reporters wouldn't follow us."

My eyes widened. "Are you saying there's going to be a bunch of news reporters when we get to the theater?" I wasn't ready—for any of this. 

Thea rubbed my arm. "We could always slip back in through the tunnels."