matt_doyle

An excerpt, because I've been forgetting to post them:

“What a thing to say at a séance,” Vitiane said cheerfully from just past Damarhis' elbow, and with a great effort he avoided jumping sideways into the middle of the diagram and disturbing it. The effort was wasted a moment later, though his dignity was maintained, when she circled to stand between the two of them, wreathing herself in flickering violet lines that sputtered and faded as she touched them. It was, Damarhis thought, an appropriately dramatic way of getting every eye in the room to turn to her briefly, and smiled. Vitiane's flair for theater was easily a match for his own, and they were often one another's best audiences – easier to impress than Belasen or Ansira, and more instinctive. They couldn't orchestrate a royal audience or a scandalous party, but once there they could keep everyone present well entertained.

“This way, boys,” she said, linking arms with each of them. “You're not meant to be the center of the spectacle right now, and if you steal Ansira's thunder you'll end up struck by lightning. Besides, you won't want to miss this.”