“That’s the spirit.” Rylan grabbed the last donut before I could and stuffed it into his mouth. “Looks like we’re out,” he said, giving me an unrepentant grin even as I scowled at him. “Guess that means we’d better get a move on, huh?”
“Sure.” I rolled my eyes, but the truth was, I was ready to blow this joint. I’d had enough of spinning my wheels all day. It was time to get some work done.
11
Since we didn’t have any concrete leads on who was spreading the rumors, Rylan and I decided to interview Sunaya’s known detractors, starting with Mara Yanos, an investigative journalist at the Herald, Maintown’s primary media outlet.
“Well, well,” Mara purred as we sat down in her office. She was a vivacious woman, only a few years older than me, with white-blonde hair and sharp, wily features. As always, she was dressed in one of her power suits, this one an icy green that matched the color of her keen eyes. “If it isn’t Annia Melcott. Aren’t you Sunaya Baine’s best friend?”
“I’d like to think so,” I said casually, crossing my right ankle over my left knee. I pulled a notepad from my jacket pocket. “You’ve written quite a few uncomplimentary articles about her.”
“Well, someone has to.” Mara tossed her hair over her shoulder. “After all, she’s incredibly biased and inexperienced, and yet in a position of power. Didn’t she have your sister sent to the mines for working with the Resistance? And yet here her cousin sits, free as a bird, even though he served with them for years.” She raked a cool gaze over Rylan, who stiffened in his chair, before turning back to me. “And yet you seem to be working with him. Why is that, I wonder?”
“We’re not here to talk about my sister,” I said coldly before Rylan could jump in. I wasn’t going to let this bitch cloud the issue by dragging my family and friends through the mud. “We’re here to talk about the recent article you published in the paper suggesting that Sunaya plans to increase Maintown’s taxes in order to fund new construction in Shiftertown. An article that was based on no facts whatsoever.”
“How dare you!” Mara’s cheeks colored. “I have very good sources—”
“Liar,” Rylan said flatly, and Mara gaped at him like a fish. “You should know better than to fib around shifters, Mara. You reek.” He made a show of pinching his nose.
“How rude!” Mara tore her gaze away from him to pin me with a glare. “If this is how you’re going to treat me, then leave. I don’t have to talk to you.”
“We can leave,” I said, making no move to do so. “But if we do, I’ll have to go tell Sunaya that you knowingly published a slanderous article about her. She’s a bit touchy these days, being pregnant and all, so I wouldn’t put it past her to sue you.”
“Actually, I think we should just go do that.” Rylan gave Mara a vicious grin. “When Sunaya’s done with you, you won’t even have the tatters of your reputation left to clutch against your shriveled black heart. She’s going to incinerate you.”
“Oh, all right!” Mara threw up her coral-painted nails. “What do you want to know?”
“We want to know who put you up to writing that article!” Rylan slammed the flat of his hand against the desk. “Who told you to spread that rumor?”
Mara’s features scrunched in confusion. “What are you talking about? Nobody told me to spread any rumors. I wrote the article because I hate that gold-digging bitch.”
“But why?” I asked when Rylan didn’t refute her statement. “What the hell do you care about Sunaya’s marriage to the Chief Mage?”
She flattened her mouth. “That’s none of your business.”
“Fine.” I uncrossed my legs and stood up. “Rylan, let’s go.”
“Wait!” Real fear flashed across her face. “Okay, okay. It’s just…this is embarrassing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just spit it out, Mara. As long as you didn’t commit a crime, what you say won’t leave this room.” I side-eyed Rylan, and he nodded tersely in agreement.
“Fine.” She huffed. “Lord Iannis and I slept together a few years ago. I came on to him during a gala at Solantha Palace. We were both tipsy, one thing led to another…you know the rest.” She blushed again, her gaze softening with the memory. “I’ve had plenty of flings and one-night stands with politicians and businessmen, but Iannis was a spectacular lover, so I came back for more. But the conceited bastard had already moved on. I’ve watched him over the years with other lovers—he thinks he’s so discreet, but I can always tell who’s sleeping with who. He’s never kept anyone around until Sunaya Baine, and I can’t understand why. She’s street trash at best.”
“Are you serious?” Rylan said before I could gather my wits long enough to respond. “You’ve just admitted to sleeping with half the city, but Sunaya is the trashy one? By Magorah.” He threw his head back and laughed. “No wonder Lord Iannis rejected you.”
“Get out!” Mara grabbed the nearest object on her desk—a letter opener—and threw it at Rylan’s head. Her face blanched when he casually snatched it out of the air, then turned bright red with fury. “I’m done answering your impertinent questions. Get out before I call security!”
“Gladly.” Stifling a grin, I hooked an arm through Rylan’s and dragged him to the door. “Thanks for your time, Miss Yanos.”
We managed to make it out onto the street before I dissolved into laughter. “By the Ur-God,” I crowed as we walked up Ninth Street, “the look she gave you when you threw her words back in her face! I really didn’t think you had it in you, Rylan.”
“What, you don’t think I’m capable of making witty comebacks?” he asked in mock offense.
“When you’re in control of your emotions, sure, but she was being such a bitch about Sunaya, I was sure I’d have to keep you from ripping her throat out.”
Rylan shrugged. “If her own behavior weren’t so absurd, I might have gotten angry. But she’s so pathetic, I just can’t take her seriously. Besides, now that we’ve talked to her, I have a feeling Miss Yanos is going to find someone else to pen nasty articles about. Someone whose pockets aren’t quite so deep and who doesn’t have friends who know her dirty secret.”
“That’s definitely a win,” I said. “But we still need to find out who’s spreading the rest of the rumors.”
We visited the others on the list but didn’t turn up much of anything. The shifters and humans we talked to opened up, albeit reluctantly, but the mages we tried to visit refused to receive us at all.
“Elitist bastards,” I grumbled as we entered Solantha Palace, intending to talk to Sunaya. “Who else is a suspect that we haven’t talked to yet?”
“What about that guy?” Rylan asked. He jabbed a finger at Canter, the cantankerous, grizzled old mage who manned the reception desk. “Hasn’t he hated Sunaya from day one? He’s always giving her the stink eye whenever she comes and goes.”
“Right.”
Canter looked up at us as we approached, his lined face set into its usual grumpy scowl.
“Hey,” I said. “Have you been spreading nasty rumors about Sunaya and Iannis?”
Canter drew himself up to his full height, which was only an inch or so taller. For some reason, he didn’t use magic to make himself appear younger like the other mages, and his spindly back was stooped with age. “How dare you!” he said in a quavering voice, his rheumy gaze spitting fire. “Miss Baine and I may have our differences, but I am loyal to the Chief Mage. Besides, when would I have time to spread rumors when I’m sitting here all day?”
“You greet literally everyone who passes through the entryway,” I pointed out, but the statement sounded lame even to my ears. “You’re the perfect person to spread malicious gossip around.”
“Forget it, Annia,” Rylan muttered, tugging me away. “He’s telling the truth. I’m sorry I even brought it up.”
Defeated, we went to the Mages Guild, and after cooling our heels in the lobby for a few minutes, were shown into Sunaya’s office.
“Rylan!” she exclai
med, looking both surprised and pleased as we entered the room. She hurried around her desk—which looked like it had been hit by a tornado filled with paperwork—and embraced her cousin. “I wasn’t expecting to see you, too.”
“Yeah, well, I started hearing some nasty rumors about you and Iannis, and when I found out that Annia was looking into a rumormongering campaign for you, we decided to team up to track them down. Not that it’s done us any good so far.” He flopped onto the couch in the office’s sitting area. “We’ve been questioning people who hate you, and though a few of them have spread some rumors, it’s mostly just stuff they’ve heard from other people. There’s no common denominator yet.”
We gave Sunaya a rundown of the rumors we’d heard and who we’d questioned.
“There are a few more people I can add to your list to question,” she said, “but to be honest, this all sounds a little disheartening. After all I’ve done for Shiftertown, how can they even think the Mages Guild would be stealing supplies from them?”
“It’s not everyone,” Rylan rushed to say. “A lot of people in Shiftertown are grateful to you for everything you’ve done, and Mother is always bragging about you to just about anyone who will listen.”
Sunaya snorted. “Of course she would. Mafiela is happy to take credit for what I’ve accomplished, even though she tossed me out on my ass as a teenager for having magic.”
Rylan raised his eyebrows. “You say that, and yet I can tell you’re pleased.”
Sunaya shrugged, a little defensive. “I can’t help that there’s a part of me that always wanted her approval. Kind of ironic that it took marrying a mage to earn it.”
“It wasn’t marrying a mage that earned you your aunt’s respect, and the respect of Solanthans in general,” I pointed out. “It was forming a partnership with one and showing the rest of us that mages could be reasoned with—that we could work together instead of fighting one another.”
Sunaya’s features softened, and, to her consternation, tears began to glimmer in her bottle-green eyes. “Damn pregnancy hormones,” she sniffled as she threw her arms around me in a hug. “They’re making me weepy.”
“Oh please,” I said, grinning at Rylan over her shoulder as I hugged her back. “You’re an emotional rollercoaster even when you’re not baking a bun in the oven.”
“Yes, but I usually balance things out with a healthy dose of snark.” Sunaya pulled away to reach for the platter of melon on the table. “I wanted cookies, you know,” she grumbled as she began shoveling chunks of honeydew into her mouth. “But cook insists that I can’t just load up on pastries.”
“Well, we don’t want the cub to come out donut-shaped,” Rylan said with a snicker, earning a glare from Sunaya. “Hey, how’s that school of yours coming along? You gonna be ready to open it soon?”
“No.” Sunaya blew out a frustrated breath. “I still haven’t recruited enough teachers yet, and all these stupid rumors aren’t helping things. In the meantime, I’m still working my way through all the schools and testing all the kids for magic, which has been…interesting.”
“Interesting in what way?” Rylan asked.
“Well, some of the kids are a bit temperamental. Take today, for example.” Her stomach grumbled, and she popped another chunk of melon into her mouth before continuing. “One of the kids turned out to have quite an affinity for lightning bolts, which is unusual since most mages default to fire. He was so panicked when I brought him into the room for testing that he somehow conjured an electric field around him. Great defense,” she added dryly, “as no one could get near him, but also incredibly deadly. And since he couldn’t control it, it started throwing out bolts of lightning everywhere. I had to conjure an extra-strength shield around myself and the room to protect the building and the other students. Ended up nearly draining myself.”
Rylan and I exchanged alarmed looks. “Does Iannis know the testing is so…intense?” I asked carefully. I couldn’t imagine he’d be happy if he heard about this.
“He knows there are risks,” Sunaya said, a slight edge entering her tone. “And he also knows that if he takes this project away from me, there’s going to be hell to pay. I’m not going to allow anyone to coop me up in the palace like a prisoner just because I might get hurt. I’m pregnant, not an invalid.”
Rylan hastily changed the subject, and we made small talk for a bit longer before Nelia shooed us out. Not that we needed much encouragement to leave; toward the end of the conversation, Sunaya was yawning with every other word, her need to recover after her trying day clearly winning out against her desire to hang out with us.
“You know,” Rylan said as we left the palace, “I noticed you didn’t mention your suspension to Sunaya, and you made an effort to hide your enforcer bracelet…or lack thereof, I should say.” He glanced pointedly at my wrist, which was covered by the long-sleeved shirt beneath my jacket.
I shoved my hand—and the accompanying wrist—into my jacket pocket. “Sunaya’s clearly under a lot of stress,” I said shortly as we walked toward our bikes, which we’d parked in a discreet spot to the side of the entrance, next to Sunaya’s own steambike. “I don’t want to pile onto her worries, especially when it’s not necessary. This is all just a big misunderstanding, and it’ll get cleared up as soon as Dalmouth finishes his investigation.”
“Are you sure about that? It doesn’t sound like Dalmouth is on your side, and Terpan’s only going to keep campaigning against you. Terpan sounds like an alpha, and alpha shifters are extremely territorial. He’s not going to care what you say—if he thinks you pose a threat, he’ll do anything he can to eliminate you.”
I sighed. “Is there really no way to get him to back off?”
Rylan shrugged. “You could quit. Go into business with me, like I mentioned.”
“Not gonna happen.”
He growled. “Has anyone told you how stubborn you are, Red?”
“Quite a few times. Which is why I work alone.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re at least going to meet me tomorrow so we can continue investigating this rumor mill, right?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t cut you out.” I needed all the help I could get. “Where do you wanna meet tomorrow? I’m staying at my mother’s house in Maintown for a few days, but I’m not sure you want to meet there.”
“Tempting, but no. Let’s meet at Mimi’s again. Eleven a.m.?”
“You got it.”
I started up the engine before Rylan could say anything else and raced out of there. What was it with all these people telling me to give up? Didn’t anyone understand how hard I’d worked for this career? Why did Garalina and Rylan think I’d be okay with throwing all that away just because of an asshole wolf shifter with insecurity issues?
Since I still had my overnight pack from earlier, I headed straight to my mother’s house in Maintown. The large, two story granite house was situated on the side of one of Solantha’s many hills, and offered a great view of the western sea. The street was quiet when I pulled up, which was not unusual. It was after nightfall in the middle of the week, and none of the socialites on this street were throwing any parties.
I took off my helmet and sat on my bike in the driveway, tilting my head to the starry sky and just taking a moment to breathe. The fragrant scent of my mother’s dahlias soothed me, bringing back happy childhood memories and banishing the day’s negativity. I couldn’t count how many times I’d sat on the front porch with Noria, sipping lemonade as we watched the sunset and daydreamed about our futures together.
Once I was calm again, I retrieved the hide-a-key from the flower pot on the porch and let myself in. Mother had left the foyer light on, and the chandelier illuminated the watering can and the instructions she’d left on the table.
As if I needed instructions. Did she think I’d forgotten just because I’d been gone for a few months?
“You know, we could get this done much faster if you would use my magic
,” Garalina said, popping into the living room when I was about halfway finished with the plants.
“You know,” I mimicked as I watered the trio of pots set in the windowsill behind the couch, “there are certain things in life that are therapeutic to do by hand. Not everything needs to be shortcut with magic.”
Garalina tilted her head. “If not for our connection, I would think you were trying to deflect. But watering your mother’s plants seems to genuinely bring you some kind of comfort.”
“It’s a throwback to my childhood,” I said, going into the kitchen to put the can away. The sight of a platter of cinnamon-sugar cookies sitting on the island brought a smile to my lips—Mother had baked them for me in anticipation of my stay, even though she had to be doing a million things at once as she rushed out the door to go on that cruise. I hoped she was having a wonderful time with her friend, and that the change of pace would get her mind off Noria for a while.
“Yes, I can see that.” Garalina tapped her chin thoughtfully. “At the very least, you could allow me to ward the place. With all these busybodies poking their noses into your life, it would be good to put some protections into place.”
My first instinct was to resist—after all, I’d managed to get through life without using magical wards—but after all the bullshit I’d dealt with in the last twenty-four hours, I was tired of fighting. “Let’s do it,” I told her. If what Rylan said about Terpan was true, the wolf shifter was only going to get more and more desperate. What if he started coming around my place to harass me personally? Or what if Dalmouth came around with another warrant? “Can you do the apartment too? Or do I have to go back there with you?”
“I cannot travel very far from you in the human realm,” Garalina said. “Though I wish I could, because I could spend my time searching for Ortanos while you deal with these petty issues. I suggest we start by warding this place tonight and then take care of your apartment tomorrow before you go out to meet Rylan.”
Tempted by Magic: Mischief and Magic: Book One Page 12
