by Jasmine Walt
Iannis’s eyes widened in warning, and I grinned at him right before snapping my fingers. The storm abruptly stopped, and with another spoken Word and a wave of my hand, the room was put back to normal. The crowd murmured in amazement as the dishes righted themselves, the wine glasses refilled, and the curtains once again hung from their rods, intact and untorn. Not a single hair was out of place on a lady’s head, not one thing in the room broken. Putting the room back together was far more difficult than destroying it, as any trained mage would appreciate, but with Fenris’s knowledge and my own magic, I’d done it flawlessly.
I bowed, and after a split second, the room erupted into applause. Iannis’s eyes were twinkling as I rejoined him at the table, and I kissed him on the cheek before leaning over to meet Lady Porgillas’s shocked face.
“I apologize if I frightened you,” I said, loud enough that my voice carried. “I’m afraid I don’t quite know my own strength sometimes.”
“Oh, no need to apologize,” the lady said, waving my words away with a delicate hand. “You fixed all the damage, which is quite impressive in and of itself. You are a fine teacher, Lord Iannis.”
We took our leave shortly after that, thanking Lady Porgillas for a highly interesting evening. As we made our goodbyes, several of the guests gave me anxious or leery looks, and I hid another smile. Word of this incident would quickly spread in their circles, and maybe at the next party the mages would think twice about insulting my magical prowess behind my back.
2
I breathed a sigh of relief as the carriage set off for our long ride back to Solantha Palace. Part of me wished we could have taken the steamcar, but these silly four-horse carriages were traditional when it came to attending high-society events. And besides, the ride gave me some downtime with Iannis without anybody else around to interrupt.
“I thought this evening would never end,” I said as I leaned my head against his shoulder. “The sooner we get through the next few weeks, the better.”
“I do understand how you feel about these parties,” Iannis said lightly, rubbing my shoulder. “They are not my favorite activity either. But in reality, they only account for a fraction of your time. You’ve been able to get quite a bit done, haven’t you?”
I nodded. “There’s still a lot of work to be done on reforming the Enforcers Guild,” I said. I’d presented my commission report a few weeks ago, and the recommendations were being implemented even now, albeit with quite a bit of foot-dragging and teeth-gnashing. “The veterans in the Guild aren’t exactly thanking me either. They’re still clinging to their stupid sense of entitlement, and hate that the wages of the younger enforcers have been raised more than their own.”
“That’s not surprising,” Iannis observed. “Many people would rather pass up a raise than see somebody else get a bigger one.”
“Well that’s just stupid,” I said, shaking my head. “And they still are not taking the new unit for fraud and financial crimes seriously. Without bounties dangling in front of their noses, a case is just not on their radar.”
“Nothing worth doing was ever accomplished overnight,” Iannis said. “It will take time to root out the corruption and bad habits, and it is especially difficult when top management is refusing to acknowledge the size of the problem.”
“You’re telling me,” I said with a sigh. “I’ll have to keep an eye on them in the meantime, and keep pressure on Captain Skonel to prevent backsliding.”
We fell silent for a while, and I brooded about the problem for a bit longer. I’d gone from being the underdog at the Enforcers Guild to the unofficial top dog, and while some of the enforcers appreciated my efforts to even out the system, it was still a largely thankless job. I could see how leaders and politicians could easily become jaded fighting for people who didn’t want or appreciate their help. It was a good thing that I had my friends to rely on, or I might have torn my hair out a long time ago.
“That was quite a show you put on tonight,” Iannis said, interrupting my train of thought.
“Well, you did tell me that I could use higher-level magic,” I said. “I think I made a good impression on the ones that still think I’m a weakling, don’t you?”
“Yes, and you embarrassed that group of ladies tonight as well,” Iannis said dryly. “While I appreciated the joke, and don’t doubt those women thoroughly deserved it, such pranks are hardly worthy of you, Sunaya.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “We have to ‘keep up appearances’ and remember the dignity of your position.”
“It isn’t about keeping up appearances,” Iannis said. “It’s about learning to rule with a steady hand. You can’t let your feathers get ruffled every time someone makes a snide remark about you, Sunaya. If I did that, I would have blown the palace to smithereens a dozen times by now.”
I scoffed. “Give me a break, Iannis. Nobody makes snide remarks behind your back. All the mages love you.”
Iannis’s eyes narrowed. “Really? You think that all my staff are pictures of adoration at all times? That they never balk at my orders, or give me the side-eye when they think I’m not looking?”
“Maybe they do,” I shot back, “but at least they respect your abilities. They don’t consider you a weakling or a savage, and they certainly don’t think that you don’t belong.”
Iannis sighed. Silence stretched in the carriage, and for a minute, I thought he wasn’t going to respond. But then he said, “I do understand how hard it is for you. I might not have to deal with prejudice now, but I did in my far-off youth, and I didn’t like it any more than you do now.”
“You?” I stared at him. “But you were born into a mage family.”
“Not a pure-bred one,” he reminded me. “The Tua look down on all humans, mage or not. In their eyes, I was a bug not even worthy of being squashed.”
“Oh.” I blinked—Iannis almost never brought up his Tua heritage. The Tua were a mythical, powerful race of beings who existed on another dimension entirely, though they had been known to come to Recca every once in a while, and had inspired many legends. They were so powerful that humans didn’t stand a chance against their magic, and whether an encounter turned out well or badly depended entirely on the Tua’s whim. Manuc, the island country where Iannis had been born, seemed to be their favored spot in our world. But as far as I knew, even there Tua sightings were extremely rare.
“I didn’t realize you interacted with them, other than your mother, I mean.” Iannis’s mother was half-Tua, and the source of his extraordinary purple eyes as well as his unusual magical power and longer than normal lifespan. “Have you ever been to the Tua realm?” According to all the stories I’d ever heard, humans who were carried off to that other dimension didn’t return, at least not in the same century. But then, stories could be misleading, especially since, in this case, there weren’t any first-hand accounts.
“I was taken there once, when I was very small,” Iannis said, surprising me. “I must have been about five or six, and small for my age, as the Tua blood made me slow to mature.”
“What was it like?”
He was silent for a moment, contemplating. “Very strange. For a young child, difficult to take in—everything was so huge, the colors were off, the animals seemed bigger and deadlier. It was both beautiful and terrifying, and gave me nightmares for years after, even though I only stayed for less than a day.”
“What were you doing there?” I couldn’t imagine why any parent would think it was a good idea to take a young child to a different, and not to mention dangerous, dimension.
“My mother went there to present me to our kin, on my grandmother’s orders. But their clan head disapproved, we found, and told Mother to never bring me back. They said that I would not be able to survive the dangers, and they had no desire to be saddled with such a fragile, vulnerable burden.” His expression was rueful, but I could imagine how he must have resented that verdict, even as a young child.
I snorted. “Burden, my ass,” I said. “If only they could see you now.”
Iannis shrugged. “The Tua have very little interest in our governments or countries,” he said. “They would not find me impressive unless I ruled the entire world, and I have no intention of doing so.”
“You better not,” I warned. “I do want to see you sometimes.”
Iannis laughed, kissing my forehead. We sat for a while in companionable silence, but eventually my mind began to drift again. I felt guilty for snapping at Iannis earlier—yes, I had to deal with some ragging, but didn’t everyone when they were the new kid on the block? Once we were married, and my apprenticeship was officially completed, all that would die down. People in powerful positions always had to deal with criticism of some kind or another.
The problem was, I had never aspired to a powerful position or spending time in mage high society. I’d only ever wanted to be an enforcer, to serve justice to those who needed it and protect the less fortunate. That was why reforming the Enforcers Guild was one of the first projects I’d taken on, in addition to helping with the rebuilding and relief efforts after the big quake.
On top of all that, I was still in charge of testing schoolchildren for magical abilities—another round of testing was due in the fall, just a few weeks after the wedding. That was always an emotional time for the families and children concerned. I suspected that by winter we’d need a full school, perhaps a boarding school, for the talents we identified state-wide. Yet another job I’d have to supervise myself if I wanted it done right. It turned out that once I got past the annoyance of having to deal with multiple people, I was good at organizing and directing. At first, the mages who had been assigned to work with me didn’t know how to react, but now that I’d begun to prove myself as a leader, everyone seemed to expect so much of me.
There were times that I wanted to tear off the fancy clothes and howl, to shift and run in my beast form and escape the endless formalities and duties. But I hated the idea of disappointing Iannis, not to mention everyone else who supported me. Shiftertown hailed me as a hero now—something else I was still trying to get used to—and Nelia, my secretary, sorted through endless piles of fan mail that came in from all over the country. I wondered if I would ever get used to all of this, if it would just seamlessly become part of my ever-changing life.
“Is everything all right?” Iannis asked, noticing my pensive mood.
I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
He slid an arm around me, pulling me tight against him. “It’s more than nothing. You look like you’ve been carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
I laughed a little. “Sometimes I feel like I am.” I nuzzled his neck, taking in a deep breath of his sandalwood and magic scent. “I don’t mean to complain, I really don’t. You deal with ten times the amount of work I do, and you never whine about any of it.”
“I also have centuries of experience in doing so,” Iannis reminded me, kissing the top of my head. “And when I started, I wasn’t nearly as good at it as you are. You have the right to be out of sorts as you adjust.”
“But that’s just the thing, Iannis,” I said, lifting my head to meet his violet gaze. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it. All this high-society stuff…it’s not for me. I miss my friends—I haven’t seen Annia in forever, not since she went to look for Noria, and since I’ve got responsibilities I can’t go looking for her. Rylan lives in the same damn town as me, and yet I rarely get to see him or Comenius. And Fenris…” I shook my head, not willing to go down that path again. “I hardly even see you anymore, Iannis.” I cupped his cheek.
“I know it seems like it was an age ago, but we did have occasional free time before the quake, and we will again,” Iannis said, running a hand over my curly hair. “Canalo has recently gone through turmoil, but it will settle down eventually. We’re well on our way to restoring order, and once the wedding is past, we’ll have more free time to enjoy each other. Our life together has only just begun, Sunaya, and with the Creator’s favor, we’ll have several centuries to enjoy it. There is still so much for us to look forward to.”
“You’re right,” I said, smiling at the tender look in his eyes. “There is a lot to look forward to, and a lot right now to be thankful for. It’s a good thing I have you around to remind me of that.”
“Indeed.” Iannis shifted, then pulled me on top of him. “I don’t know about you,” he said against my mouth, his hands sliding up my skirts, “but I can think of much better ways than mere conversation to spend the remainder of our carriage ride.”
Laughing, I kissed him, and let all my thoughts drift away. I had said I wanted more alone time with Iannis, and with no one around to disturb us for another hour, I wasn’t about to squander it.
3
By the time we made it back to Solantha Palace, it was close to two in the morning. Exhausted from the day’s activities and our passionate lovemaking in the carriage, Iannis and I headed straight for bed, but we were waylaid halfway to his suite by Director Chen.
“I’m sorry to disturb you at this late hour,” Chen said, a dismayed expression on her usually placid face, “but we’ve received an urgent missive from the Minister.”
“So urgent that it could not wait until morning?” Iannis asked with a frown.
Chen pulled a folded-up letter from her sleeve. “See for yourself,” she said, handing it to him.
Iannis unfolded the single sheet, and I peeked over his shoulder. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I grumbled, a headache pounding at my temples with each line that I read. The Minister had decided that he wanted to hold the Convention in Solantha this year, during the week immediately before the wedding, since nearly all the Chief Mages were coming here anyway.
Iannis groaned. “We’ve only a few weeks left before the wedding. He wants us to start preparing for a Convention now, on top of everything? Has he lost his mind?”
Chen shook her head. “The Minister is clearly thinking of no one but himself,” she said, crossing her arms. “Yes, this might be more convenient for the other Chief Mages and save them a trip to Dara, but it is going to be a nightmare for those of us who have to organize the event with such a short deadline.”
“No fucking kidding.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, already feeling overwhelmed. “That means it’s not just the Chief Mages coming into town—they’re all going to drag their entourages with them, plus all the officials and media VIPs and lobbyists and all the other crap that comes along with the Convention.”
“We might have been able to handle such an influx before the quake,” Iannis said tersely, “but many of our hotels are still being rebuilt, and Solantha Palace does not have a meeting room large enough to safely hold the entire Convention.”
That was an understatement. My shoulders knotted with tension at the thought of all these strangers descending upon what I was beginning to think of as my home. “We may have to hire cruisers again to accommodate everyone,” Director Chen said. “Seeing as how we have very little time to make the preparations, I thought you and I should go over the logistics before we retire.”
“As much as I would rather rest, I’m afraid I agree with you.” Iannis sighed, then put an arm around my shoulders and kissed me. “Go to bed, Sunaya. I’ll join you in a little while.”
“All right.” I kissed him back, resisting the urge to protest. I knew Iannis liked this even less than I did, but with only eight weeks until the new Convention date, there was no choice. I had a feeling that what little free time we had was about to evaporate completely.
Disheartened, I trudged off to bed alone, hoping that Iannis wouldn’t take too long. As I lay in the big platform bed, staring up at the ceiling, I tried to fall asleep. But despite my exhaustion, thoughts about the upcoming Convention plagued me. I knew from my experience in Garai that delegates were prissy and demanding—the Chief Mages and the other guests would fuss if they weren’t given “appropriate” accommodations and s
ervice, or if any one of them seemed to get preferential treatment, as if Solantha Palace was some fucking hotel instead of Canalo’s seat of power. I wondered what they would think if they were locked up in a tower room, as I had been when I’d first arrived here.
Oh, how far you’ve come, Sunaya, I thought to myself as I rolled over. I’d gone from sleeping in a dingy apartment in Maintown to the Chief Mage’s apartments. I certainly had no right to complain about anything, even if said Chief Mage couldn’t share the bed right now. In a few short weeks, this would officially become my bed too, and I could move my stuff from my suite down the hall to his.
“I just wish the Minister hadn’t given us all this extra trouble,” I grumbled out loud.
“Trouble!” my ether parrot squawked, materializing on Iannis’s pillow. I laughed a little as he cocked his glowing head at me, and reached out to stroke his ethereal feathers. As usual, my fingers passed straight through them, but he leaned into my touch a little, almost as if he could feel it.
“Do you think I’m being crazy, Trouble?” I asked him. “Is it just pre-wedding jitters, or is this normal?”
“Crazy!” Trouble cawed back, and I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, that’s just what I wanted to hear.” I flopped back down.
“Hear, hear!” Trouble hopped onto my chest and peered down at me. “Want to hear!”
“Want to hear what?” Frowning, I sat up a little.
“Wedding jitters!”
“You make no sense, you know that?” I shook my head, wishing that I could do something about it. Had I given him a little less of my power when I accidentally created him, he would have faded away as ether birds were supposed to; with a little more, he might be able to truly understand and respond.
