Saved by Magic: a Baine Chronicles novel (The Baine Chronicles: Fenris's Story Book 3)

by Jasmine Walt

  Did she have an appointment? I hadn’t seen any other members of the press come by—what made Mirrine so special? Curious, I had the owl circle around the building until he found the Minister’s office on the third floor. I directed him to fly inside, and he perched on the windowsill to the Minister’s left. Graning was sitting at his desk and looking very tense. There was a secretary in the room, gathering up papers, as if they’d been interrupted in the middle of a meeting.

  “Are you sure this press interview can’t wait until later?” the man was asking, looking somewhat annoyed that he was being kicked out. “We really do need to go over these reports from Director Toring, he said they were urgent—”

  “Later, Tarley,” the Minister said tersely, his eyes trained on the door. “I’ll call for you when I am finished here.”

  Tarley nodded, then swept from the room with an armful of notebooks and files. Mirrine walked into the room a moment later, a faintly amused look on her face.

  “Still the same curmudgeon after all these years, Zavian,” she said, seating herself in one of the visitor’s chairs without waiting for an invitation. “You would think that being the most powerful man in the Northia Federation would wipe that sour look off your face, but it seems that some men can never be satisfied.”

  “Just tell me what you want, Mirrine,” the Minister said flatly. “Money is no object, of course—”

  “I have no interest in your coffers,” Mirrine said with a flick of her slender hand. “I have plenty of coin, but you already knew that. It is your policies that I am interested in.”

  “I thought we both made it quite clear that we would not seek each other out again once we separated,” the Minister said tightly, and I frowned. Separated? As in…?

  Mirrine laughed. “You made that quite clear when you flounced back to the Federation with no regard for our marriage vows. Of course, you were not faithful even before that, and at the time I was glad enough to see the last of you.”

  “That magical union that the vows are supposed to effect never took, in our case,” he argued, though without true conviction in his voice. “I contend that the ceremony was not valid. Perhaps that Forrane priest did something wrong. I should have known better than to get married in a foreign country.”

  She snorted. “What a self-serving excuse. It worked fine at first, until you indulged in those affairs. And I never agreed to avoid you forever, but you never cared a whit about what I wanted, did you? I was a fool for marrying you as quickly as I did. If I had waited a bit longer, I would have discovered you for the cold, selfish man that you are, and you would not be in the unfortunate predicament that you are now.”

  What? I blinked in confusion. Everyone knew that the Minister’s wife had passed away five years ago, and that wife was certainly not Mirrine. Mages married for life, and they were only permitted one partner at a time. They could remarry if their spouse died, but considering that Mirrine was alive and well…if they had ever married, then she must still be his legal wife. His only legal wife.

  “What predicament?” Graning shrugged with what I suspected was feigned indifference. “You can make trouble, I suppose, but I fail to see what has changed.”

  “Perhaps you should have thought about your position before your country decided to sabotage and block Forrane’s eastern trade agreements,” she said coldly. “We rely quite heavily on our trade with the Bilamese, as you well know.”

  “That is not my problem,” the minister retorted. “The Bilamese have disregarded our offer of a trade alliance. It is only natural that we would prevent them from allying with you instead, or other nations would think they can refuse us with impunity.”

  “I don’t care about your reasons for sabotaging my country’s economy,” Mirrine said, cutting him off. “Right now, you have a choice. You can either remove the sanctions against Forrane and Bilam, or I can go to any one of the numerous reporters in town and tell them the juicy story of how Zavian Graning is a faithless bigamist.” She gave him a sly smile. “I think we both know which you would prefer.”

  The Minister stared at her. “You cannot go to the press with this,” he said. “You would be ruined too.”

  “I am not the one who remarried,” Mirrine said. “You are. I have absolutely nothing to fear from telling the truth, being merely a victim of your cruel abandonment, whereas you…” She trailed off, her smile widening, and waved a hand about the room. “Well, you have a great deal to lose. You should be very glad I am asking for so little.”

  “I’ll need some time to think about this,” the Minister started, but Mirrine shook her head.

  “If I leave this room without an agreement from you, I will march straight to the Solantha Press Club,” she warned. “And before you think to have me killed or detained, I have written proof of your perfidy that will be published should anything happen to me.”

  The Minister clenched his hands so hard around the arms of his chair that his knuckles turned white. “I will agree to your demands,” he said after a long, fraught moment, “if you promise to go home. I was a damn fool for marrying you, but I am not going to risk everything I have worked for just because of some silly trade dispute.”

  Mirrine laughed, then rose from her chair. “I’m glad to see you are still somewhat reasonable. And I will leave whenever I please,” she said silkily. “I can’t say I’m surprised by your reaction; you’re still the same man who puts ambition over everything else, including your loved ones.” Her smile faded, and she stared at him for a long moment. “You really were the worst sort of husband imaginable,” she said softly. “I often pitied your second wife.”

  The Minister clenched his jaw. “Mirrine—” he began, rising from his chair as she started to turn away.

  “Just remember,” she said airily as she walked away, “if anything happens to me, this all goes public.”

  The Minister sat back down in his chair, his face red with anger. I watched for a few moments, waiting to see if he would pick up the phone. But he simply sat there, fuming silently.

  “Here’s your cone.” Barrla’s cheerful voice tore me from the scene. “Sorry it took so long. There were some children who could not make up their minds.” She held out the ice cream cone with her left hand, holding her own with her right and licking delicately. “What did you learn?”

  I sighed. “They argued about trade agreements,” I said as I took the cone. I tasted it, taking care not to spill any drops on my clothes.

  Barrla frowned. “You looked like you were listening to some juicy gossip.”

  “Yes, there was a bit of that too, something about the Minister’s past… but if I am right about what I heard, it might be a very dangerous secret to know. I want to discuss it with Fenris first—please don’t be angry if I don’t tell you everything now.” I trusted Barrla, but I didn’t want Marris, who hated the mages so much, to learn about such a damaging scandal before I had discussed the possible consequences with Fenris. I would not put it past the Minister to have Mirrine killed after all, if his secret leaked out before she left the country.

  “Well, at least promise to tell me as soon as you can,” Barrla said, pouting. “You do realize that if this were a novel, you’d be setting yourself up as a victim? Keeping dangerous secrets to yourself is not a good idea.”

  “Nobody but you knows I even have it, and I trust you not to blab. I’ll discuss it with Fenris as soon as I see him.”

  We sat out there for another hour, listening through the owl and hoping to come across anything suspicious. But all we overheard was government business, and there was no sign of any spies that we could tail back to their lair.

  “Oh, this is just torture,” Barrla finally said as we watched a secretary bring in white wine and takeout from what looked to be a five-star restaurant. “The Minister is enjoying fine dining and cool air while we are sweltering in this heat!”

  “Oh, all right,” I said with a laugh as she put the owl away. “Let’s go have some dinner ourselves.
”

  We packed up, then caught a cab to the port, where we would grab some food and much-needed drink before reconvening with Comenius. With any luck, he might finally have some good news for us.

  22

  Fenris

  After the excitement of catching the conspirators and rounding up the prisoners, I returned to the Palace to pick up the things I’d selected. There was just enough time before the meeting with Mina, Barrla, and Marris at Comenius’s place. I was looking forward to announcing that the plot had been foiled, and that mages, shifters, and humans in Solantha could safely go about their business once more. They would all be happy and relieved at the day’s events.

  Even better, Mina and I could finally get on with our own lives now that we had taken care of the Resistance’s plans for revenge. It was amazing how quickly things had moved, once everyone—Director Chen, Garrett and his agents, Captain Skonel and his enforcers—had worked together. Teamwork truly was the key—these Resistance conspirators didn’t stand a chance against our combined skills.

  I was adding a tome on defensive magic to my magic sleeve to share with Mina when there was a sudden commotion in the corridor. “They’ve finally returned!” I heard an excited servant whispering as footsteps rushed up and down, and my heart jumped. Could it be…?

  “Iannis?” I asked tentatively in mindspeak, reaching for them. “Sunaya?”

  “Fenris???” they both answered at the same time, shock and delight reverberating through the connection.

  A burst of elation filled me at the sound of their voices, and I jumped off the bed and rushed into the hallway just as they turned the corner. They both wore rumpled clothing and looked weary from their travels, but Sunaya squealed at the sight of me, and the next thing I knew she’d shot down the hall and had wrapped me in a fierce hug.

  “Dammit, Fenris!” She squeezed tight enough that I could do nothing but wrap my arms around her and return the hug. She smelled just as I’d last remembered her—a combination of something sweet, like honey blossoms, mixed with magic and the faintest hint of charcoal from her steambike. Her thick mass of dark, curly hair nearly choked me, but it was worth it to finally see her and Iannis again.

  “I missed you so fucking much,” she mumbled into my shirt, finally loosening her grip enough that I could breathe. She lifted her head, and guilt hit me at the sheen of tears over her brilliant green eyes. But in the next second, they disappeared, and her fangs flashed in that familiar impudent grin of hers. “Figures you would take advantage of the quake to ditch us and go find a mate. I can smell her all over you.”

  The tips of my ears reddened, and I cleared my throat. “We’re not actually married yet,” I said, taking a step back. “Though I hope to be, soon.”

  “You must invite us to the wedding,” Iannis said, sweeping in for a quick, hard hug of his own. “I’m so glad you will be here for ours.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said, smiling. I looked between the two of them, then said, “You both look exhausted. I’ll let you rest, and we can talk more in the morning.”

  “Oh, hell no,” Sunaya said, grabbing my arm. “You just got back—I’m not letting you out of my sight so soon.”

  “Technically you are the ones who just got back,” I said as she dragged me down the hall and into the room she shared with Iannis. Sunaya and Iannis actually had separate bedrooms, but it was just for show—they slept together almost every night since the day they’d become engaged. “I’ve been here in Solantha for several days.”

  “You have?” Sunaya exclaimed as we sat down on the couches. Servants came in on our heels, delivering drinks and a platter of snacks. “What have you been doing here this whole time?”

  “I came here to warn you,” I said as I helped myself to a glass of wine and a small plate of cheese and crackers. “There was a plot afoot—some of Thorgana’s former associates were gathering ex-Resistance members together here in Solantha and planned to seize the city after attacking the Convention in force. They hoped to kill the country’s strongest mages in one go and improve their chances of seizing power. Luckily they were discovered just today—their leaders were imprisoned and their weapons have been seized. It was an impressive collaboration of the Mages Guild under Director Chen, the enforcers, and Director Toring’s office.”

  “And you, too?” Sunaya guessed. “There is a tinge of gunpowder in your scent.”

  “I was there,” I admitted. “Now that I have been outed as Lord Polar’s illegitimate son, Garrett Toring has been surprisingly pleasant,” I added wryly.

  Sunaya chuckled. “So you know about that, huh? I hope you’re not too offended—I kind of came up with it on the spur of the moment, and since I thought you were dead at the time, I didn’t think there would be any ramifications to you.”

  I smiled. “It was inspired, but you’ll need to tell me every detail of your invention so I don’t accidentally give myself away.”

  “Never mind all that now. I want to know more about this plot,” Iannis said, his violet eyes narrowing. “I knew there was a chance something like this could happen when the Minister announced he’d hold the Convention here. We took precautions, but we hadn’t gotten wind of anything like this before I left.”

  The door opened before I could reply, and Director Chen strode in. “Thank Resinah you are back,” she said fervently in a rare show of emotion, making a beeline for Iannis. “I was beginning to reach my wits’ end. Are you both unharmed?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Iannis smiled. “I apologize for leaving you hanging, Director Chen, but I trust you’ve had things in hand. I gather that on top of everything else, you had to deal with this Resistance plot Fenris was telling us about?”

  Director Chen nodded, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs. “Fenris sent an anonymous warning on his way here, but it was not taken seriously. We acted quickly, however, after he connected with Director Toring. Fenris helped me get the crucial information out of the main suspect, Moredo, another of those construction tycoons…Was that only six hours ago? It seems longer.” She passed a hand over her brow in a weary gesture. “Then he also helped take care of the plotters, just in time for your return.”

  “You all did very well,” Iannis said. “I am glad everything is in hand.”

  “Who else was involved?” Sunaya asked, leaning forward. “Did you find out any details of the planned attack?”

  Director Chen and I fully briefed Sunaya and Iannis on what we had discovered. We were still going over the details when Chen was called away on an urgent appointment, leaving me alone with my friends once more.

  “I’m glad you are able to go around Solantha in your own face once again,” Sunaya said. “Sorry we weren’t here when you first arrived. Your run-in with Garrett must have been scary as hell since you didn’t know what I’d told him.”

  “How exactly did you run into him?” Iannis asked. “What did you say?”

  I told them about my brief incarceration and what had led to it, and how Garrett, all sympathy, had turned me loose and told me to go visit my parents. “I still have to go and see them,” I said ruefully. “I have to admit that I’m not entirely looking forward to that visit, since they believe me to be my own son.”

  “They came here first, and I was sorry I could not help them,” Iannis said. “They will eventually find out that you have resurfaced. Better that you go and see them in person than having them find out from a third party.”

  “I’m so glad that Garrett bought the story,” Sunaya said, looking relieved. “He seemed convinced when I spun it, but that was months ago and I wasn’t sure how he’d react if he ever saw you again. I tried to make you sound like a poor victim of your parents’ indiscretion, brought up by your old great-uncle in that remote country house of his and hidden away behind the library sofas whenever he had a visitor. I told him you grew up in that library, which explained your love of books and scholarship and also why you were so different from other shifters.”

/>   For a moment, I wondered how she would know about my great-uncle’s country house, but then I remembered she had all my memories. Sunaya’s making such use of them was an unexpected development, and yet it was just the kind of thing she would do.

  “It’s a bit insulting how readily he and my parents believed your story,” I said. “I would never have treated any child of mine like that, shifter or no.” Of course, Garrett had never known me that well, but my own parents…I consoled myself with the reflection that Polar’s name was already ruined in my fellow mages’ eyes, so this added scandal could hardly make matters worse. I was Fenris now, and should just let it go.

  “But never mind all that,” I said to Sunaya with a smile. “I am very happy you did this. Now that I am engaged to Mina, it means that the two of us should be able to live openly together. And my interest in ancient magical lore and my knowledge of Loranian no longer need to be hidden. I can even practice magic to some extent.”

  “And wear robes, if you want to,” Iannis said. “That old great-uncle could have apprenticed you.”

  “I wish that you’d brought your Mina with you,” Sunaya lamented. “I really want to meet her. She smells nice, Fenris—like lavender and sunshine. I bet she’s one of those sweet and gentle types.”

  I grinned. “She is, but she does have a fiery side if provoked. She is very excited about meeting the both of you, although she is a bit nervous.”

  “She won’t have any need to be,” Iannis assured me. “We’ll make her feel right at home. I don’t know that we’ll have much time for social affairs before our wedding, what with everything going on, but we’ll have to get together before you two leave.”

  “Leave?” Sunaya demanded. “You’re not going back to whatever cave you’ve been hiding in, are you, Fenris?”