Betrayed by Magic: A New Adult Fantasy novel (The Baine Chronicles Book 5)

by Jasmine Walt

  “You think they’re in trouble?” Fenris asked, sounding concerned.

  I sighed. “There’s no way of knowing, since it’s so hard to communicate with them. But I have a bad feeling about this, and I think they’re going to need me soon. I’ve got to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”

  “Sunaya, I understand your concern, and your desire to help your friends, but going off alone on a rescue mission is absolutely out of the question,” Iannis said sternly. “You’re my apprentice, and now my fiancée as well—you can’t simply go gallivanting off as you please.”

  “Gallivanting!” I slapped my hand on the table, and the silverware jumped. “You call going after my friends whose lives are in danger ‘gallivanting’? Is that what I did when I took Fenris and Annia to rescue you?”

  “No,” Iannis said, completely unperturbed about my outburst. “Perhaps I chose my words poorly. But I am still your master, and I can’t allow you to go off by yourself. The Resistance isn’t the only danger, you know—there are others who would sooner see you dead rather than wedded to me, or would be happy to capture you and use you for political leverage.”

  A shiver crawled down my spine at that. “Like who?”

  “Rival mages who covet my position. Or citizens who disapprove of giving shifters more status and power.” Iannis shrugged. “In any case, I am not prepared to risk your life in such a foolhardy manner.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Then come with me. That way I won’t be alone, and I can still rescue my friends.”

  “I cannot.” A hint of anger entered Iannis’s tone now. “As I just explained, I must attend to this mission. If I keep refusing missions from the Minister, he will begin to doubt my commitment. He could even try to relieve me of my position if I anger him enough, and with all the chaos the Resistance has caused, he is on edge.”

  “Hang on.” Fenris held up a hand before I could spit back an angry retort. “There has to be a way we can come to some sort of an agreement on this. After all, Annia, Noria, and Elnos are amongst the Resistance right now. Surely, whatever camp they have infiltrated is also a worthy target. The Minister should be happy to see it shut down as well.”

  “I can mention it, but I doubt he would consider that a higher priority than the mission he’s currently assigned me,” Iannis said dryly, “especially since we have no idea which camp they are in, or what sort of operation is being run there.”

  “It could be a higher priority,” I argued. “When Elnos sends his next ether pigeon, I may have more details regarding their whereabouts.”

  “Perhaps, but we cannot count on that. And we have no idea when to expect his next message.”

  “How about this, then?” Fenris said, turning to me. “Why don’t you go with Iannis to Dara, for starters, and find out more about his mission. In the meantime, I will call Comenius daily for news from Elnos, and relay it instantly once it is received. I will also keep an eye on Director Chen and the Council to see if they learn anything, since the camp Annia and Elnos went to is within Canalo’s borders. It is entirely possible that you may be finished with the Minister’s mission by the time we receive Elnos’s next message, and you and Iannis can go find them right away. But if not, you can make a judgment call then as to whether or not to finish the mission with Iannis, or leave and go after your friends.”

  “I will not allow her to go off by herself—”

  “I will meet her there,” Fenris said calmly, cutting him off. “I may not have your power, Iannis, but I am more than capable of watching over and assisting Sunaya until you arrive.”

  “Of course,” Iannis said, sounding calmer now. “I did not mean to imply anything to the contrary. It’s just that…” He glanced sideways at me, and I softened a little at the conflicted look in his violet eyes.

  “You’re protective of Sunaya,” Fenris said, smiling. “I would be very worried if you were not beating on your chest like an enraged gorilla at the thought of her being separated from you again.”

  “I resent that comparison,” Iannis said as I snickered, though he didn’t sound too mad about it.

  “All right. Well, I can agree to those terms,” I said, the anger in my chest falling away. I couldn’t bring myself to be mad at Iannis for caring about me, even if his possessiveness was becoming a bit of a nuisance. “What about you?”

  Iannis found my hand under the table, gave it a light squeeze. “Very well,” he said, his eyes softening for just a moment before he turned back to Fenris. “You promise that you’ll send me daily reports if you and Sunaya do end up going off without me?”

  “Of course.” Fenris picked up his fork, then stabbed at a piece of steak. “Now let’s enjoy our meal, shall we? I have a feeling this may be one of the last we’ll share together for a while.”

  No kidding, I thought as we dug into our food. I only hoped that when all of this was said and done, things would return to normal. Or whatever ‘normal’ would be, in the aftermath of this disaster.

  7

  After dinner, I made my way toward the gardens, figuring a walk and some fresh air would help clear my thoughts. I wasn’t mad at Iannis anymore—in fact, dinner with him and Fenris had been very pleasant—but I was still a little unsettled over this new change in plans. Was I doing the right thing, by agreeing to go to Dara instead of holding myself ready to go after Elnos and Annia the moment I learned their location? Or would circumstances prevent me from helping them? I would never forgive myself if this delay contributed to their deaths.

  You shouldn’t worry so much, I told myself. Annia was a competent enforcer, and Elnos a trained mage, even if he was on the young side. Truthfully, he was probably older than I was, but mages were long-lived, and his youthful personality made me think of him as younger, closer to my age. It was likely that the two of them could manage to get out of whatever trouble they fell into, even if the Resistance did discover who they were.

  But ever since we’d confirmed that Argon Chartis, the former director of the Canalo Mages Guild, had defected to the Resistance, I was worried there would be others like him. What if the camp Annia and Elnos infiltrated had a renegade mage at their disposal, or some other magic user? They could have recruited a witch, or even a shaman if they were near tribal lands. As I’d experienced firsthand, tribal shamans were not to be underestimated—they could be just as powerful as mages. And though I didn’t know much about witches, some of them might be equally formidable, even if they practiced their magic differently.

  I wonder if Elania and Comenius might be willing to come, I thought to myself as I headed down the front steps of the palace and onto the garden path. If Fenris had to come out and meet me, perhaps he could take them along. The more manpower, the better.

  The gardens were beautiful this time of year, with paths winding through perfectly trimmed lawns, past fountains and statues of famous Canalo mages. There were bushes and trees with blossoms in every variety of color, some of them magically enhanced. I paused to sit on a carved stone bench and glanced up at the tree above me. It had brilliant blue leaves, and instead of blossoms, tiny bells grew from the branches, ringing softly as the ocean breeze ruffled them. These bell trees seemed to be very popular in the Mages Quarter—I’d seen more than one of them on the front lawns of the mages who lived here.

  “Miss Baine! There you are.”

  I stiffened at the sound of Director Chen’s voice. She was coming down the path to my left, her pale, ivory-skinned face serene as usual, though I caught a hint of relief in her slanted eyes. She wore emerald-green silk robes with a cream sash around her waist that drew the eye to her slim figure, and her fine, straight hair was tied into an elegant knot.

  “Director Chen.” Resigned, I got to my feet to greet her. She was the director of the Mages Guild and Iannis’s deputy, after all, and I had to show some respect even if I didn’t like her all that much. “What can I do for you?”

  “Would you mind sitting down with me for a cup of tea?” she asked. “There are
some things I’d like to discuss with you that might be better said in private.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of things?” If she was going to warn me off Iannis again, I was going to punch her right in the nose. Sure, that was probably stupid, since she was a powerful mage, but I wasn’t going to stand here and let her try to tear Iannis and me apart.

  “Nothing bad,” Chen assured me hastily, reading the look in my eye. “It’s business-related, I assure you.”

  “All right.” Biting back a sigh, I followed Director Chen inside, through the lobby, and down the hall toward the Mages Guild offices. I hated Chen’s office with a passion—her visitors’ chairs were incredibly uncomfortable—but I would endure them rather than chance someone overhearing us. Especially if she did want to say something nasty about my relationship with Iannis.

  However, we walked straight past Chen’s office and entered a lounge two doors down, commonly used by senior Guild employees for receiving visitors. The room was decorated in Canalo’s blue and gold—dark blue wallpaper with a repeating pattern of the state emblem, gold couches and chairs, dark blue rugs with golden embellishments, heavy wood tables, and parquet flooring. To the left of the seating area was an unlit fireplace of white gold-veined marble, which served as a sort of accent and relieved the colorful space.

  “I hope you like green tea,” Chen said as we sat on the couches. She lifted a small red clay teapot with Garaian symbols painted on the sides from the silver tea tray that had been left on the coffee table, and began to pour steaming, pale yellow liquid into matching red cups. “I confess it’s a favorite of mine.”

  “Green tea is fine,” I said. I preferred my tea cold rather than hot, especially in summer, but it would have to do.

  “Excellent.” Chen handed me the cup, and I held it gingerly—there were no handles, so I had to endure the hot ceramic directly.

  “So what’s this about?” I asked, blowing on my tea as I waited for it to cool.

  “Well, before I get into anything else, I would like to offer my apologies,” Chen said. She picked up her cup of tea and blew gently over the top before taking a dainty sip. “I misread the situation between you and Lord Iannis. It is quite clear to me now that he is fonder of you than I realized.”

  “I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘love’, not ‘fondness’,” I said evenly. I wasn’t going to let her trivialize what Iannis and I had.

  An uncomfortable expression crossed Chen’s face, but she nodded. “Yes, of course. In any case, I hope there are no hard feelings.”

  “I can move past it if you can.” I took a sip from my tea. Yowch. Still too hot. How the hell did Director Chen manage to sip hers so calmly, when it had to be scalding her lips off? Drinking hot tea had to be classified as some kind of torture, I was sure of it.

  “Excellent.” Chen gave me a brief smile, then her expression grew serious. “I brought you here because it’s time to discuss public-relations strategies. Specifically, we need to carefully handle the media regarding your engagement.”

  “What?” I stared at her, baffled.

  Director Chen’s perfectly plucked brows furrowed. “Surely you realize that the papers and radio hosts are taking a passionate interest in your engagement to Lord Iannis. And regretfully, not all outlets are portraying it in a positive manner. It is essential that the Chief Mage’s reputation should not take any damage from this unconventional relationship. As his fiancée, you can no longer stay out of the public eye. If you do not present yourself to the public in a sympathetic manner, the media will gleefully take advantage of your silence.”

  “So what do you want me to do?” I asked, trying not to sound irritated. After all, Director Chen had a point, even if I didn’t like what she was saying. Papers all over the Federation had already printed articles speculating about my relationship with Iannis, and that was before our engagement.

  “I’ve had my secretary set up some appointments for you. You will be meeting with important mage families and media representatives to answer questions and discuss your future role as the wife of Canalo’s Chief Mage.” Director Chen smiled again. “In fact, the first interview is already set for tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” Relief swept through me. “I’m sorry to say I won’t be able to make any of those appointments. I’m leaving for Dara tomorrow, with the Chief Mage.”

  “I’m well aware,” Director Chen said, unruffled by my announcement. “Tomorrow’s interview will take place in the morning, at nine o’clock. I believe your flight is not scheduled to leave until just before lunch, correct?”

  “Correct,” I said through gritted teeth. Dammit, but I wasn’t ready for this! It was one thing to interview suspects, another thing to be interviewed myself. And I’d never been groomed for the kind of political schmoozing that Chen clearly had in mind.

  “Excellent,” Chen said briskly. “Your other appointments will be rescheduled if you cannot return on time. I will assign you a social secretary to help you keep up with your engagements.”

  “Whoa, whoa, hang on.” I held up a hand, getting a little overwhelmed now. “I’m not sure I should be doing this so soon. I want to talk to Lord Iannis about this first. Does he know you’ve set this up?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to tell him about it yet, but I will, and I’m sure he would approve. With all this adverse gossip about the two of you spreading, Lord Iannis would be the first to demand that something needs to be done.”

  “I dunno,” I said dubiously, not sure if I should trust Chen. I wasn’t completely certain she had my best interests at heart. “I think I’d rather pick out my own social secretary, thanks. And I’d rather do the interviews when I’m more prepared for them.”

  “Miss Baine,” Director Chen said patiently, but in the sort of tone one used on small children or half-wits, “the papers are currently presenting you as a sleazy gold digger, because they’ve never had a chance to interview you in person. Once they do, I am reasonably confident they will change their tune. But you have to be willing to talk to them.”

  I let out a sigh. “Fine, I’ll do this interview in the morning,” I agreed, knowing in my heart I would regret it. “But I still plan on talking to Lord Iannis before I agree to do anything else. Who am I seeing?”

  “You will be interviewed by Gena Chanie, a correspondent from Now,” Chen informed me. It was a celebrity-focused publication I’d seen on the magazine racks many times, though I’d never read it myself. “She’ll meet you in this room for the interview, unless you would prefer to see her in your sitting room?”

  “No, here’s fine.” I set down my teacup, ready to be done with this conversation. It was bad enough I had to meet this journalist—no way was I inviting a stranger into my private suite. “Is that everything?”

  “I believe so,” Director Chen said. “Unless you want to look through the list of suitable candidates to serve as your secretary now. I could advise you—”

  “I’m sorry, but it’ll have to be another time.” I rose from my chair. “I have to prepare for the trip to Dara, and now that I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow morning, I have less time than I originally anticipated.” I allowed the slightest bit of censure to enter my voice.

  “Of course.” Director Chen inclined her head fractionally, though she did not look contrite at the fact that she had, in my opinion, overstepped her bounds by scheduling all these interviews without consulting me first. “Good night.”

  “Good night.” I walked out of the room, and barely, just barely, managed not to slam the door behind me. I had to improve my control over my emotions, and who better to practice on than one of the most infuriating women in Canalo?

  8

  Too restless to head up to my rooms yet, I went back out to the garden. By this time, the sun had set, and all that was left were the last faint streaks of purple, pink, and gold. The lanterns had turned on to help the crescent moon illuminate the darkness, and their warm, magical light gilded the plants, statues, a
nd bushes. The evening’s serene beauty was at odds with the conflicted thoughts churning away in my head.

  Of course, I’d known my engagement with Iannis was going to draw public attention to me, that I would have to deal with interviews and public speculation. I wasn’t stupid. But so many things had been going on when I’d agreed to the engagement that I’d pushed this aspect aside, unwilling to confront it. Now that my life was calming down a little, I was starting to experience the reality of what it meant to share Iannis’s life. Interviews, photo ops, fancy dresses, parties, meetings, and more. Not to mention my calendar was no longer my own to dictate—Chen was scheduling interviews without my permission, and Iannis was roping me into missions on short notice.

  You asked for these things, I reminded myself. You wanted to take a more active role in Solantha, to provide a voice for the shifter community. This is all part of the deal.

  I rounded the corner of the palace, following the path along the side of the massive structure so I could head to the back. There was an excellent view of Solantha Bay from the rear of the Palace. I never got tired of looking at Firegate Bridge—the magical red metal shimmered mysteriously beneath the twinkling stars, drawing the eye away from the ugliness of Prison Isle that stood in the middle of the bay. I wondered how many Resistance soldiers still languished there, awaiting their grim fate.

  Sunaya! a familiar voice shouted in my head, and I jumped, eyes widening. It sounded a hell of a lot like Roanas, my dead mentor. Sunaya, move!

  “What?” I said, confused, but my body automatically stepped to the side. As it did, a flaming object whizzed past my ear, missing me by an inch. Panic burst in my chest, and I jumped out of the way as the bomb hit the ground. Even so, the explosion tossed me like a rag doll, and I went flying several feet before landing hard in a row of rhododendron bushes planted along the palace wall.