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

by Jasmine Walt

  Magic sizzled in the air around us as he joined his soul with mine, allowing me to feel the tide of pleasure he felt as he pounded into me. My inner muscles clenched around him as I came again, and he groaned low and deep in his throat as he finally found release. His grip on me weakened, and we found ourselves sliding to the floor of the shower. Thank Magorah the hot water was powered by magic, or the spray would be ice cold by now.

  “I love you,” Iannis murmured in my ear, gently stroking my back.

  “Love you too.” Smiling, I snagged the bar of soap, which had fallen to the ground, and began lathering it up in my hands. “Now why don’t we get ourselves cleaned up?”

  22

  The banquet hall was buzzing with chatter when the three of us walked in, nearly full despite the fact that we’d arrived a few minutes early. The entire Parabas Mages Guild must have shown up. Though everyone was dressed in finery, it was easy enough to pick up on who was a peon and who was a high-ranking mage, based on body language. The grand, open space had high ceilings and a wide, carpeted floor. Gold was the dominating color, featured on the drapes hanging from the walls, the molding that edged the ceiling, and the legs and backs of the chairs gathered by the tables arranged in a semi-circle around a glossy wooden dance floor. Toward the back, there was a stage, where the first part of the evening’s entertainment was already set up. A pianist was playing a light and lively tune, pleasant enough, but not too loud, so that the guests could enjoy their conversations.

  Those conversations dimmed as heads turned toward us, and I was glad I was properly dressed for the occasion. Iannis wore a version of his Canalo state robes, and Fenris a well-cut black tunic that flattered his yellow eyes. But I was the star of this show in my sapphire-blue silk dress with silver butterflies embroidered over the bodice and across the voluminous skirts. My curls were pinned back from my face with butterfly clips accented with tiny sapphire-blue crystals. A maid had helped me with my hair and makeup. I was well-dressed enough to hold a candle to any of the female mages who looked me up and down, and I lifted my chin a little higher as I noticed the disapproval in some of their eyes.

  “Lord Iannis!” Lord Logar called, drawing our attention to him. He was seated at the table at the top of the semi-circle, but he stood to greet us. The other mages sitting with him did the same—three males, three females. “Please, come join us here.”

  “Thank you,” Iannis said as we approached the table. He shook Lord Logar’s hand. “We appreciate your hospitality.”

  “You have already met Lord Iannis,” Lord Logar said to the other mages, “but let me also introduce you to the lovely Miss Sunaya Baine, Lord Iannis’s betrothed, and also his… advisor, Fenris. Miss Baine, Fenris, let me introduce you to the others.”

  He started with his wife, Lady Talari, a lovely brunette who wore the green and gold Parabas colors, just like her husband. She waved away my thanks for providing the lovely dress. Next was Jolen Tular, the Director of the Osero Mages Guild. Then came two of the secretaries who headed the departments in the Guild, followed three of the senior council members who acted as advisors to the Chief Mage. These gave me the stuffiest looks of them all, as if their old bones could barely stand to be in the presence of an upstart like me.

  I made sure to give them the widest smiles.

  “How unusual, for a Chief Mage’s party to consist entirely of shifters,” Resa Boran, the Finance Secretary, said with a sly smile. She was a gorgeous woman with flame-red hair and deep blue eyes, dressed in shimmering silver robes that were tailored to emphasize rather than hide her curves. I wanted to rip that sexy little smirk off her face, and maybe claw out her bedroom eyes too.

  “We might as well embrace diversity, considering this changing political climate,” Iannis said. His hand drifted to my lower back, and I calmed. Just because this woman was sex on a stick didn’t mean that I had anything to fear. But it was difficult not to punch her in the face when she was ogling Iannis right in front of me. “Besides, Miss Baine is not only a shifter. She is a mage, too, and will be quite formidable when she is done with her training.”

  “Why don’t we sit down?” Lord Logar suggested, obviously sensing the tension that had thickened the air. “Everyone knows about our mission in Nika, but they are anxious to hear the tale straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were.”

  We sat and talked, and though the council members and Resa pretended that Fenris and I did not exist, the others were amiable enough. No, they didn’t treat us as equals, but they were friendlier than the Solantha mages had been when they’d first met me. I imagined this was because of Parabas’s more progressive stance toward non-mages, a stance that would hopefully expand to the rest of the Federation.

  “It is most disturbing to realize that the Resistance has been organizing and plotting under our noses the entire time,” Carsid, the Legal Secretary, remarked. He was a black-skinned mage who wore his long, black hair in thin braids, his yellow, orange, and black robes easily the most colorful ensemble in the room. “We have clearly underestimated them.”

  “Yes,” Iannis agreed, taking a sip from his glass of wine. “If not for Sunaya, I am not certain we would have unearthed the Resistance’s campaigns in Canalo in time to prevent them from doing even more damage.” He smiled, lifting his glass to me in a toast. “She has quite the nose for sniffing out trouble.”

  “To Sunaya Baine and her superb sleuthing skills,” Lord Logar declared, lifting his glass in a toast. The other mages around the table followed suit, and then drank. Embarrassment at the attention warmed my cheeks, and I tried to hide behind my glass. It was too bad that the wine did nothing for me—it would have been nice to have something to calm my nerves.

  On the other hand, I mused, glancing sideways at Fenris, it was probably for the best that we weren’t served any spirits that could affect shifters. Fenris needed to stay on his toes around these mages lest he slip and reveal his true identity. The mages of Parabas might be more tolerant, but I had little doubt that Lord Logar was loyal to the Federation and would not hesitate to turn Fenris in. And if that happened, Iannis would be charged with treason as well, both for harboring him, and for using a forbidden spell to turn Fenris into a shifter. The Solantha mages might have started warming up to me, but I had no doubt the Council would cry for my execution again as soon as Iannis was no longer around to protect me.

  “So, how is Miss Baine’s training to be taken care of, now that the two of you are betrothed?” Resa enquired after our entrées had arrived. “I can’t imagine that you will continue to apprentice her.”

  “And I can’t imagine that’s any of your business,” I said as I cut a piece of my steak. Resa’s painted lips formed a surprised ‘O’ at the fact that I was addressing her directly, and her eyes flew to mine.

  “I am simply concerned about propriety,” Resa said stiffly, leaving her salmon untouched as she lowered her fork. “You would not want others to gossip about what happens after hours between a master and an apprentice.”

  “And I am concerned about your obvious desire to engage in ‘after-hours’ activities with my fiancée,” I said dryly.

  Gasps ensued from around the table, and Resa clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. Iannis’s eyebrows winged up, but I caught just a hint of amusement in his eyes, and knew he wasn’t angry with me for calling out the trollop across the table.

  “How dare you!” Resa cried, her pale cheeks mottling. “Lord Iannis, I have never in my life been confronted with such rude behavior. I expect your apprentice to apologize immediately.”

  “Actually, I believe you are the one who should apologize,” Lord Logar said. His voice was mild, but the stony expression on his face said he was not pleased with this turn of events. All heads swiveled in his direction, and I imagined this was like watching a match of tennis to the other mages. The rest of the room had quieted some too—the attention of others had been drawn to the altercation.

  “But, My Lord—”

  “Th
ese are our guests,” Lord Logar said sternly. “Regardless of whether or not you intended to be rude, you have clearly offended Miss Baine. You can either apologize, or you can leave this table.”

  The table was deathly silent for several moments. The other mages went still, astonishment in their eyes—clearly, they hadn’t expected him to take it this far. Resa’s face turned to stone. Like all mages, she was good at schooling her expression, but I could smell the anger and shock rolling off her in waves. I half expected her to flounce away from the table in anger, like a spoiled child.

  Instead, she wrestled her emotions back into place and gave me a small smile. “Please accept my apologies, Miss Baine. I did not mean to offend you.” She inclined her head fractionally, and I refrained from snorting. I was certain she fully intended to offend me—she just hadn’t expected to get her ass slapped for it.

  “That is quite all right,” I said graciously, lifting my glass to her. “Now what do you say we enjoy the rest of this meal?”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” Lord Logar said.

  “I heard you had a young mage amongst your party who specializes in alchemical magic,” one of the secretaries said, addressing Iannis. “Does he know anything about xingou shaun?” she asked, referencing a Loranian phrase I didn’t recognize.

  “It’s xinghòu shaun.”

  All eyes snapped to Fenris. My heart began to thud faster in my chest, and by the way Fenris’s cheeks blanched slightly, he wasn’t the only one who realized his mistake.

  “So it is,” another mage said, his eyes narrowing.

  “How do you know that?” the secretary asked curiously. Her gaze turned to Lord Iannis. “Are you teaching shifters our spells now?”

  “Fenris keeps me company a lot,” I said, my brain racing as I tried to come up with a convincing explanation so Iannis wouldn’t have to. “I often practice my Loranian while he’s around.”

  “I see.” The secretary frowned, looking at Fenris again. “I suppose it does no harm since shifters cannot use spells, but I must admit that is rather unorthodox.”

  “I agree,” Iannis said, narrowing his gaze on Fenris. The warning in his eyes was clear.

  Before he could say anymore, an apprentice rushed up to Lord Logar’s elbow. “My Lord,” the young man said, bowing deeply. He wore the same dun-colored robes that the apprentices in Solantha did. “I apologize for disturbing you, but the interrogator that the Enforcer’s Guild has assigned to the prisoners has discovered some very distressing information, and asked me to inform you without delay.”

  “Well, out with it,” Lord Logar demanded. “You can speak freely before us. What did they learn?”

  “The head scientist of that disgusting installation has confessed that there is a sister lab in Southern Garai that is also working on producing the same type of secret weapons. In addition to the diseases, it also supplies the guns that the Resistance is using lately.” He handed over a folded-up paper. “There are additional details here.”

  “You cannot be serious!” Lord Logar took the paper from the apprentice and scanned it, his brows drawing together in a deep scowl. “It seems the other lab is in Leniang Port,” he told Iannis, a hint of disgust creeping into his tone. I could understand why—in addition to Garai being out of our jurisdiction, Leniang Port was one of the more lawless ports in that huge empire, where anything could be bought with enough gold.

  Including weapons for killing shifters and mages wholesale, apparently.

  “My director, Lalia Chen, is Garaian,” Iannis said thoughtfully. “I believe she has family back there, and influential connections that may be useful to us. I will need to speak to the Minister before any action is taken—our trade deal with Garai is due to be re-negotiated, and it would be unfortunate if we accidentally upset things. But destroying this danger is even more important.”

  I groaned inwardly at the thought of having to take another trip to Dara, but I wasn’t about to complain. We had to stop this madness, no matter what it took.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I think I will retire,” Fenris said. He pushed back his chair and stood, then bowed stiffly to everyone. “I’m afraid I am not feeling very well.”

  “Of course,” Lord Logar said graciously. “Let me know if you need us to send a healer. We have one in residence, of course.”

  “Thank you.” Fenris disappeared, and I wished I could have joined him. I could tell from the turmoil churning behind his dark eyes that whatever ailment he suffered was mental rather than physical. Clearly, he couldn’t stand to be around the other mages any longer. I toyed with the temptation of retreating as well, but it would raise eyebrows if the two of us left together, and besides, I belonged at Iannis’s side. So, instead, I turned back to the table, intending to check on Fenris as soon as this torturous banquet was over.

  23

  Home at last. A long sigh escaped me as I shut the door of my bedroom suite in Solantha and leaned against it. A weight lifted from my shoulders, and I closed my eyes, savoring the much-needed solitude. After everything that had happened, and the long, tension-filled ride back in the dirigible, I was happy to be back where I belonged.

  I kicked off my shoes by the door, then passed through my sitting room and into my bedroom. I flopped onto my enormous bed, intending to do absolutely nothing but lie here and de-stress for the rest of the day. Life could wait for at least twenty-four hours. I was beat, both physically and emotionally.

  The banquet had run late last night, and I’d been forced to schmooze and dance with the locals. Dancing with Iannis had been enjoyable enough, but dancing and conversing with dozens of strange mages was a different story. The banquet was supposed to be in our honor, but it felt more like an opportunity for Lord Logar to put me on display in front of his mages so they could examine me from all angles. They’d all been very polite—no one would dare say anything rude with Iannis around, not after what happened to Resa—but being under constant scrutiny had been exhausting.

  We’d managed to make it back to our guest rooms around one in the morning. I went to check on Fenris before turning in, but his door was locked. I could hear him snoring lightly beyond the door so I decided to leave him be. I’d hoped that a good night’s sleep would lift his spirits, but he and Iannis had been silent the entire dirigible ride home, barely speaking to one another. Apparently, Iannis had gone to talk to him before I was up, and the outcome of the conversation hadn’t been good. Neither of them would tell me what it was about, which pissed me off because, at the very least, Iannis should have told me. If it turned out that he’d been hard on Fenris for his slip-up, Iannis and I were going to have some serious words.

  But right now, I was tired of fighting. I’d done more than my fair share, and I still had the outcome of Noria’s hearing to look forward to.

  Not.

  Snuggling deep into my mattress, I closed my eyes and sank into sleep. I wasn’t sure how long I was out, but it seemed like only seconds before someone was knocking on my outer door.

  “Go away!” I grumbled loudly, burying my head under a pillow to block out the noise.

  “But Miss Baine, it’s nearly six o’clock in the evening! Please forgive the disturbance, but I have some important things to go over with you.”

  I scowled. Important things? What important things? And who the hell was this anyway? I certainly didn’t recognize her voice—she sounded young, around my age, but a lot more innocent. Realizing the intruder wasn’t going to give up, I threw off the bedcovers, then trudged through the sitting room and opened the door wide.

  “What do you want?” I growled at the petite blonde standing outside. She wore black-framed glasses and was dressed in a navy-blue pantsuit. Very professional looking, and one-hundred percent human. You didn’t see too many of those in the Palace.

  “Oh goodness, it’s so nice to finally meet you, Miss Baine,” the woman gushed, her fresh face lighting up instantly. She stuck out a hand, and I took it automatically, surprised by h
er enthusiasm. “My name is Nelia Thrase. I’m your new social secretary.”

  “Social secretary?” I scowled as she pumped my hand. I yanked it away from her before she tore it off. “I didn’t hire a social secretary.”

  “Director Chen hired me on your behalf.” Nelia’s wide smile dimmed beneath the onslaught of my displeasure. “Did she not inform you? I was given to understand…” She trailed off, sounding genuinely distressed. “I assure you, I am qualified and eager to work for you. I used to write for a magazine, and before that, I interned with a local radio station.”

  “The director may have mentioned it,” I said between clenched teeth, deciding against telling the girl I’d wanted to hire my own social secretary, and that I hadn’t even decided if I needed one. “I’ve been a little busy the past couple of days, so I forgot.”

  “Oh, yes, of course.” The million-watt smile returned in full force, and Nelia hefted her binder a little higher. “I’ve already organized your calendar and made some appointments for you. I’ve also made some additions to your wardrobe for your social engagements.”

  “You what?” Whirling around, I darted into my room and headed straight for the walk-in closet. Sure enough, space had been made in the front for a variety of conservative but very expensive-looking robes and dresses in all kinds of colors and fabrics. I instinctively cringed at the thought of how much all this stuff had to cost as I riffled through it, before remembering I was rich now, and also engaged to one of the wealthiest men in Canalo. But still…

  “Are the clothes not to your liking, Miss Baine?” Nelia asked. I turned to see her standing just outside the entrance to my closet, worry stamped all over her heart-shaped face. Guilt twanged in my gut as I realized I was being incredibly rude to her.