by Jasmine Walt
I parked my bike in the garage, then headed up the stairs to my room in the west wing while Rylan went to grab snacks for us from the kitchens. But before I could get far, Garrett called my name, and I turned to see him striding up the hall after me.
“What is it?” I asked, unable to keep the annoyance from my voice. Couldn’t he get through a single day without me? I planted my hands on my hips as he came to a stop in front of me, and frowned as I got a good look at him. His eyes were bright, and there was no mistaking the air of buoyancy around him despite the mask of calm he wore. “Did you make some kind of breakthrough?”
“Yes.” His hazel eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice. “Is there somewhere we might speak privately?”
Holding back a sigh, I steered him to the sitting room in the east wing, where guests could sit and talk outside of their own quarters. It was a spacious common room of sorts, decorated in pale pink and gold, with small, ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and thick rugs. There were two groupings of pink-and-gold-striped furniture on opposite sides of the space, each with their own fireplace, and wing-backed chairs with small tables in the center of the room. I elected to sit in one of the chairs, so there was no chance of Garrett sitting next to me, and he followed suit.
“All right,” I said, crossing my right ankle over my left knee as I leaned back. “Tell me what you’ve found.”
“Unfortunately, this is not about Thorgana, but Lord Iannis.”
Icy fear shot straight down my spine, but I forced my body to remain relaxed. I would not let my emotions betray me, or my friends.
“I strongly suspect there is a dark secret between the Chief Mage and your mutual friend, Fenris, that could have grave consequences for them both,” Garrett continued. “And as the Director of Federal Security, I cannot turn a blind eye.” He let out a regretful sigh that would have been very convincing if not for my shifter senses, and I had to make a concerted effort not to curl my hands into fists. The smarmy bastard’s enjoying this.
“Despite my initial misgivings about you, Sunaya,” Garrett continued, “I have grown fond of you, and I do not want to see you caught up in ancient affairs that are beyond your control. I promise I will warn you before I act, so that you may make yourself scarce, if you will confirm my suspicions.”
“That would be hard to do, considering I have absolutely no idea what you suspect,” I said, confusion in my voice. “Honestly, I don’t know what you’re going on about, Garrett. And whatever it might be, I’m not going to believe it. Iannis and Fenris are honest and decent men, and have proven their firm commitment against the Resistance on more than one occasion.”
“Oh, I don’t suspect them of that kind of treason,” Garrett said with an unconcerned wave. “Lord Iannis is a loyal member of the Federation and despises the Resistance scum, no doubt about that. But like other powerful men, he is not averse to bending the laws when it suits his purposes, and I believe he and Fenris have done so in a manner that cannot be allowed to go unpunished.”
“If they have, then I know nothing about it,” I said firmly.
“It does you no favors to lie to me, Sunaya,” Garrett said, his face hardening. “Surely you have noticed that Fenris is a very unusual shifter. My assistant has drawn up a list of the books he has requested over the three years of his sojourn in Solantha, and a most suggestive pattern emerged. His scholarly interests coincide closely with that of a particular fugitive who once escaped me, who was also a noted scholar of magical history. That cannot be coincidence. If there is any chance the two are connected, it is my duty to investigate.” He leaned forward a little, his gaze intent. “For your own sake, Sunaya, you must help me uncover the truth.”
I laughed in his face, which was better than what I really wanted to do to him. Really, the nerve! This bastard had known me for all of a few months, and he thought I would turn my back on my friends just because I’d once saved his life?
“Garrett,” I finally said, adopting a soothing tone—he looked pissed now. “I know that you’re stressed, what with the constant setbacks in our hunt for Thorgana, and I can completely understand your need to make some kind of capture or arrest. But Fenris has an annoyingly high respect for law and order—he would never do anything illegal. I think you’re letting your suspicious nature carry you away, or maybe you’re just grasping at straws for some way to eliminate Iannis as a rival.” I allowed my own expression to harden. “I was there when the Minister pitted the two of you against each other, and I saw how much the idea of nabbing the highest office in the land meant to you. If that’s your motive for this crazy line of reasoning, that is absolutely despicable on your part, Garrett. I expected better of you.”
Garrett flinched at the accusation, giving me a fleeting moment of satisfaction. But he quickly rallied. “You misunderstand, Sunaya,” he began, but I rose from my chair, done with this conversation. “Don’t walk away from me,” he growled as I turned. “We aren’t finished here!”
“But we are,” I said coldly, spinning around to face him. There was an interesting mixture of guilt and determination coming off Garrett, but I refused to indulge him further. “I saved your life, buddy, and I’ve made every effort to assist you in your mission here. The fact that you would even try to make me turn against the man I love, a man who has selflessly risked himself for the sake of the Federation time and again, is unspeakably insulting.”
I stormed out of the room before Garrett could say anything else and headed back to my chambers. It wasn’t hard to look like I was angry—my inner beast was furious, itching to unsheathe her claws so we could shred that forked tongue of Garrett’s. I wanted to silence him for good, before he struck the deadly blow that would spell the end for Iannis and Fenris.
And myself, too, I reminded myself as I flung my door open. I wouldn’t let the two most important men in my life go down without a fight, and I didn’t see how that would end in anything but death for me. Besides, with the kind of Chief Mage the Minister would nominate in Iannis’s stead, Solantha would soon backslide into the same cesspit of hatred and division the Resistance had stirred up before. No, I couldn’t allow that to happen. We had to figure out what to do about Garrett.
My front door banged against the wall, and Rylan jumped up from the couch, alarmed. There were crumbs on his livery, no doubt from the half-eaten platter of meat and cheese beside him.
“I wondered what was keeping you,” he said as I stalked over to the sitting area. “What the hell happened?”
“Director Toring has happened,” I spat, snatching up a cracker. I slapped some cheese and salami onto it, then crammed it into my mouth. “The fucker is closing in on us,” I growled around a mouthful of food. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Rylan found out anyway, I spilled the whole story to him while we finished off the platter together.
“By Magorah,” Rylan said, his face stark white. “Fenris told me a little bit about his past, but he left out the fact that he was a fucking Chief Mage, and number one on the Federal Government’s Wanted list. We can’t wait any longer. We need to get him out of here now.”
“Yes.” My stomach plummeted into my shoes at the thought, but I refused to cry or howl about it—I didn’t have the luxury of emotion. “Let’s go talk to Iannis,” I said, jumping out of my chair. “He’ll have a plan.”
We hurried down the hall, clutching firmly to the hope that Fenris had made sufficient preparations, and that Iannis’s brilliant mind had already conjured up a foolproof escape plan. Running away at this juncture might be as dangerous as staying, though. Could Garrett have told me what he suspected in hopes of catching Fenris as he sneaked off? He and his cursed assistant would be watching, waiting for the moment to pounce. Unless Iannis ensured they were sufficiently distracted, we were going to need a fucking miracle, and I wasn’t sure we had any more of those left.
“Dira,” I said, skidding to a halt in front of the Mages Guild reception desk. “I need to speak to Lord Iann
is, urgently.”
She held up a finger, and I gnashed my teeth, noticing she was on the phone. It seemed like an eternity—though in reality, it was less than a minute—before she finally hung up. “I’m sorry, Miss Baine, but Lord Iannis was called away.”
“Called away?” I echoed, my voice sounding hollow to my ears. “To where? Did something happen?” And why the hell hadn’t he told me?
“A quake triggered a catastrophic landslide in Seros, and he left immediately to assist in the rescue. He asked me to relay the message to you, and to tell you he apologizes for not getting word to you himself.” Dira must have noticed the stricken look on my face, because her expression softened a little. “I’m sorry, Miss Baine. He won’t be back for at least two days.”
Two days. Rylan and I exchanged a look, and I knew he was thinking the exact same thing I was.
We were fucked.
15
I spent a sleepless night in my own bed, tossing and turning as my mind chewed on the various disasters that loomed every which way I turned. The earthquake preparations were moving along, but not as fast as I’d have liked, and Iannis’s sudden departure wasn’t helping matters. Thorgana was still nowhere to be found, very possibly in possession of a weapon that could destroy magic. And Garrett was sniffing at Fenris’s heels like a bloodthirsty hound.
As soon as we heard that Iannis had left town, Rylan and I had sought out Fenris. He’d been in his room, buried in spell books as he continued his search for spells that could help us with the earthquake prep. He’d found a few small ones, but nothing terribly helpful. And his mood had only grown darker when we told him what Garrett had discovered.
“I’m not leaving,” he said to us when we were finished. “Not yet,” he amended when I opened my mouth, flabbergasted, to protest. “Doing so right after Garrett warned you, Sunaya, would not only be an admission of guilt, but it would also implicate you. I would like to bid farewell to Iannis if at all possible, and I want to make a few more preparations.”
“Fuck the preparations,” I snarled, grabbing him by the front of his tunic. “We can send you whatever you might need. Why are you being so blasé about this? This is your life on the line!”
“So it is,” Fenris growled, knocking my hand away. His yellow gaze simmered with a multitude of emotions—anger, despair, defiance. “And as it is my life, I think I should be allowed to decide what to do with it. I am not ready to leave yet, Sunaya.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “If I change my mind, I will let you know.”
I wanted to shout at him that he was being stupid, but the implacable look on his face stopped me dead in my tracks. Nothing I said to him would matter.
“Fenris,” Rylan said in a soft voice, drawing Fenris’s hard gaze away from mine. “The offer I made you earlier today still stands. I have contacts in the South, and the Midwest. Both can help you resettle.”
Fenris nodded. “I may take you up on it. But for now, I must get back to my books.” He squeezed my shoulder, his face softening. “Don’t worry so, Sunaya. I have lived long and seen much in my lifetime. Enough to know that, even if I die, this will not be the end for me.” The look he gave me was hardly a consolation. I could barely imagine my life without Fenris in it. He was such an intrinsic part of my inner circle that the idea of being without him very nearly broke me.
Still, this wasn’t my choice and I had to respect his, if only because I knew he’d respect mine if our positions were reversed. So I’d hugged him hard and held back the tears long enough to make it back to my room before dissolving into a heap on my bed. Why was life so fucking unfair? Why did Fenris have to face the death penalty for doing what would be a good deed in any sane person’s book? He deserved so much better. Was the Creator going to strip all my friends from me, one by one? Noria was slaving away in the mines, Annia was off in Southia, Roanas was dead. Who was next?
My alarm woke me barely an hour after I’d finally managed to fall asleep, and I seriously considered smashing it to bits. But Garrett had a few more interviews to do this morning, and I couldn’t allow him to go nosing about my city unaccompanied. So I showered, dressed, and put my game face on. I wasn’t going to let him see how much our conversation last night had shaken me. That wasn’t just because doing so would piss me off. If he knew how much he’d affected me, it’d make his bloodhound senses go into overdrive, and that must be avoided at all costs. No, it was much better to point him in Thorgana’s direction and let him have at.
I was just on my way out the door when the telephone in my sitting room rang. I debated ignoring it, but I so rarely received calls in my room—what if it was Iannis?
“Hello?” I said, snatching it from the receiver and trying not to sound like death warmed over.
“Naya!” Comenius’s frantic voice burst from the speaker. “I need your help. Rusalia is missing!”
Shock and dismay jolted my system, driving the last vestiges of sleep from me. “I’m on my way,” I said. “Give me fifteen.”
I slammed down the phone, then went across the hall and banged on Rylan’s door.
He opened it, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one balled-up fist. When he opened his mouth to ask what in the hell I was doing there, I waved off his words with one hand.
“I need you to meet Garrett and Pillick in the Winter Garden today and go with them,” I ordered. “I’ve got an important errand to run, and I don’t want that asshole tramping around Solantha unaccompanied.”
“What errand?” Rylan demanded. “And who’s going to protect you if I’m not by your side?”
“Com’s daughter is missing. I’ll take Fenris—he’ll be protection enough,” I said sternly when Rylan looked like he was about to protest. “He needs to get his grumpy tail out of the Palace for a little while anyway, and this way I can keep an eye on him. It’s not like I can send him with Garrett.”
“Fine. I’ll tell them you were called away on an urgent enforcer matter. But be careful, Sunaya.” He grabbed my upper arm as I was about to turn away. “For both your and Fenris’s sake.”
I nodded, then dashed down the hall toward Fenris’s room. Part of me worried Garrett would think I was dodging him after our argument, and while he was half right, I would have to risk it. Comenius was more important than Garrett’s feelings.
Fenris didn’t answer when I knocked on the door, so I unlocked it with a spell, then kicked it open.
“What?” he snapped, shielding his eyes against the light as I stalked in. He was in bed, his naked form covered by the sheets, and by the looks of things, he’d been cuddling a book. Weirdo. “Can’t a man get some sleep around here?”
“Not these days,” I growled, shutting the door behind me. “Comenius’s daughter has gone missing, and I need an escort so I can go help him. I’ve unloaded the escort duty for Toring on Rylan in the meantime. I’d really appreciate it if you came with me,” I added, softening my voice. “I don’t have anyone else to turn to. Please.”
Fenris sighed. “Of course I’ll come.” He sat up, the sheet sliding down to his hips, and I raised an eyebrow as I noticed how much more defined his pecs and abs were now. “What is that look for?” he asked, a little irritably.
I grinned despite myself. “Nothing. You’re just looking a little less…scholarly these days.” My gaze went back down to his abs.
“My eyes are up here,” Fenris said dryly, and when I met his gaze, I was relieved to see he looked amused. “My sparring sessions with Rylan have motivated me to take better physical care of myself. I was tired of getting beaten so easily.”
“I’ll say.” Lips twitching, I turned around and opened the door. “Cover those muscles up and meet me outside. The last thing I need is all the women in Solantha throwing themselves at you while we’re out today.”
Fenris snorted as I shut the door behind me, and I grinned again. But my amusement faded when I reminded myself that, pretty soon, the women in Solantha would no longer have the opportunity to throw themselve
s at Fenris. He was leaving, and I needed to enjoy what little time I had left with him. Even if the world seemed to be crumbling around us.
Comenius was an absolute wreck when we arrived—his clothing rumpled, his hair sticking up in all directions from having run his hands through it so many times. His cornflower-blue eyes were frantic as he paced back and forth in his living room. Elania was gone—her shop was opening in ten minutes, and she needed to see to her customers. But she’d left soothing chamomile tea for Comenius before she left, and had made breakfast for Fenris and me to eat while Comenius filled us in.
“I keep thinking about how I could have done better with her,” Comenius said, still pacing. “How I could have been more tolerant and more understanding. But Rusalia is so outrageously rude all the time that I couldn’t go on ignoring her bad behavior. She insulted Elania to her face last night after refusing to help her in the kitchen, so I sent her to bed without dinner. Elania and I were up late discussing how to deal with her constant tantrums, and she must have overheard our angry words. I woke up this morning to a note on my nightstand from Rusalia, and my bedroom window open.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “She must have climbed down the fire escape.”
“I’m so sorry, Com,” I said, not sure what else to say. I wasn’t used to dealing with belligerent children—I likely would have lost my temper with her much earlier, if I’d been in Com’s shoes. “Can I see the note? Maybe she left some clue.”
Comenius dug it out of his tunic pocket and passed it to me. “It’s in Pernian,” he said when I smoothed out the wrinkled piece of paper. “She merely writes that she hates Elania and me, and that she is leaving and will never return.” A tear slid down his stubble-roughened cheek.
