The Mage Chronicles- The Complete Series

by Lisa Cassidy

  “How are you finding my beautiful country?” the emperor asked, glancing between Alyx and Dashan. Servants were already placing steaming platters of food on the table. Her stomach grumbled.

  “It’s hot, and dry.” Alyx smiled. “But beautiful in its own way.”

  “I haven’t seen much of Zandia yet, but I look forward to exploring more while I’m here,” Dashan added.

  “You’ll have to tell me more about Alistriem,” the emperor said graciously. “I have not had a chance to visit since childhood.”

  “Rionn’s beauty is very different from the open desert, Your Majesty,” Tarrick said.

  “You must see the waterfall that cascades down from the palace on a sunny day,” Alyx said. “The water glitters in the sunlight like a rainbow. It’s one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.”

  Dashan agreed with a nod. “Our harbor area is full of life and colour, too. You can buy freshly caught and buttered fish from the street stalls at any time of day. There is nothing more delicious.”

  Conversation fell silent for a little while as they began to eat. The meat dish had been treated with spices completely unfamiliar to Alyx—nor could she have said with certainty which animal the meat had come from—but it was rich with flavour and the meat moist and succulent. Large glasses of chilled wine helped diffuse the hot spices.

  Her gaze darted between Tarrick and Finn, trying to get a read on how they felt about Dashan’s presence. They’d seemed happy to see him earlier, but the last time they’d all been together both men had advocated for Dashan to flee Alistriem for his—and Alyx’s—safety.

  While she had confessed to her friends that she and Dashan had been in a brief relationship, she was confident she’d convinced them it had been nothing more than a casual fling. Even so, the mere presence of a Taliath so close to her was undoubtedly going to make them uneasy.

  Her hand curled tightly around her fork at the surge of anger that caused. The metal began cutting into her skin, and she forced herself to relax. Both Tarrick and Finn seemed fine, talking as happily with Dashan as they did with all those around them. Maybe the fact they were only here for a short time discouraged any concerns they held. She hoped so.

  Once the main courses were over, Alyx and Tarrick made several attempts to turn the conversation to more serious matters, but were politely rebuffed each time by either Hennan or the emperor. It was clear the emperor wasn’t going to engage in more than light small talk this evening. Accepting that, she fell back on her court training and talked and laughed easily with those around her over dessert and then glasses of sweet wine.

  As soon as was polite, she made her farewells to the emperor and left. Jayn and Tari accompanied her back to her rooms, but said goodbye at the door. Tarrick and Finn had remained behind to spend time with Hinga and Loren.

  “Rothai will be on guard at the end of the corridor if you require anything, Magor-lier.” Tari pointed. “Adahn will relieve him in a few hours.”

  “Thank you.” Alyx injected warmth into her voice, trying to break down some of Tari’s reserve with her. “You should get some rest. I think the Leopards have us well protected.”

  “Yes, Magor-lier.” Tari bowed her head and walked away. Alyx sighed. She got the distinct sense there was something about her that Tari didn’t like. It was frustrating. Shrugging it off, she stepped into her room and closed the door firmly behind her.

  A cool night breeze was blowing in through the open balcony doorway. Breathing deeply of the delightfully scented Sandiran air, she tried to let the beautiful view relax the seemingly constant tension that built inside her. It worked, the sharp knock at her door startling her from a pleasant daze.

  Her heart leapt as it always did at the sight of Dashan, and after closing the curtains she went straight into his arms.

  “Let me light a lamp,” she said, pulling back eventually. He touched her cheek with a gentle smile before heading over to the sofa. She busied herself lighting two of the room’s many lamps before joining him, sitting as close to him as she could get. The memory of his face when she’d first seen him earlier floated into her mind, and she reached out for his hand.

  “Things haven’t been easy for you,” she murmured. “Did something happen?”

  His face closed over, a classic sign he was retreating into himself. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not.” She shifted to face him.

  “You aren’t either,” he said stubbornly.

  She smiled a little. “I asked first. Come on, talk to me. I know you’re not talking to anyone else.”

  His jaw clenched. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  Her heart dropped—it was worse than she’d thought. He was wary and guarded, like he would run if she made the slightest wrong move. He’d never been this closed off, not even before they’d fallen for each other.

  She took a deep breath, entangling their fingers. “I’ve been snapping at everyone constantly. I can’t even control my magic properly when I’m training with Rothai. I feel so helpless, because everyone is off fighting and I’m being kept safe, and that frustration turns to anger and it just keeps getting worse. I don’t know what to do.”

  At the utter misery in her voice, Dashan turned. In a second his arms were around her and he was pulling her tightly against him. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

  “That’s how I feel.” She pushed him gently away so she could meet his eyes. “My worry and fear for you only compounds my helplessness. And now you won’t even talk to me. How can I believe you really love me if you won’t let me help you?”

  His eyes darkened. “Alyx, I love you. I love you more than anything else in this world. You’re the most beautiful thing in my life.”

  “Then let me in,” she whispered.

  He let go of her, shifting away slightly and running a hand over his short hair. “I told you I wanted to stay in Alistriem, to be there for Cayr, to help him. But he insisted I come here, and not just because I’m a Taliath. He said he was doing it for my sanity. He thought the only thing that could help me was you.”

  Her chest tightened unbearably at the thought of Cayr sacrificing the support of his best friend in the world for her. It made it worse that she’d had to abandon him too. And Dashan…he looked in so much pain now that he wasn’t trying to hide it from her. Her eyes searched his face. “It’s that bad?”

  “I’ve been living and fighting with a group of the Shiven rebels; it’s a rabble really, but their leader—Tarian Astohar—he’s a good man, and he truly wants a better life for the poorer Shiven. No matter that they look different, that their army is trying to invade Rionn, they’re just people like us, you know? Trying to make a living and look after their families.”

  “I know,” she murmured, letting him tell the story at his own pace.

  “I’m doing what I can to help them. A month ago we came across a small Shiven village close to the southeast coast.” His voice dropped until it was barely audible. “The whole thing was a charred ruin—every home, every building, everything had been burnt to the ground.”

  Shock flared, followed quickly by deeper concern. Whatever had happened, Dashan was clearly blaming himself, and he never coped well when he did that. “By who?”

  He shook his head. “The Shiven army. We found most of the villagers a half mile out of town, bodies that had been tortured then left in a pile to burn. The Shiven soldiers thought they’d been helping the rebels.”

  “Oh, Dash.” Her eyes filled with tears at his pain. Knowing him so well, she understood how badly something like this would tear at him.

  “The children too.” His voice hitched. “They’d been butchered…they did that to their own people. We were too late.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He swallowed. “The villagers had sent a message asking for our help. We were supposed to get them onto boats to sail over to Rionn—to safety. It was something we started doing soon after I went to join the rebels, and word
had gotten around. I was too late, and because I was too late, they all died the most horrible death imaginable.”

  She kept her voice gentle, but firm, taking his hand again. “Dash, you did your best. It was the Shiven soldiers who killed them, not you.”

  “That doesn’t matter. They needed my help, and I failed them.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she said fiercely, reaching up to frame his cheek with her hand. “I went back to DarkSkull Hall a year ago and they were all dead, my friends, my master, the cream of the next mage generation.” It was a grief that still hadn’t left her, that still woke her some nights in tears, her heart breaking all over again. “I could have saved them, maybe, if I’d been there. But Shakar killed them, not me.”

  “I hate him.” Dashan’s face crumpled, tears running down his cheeks. “I hate him.”

  “Shush.” Alyx reached for him, cradling him in her arms as tightly as she could. “I’m here, and I love you.”

  His tears soaked into her dress as he cried silent, heaving sobs, his whole body shaking with the force of his emotion. Alyx held on as tightly as she could, projecting all the love and reassurance she could muster.

  Eventually he reached for her hand, grabbing it and holding on tightly. “Your turn, Alyx. Tell me.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered. “I’m no Magor-lier, no matter what they claim. They make me hide and run, and I understand why, but I feel so trapped and alone. I can’t help anyone, not even myself.”

  He bought her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently, murmuring for her to continue.

  “I feel like I’ll never be ready to face Shakar, like I’m never going to get to go home again.” She turned her face into his neck. “And the worst thing is my fear that I’ll never have the chance to just be with you and not have to always miss you so badly it physically hurts.”

  “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?” he murmured.

  She chuckled at his attempt at levity, sitting back and scrubbing at her eyes. We certainly are.

  He looked at her, eyes dark and still wet with tears. “I love you more than anything else in this world, Alyx.”

  Feeling so much she thought she might burst with it, she kissed him. His mouth was warm on hers, and the emotion they were both feeling sparked powerfully. He pushed her backwards, lips trailing along her jaw and then down her neck as he moved over her. His hand blazed a trail of burning sweetness as it slid over the silk of her dress. Her fingers fumbled at the buttons of his shirt.

  “Dash...” She arched into him, delighting in the feel of his warm skin under her touch. Wanting more, she pulled him closer. His mouth returned to hers, harder, more urgently, and his hands roamed her body with abandon. Her mind and body were a haze of sensation and she knew nothing but the intoxicating sweetness of his mouth and his touch, the scent and feel of him all around her.

  “Alyx...” He stilled above her, his eyes darker than she’d ever seen them. They were pressed close together, his shirt was gone completely, and her dress covered much less than it had moments earlier. “What are we doing?”

  Her eyes slid shut as his forehead rested against hers. “We have to stop.”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “I really don’t want to.”

  He laughed, and with a groan of reluctance, moved off her to sit on the opposite side of the sofa. “Just stay where you are for a minute.”

  She nodded, sitting up and trying to rearrange her dress back into position. Her skin still buzzed from his touch, her heartbeat reluctant to slow while he was still so near.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, voice husky.

  “Other than being extremely frustrated?” She flushed hotly at her own words, then cleared her throat, offering a smile. “Maybe your skills aren’t so overrated after all.”

  He laughed aloud, and some of the tension faded. “Come here.”

  Grinning, she crawled over to lean against his side. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. She tried to ignore the desire still humming through her and focus on just how good it felt to be close to him again. Her gaze fell on his sword where he’d propped it against the side of the couch.

  “Did you name it?”

  Dashan made a face. “Cayr insisted. He said your father named his, and that all Taliath swords should have names.”

  “And?” she asked eagerly.

  He reached out to run his fingers over the hilt, gaze turning distant. “Kingsbrother.”

  “You named it for Cayr.” She swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat. “It’s perfect.”

  “Alyx?” He shifted away a little so he could see her. “We need to talk about telling Tarrick and the other mages about us. I also want to discuss the possibility of us becoming lovers.”

  She swallowed, trying not to let the hope leap in her chest. “Dash, I want you, please don’t ever think I don’t. You have no idea how much I…but this fear the council has, of you, of me? It’s powerful.”

  “I know,” he murmured. “And I’m not saying it’s going to be possible. But let’s at least start with telling our friends. Finn’s a genius—maybe he’ll be able to come up with something.”

  “They’ll be furious with us, and…they’ll be scared too. Finn especially.”

  “They’re our friends. You trust them with your life,” Dashan said gently. “As angry as they’ll be, they’d never do anything to hurt you. I think we should both trust that.”

  Alyx nodded slowly. “Astor suggested a trip home after this. There, with Dawn and Cario, we could talk to them?”

  He smiled gently. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Chapter 6

  “Where’s the emperor?” Alyx entered an audience chamber that was empty apart from Tarrick, Finn, and Rothai. A hastily written message from Tarrick—passed by Iman—had dragged her from the most restful sleep she’d had in a long time.

  “He’ll be here. The meeting isn’t for a little while,” Tarrick said.

  She stared at him. “Your note said I should hurry.”

  “We wanted to talk to you about Dash beforehand,” Finn said.

  Her mouth tightened. Damn. It seemed her worry during dinner the previous night hadn’t been unwarranted after all. “You really think that’s necessary?” she asked, a pleading note to her voice.

  “You know that if we’d been aware King Cayr was sending Dashan, you wouldn’t have been able to come on this trip.” Tarrick kept his voice gentle, and that was probably the only reason she was able to hold her temper at his words.

  “What I know is that we’ve had this conversation before.” She fought to keep her voice even, eyes landing on Finn. “Dashan and I are not lovers, and I am not invulnerable.” It was technically true, but she couldn’t help her twinge of guilt at what she and Dashan had been discussing only the night before.

  “That’s not the point,” Tarrick said. “You’re aware of what the Mage Council would do to both you and Dashan if they knew you were near each other. He’s lucky to have survived this long after Casovar outed him as a Taliath.”

  “He’s still alive because there are now three declared Taliath in Alistriem, and the council doesn’t dare risk losing a potential ally against Shakar by attempting to assassinate men so close to Rionn’s king,” Alyx retorted.

  “They would throw the entire mage order at you if they thought there was a chance you could become another Shakar.” Tarrick’s voice took on a pleading quality. It checked her anger briefly, the realisation that his true concern was her safety, not fear of another Shakar. “You know how paranoid they are. You’re not under their control, and we all know how much that scares them. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do to prevent you from becoming a threat instead of an ally.”

  “And how am I supposed to absorb his invulnerability, Tarrick?”

  “We don’t know the fine details of how it works.” Rothai weighed into the discussion. “Perhaps close proximity—”

  “We do know how it worked
in the two instances it ever has happened. Shakar and my mother both became invulnerable only after taking a Taliath lover,” she snapped, rounding on him. “And don’t remind me of what you’ve done. You hunted and murdered young children.”

  “That was at the order of the Mage Council, and for good reason.”

  “They were children!” she snapped. “Tarrick, do you really think what he did was right?”

  “Tarrick’s point remains,” Finn said calmly into the tension. “Perception can be more important than reality. Whether you are invulnerable or not is immaterial. If the council knew you were together, then—”

  “Fine,” Alyx cut him off, utterly sick of the conversation. She had been lying to them long enough, she could keep it up for a while longer. She would simply pretend to avoid Dashan. Then, once they were in Alistriem, and it was just them, no Rothai, she and Dashan would tell them the truth.

  “Really?” Finn frowned at her sudden capitulation.

  She nodded. “Is there anything else? Because if not, I’d like to get some breakfast before this meeting.”

  Alyx managed a sweet pastry and half a cup of steaming tea before Iman appeared to summon her and Tarrick through to the emperor’s private meeting chamber. He was there already, seated at a table with Dashan, Hennan and three other men, all of whom looked older. As usual, four Leopards stood guard behind the Emperor’s chair.

  “There is no need for further pleasantries or preamble,” the emperor said once they seated themselves, his tone brisk and direct. “I know why you have come to me, Magor-lier, Lord-Taliath. Your country is under threat from the Shiven, even more so now that a new king sits the throne, and you need help to defend your borders.”

  “Your Majesty, while I was born in Rionn and am deeply concerned about its welfare, I am also here on behalf of the mage order,” Alyx politely corrected him. “The threat we all face is more serious than Shivasa’s territorial ambitions.”

  “You’re speaking of Shakar?” Hennan asked.