by Jasmine Walt
“Have you come to pray?” an attendant in a white robe asked softly as she stepped from the shadows to my right. She had a rug draped over each forearm, and she offered one to both of us.
“Yes, thank you,” Solar said before I could answer. He took one, and I did too, trying to hide how flustered I was. The last two times I had come here, the temple had been empty. I didn’t know anything about kneeling or praying, and when I’d spoken to Resinah, she hadn’t seemed to expect it.
Solar moved forward without hesitation, finding an open spot on the floor. I mimicked his moves, placing my rug down in a horizontal fashion before kneeling on it. The rugs seemed to be pure gold in color, but as I knelt, I noticed there were actually thousands of tiny runes etched into the fabric that all seemed to run into each other.
Welcome back. Resinah’s voice echoed in my head, and I jerked my chin up. The flame in her outstretched hand was dancing, as it had the last time I’d spoken with her.
Hello, My Lady, I replied, bowing my head as I clasped my hands in prayer, which was what the others were doing. Not wanting to look out of place, I kept my head bowed even though I really wanted to look into the statue’s face. It is a pleasure to speak with you again.
Resinah chuckled a little at that. Your manners are improving. She paused, then added, As is your countenance. You are more balanced since the last time we spoke.
I’ve been taking your advice, I told her. You know, accepting both sides of myself. I’m still working on how to make them a whole.
Patience, child. You’ve only just begun on this path.
In case you haven’t noticed, shifters aren’t very good at patience. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at her, because I was a mature, balanced woman. And besides, I was sort of talking to a deity. I thought I was supposed to embrace both halves.
Flippant as usual, Resinah said dryly. There is danger ahead in your near future. You will be tested. When the time comes, do not give in to your emotions. Stay your hand.
I froze. What does that mean? I asked carefully, my mind spinning. I knew I was going into danger—I was on my way to destroy a Resistance lab, after all. What do you mean ‘stay your hand’? I am probably going to have to kill people at some point.
I do not mean that you should not defend yourself, Resinah said in that calm, distant way of hers. Only that you should not give in to hate. Her voice began to fade away. Let logic guide you, not emotion, when the time comes.
Is that seriously all you’re giving me? I shouted angrily in my head, my hands balling into fists.
“Seriously?” the ether parrot squawked, materializing by my shoulder. Solar and I both jumped, and several other mages let out startled exclamations.
“Miss Baine,” the attendant hissed, rushing over. “Performing casual magic is strictly forbidden here!”
“Sorry,” I muttered, getting to my feet. I swatted at the parrot, but he evaded the blow easily. “I can’t really control him.”
“Sorry,” he cawed, louder than before, and I glared murderously at him. He disappeared in a flash of blue light, and I sighed.
“That’s all right,” Solar said smoothly, taking me by the elbow. He pressed a coin into the attendant’s palm, then handed her the rugs. “I just finished my prayers. Apologies for the disturbance.”
He guided me out of the temple, and I let out a little sigh of relief as the annoyed stares from the other mages receded. “Thanks for that,” I told him as I slid my arm from his.
“Not a problem,” he said as we approached the carriage. The driver hopped down from his seat and opened the door for us. “It has been some time since I was so thoroughly entertained in a temple.” There was a hint of humor in his voice.
We got inside. When the door closed, he spoke again. “I felt Resinah’s presence more strongly than usual today. Were you communing with her?”
“You can sense that?” I demanded. “How?” There was a spiritual aura when I’d entered the temple, as there always was when I visited, but then again, I’d felt the same sort of thing whenever I’d visited Magorah’s temple in Shiftertown as a teen.
“My great-grandmother was a witch with a talent for reading auras, or so I’m told,” Solar said with a shrug, though he sounded a little uncomfortable about the admission. The carriage began to roll along the path winding around the hill, and I shifted in my seat to adjust for the motion. “I seem to have inherited something of her ability.”
“Really? That’s interesting.” I wondered if there were other mages around with ‘special’ talents like that. Iannis had his super speed, and his extraordinary healing abilities were probably boosted by his Tua heritage. How many mages in the world had other peculiar bits of magic flowing through their bloodlines?
“It comes in handy at times,” Solar conceded. “If I didn’t believe you before about your connection with Resinah, I certainly do now. I think if the Minister knew, he would respect you more. I could mention it to him, if you’d like.”
“I’m not going to go bragging about it to him, or anyone else, just to curry favor,” I snapped before I could help myself. “I want to be judged on my merits, not my connections.”
“I’m afraid that’s not how politics works,” Solar said, looking out the window. “But it is an admirable attitude nonetheless.”
9
After I showed Solar around the city, we returned to the Palace for a banquet held in honor of our guests. Back in my rooms, I sighed a little as a maid helped dress my hair and do my makeup—I was already out of my street clothes and stuffed back into a dress. Funnily enough, I’d been reluctant to come back to the Palace—I’d been having a good time playing tour guide for Solar, once we got past the initial unpleasantness.
At least it’s not a super-formal outfit, I mused, running my hand along the silky, persimmon-colored fabric my social secretary had selected for the occasion. It was a summery, high-waisted dress, with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a hem that brushed against the tops of my feet. It didn’t exactly seem like the type of dress I’d have picked to wear to a fancy banquet, but I wasn’t about to argue with Nelia when it was more comfortable than what I’d been wearing this morning.
Just as the maid was leaving, a knock came at the door, and Iannis entered. He too was dressed in lighter robes than usual, though they were still the blue and gold state colors he always wore. There was a gold sash cinched at his waist, and his long, cherry-wood hair was tied at the nape of his neck. He looked grand and stern all at once, but he nodded cordially at the maid as she bowed to him.
“You look beautiful, a ghra,” he told me once she’d closed the door behind me, using the foreign endearment that meant ‘my heart’ in his native tongue. His arms encircled my waist, drawing me into him, and I inhaled his sandalwood-and-magic scent greedily, as I always did when we were alone together. Desire stirred in my belly as he lowered his lips to mine, but I held it at bay—we didn’t have time.
And besides, I had things on my mind.
“Do you think the Minister would respect me more if he knew I was a direct descendant of Resinah?” I asked, gently pulling my lips from his.
His eyebrows rose. “Where is this coming from?”
I sighed. “The Federal Secretary of Economics suggested it. I wouldn’t have thought much of it, except that in the beginning, he was acting like an ass, and then once he found out that Resinah and I are like, best buds, he started acting all impressed.”
Iannis frowned. “You shouldn’t speak about the Lady so flippantly,” he admonished, though he softened the scold by tapping a long finger against the tip of my nose. “You never know when she might be listening, and it would be foolish to risk losing her favor.”
“True,” I muttered, glancing around. Unlike in the temple, I didn’t sense anything spiritual. Then again, I never really had except during the few times Resinah had shown herself to me. I wondered if Solar was able to tell whether she was around or not? That would be a useful talent to have.
“I ran into Mr. ar’Dakis not very long ago,” Iannis said, his violet eyes narrowed in thought. “He congratulated me on selecting such a beautiful and intelligent bride, so I gathered you had made a good impression. I hadn’t realized it was based solely on your connection to Resinah,” he said, his mouth turning down.
“Well, I don’t know that it was,” I told him. “After I broke the ice with that revelation, he was a lot friendlier, and we had a good time.”
“Is that right?” Iannis asked, tracing the outline of my jaw with the pad of his thumb. “Not too good of a time, I hope.”
I snorted. “Please. He doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
Iannis grinned at that. “I should hope not,” he said, moving to kiss me again.
I put a hand against his broad chest, stopping him before he made contact. “Uh-uh. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Does it matter? Zavian Graning does not think highly of anyone besides himself. He owes his life to us, and yet he still plays those little political games, pitting Director Toring and I against each other, and he barely tolerates you. He is an astute politician—most of the time—but as a person, he does not deserve respect, so why should we worry about his esteem? Sunaya, he is not worth worrying over.”
Put like that, I had to agree with Iannis. “And what about Toring? Why was he so annoyed that you were put in charge of the mission, and why do you dislike him?”
Iannis sighed. “It’s a long story, and we don’t have time now. Just be very careful around him, and do not mention Fenris.”
We headed down to the banquet hall in relative silence after that, both weighed down by heavy thoughts. But my worries fell away as we arrived, replaced by a sense of awe. The last time I’d attended a banquet in here, the place had been transformed into a jungle, where I’d hid amongst the trees in panther form and listened to a bunch of mages gossip right before Iannis announced that I was going to be his apprentice. This time, the dirt floor and jungle trees had been replaced with palm fronds and white, powdery sand. The walls had disappeared, replaced with a view of the ocean and a cloudless blue sky, both of which seemed to stretch around us for miles, as though we were on a small island in the middle of the sea. And damned if I couldn’t smell the salty sea breeze in the air.
“If I’d know this was the theme, I would have left off my shoes,” I murmured as Iannis led me to the long table in the center of the room. It was draped in a white linen cloth, and seashell centerpieces had been placed at intervals down its length. Servants stood at the ready, trays of canapés and wineglasses balanced in their well-trained hands, and there were already several members of the delegation seated. I spotted Director Chen close to the head of the table, chatting with Director Toring. The polite smile on her face was at odds with the coolness in her dark eyes, and I sensed she liked the Director of Federal Security about as much as Iannis and I did.
At least that was one thing we could agree on, I thought to myself as we joined them.
The rest of the guests filed in not long after that, and, to my relief, I found myself seated next to Solar. I was glad not to be stuck next to the Minister, or any of the other delegates—I didn’t feel like having to go through the whole ordeal of breaking the ice with yet another prejudiced mage.
“So,” I asked Solar as we worked our way through a salad. “What can you tell me about the Director of Federal Security? I have never heard of that position before. Just what does he do?”
“Director Toring?” Solar asked, his gaze briefly flickering to the mage in question. Toring was in deep conversation with the woman to his left—Marlis Ugorna, the Federal Secretary of Foreign Relations if I remembered correctly. “The position has been created especially for him. He was instated only a few months ago, but the department is growing at an almost alarming pace.”
“What was he before that?” And how was it that he felt more qualified to lead the mission than Iannis, if he was so new to the position? I wondered to myself.
“He worked as a deputy in the Secretary of Justice’s office.” Solar’s lips briefly twisted in a sardonic smile, and he kept his voice low so that Toring would not overhear from his side of the table. “In fact, he used to be the Secretary of Justice, but was demoted from the position some years ago for mishandling a case—he let a high-profile fugitive escape.”
“And yet he’s back in a similar position now?” My eyebrows rose so high they probably touched my hairline. “That doesn’t seem particularly smart.”
Solar shrugged his left shoulder. “That’s politics,” he said, then took a sip from his glass of white wine. “Garrett has worked hard to climb back up the ladder after his fall, and now that he’s back on top, I doubt anything will knock him down again. With his rapidly growing staff and budget, I can only foresee him becoming more powerful.” The hint of displeasure in Solar’s voice spoke volumes. Perhaps he thought Toring didn’t deserve the money or manpower, and could have used some of that extra budget and personnel himself.
The servants arrived with the main course, and the conversation around the table subsided as everyone dug into their food. As I twirled pasta around my fork and studied Director Toring through lowered lashes, I was glad that Fenris had decided to leave. Such a driven and ambitious man would not be able to let it slide if he discovered Fenris was actually Polar ar’Tollis, a mage who had been sentenced to execution for treason against the Federation. He could have Fenris executed, and perhaps even Iannis himself for aiding a traitor.
I remembered Iannis’s hint not to mention Fenris. Could it be that Toring had been involved in sentencing Fenris to death, back when he had been the Secretary of Justice? Was that the case he had mishandled, or had he already been demoted by then? My blood boiled at the thought that we might be consorting with Fenris’s worst enemy, and I glanced toward Iannis. How could he sit here with Toring so calmly, if that was the case?
“Not all of them are like that, you know. We have a shifter here in Solantha who is a scholar of magic,” Cirin said in response to something I hadn’t caught. “His name is Fenris, and though, of course, he cannot use magic himself, his interest and breadth of knowledge are most impressive. I have never before seen a shifter so comfortable and fearless around mages. It makes me wonder if our relations with the shifter community might be strengthened if they had a better knowledge of how magic worked, instead of clinging to superstitious fears.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” Toring said, tapping the side of his cheek with his forefinger. My breathing hitched, and I wished that Cirin was closer so that I could give him a good kick in the shins even though he didn’t know what he’d just done. “I would love to meet this unusual shifter. I hear he is a good friend of yours, Lord Iannis?”
“Yes, he is,” Iannis said smoothly, but I knew he was on his guard now. Fucking hell. Why did Cirin have to bring up Fenris’s name?
“How and when did you meet this Fenris? It is most unusual for a shifter to be living at the capitol palace in any state,” Toring commented, his gaze turning speculative.
“It certainly is,” I interjected loudly before Iannis could answer. “Things were particularly difficult for me in the beginning, when I was first brought to Solantha Palace. But ever since I became the Chief Mage’s apprentice, it has become a lot easier to integrate with mage society.”
“Yes, and you have done quite well so far,” Iannis said warmly, and I could tell he was grateful at my change of subject. To my relief, the conversation turned away from Fenris, and onto my apprenticeship. Even though I didn’t like that I was shining a spotlight on myself, it was better that they looked toward me instead of discussing him. We couldn’t risk anyone wondering why it was that Fenris had chosen to take a trip right when they were arriving, or for Director Toring to start digging further into the matter.
I could only hope that by the time we got underway with our mission, Toring would have forgotten all about Fenris. The last thing I wanted was for Fenris to go
on the run after we’d just convinced him to stay in Solantha.
10
The next two days passed far too quickly. Before I knew it, I was staring out a carriage window at the setting sun, the evening before our trip. Everything was packed and ready to go, and the only thing left to do was one last inspection of the flying machine Toring had provided, which we would be using to fly from the capital to Leniang Port.
As the carriage rolled over a pothole, my knees jostled against Toring’s. He sat across from Iannis and me, squeezed next to Director Chen and Henning Mogg, the pilot. Our eyes met, hazel against green, and I held that speculative gaze with defiance. Was he going to make this journey difficult for me? I wasn’t about to forget that he hadn’t wanted me to come along. I wondered if it was because he was prejudiced against me—or maybe shifters in general—or because he didn’t think it was wise for Iannis to bring a lover on a dangerous mission, as he’d stated so rudely.
“Are you looking forward to the trip, Miss Baine?” he asked pleasantly, as if there were no tension between us.
“I am,” I said, giving him a faint smile. “I’ve never been to Garai, and I’m very much looking forward to the experience, even if we are embarking on a dangerous mission.”
“I have only been once myself, and that was a good hundred years ago,” Toring admitted, breaking his gaze so he could look out the window. We were approaching the docks now, and I easily picked out the red, white, and blue Northia Federation flag flying from the mast of the Voyager, the massive steamship we would be traveling on to Garai. “So I’m sure much will have changed.”