by Jasmine Walt
“Yes,” I moaned, digging my fingers into his shoulder blades as he began to pound into me. “More.”
I held on for dear life as his thrusts grew faster and more desperate, arching my hips as I did my best to meet his ferocious pace. He crushed his mouth against mine, and I bit his bottom lip as a surge of possessiveness hit me. I knew what he was feeling—I felt the exact same thing, that deep relief, chasing the tail of the sharp-edged fear that had gripped me when I thought I might not see him again.
“You’re mine,” I told him, grasping his face between my hands and holding him still so I could look into his eyes. “You’re mine, and nothing will take you from me again.”
“Yes,” he agreed, thrusting deep inside me again. And I finally let myself fly.
After our frantic lovemaking, Fenris and I slept for a few much-needed hours. It had taken me forever to fall asleep after such a stressful day, and from the way Fenris had instantly collapsed on the bed, I gathered that he hadn’t slept much, if at all, last night.
But some time later, the sensation of him nuzzling my neck stirred me from my slumber. “Mmm,” he growled, nipping at the sensitive skin. “You smell good. I don’t know why, but your scent is becoming more addictive by the day.”
“And you smell like you’ve been running all night,” I teased, turning in his arms and lightly shoving his chest. My mood turned serious as I searched his face, the realization that I’d come far too close to losing him sinking in. “What in Recca happened last night, Fenris? How is it that you’re here now?”
“I can hardly believe it myself,” he said, shaking his head. “Garrett Toring, the Federal Director of Security, rescued me from that jail.”
“Rescued you?” I gasped. “Isn’t he the one who wants to execute you in the first place?”
“Indeed he is,” Fenris said, a bemused look on his face. “And he very well might have, if not for Sunaya. Apparently she spun some tall tale about Fenris being the illegitimate son of Polar and a wolf shifter. It’s an utterly ridiculous notion, of course—I never would have dreamed of doing something as crazy and irresponsible as engaging in a secret affair with a shifter.”
He wrinkled his nose, and that was the last straw—I burst into laughter. “You think that’s funny, do you?” Fenris asked, arching a brow as my shoulders shook.
“It’s very funny,” I said, my tone still full of mirth. “The idea of you being your own son, and that we’ve been skulking about unnecessarily…” I cupped his cheek. “Now you can show this handsome face in public!”
Fenris grinned a little. “I knew you would say something like that,” he said, leaning in to kiss my nose. “I’ll have to commit Sunaya’s story to memory, though, and check with her for details once she returns. I can’t afford to slip up, or we’ll all be in the suds.”
“Yes, and I’ll have to thank her for saving you, even if she did so indirectly.” After this, I was really looking forward to finally meeting Sunaya. “Thanks to her, you and I will be able to live openly together,” I said softly.
A swell of emotion hit me then, and it seemed Fenris too, for he crushed me against him tightly. “I’m so grateful to have you in my life,” he murmured into my hair as I stroked my hands up and down his broad back.
We held each other for a long moment, simply soaking in each other’s company. “I have some news to tell you too,” I finally said, pulling back a little so I could look at his face. “Marris came by Comenius’s shop when I went down there to ask for help.”
“Oh? What did he say?”
“Basically, that masses of ex-Resistance soldiers are being imported and disguised as construction workers. They’re to remain ready at all times for some big attack, and they’ve been assigned certain ‘sectors’ that they are supposed to hold once the fighting starts. In the meantime, they are given enough money to feed themselves, and the ones who actually participate in the construction are given extra.”
“Ahh, so they’re not all standing around doing nothing,” Fenris said. When my brow furrowed, he added, “I figured out much the same thing when I was in downtown today. I followed a group of men to a building site. They were wearing construction gear, but most of them are just pretending to belong there. Some of the actual workers were pretty annoyed at them.”
“I would be, too, in their place.”
“Later, I had a drink with another man who was obviously with the Resistance, and he mentioned being given coin for food and beer, but the waiting chafed on him. If his attitude was typical, they cannot afford to wait much longer without having morale problems. Did Marris tell you which sectors are being targeted?”
“No—I think the foot soldiers only know which ones they’re being assigned to. I guess nobody has the full plan except the higher-ups, whom we haven’t yet identified. But Marris says that he thinks we should question the construction company owners, because they are employing the Resistance soldiers. They must know something.”
“I suspect that is being done even as we speak,” Fenris said, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Garrett immediately thought of that, and he is not one to let grass grow under his feet with the Convention about to start. I could also have a word with Kardanor Makis, who knows all about the reconstruction.”
“Actually, Comenius said he was going to speak to him about it today.” My eyes widened as I realized Com would still be trying to save Fenris from the enforcers. “I ought to tell him that you’ve returned before they send Chen marching down to the station to find you.”
Fenris laughed. “I’ll send him an ether pigeon,” he said. He quickly conjured one and told it to relay to Comenius that he had been freed and would be going to the Palace later to meet with Chen. “I may as well,” he said to me after he’d released the pigeon. “Now that I no longer have to worry about hiding my identity.”
“Sounds like we’ve got a busy day ahead of us,” I said as I slipped from the bed, intending to grab a shower.
“Indeed. And I need to find time to visit my parents, too.”
I froze, halfway to the bathroom. “Your parents?”
“Yes. Garrett told me that they arrived in Solantha shortly after my ‘death’ and have been living here ever since, waiting for me to resurface. They refused to believe I was dead, since my body was never recovered.”
My mouth dropped open. “They’ve been here this entire time? Pining after their long-lost grandson?” I felt a pang of sympathy for them—it must have been horrible, holding on to a mere thread of hope all these months.
“They have,” Fenris said grimly, looking far too unhappy for a man who was about to be reunited with his parents. “I’m honestly not sure how to approach them. They have never been particularly fond of shifters, and while they were loving and dutiful parents, they are tremendous snobs and regard almost everyone as beneath us. I don’t know how they’ll react once they see me, even if they already ‘know’ I’m a half shifter. And I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to carry off the lie, either.”
Fenris looked so troubled at the notion that I sat down on the edge of the bed and took his hand in mine. “I understand your apprehension,” I said. “But there is no way to judge how they will react to the truth until we meet them in person. Losing their only son may have led to a change of heart. I say that we go and see them, and then we can gauge whether or not it’s safe to tell them about your true identity.”
Fenris smiled. “They will love you, at any rate,” he said, rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand and sending tingles up my arm. “You are a beautiful, wealthy heiress, and a full mage, besides. Just the kind of woman they had always urged me to marry.”
“Yes,” I said, leaning in to nuzzle his nose, “and it’s a good thing you’re just the kind of man I want to marry. Now let’s get ready for the day, or we’ll never leave this hotel room.”
Fenris growled in response, then rolled me onto my back and pinned me to the bed for another long, scorching kiss that told me we weren’t g
oing anywhere. At least not for a while.
19
Fenris
By the time Mina and I finally got dressed and ready for the day, it was far past the usual time for lunch. We found Barrla hanging around the hotel lounge with one of her shifter romances, and she nearly fell out of her chair when she caught sight of me.
“By the Ur-God!” she cried, shooting to her feet. “I thought you were still in prison!”
Barrla wrapped me up in a fierce hug before I could stop her, then immediately went and did the same to Mina. Several guests and staff members stared at us with blatant curiosity. I did my best to appear nonchalant. Thankfully I had taken time to shave and dress in freshly pressed clothes, so I didn’t look like a man who had recently been jailed.
“At least now I know why you were so late this morning,” she said saucily to Mina. “Had a happy reunion last night, did we?”
Mina’s cheeks colored, and I coughed. “Why don’t we discuss our discoveries over lunch?” I suggested, taking Mina’s arm. “Unless you’ve eaten already?”
Barrla laughed. “You two are such sticks in the mud,” she said, but she followed us to the restaurant. Over a hearty meal, Mina and I filled her in on everything that had happened. Barrla was happy that I no longer had to hide my identity and had managed to escape prison without breaking any laws.
“Does this mean we’ll be able to visit the palace together?” she asked eagerly, her eyes sparkling with delight. “I’ve been wanting to see the inside ever since we saw the towers from the Firegate Bridge! They wouldn’t let us in when we went to visit, even with our journalist credentials.”
“We will do that,” I said, “but not today. It’s best I make this first trip on my own, since I’ll have to talk to the Director of the Mages Guild about catching the plotters.”
“That’s no fun,” Barrla pouted.
“We’re going to have some fun of our own, Barrla,” Mina declared with a smile. “While Fenris meets with Director Chen, you and I are going to stake out the Minister’s house again, along with the rest of the venues that we didn’t have time to hit yesterday. We may yet catch the plotters in the act.”
“That doesn’t sound like very much fun,” Barrla grumbled. “But I don’t suppose detective work is all fun and games.”
“Unfortunately not,” I said, doing my best not to laugh. There was something endearing about Barrla—she was so expressive, in a way that reminded me of Sunaya, though without the snark and cynicism.
With our plans decided, we drove back to Solantha, and I dropped the girls off at the entrance to the Mages Quarter before continuing on to the palace. The valet was shocked when I pulled up, but he quickly hid his surprise and told me that he was very pleased to see I was back.
I gave him the key to the rented steamcar, then headed for the palace entrance. It seemed so surreal, walking through the palace gardens again, brilliant blossoms of every shade and color rioting around me and filling the air with a multitude of fragrances. Glittering butterflies flitted through the air alongside bees the color of burnished gold, and I looked past them, up and up, to where Solantha Palace towered above me in all its glory.
This place had been my home for three years. And now that I was back…it didn’t quite feel like a homecoming, I admitted to myself. This could never be my home again, not if I intended to settle down with Mina. But the sight of it nevertheless healed a crack in my heart, and I strolled up the front steps with a smile on my face.
“Good afternoon,” I greeted Canter, the surly old mage who manned the front desk. He nearly keeled over at the sight of me and was sputtering as I strode past—the old coot had never liked me. Humming a cheery tune, I strode down the hall toward the south wing, passing many startled mages on my way.
“Hello, Dira,” I said as I walked into the Mages Guild lobby. “Is Director Chen in?”
Dira jerked her head up from the pile of paperwork she’d been reading, her eyes widening. “Fenris!” she exclaimed. “Yes, of course, let me tell her that you’re here—”
“No need.” Director Chen’s cool voice flowed into the room, and I turned to see her enter the lobby. She looked exactly as I’d seen her last, dressed in one of her many silk Garaian robes, her fine black hair secured at the back of her head with a pair of ornamental chopsticks. Her beautiful face softened into a smile, one that I returned easily. “A guard told me that he saw you hand your car over to the valet, but I hardly believed it myself. Lord Iannis and Miss Baine will be overjoyed when they hear of your return.”
“Yes, and I will be very glad to see them,” I said. “I’ve been waiting impatiently for them to arrive.”
Director Chen’s smile faded. “As have we all.” She hesitated for a second, then said, “Shall we go find someplace to sit?”
We adjourned to Director Chen’s office, and I was very pleased to see that she’d switched out her wooden visitors’ chairs with the uncomfortable dragon carvings for something easier to sit on. Was she mellowing under Kardanor’s influence? Over cups of fragrant green tea, I gave her a full report of my investigation into the Resistance plot and told her about my encounter with Garrett.
It turned out that Garrett had already talked to her earlier, when I’d still been in bed with Mina, and their minions had arrested two dozen suspects, who were even now being processed and interrogated. All the heads and managers of the main construction companies had been caught in their net and were screaming bloody murder—or for their lawyers, at any rate. The existence of the plot had already been confirmed by several witnesses, and they were hopeful of learning the particulars before the end of the day.
“So you really are the son of the former Chief Mage Polar ar’Tollis?” she asked when I’d expressed my hope that one or more of them would break soon. “I must say, you kept that secret very close to your chest. We’ve known each other for nearly two years and I had not the slightest idea! I only learned the truth from Director Toring just now.”
I shrugged. “Given that Polar is condemned to death for treason, can you blame me for keeping that relationship private? And it’s not like he permitted me to openly use his family name,” I said, a little uneasy at having to lie to her. “It was even harder to hide the fact that I have some magic.”
She shook her head in amazement. “I really should have guessed that part, in hindsight, considering how much time you spent on those magical tomes.”
“I did try to be discreet, but not enough, as it turned out.”
“I’m very glad that Director Toring isn’t holding a grudge against you, considering how much he hates your father,” she said. “Too often we hold children responsible for the actions of their parents, and you most certainly don’t deserve that after everything you’ve done for the Federation.”
“Thank you,” I said, a bit startled by the praise. Chen and I had never disliked each other, but neither had we worked together much, so I hadn’t expected her to act so warmly toward me.
“I am waiting to be informed of the result of Garrett’s and the Guild’s investigations before I tackle the main suspect myself,” she continued. “Moredo is the largest of the construction companies currently working on city renovations. The owner bought up the two disgraced companies that were bankrupted after the quake. Surely he must be neck-deep in this nefarious plot, and Kardanor tells me he never trusted the fellow. I’ve ordered Maltar Moredo, the main shareholder, to be brought here. But first I’m leaving him to cool his heels for a couple of hours. Hopefully he is getting very nervous.”
“Ah, and that gives you time to check on what the other suspects have said, to confront him with the evidence.”
“Exactly. Will you help me interrogate him, as you used to do for Lord Iannis? He always praised your shifter senses and said they were far superior to a truth wand.” With a wry smile, she added, “Of course, lately it was Miss Baine who helped out with that sort of thing.”
I smiled. “In Sunaya’s absence, I would be more than hap
py to offer my services.”
Chen returned the smile briefly, but it faded, and she pressed a finger to her left temple. “I must admit I am worried about Miss Baine,” she said. “She vanished right in the middle of the palace gardens, and Iannis suspected that she was abducted by someone with a grudge against him. He traveled to Manuc to find her…but that was two weeks ago. I hoped he would be back long before now.”
My stomach sank at the fear in Chen’s voice, but I did my best not to give in to my own worries. “I’m sure Iannis would have sent word if the circumstances were truly dire,” I told Chen. “Both he and Sunaya are powerful, resourceful mages. We must put our trust in their ingenuity.”
Director Chen nodded, her face clearing a bit. “You’re right, of course,” she said briskly. “And there is far too much work to be done for me to be dwelling on this. I’m sure you’ll want to get settled in—your room is waiting for you, and all your things have been left untouched.”
I blinked—I hadn’t even given a thought to my room. “I won’t be staying at the Palace,” I said, “but I would like to take a few things I left behind, and I expect it will take some time to go through everything. I’ll go do that now, and you can send for me there when you are ready to interrogate your suspect.”
Chen seemed a little surprised that I wasn’t moving back in, but she didn’t question me further—the large stacks of paperwork crowding her desk, many files marked with red “Urgent” stamps, were more important than where I was going to lay my head for the evening. I did not envy her job at all, especially with Iannis gone and all these additional complications. I was glad I no longer was a Chief Mage myself…I had enough problems to deal with as it was.
20
Fenris
Leaving Director Chen reading the transcript of the morning’s interrogations, I headed for my old room in the west wing. As Chen had said, it had not been touched at all since my “death,” and it brought back a lot of memories.