by Jasmine Walt
“No, they’re fine,” I said, letting out a sigh as my hand fell away from a dark pink dress with a high collar and gold buttons. There was nothing here that I would hate wearing, even if these more conservative fashions weren’t something I would have picked off a rack myself. As Iannis’s future wife, I needed to expand my wardrobe and style choices a little bit. I wasn’t going to ditch my leathers and boots, but I had to have the correct outfits for many different occasions on hand.
“Oh good, I’m so glad to hear that.” Nelia smiled, then lifted her binder. “May we adjourn to the sitting room, so we can go over a few things? I promise this won’t take long.”
“Sure,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. I followed her out to the sitting area, and settled onto one of the pastel green couches. Nelia perched on the chair next to me, crossing her well-toned legs as she flipped open her binder. She pushed her glasses up her narrow nose as she scanned the pages with her dark grey eyes, lips pursed.
“I took the liberty of dealing with all the mail you received after your article was printed,” she told me.
“Article?” I echoed dumbly, my mind racing to catch up with hers.
Nelia smiled, pulling out a newspaper page from the binder. “Director Chen told me it might have slipped your mind. You did leave almost immediately after the interview for Now.” She handed the paper to me, a full-page article of my interview with Gena Chanie. To my surprise, the reporter had painted me in a sympathetic rather than patronizing light, and had included two flattering photos—one from the batch her photographer had taken that day, and another someone had snapped of me in the street in my enforcer leathers. According to the write-up, I was adjusting to my new role well, bringing dignity and light to the Mages Guild while continuing to stay in touch with my “street roots”, as she called it.
“I will be keeping a scrapbook of these,” Nelia informed me as she tucked the article back into her binder. “So that we have a record of all printed media.”
“Thank you,” I said, with feeling. I had to admit, I hadn’t thought about how much administrative work would come with my new social status, and it was a relief to know that someone else with experience was going to take care of it. Director Chen had chosen my secretary well—maybe she wasn’t out to get me after all. I supposed I would have to thank her later.
Nelia then explained my schedule for the next four weeks. There were meetings and interviews Director Chen had already set up, though many of them had been rescheduled due to my unexpected departure. I imagined this would be a common occurrence, as I doubted this would be the last time Iannis and I would be off on a mission. Still, I would not be able to duck out of these entirely, so I guessed I was going to have to get used to it. The first interview had gone really well, so maybe I was ready for the press after all. But I would make sure to get some tips from Iannis before I did any more, on how to handle personal and inconvenient questions. I told Nelia not to schedule any more interviews for the time being.
“By the way, Chieftain Mafiela Baine called to respond to your invitation for lunch,” Nelia said to me. “I penciled her in for Wednesday the eleventh, in the Winter Garden.”
“Oh.” I let out a surprised breath—I’d forgotten about that too. The Winter Garden was a pretty salon on the second floor of the Palace, filled with mirrors and evergreen plants. It was sometimes used for small dinner parties by the Chief Mage, but would do just as well for a private lunch catered by the Palace cook. “Did she sound happy about it?”
Nelia paused, as if trying to recall. “She didn’t sound unhappy,” she decided.
I held in a sigh. Oh well. Guess that was the best I was going to get out of my aunt. Hopefully, this lunch wouldn’t be a total disaster.
A knock at the door interrupted us before Nelia could continue. “I’ll get it,” I said, rising from the couch and gesturing for Nelia to sit. There were still some things I wanted to do myself, and answering my own door was one of them. “Who is it?”
“Lanyr Goldrin, Miss. I’m your new bodyguard, here to escort you to dinner.”
“Bodyguard?” I echoed. What the hell? Why were all these new employees being sprung on me out of nowhere? Annoyed, I threw open the door to see a Palace guard, decked out in blue-and-gold livery, standing in the hall. As I had suggested, Iannis had hired locals to guard the Palace, and this one was a handsome, orange-eyed tiger shifter with golden-brown hair and a tall, lean frame.
“It’s me, Sunaya.” Rylan’s voice echoed in my head, and I nearly fell over.
“By Magorah,” I hissed, dragging Rylan inside. “What are you doing, dressed like this?” I slammed the door behind us.
“Well, I am a guard, so I’m dressed in uniform, naturally.” Rylan grinned, giving me an extravagant bow. “Lord Iannis suggested this look. He felt it would be better not to walk around the Palace looking like I normally do, under the circumstances,” Rylan added in mindspeak.
“I see.” So he’d cast a spell on Rylan to make him look and smell like a tiger-shifter, then dressed him up as a guard and assigned him to me. “I hope this means you’re not going to be hovering above me while I sleep.”
“That would be rather improper,” Rylan said dryly. “No, I am to accompany you around the Palace, and around Solantha as well, by Lord Iannis’s orders.”
I bit back the protest rising to my lips—I didn’t need a babysitter. But it occurred to me that I was babysitting Rylan as much as he was me. He couldn’t leave the Palace without an escort, so without me, he would be stuck to the confines of these walls. Besides, Rylan was resourceful and handy in a fight, so I couldn’t say that he would hamper me by tagging along.
“Don’t worry—I’m sure I won’t be shadowing you when your fiancé spirits you off for a romantic evening,” Rylan said dryly in my head. His grin widened as he craned his neck around me and met Nelia’s gaze. “And who is this?”
“This is Miss Nelia Thrase,” I said, turning to see her staring wide-eyed up at Rylan. To my surprise, and discomfort, I caught the fascinated attraction in her dark eyes. “She’s my new social secretary.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Nelia said, getting to her feet. A faint blush spread across her cheeks as Rylan approached, deliberately looking her up and down.
“Oh, the pleasure is all mine.” Rylan took her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. Nelia’s eyelashes fluttered, and, for a moment, I thought she might actually swoon. “Hopefully, your position means I will be seeing you more often.”
“Hopefully,” she agreed, sounding more than a little breathless.
“All right, Bodyguard,” I said, barely managing not to roll my eyes. “Can you take me to dinner, then? I’m starving.”
“Of course.” Rylan dropped Nelia’s hand. “See you later, Miss Thrase.”
“If you break Nelia’s heart, I will send you off to the mines myself,” I warned as we all exited the room. I loved Rylan, but he was a player, and I wasn’t about to let him mess with my employee.
My employee. How weird is that?
“Don’t worry,” Rylan said, sounding completely serious now. “I intend to serve out my sentence in peace, so that I can eventually rejoin the clan. My place is with our family, and I’ve neglected it for far too long. I want to get back to it someday.”
I mulled Rylan’s words over in my head, my heart growing heavier as we walked. Rylan did have a place in our family, that was for sure. Mafiela might be angry with him, but he was her son. She would welcome him back into the fold as soon as he made things right with her. But I wasn’t sure there had ever been a place in the Jaguar Clan where I’d fit in the past, and now that my life had changed so much, I wasn’t sure there ever would be in the future.
24
I expected Rylan to take me to the large dining hall where all Mage Guild employees gathered to eat. But, instead, he led me past it and into the smaller, private dining room that was used to entertain guests, as confidently as though he were thoroughly fam
iliar with the warren of a palace. I wasn’t really surprised, though—Rylan had always had a good sense of direction.
Iannis and Director Chen were already seated at the glossy, oval-shaped wooden table, enjoying wine and bread as they waited for the first course to arrive. Fenris was there too, as well as Cirin Garidano, the Finance Secretary.
“Good evening, Miss Baine,” Director Chen greeted me with a smile. “I am pleased to see you looking well.”
“Thank you.” I gave her a small smile in return as I seated myself in the empty chair to Iannis’s right. My stomach growled as I caught sight of the bread basket, and I took a roll for myself as Rylan left the room at a gesture from Iannis. I figured it would be weird to have him hover over us and listen to us talk about sensitive information. Maybe he’d head down to the kitchens and get himself some food in the meantime.
“I hope I didn’t miss anything important while you were waiting for me,” I said to Iannis. It was the closest I would give to an apology—after all, I hadn’t been told we were having a dinner meeting, though I supposed it wasn’t surprising.
“We were just discussing the interrogation of the Palace staff,” Iannis told me. “Fenris was running it before he joined us in Osero.”
“Oh, right.” The bomb attack had almost slipped my mind in the last few days. I turned to Fenris. “So did you find anything before you left?”
“Three humans fled the Palace after I announced we would be subjecting the staff to a truth spell,” Fenris said. There was no hint of the tension he’d radiated earlier, but then again, he was talking to me rather than Iannis. “I was in the middle of tracking them down, with the help of the Enforcer’s Guild, when I was called away.”
“One of them was Darca, one of my better accountants,” Cirin said irritably, his dark blue eyes narrowed. “As you can imagine, finding out that I may have been employing a traitor has not improved my staff’s morale.”
“I imagine not,” I said, sympathizing with him a little. It was probably a fucking nightmare, knowing that a Resistance spy had access to the Palace’s financial documents. If Darca was in fact a spy, she could have passed all sorts of confidential information about the state’s finances to the Resistance, information the Benefactor could have used against us. “Who were the other two suspects?”
“A groom from the stables named Tadir, and a maid called Cralia.”
I frowned. “Those are all very different positions. Do you think all three of them could be spies?”
“I don’t see why not,” Director Chen said. “If I were organizing the Resistance, I would want my spies to be set up in different areas of the Palace, in order to get as much intel as possible.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” It bothered me that there could be so many enemies hidden amongst us, inside the very walls I’d trusted to keep me safe. “Still, I wonder if they were all in on the assassination attempt, or if it was just one of them. And if we catch the wrong one, will they still lead us to the other?”
“All excellent questions,” Iannis said as dinner arrived. “But I suppose only time will give us the answer.”
The servants set out racks of lamb, and large bowls filled with salad, grilled asparagus, and new potatoes. Hunger took over, and I put my worries aside as we dug into the meal. Dinner was a surprisingly comfortable affair, despite the tension between Fenris and Iannis, and the fact that Chen was here. We all managed to be civil, and even had some pleasant conversation.
“Well, I must be going,” Director Chen said when our plates were cleared. She rose from the table and bowed, her eyes meeting mine as she straightened. “I trust you have found your social secretary to be satisfactory?”
“Yes, so far.” I gave her a real smile. “Thank you for finding her for me.”
“You’re welcome.” Director Chen’s stern expression softened into a smile.
“If I didn’t know better, I would say that you and Director Chen are finally beginning to get along,” Iannis said as we walked back to our rooms. Rylan trailed behind us at a respectful distance—he’d been waiting for me outside the banquet room.
“It might be a little early for you to jump to that conclusion,” I said, twining my fingers with his. “But I’m willing to give credit where credit is due, and Nelia seems competent.”
“I am happy to hear that.” Iannis squeezed my hand. “You two may have gotten off to a rocky start, but Director Chen has an excellent track record. I would not have chosen her for her position if I did not feel she could be trusted.”
“Sure.” A thought entered my head, and I checked that no one was within hearing distance before turning my head to look at Rylan. “Hey,” I called.
Rylan lengthened his stride to catch up with us. “Yes?”
“Any chance you were provided with a list of the spies who were planted here, or in any other areas of the Federation?”
“No. That information was need to know, and I, sadly, did not need to know. I know for sure that at least one spy was planted here in the Palace, but for security reasons, their identities were closely guarded.”
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath. That would have been far too easy.
“However, just because those three have fled the Palace, doesn’t mean you’re out of danger, Sunaya,” Rylan continued, his eyes sharp. “In my experience, deep-cover operatives are not so easy to spook. The three staff who ran off might have something else to hide that has nothing to do with the Resistance, while the real spy still lurks among us, waiting for another opportunity to strike.”
“Indeed,” Iannis said, his voice hard. “That is why you must not allow Sunaya to leave your sight, unless she is either with me, or Fenris.”
“Yes, sir,” Rylan said, saluting, and I forced myself not to grit my teeth. Bitching about this wasn’t going to handle the situation—finding the traitor was.
“So what can we do to smoke this bastard out?” I asked as we stopped in front of my bedroom door. Rylan’s room was right across the hall—as my bodyguard, he would remain close at all times. Luckily, my room was warded, so it wasn’t necessary that he sleep inside.
“I suggest you assist Fenris with questioning the list of suspects he’s gathered,” Iannis said.
“You mean the people who went missing?” I asked, frowning.
“No,” Iannis said dryly. “He made a list of all the Palace staff who were not on duty the night you were attacked, but who were on duty the day before. Most likely, the attacker simply stayed behind after the end of his shift.”
“Gotcha.” That was smart. Somewhere in there, we might find a connection to the spy, or even the real spy himself. “What do you think?” I asked, turning to my cousin with a grin. “You up for a little sleuthing tomorrow?”
“I’ll do anything to avoid having to put myself between your body and another incendiary device,” Rylan said. He gave me a quick, firm hug, and I smiled, happy we’d moved past our differences. “If I get up tomorrow morning and find out that you’re dead, I’ll bring you back to life, just so I can kill you myself.”
“Love you too,” I said with a laugh as I disentangled myself from his arms. And with no one else around to see us, I took Iannis’s hand and allowed him to lead me into the safety of his bedroom, and ultimately, his arms.
25
I was up bright and early the next morning, full of energy and ready to track down the traitor. Rylan was a little grumpy about being dragged out of bed before nine, but the idea of getting breakfast while it was still hot was appealing to him, so he dressed and showered quickly before heading down to the dining hall with me.
I had hoped to find Fenris sitting in his usual spot near the buffet tables, but he wasn’t there. I scanned the rows of wooden tables, filled with mages who chose to get their breakfast here rather than at home before starting work at the Guild. No sign of him at all.
“Maybe he’s sleeping in,” Rylan suggested as he wolfed down his third plate of bacon and eggs. “You know, like
any self-respecting shifter would be.”
I shook my head. “Fenris is an early bird, like Iannis.” I imagined that even as a shifter, his old habits as a mage, and a Chief Mage at that, would be hard to break. “Well, maybe not quite like Iannis, since Iannis is already at some meeting or another,” I amended. “But he’s usually here this time of day.”
Rylan nodded. “You would know,” he said easily, buttering a piece of toast. “Just as I imagine you would know where to find him.”
I sighed. “I’ll start with his room. If not there, he could be in the library.” I’d found him there more than once in the past—Fenris liked to study magical texts discreetly, to keep up on his spell lore even though he wasn’t officially a mage anymore. But the library wasn’t open for another ten minutes, so unless he snuck in, I doubted I’d find him there.
It was a little annoying, having to walk all the way back to the west wing after already coming from there. Fenris’s room was located a few doors up from Iannis’s, on the same side as Rylan’s. I sniffed the air as I knocked on his door, and his scent was strong enough that I was certain he was present.
“What is it?” Fenris called, his voice uncharacteristically irritable.
I frowned, really concerned now. Fenris was normally so unflappable, and he usually was the one calming me down. I wasn’t totally sure how to handle the role reversal.
“I need to get the list of suspects from you,” I said through the door. “Iannis said I should help you interview them.”
“Did he now?” Fenris asked, sounding downright petulant.
Okay, enough was enough. “Wait here,” I told Rylan as I pulled a set of lock picks from one of my pouches. I selected the right one, then unlocked the door and opened it.