by Jasmine Walt
“Well, I have to say I’m highly disappointed in all of you.” The Chief Mage frowned at the lot of them, and it occurred to me that he should have been angrier than he was. After all, if one of the purposes of hosting this banquet was to find me a trainer, hadn’t this been a colossal waste of time? “I thought that surely one of you would have the fortitude to step up and take on this revolutionary project. It would appear my faith in you was misplaced.”
Seriously? He was going to let them off with this light scolding? With the way he’d treated me, I thought he terrified everyone, but he seemed practically tame here. Maybe he was too easy on his mages, and that’s why they were so irresponsible.
“Oh, very well.” Iannis shrugged his shoulders and let out a small sigh – one of the most expressive things I’d ever seen him do. “I suppose if none of you are willing to train her, then I must take on the task myself.”
I really did fall off the tree branch this time, and had to quickly right myself in the air so I didn’t come crashing down onto my side. I landed on my feet, but nobody noticed my aerial maneuver because the mages had exploded into an uproar.
“A hybrid as your apprentice? That’s preposterous!” the carrot-top mage shouted.
“There are plenty of worthy apprentices waiting for a master who would kill for that position!” This was Baldy, and his face was red with anger.
“What kind of example will this set for Canalo? Will every shifter in the state know that all they have to do is sleep with you in order to curry your favor?”
“SILENCE!”
Iannis’s voice, magically magnified, shook the walls. Everyone clammed up instantly, and I stood stock still, the hairs along my spine standing straight up in the air. I wasn’t sure if the energy crackling through my body was in response to the terror his glare inspired in me, or the fury and embarrassment that burned through my veins from the last mage’s comment.
“Lysander,” the Chief Mage said in a voice like boiling lava, addressing the silver-bearded mage who’d made the remark. “You have been around longer than most of the mages in this room, and know that I do not tolerate gossip and rumormongers, correct?”
“Y-yes, my Lord.” Lysander bowed so low that the tail end of his beard touched the ground.
“Excellent.” The Chief Mage’s icy gaze swept the room. “Then you understand that anyone who repeats such a vile rumor, in my presence or outside, will be struck deaf and dumb for the rest of the year. Short of Miss Baine actually killing someone or causing extreme damage, I do not want to hear any more complaints about her. You are all grown mages and more than capable of defending yourself from a single hybrid shifter. Do I make myself clear?”
The mages all rushed to assure Iannis that he did, their heads bobbing furiously. I noticed that none of them were able to meet his eyes, though I stared openly at him. I should have been relieved at this turn of events, because it officially meant that I wasn’t going to be executed, and was no longer a prisoner. But I was too confused to be grateful. What in the world was he thinking, taking me on as his apprentice? As much as I was loath to admit it, the other mages were right – there were many more apprentices out there who were more deserving of the position. Regardless of what Iannis said, the fact that he was favoring me would only encourage the rumors that we were lovers.
A hot flush spread beneath my fur as I realized what this meant – I would constantly have to endure whispers and speculative looks, not just from the mages but from everyone in Solantha. And what if this didn’t end up working out? What if he dropped me like a piece of garbage, like my family had? I would be known as the scorned lover and the failed apprentice.
“You are all dismissed,” the Chief Mage said, locking eyes with me. One by one, the mages filed out of the banquet hall, muttering and grumbling amongst themselves, until it was just Fenris and Iannis in the hall with me. Them, and my screaming thoughts, telling me to run as far and as fast from this room as I possibly could.
13
Bolting from the room didn’t work. All it took was a single Word from the Chief Mage, and I froze halfway to the door like a fuzzy black ice sculpture.
“As much as I’m certain you’d like to leave my presence and never return, we are not yet finished with this conversation, Miss Baine.” Iannis’s cool tones echoed in the empty hall. “We shall adjourn to my chambers for further discussion.”
“I don’t want to go to your chambers!” I snapped at him mentally. If he heard me, though, he didn’t show it; he simply walked past me, his ornate blue and gold robes brushing against my fur before he disappeared through the doors. The spell dissipated and I growled, the beast inside me interpreting his “accidental” touch as an act of marking territory, which I did not appreciate.
“Come on.” Fenris paused beside me, regarding me with his yellow gaze. “You may as well get this over with.”
Huffing out a breath through my nostrils, I followed Fenris into the hall and back down to the Chief Mage’s chambers. When we got there, Iannis was standing by the fireplace, holding a blue silk robe in his hands.
“Change,” he commanded, his stern eyes on mine.
Heat flooded through my body as I stiffened beneath his gaze. I wasn’t a prude, and had certainly never been shy about my body, but something about getting naked in front of the most powerful man in Canalo made the fur along my spine crackle.
“Miss Baine, I would prefer to have this conversation verbally.” The Chief Mage held the robe aloft again, which shimmered in the firelight. “Please change back into your human form.”
The please – which he’d never used on me before – reached past my embarrassment and softened me up. I did my customary yawn and stretch, then shifted back into human form. White light engulfed me as my legs and arms grew longer and my snout, fur and claws receded. Crouched on the carpet in human form, I reached up and snatched the robe from his grip, incredibly aware of the fact that I was not only naked, but practically kneeling at the Chief Mage’s feet. I stood quickly and shrugged the robe on at the same time, the cool silk fluttering against my skin, and did my best to avoid Iannis’s penetrating gaze. It didn’t help matters that the blue silk smelled like him, and by the time I was done tying it around my waist I was decidedly hot and bothered. Worse, Fenris was in the room with his keen sense of smell, so at least one of these men knew I was hot and bothered.
As if things could get any worse.
“Alright, you boys have had your show,” I said, trying to make light of the situation as best I could. I leaned my hip against the arm of one of the couches and crossed my arms. “Now can I go?”
“I didn’t bring you here because I wanted to look at your body, Miss Baine,” Iannis said mildly. But the gleam in his eyes and the pheromones coming off him told me that he had enjoyed looking. “I brought you here to discuss your apprenticeship.”
That doused my fire as effectively as a hailstorm. “Yeah, I really like how you announced that to the Mage’s Guild without even bothering to consult me first. Has it occurred to you that maybe I don’t want to be your apprentice?”
“Sunaya –” Fenris began, his voice full of reproach, but the Chief Mage held up a hand.
“Has it occurred to you, Miss Baine, that perhaps you’re being childish?”
“Childish?” I shouted as anger scalded my cheeks. “How is my desire to be consulted on matters regarding my future fucking childish? Maybe the problem is that you’re treating me too much like a child, and not that I’m acting like one!”
“You are many things, Miss Baine,” Iannis murmured, his violet eyes traveling up and down my body. “But a child is not one of them.”
The heat in my cheeks spread to the rest of my body, and I wanted to sink into the floor. Thankfully, the Chief Mage blew right past his comment and back to the matter at hand. “Nevertheless, I’d like you to put your emotions aside for the moment and view this rationally. Aside from the fact that I’m bestowing an incredible honor on you –” h
e ignored my snort of disbelief, “– this is the only way I can grant you your freedom. I cannot simply set you loose in the world without proper training.”
The argument ballooning inside me deflated abruptly. “Hang on. Are you saying that I’ll be allowed to leave the palace?”
“You will be granted certain freedoms, yes,” the Chief Mage confirmed with a nod. “Although, with these freedoms come responsibilities. You will have to work hard and study every day, and in addition you will be expected to conduct yourself like a mage at all times. You will need to observe proper etiquette and curb your overly emotional attitude, and we will need to get you a proper set of robes –”
“Whoa. Hang on there.” I held up a hand and took a deep breath through my nose. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
“I fail to see –”
“Yes, as usual, you fail to see how anyone could possibly have an objection to your viewpoint.” I planted my fists on my hips. “But I do. Just because I was born half-mage doesn’t mean I’m ready to embrace the lifestyle! I’ve lived my entire life as a shifter, and I’m not going to change that overnight because you wave your hand and command it to be so.” I waved my own hands as I spoke, and his eyes narrowed at my mockery. “If being your apprentice means I have to put on robes and walk around like I have a wand up my ass, then you may as well send me straight to the chopping block, because I would rather die than live the emotionless, passionless existence you mages do.”
The Chief Mage’s eyes flashed, and he took a step forward. “The fact I do not display my feelings all the time does not mean I don’t have them,” he said tightly. “Rather, I would say I exhibit remarkable control for not lashing out at you, even though you mock me at every turn.”
Guilt sank its razor sharp claws into my chest, and I fought the urge to shrink back beneath his glare, which held more than simple anger. Could it be that I’d actually hurt his feelings?
That’s ridiculous.
And yet, I couldn’t deny the truth in his words – any other mage would have happily executed me at the first taste of my flippant tongue. But Iannis hadn’t, and I’d refused to give him credit for that.
“L-look,” I stammered, my emotions off balance, “even if I did agree to be your apprentice, I don’t see what the point is, since my magic is too unpredictable to train.”
The Chief Mage scoffed. “That’s nonsense. You’re the daughter of an extremely powerful mage. There is no reason that I wouldn’t be able to cultivate your talents and turn you into a powerful mage in your own right.”
I froze. “How the hell would you know that about my father?”
“Your magical signature is very strong and distinctive, which considerably narrows the field of possibilities.”
“Oh yeah?” My heart jumped with excitement. “Well who’s on the list?”
The Chief Mage folded his arms. “I don’t see why I should divulge any details to you, since you’re not willing to be apprenticed.”
Damn him. “That’s blackmail, and you know it.”
“Blackmail implies that he’s holding damning information over your head, which he is not.”
I glared at Fenris. “I don’t care how you put it, it’s still coercion and I don’t like it.”
The Chief Mage simply shrugged. “Like it or not, that is the situation. If you want to know who your father is, you must complete your apprenticeship first. Or at the very least, make significant progress.”
Fury blazed in my chest, and I took a step forward. Fenris chose that moment to put his body in between us, and shift back into human form.
“I think perhaps we should change the subject,” he told the Chief Mage. I frowned, noticing that Fenris was fully clothed. How did he do that? Did he have some kind of charm that allowed him to retain his clothing? If so, I needed to get my hands on it, stat. “After all, there is still the matter of the poisoning to be dealt with.”
My ears went on full alert. “Poison? What poison?” Was another shifter dead already?
The Chief Mage wrinkled his long nose. “Fenris detected hemlock in a drink that was served to me,” he said, sounding more annoyed than anything else. “A rather amateur assassination attempt, considering that I am immune to most poisons, but it must be punished nonetheless.”
Fenris inclined his head. “I would appreciate if you could lend me your lie detector wand so I may go question the kitchen staff. They might have seen someone or something, or one of them may even be responsible.”
The Chief Mage nodded, drawing out a long, wooden stick from his sleeve. “Report your findings back to me,” he told Fenris.
“Why do you need a stick to tell you whether or not someone’s lying?” I asked. Any shifter worth their salt could smell a liar – no magic necessary.
“The stick is more reliable,” Fenris said lightly, but his face tightened, and I knew I had struck a nerve. He nodded stiffly at both of us and left.
The door closed behind him, and I shifted uncomfortably on the balls of my feet, self-conscious about the fact that I was alone with a man I was attracted to… a man who had just seen me naked. He regarded me silently, his violet eyes glittering, but with the firelight reflected in them he seemed warmer than usual, less dispassionate.
“I like how at the first sign of an assassination attempt on yourself you rush to have Fenris investigate, but you’ve yet to do anything about the silver murders,” I snapped, more to dispel the sexual tension in the room than anything else.
“There you go again,” Iannis said softly, taking a step toward me. His eyes darkened, and I backed up unconsciously to try and maintain some distance. “Throwing barbs and insults in my face, after I’ve extended you an honor that most apprentices would kill for. What do you hope to accomplish by this, I wonder? Can it truly be that you have a death wish?”
“No.” My shoulder blades brushed the tomes on the shelves behind me, and I stopped moving. “I just don’t like being told what to do by someone who thinks he’s better than me.”
Iannis placed a hand on either side of my head, bracing his weight on the shelves as he leaned into me. I sucked in a sharp breath, and my head spun as I inhaled his masculine scent. My heart was pumping so hard I thought it would punch a hole through my chest, and I fisted my hands at my sides to keep from quivering beneath his penetrating and unmistakably hot gaze.
“I would be the first to admit I know nothing about how to fight with crescent knives and chakrams,” he murmured, his warm breath caressing my cheek. “But make no mistake, when it comes to magic, I am your better in every way.”
My breath caught as he lifted a lock of hair from my shoulder, rubbing the glossy black curl between the pads of his thumb and forefinger. “W-what are you doing?”
“Reminding you who is in charge.” He wrapped the curl around his finger, his eyes never leaving mine. “I could twist up the fibers of your being just like this strand of your hair, and you would die a painful death. Instead, I’m struck by this odd compulsion to help you, despite the fact that you push me away at every turn.” His lips curled up at the corners. “Strange that at this moment, we’re the closest we’ve ever been to each other, and yet for once you’re not pushing back.”
My cheeks flushed as a tingle spread up my arms and down my body. Part of me wanted to shove him away, but I was caught up in the strange spell of this moment, fear and desire chasing each other through my veins as if to see which one could overwhelm me first. My lips parted instinctively, and I wet them with my tongue, imagining what it would feel like if his lips were pressed against mine instead. I knew I should fight these feelings, but our bodies were far too close, his masculine scent surrounding me and making it hard to reason. All I could think about was the heat spreading through my lower belly and how the silk of the robe was suddenly harsh against my skin.
His nostrils flared, and for a moment I thought he might actually kiss me. But instead he cleared his throat and took a step back.
“I think
it’s best we both retire for the night,” he said, voice clipped. “We’ll adjourn tomorrow evening for your next lesson, so try not to get into too much mischief before then. You are dismissed.”
Nodding, I fled the room, anxious to put some distance between us so I could sort out the confusing jumble of thoughts jockeying for position in my head. It wasn’t until I’d gotten back to my room that I realized I was still wearing his robe. I spent the rest of the night with his scent clinging to me, in and on and all around me, and ached for something I didn’t even think I wanted.
14
It took me most of the night to fall asleep, and I didn’t wake until the early afternoon sunlight struck my eyelids through my bedroom window. I sat up, rubbing my gritty eyelids as I tried to gather my muddled thoughts, and froze at the sensation of cool silk gliding against my skin. Looking down, I groaned as I saw that I’d fallen asleep still wearing Iannis’s blue robe – I was not going to walk around the rest of the day with his scent clinging to me.
I quickly changed into a pair of cotton pants and a loose fitting shirt, and trotted down the winding staircase toward the East Wing so I could grab a bath. On my way down the corridor, I ran into Fenris.
“Sunaya!” Fenris smiled. “I was just coming to find you.”
Dread pooled in my stomach. “What is it now?” Couldn’t I ever have a day to myself?
Fenris chuckled at the pained expression on my face. “Don’t look so sullen, Sunaya. I’ve simply come to show you to your new quarters.”
My eyebrows winged up. “New quarters?”
He nodded. “As the Chief Mage’s apprentice, that dingy tower room isn’t appropriate for you anymore. He instructed me to help you get settled into your new room.”
“Oh. Well then.” I made a grand gesture with my arm. “Please, lead the way.”
I followed Fenris the rest of the way to the East Wing, a bounce in my step. Maybe this whole apprentice gig wasn’t so bad after all. He led me to the end of the wing and showed me into a corner room at least four times the size of my tower cell, with a huge four-poster bed draped in green silk dominating the far side and a sitting area with a fireplace directly in front of me. The room was decorated in pale greens and earthy browns, with a generous amount of light spilling in through three rectangular windows framed with gossamer curtains. The glossy wooden floorboards creaked beneath my weight, covered strategically with plush rugs in certain places, but otherwise left bare to gleam in the natural light.