by Jasmine Walt
“Have you been treating your pa well?” I asked, leaning forward a little so I could meet her gaze.
She nodded. “I’ve been listening, and doing all my chores. Right, Pa?” She looked at him from beneath her lashes.
Comenius gave her a fatherly smile and patted her blonde head. “Yes, Rusalia. You have been doing much better since you came home…though we’ve still had a few fire-related accidents.”
As if on cue, Rusalia’s half-eaten steak burst into flame. She yelped, and I snuffed it out before anyone could notice. Even so, the smoke rising from the charred meat drew some curious glances from the guests at nearby tables.
“You, young lady, will be taking lessons in magical control here in the Palace for the next few weeks,” I told Rusalia. “Starting tomorrow morning at nine.” She stared at me, completely tongue-tied for once. “Is that understood?”
She nodded, her eyes wide.
“Do you mean it?” Com asked gratefully. “It would be a great help if you could arrange for a tutor, since her magic is too strong for Elania and me to reliably control.”
“She’ll soon learn to do that herself,” I assured him. I was planning to teach her basic control myself, now that I had Fenris’s knowledge to draw upon, but I couldn’t tell him that in front of this crowd. Later, she would be able to do an apprenticeship in the normal way, but those usually did not start until the mid-teens. Mage children normally learned basic control and simple spells from their own families long before their apprenticeships began.
“Are you all right otherwise?” I probed, lowering my voice. “All those market carts that were set aflame…my offer for a loan still stands, you know.”
“Thanks,” Com replied, smiling, “but I’m fine. We’ve come to an agreement that allows me to pay the debt off in kind. Healing potions are very much in demand just now.”
“You weren’t joking about the magic,” Kardanor said, looking bemused. “Let’s get you another steak.” He leaned over and snagged the attention of a waiter, pointing at Rusalia’s plate.
“You’re looking quite handsome tonight,” I told him, admiring his dark red suit. He wore a crisp white shirt and a dark grey waistcoat beneath his well-cut jacket, and the golden chain of a pocket watch, tucked into his pocket, glittered in the light.
“Thank you. Nelia helped me pick the outfit,” he said. “Your assistant has excellent taste in fashion.”
We talked for a few more minutes before I moved on to the Shiftertown Council table. “Sunaya,” Aunt Mafiela greeted me warmly. She stood up and enveloped me in a hug, her floral perfume tickling my nose. “You have done a wonderful job organizing this reception.” Her eyes glowed with affection as her gaze turned to Rylan, who bowed his head. They couldn’t embrace, not while he was still in disguise as my bodyguard, but their eyes said all there was to say.
“Thank you,” I replied, grinning at the unwonted praise. It was still weird to be the recipient of such approval from her, but I was slowly getting used to having a normal relationship with my aunt.
“Yes, this is quite splendid,” the tiger-clan chieftain said. His orange eyes gleamed as he looked me up and down. “Perhaps you should help organize the Shiftertown Gala next year.”
“Somehow, I think Sunaya would rather jab a fork into her eye,” Lakin said, grinning. “I’m sure Lord Iannis had to twist her arm to get her to agree.”
“Not exactly,” I protested. “I was happy to do it for such a special occasion.” But really, I hoped people wouldn’t keep suggesting that I organize their events. With my luck, Iannis would make me the official event coordinator.
I stopped by a few more tables, including Captain Skonel’s, to thank him for all his hard work. He was sitting with his deputy and several crew foremen, and though he was still a bit haughty, he treated me with respect, as did the others.
“You should come back up here,” Iannis said. “We are about to begin the speeches.”
I returned to our table. Rylan pulled out my chair, then hovered close behind me while I faced the crowd. Iannis stood up, tapping his wineglass with his fork for order. He used magic to amplify the sound, and the rest of the room fell silent.
“Citizens,” he said in a sonorous voice that carried easily throughout the room. “It gives me great pleasure to stand here with you all tonight. I am proud of each person here—you all have shown remarkable fortitude and courage these past few days, during Solantha’s most trying times since I became Chief Mage. Tonight, we are here to honor you.”
He raised his glass, and everyone drank. Enthusiastic applause broke out, and I was pleased to see there wasn’t a single resentful person in the room tonight. Everyone was in good spirits, despite all three races rubbing elbows at the tables. The only thing that would have made this more perfect were if Annia and Noria were sitting with Comenius, and Fenris was up at the high table with us. But I was determined not to let those losses dim my mood. I’d spent enough time with my grief—tonight, I would celebrate with the others.
Iannis continued with his speech, calling up various members of society to present them with medals and flowers to thank them for their service. He also called up Captain Skonel and confirmed his appointment as Captain of the Enforcer’s Guild, which was met with ecstatic applause from the enforcers present. I was pleased to see that they were enthusiastic about the appointment—it was important the Guild be happy with their choice in captain, and not just the Chief Mage.
“Kardanor Makis,” Iannis finally called as we drew to the end of the ceremony. “Please come forward.”
Kardanor flashed a grin at Director Chen from his chair, then assumed an appropriately serious expression as he approached Iannis to receive his prize. Iannis placed the medal around his neck, and Director Chen handed him the bouquet of flowers, as she’d done for the others. I wondered if anyone else noticed the flush in her cheeks when Kardanor’s hand grazed hers, or if they just credited it to the booze, which was flowing very freely tonight.
“Mr. Makis is perhaps our most important guest here tonight,” Iannis said, addressing the crowd. “Without his knowledge of architecture and building codes, and his persistence in bringing the compromised structural integrity of many of our buildings to our attention, we would have suffered far more casualties than we did. Even now, he is working tirelessly on plans to rebuild the city so that it can better withstand any future quakes and fires. To that end, I have officially appointed him as Secretary of City Planning and Reconstruction.”
There were a few gasps at this unorthodox pronouncement, mostly from the mages in the room. But they were drowned out by the thunderous applause from the rest of the guests. This went on for several minutes, with much cheering and whooping, before the crowd finally quieted down enough for Kardanor to give a short acceptance speech. During the speech, he thanked Iannis, and promised the citizens of Solantha that as the first human Secretary, he would make them proud. Afterward, he took his seat in between Cirin and Chen’s empty chair, and I noticed Chen was smiling brightly at him.
“I have another announcement,” Iannis said once the noise had died down again. “There are certain members of the Resistance who, after learning the true nature of their organization and their leader, gave their loyalty to the Federation and put themselves in great danger to help secure our country’s future. One of these men is Rylan Baine, a son of the Jaguar Clan. He has worked tirelessly to save lives in the past few days, risking his own neck repeatedly in rescuing victims from dangerously damaged buildings. As a reward, I now pardon him for all crimes against the State of Canalo, and I release him from his service to the Palace. Please come up, Rylan.”
The crowd gasped as Rylan stepped forward, then tapped the pin on his lapel to undo the illusion. A lump swelled in my throat as I watched him accept his medal and flowers, and I rushed over and folded him into a tight hug.
“Congratulations,” I whispered fiercely. “And don’t be a stranger.”
“I’ll visit often, I p
romise,” Rylan said. He hugged me back, then went to Aunt Mafiela, who was standing now, tears streaming down her face. The crowd erupted into deafening applause as Rylan embraced his mother, lifting her feet off the ground. As I looked around the room, I caught sight of Nelia sitting a few tables away, and I had to bite back a laugh. She looked flabbergasted, and not entirely pleased, about Rylan’s sudden transformation. I had a feeling Rylan wouldn’t need to end the romance between them—she would be the one to kick him to the curb.
“Now for my last announcement tonight,” Iannis said, and the room went quiet again. He turned to look at me, and I froze at the twinkle in his violet eyes. “I am instituting a committee to reform the Enforcers Guild organization and pay structure.” Many of the enforcers cheered at this, though there were some folded arms and glares from a few senior foremen. “It is important that everyone is fairly compensated, and that all crimes are appropriately investigated irrespective of bounty size. After due consideration, I am naming Sunaya Baine as chair of this committee, and she will choose six other members to help her, two from each race. They have six months to come up with a plan.”
My mouth dropped open in shock and horror, and it took a supreme effort to replace my expression with a pleased smile. Thankfully, the crowd was already applauding again, giving me time to regain my composure. But as I came up to accept my flowers from Director Chen, I shot Iannis a veiled glare from behind my smile. There would be hell to pay for this later.
You’re not a simple enforcer anymore, a voice that sounded a lot like Resinah echoed in my mind, and I bit back a sigh. But as I turned to the crowd to give my acceptance speech, I caught Captain Skonel’s eye, sitting in the back, and had to hide a grin at the look of sheer horror on his face. He looked disgusted at the idea that he would have to defer to me now. On the other hand, my friends and family were on their feet, clapping and cheering, their faces shining with love and pride.
I’m not just an enforcer anymore, I told myself, at peace with the idea now. I’m a champion for these people. For my friends, colleagues, and the underdogs of our city. And with that in mind, I squared my shoulders and prepared to give them one hell of a speech.
23
I spent the rest of the reception talking and drinking with the guests, congratulating those who had received medals and promotions, and accepting congratulations on my own appointment as graciously as I could. But the moment everything was over, and Iannis and I were back in his suite, I rounded on him.
“How could you stick me with a huge responsibility like that in front of a bajillion people?” I shouted, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. “Without even asking me first!” Now that I no longer had an audience to hide from, all the outrage and shock at being blindsided came pouring out of me. I fisted my trembling hands at my sides and glared up at him, resisting the mighty urge to punch him. “Do you think that just because I’m your fiancée, you can just tell me when and where to jump, and I’ll obey without question?”
“No,” Iannis said calmly, completely unfazed by my anger. “But now that you no longer require frequent magic lessons, you’ll need something else to keep you occupied. And you really are the perfect person for this particular job. You brought up some excellent ideas about restructuring the enforcer pay system when we talked the other day. Nobody else would approach the problem with as much verve and insight as you.”
That took the wind right out of my sails. “What…what do you mean I no longer need magic lessons?”
Iannis smirked. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice Fenris had gifted his knowledge to you? I knew for sure when you sent me that ether pigeon the other day, after you had so much trouble with them earlier.” He shook his head. “It would be just the kind of thing Fenris would do with his dying breath—he would have considered it sacrilegious to waste all the knowledge he’d gained over a lifetime of study without passing it on to someone.”
“Oh.” I let out a little sigh. “So, do I seem…different, to you, at all? Like I’ve become more like Fenris?” I had been worrying about that possibility, putting off confessing to Iannis what we’d done. I didn’t feel any different, but knowing I had all those extra memories might seem weird to Iannis.
Iannis shook his head. “You are still my Sunaya.” He took me by the shoulders, drawing me closer to him. “Still the same passionate shifter-mage hybrid I fell in love with,” he added, smiling softly. “And now that Fenris has given you such a precious gift, I see no reason why we must waste the scarce time we have together with basic training and Loranian grammar.”
I arched a brow, even as the pain of Fenris’s loss lanced through me. “Is that your way of saying we’re going to have more sex instead?”
Iannis threw back his head and laughed, his broad shoulders shaking. By Magorah, I thought, watching the way his teeth flashed, and how the firelight flickered across his sculpted face. He really was such a beautiful man.
“No,” he finally said, stroking the pad of his thumb along my cheekbone. “Though that is certainly an enticing thought. But we will be able to move onto more advanced lessons. Fenris’s repertoire of spellcraft was impressive, but I am three times his age and have far more practical experience.” His expression sobered then, and he searched my gaze. “How have you been dealing with Fenris’s memories? It can’t be comfortable, having the sum of someone’s life experiences crammed into your consciousness.”
I shrugged. “I’ve put them in a sort of box so that they don’t pop up unexpectedly. At first, it was overwhelming every time I opened the box to reach for a spell, but it’s become a lot easier. Now I just leave the box kind of propped open, and whenever I need a spell I don’t know, it pops into my mind.”
“Excellent,” Iannis said, his voice filled with pride. “Someone with a weaker will or fewer memories might have a hard time dealing with such a gift, but it seems you have instinctively figured out how to handle them.”
“So, what does this mean, in regards to my apprenticeship?” I asked. “Do we graduate me now, or wait the full ten years?”
“I do not think we need to wait ten years,” Iannis said, “but we should keep up appearances for a few years longer. We don’t want to risk accusations of cheating, and nobody is supposed to know that Fenris was a mage. Besides, you may have inherited all Fenris’s knowledge, but you still need practice in actually applying all those spells.”
“Do you see it as cheating?” I asked, more anxious than I wanted to admit. “I don’t think I could have made it out alive, or saved Com’s daughter, without the techniques that Fenris gifted me.”
“Both of you did what you had to do.” He stroked my hair. “Don’t worry about that. Some mages might be suspicious at your sudden advancement, but they cannot prove that you are anything other than a very gifted student.”
“Plus, I can always say it’s because you are a more than gifted master,” I pointed out. “Part of me wishes I could give Fenris the credit.” I sighed, sadness filling me again. “He did some great things that we’ll never be able to tell anyone about, and it sucks. Hell, we couldn’t even bury his body.” It had never been recovered, and we could only assume it had burned to ashes in the fire. Iannis had commissioned a gravestone in the Palace cemetery, where Solantha’s important figures were buried, but the plot beneath it was empty.
“The only credit Fenris would care about is that which you and I have already given him,” Iannis said, pulling me against his chest. “He cared deeply for you, Sunaya, more than you may have realized. It was he who drew my attention to your case and prompted me to bring you to the Palace for further examination. The scholar in him wanted to know how you could have escaped detection for so long, and the shifter in him hoped for a kindred spirit in you.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I tucked my face into Iannis’s shoulder. “He saved my life that first night in the Palace when the guards nearly killed me,” I muttered into Iannis’s robe. “He always looked out for both of us.”
“Yes,” I whispered as his hands glided down my exposed back, pushing the skirt of my dress down and baring my body to his hungry gaze. He shrugged his robes off his powerful shoulders, then picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. The satin sheets caressed my skin as he laid me down, and then it was his lips gliding over my skin, sending sparks of desire through me as he gently kissed and nipped, tracing patterns and paths over my curves with his talented mouth. I lifted my head to watch as he spread my legs, then buried his face between them, using that wicked tongue to find my sweet spot. My hips arched off the bed, pressing myself against him, and I buried my fingers in his long, dark red hair as I moaned my encouragement.
But Iannis took it slow tonight, gradually lifting me higher and higher until the pleasure crested, and I cried out his name. And he did it again, and again, and again, drawing out the moment, savoring my moans, my trembles, my need. And when he finally lifted his head again, the hunger in his shimmering violet gaze was tempered by a tenderness so profound I thought my heart might burst with love for him.
“A ghra,” he whispered against my lips as he slid into me, the word as much a prayer as it was an endearment. I wrapped myself around him, and we rocked together, holding tight to each other as we gathered our love around us like a kind of armor, a balm that soothed our wounds and strengthened us. I wanted to hold onto this moment forever, to cocoon myself in love and sensation, but need took over, that fierce edge that pushed us faster, made our skin slick with sweat and our lungs short of breath.