by Jasmine Walt
We said our goodbyes to Comenius, then got back into the carriage and headed to the Palace. Anxiety crawled up my spine, tightening my neck muscles as I wondered just what the hell Noria had gotten herself into.
“It’ll be all right.” Iannis took my hand into his bigger one and squeezed it reassuringly. “We’ll figure out how to take care of everything. Together, we can solve just about any problem, Sunaya.”
“Okay.” I squeezed his hand back. As I stared out the window, watching the city pass by, I determined that I would make it all right. With Iannis firmly on my side now, I had access to all kinds of resources even if he ended up too busy to stand by my side.
And now that I had full access to my magic and control over my shifter instincts, nothing was going to stand in my way.
The End
Sunaya Baine’s adventures will continue in Betrayed by Magic, Book 5 of the Baine Chronicles. Join the mailing list below so you can be notified of the release date, and to receive special updates, freebies, and giveaways!
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Glossary
Baine, Sunaya: a half-panther shifter, half-mage who hates mages and has a passion for justice. Because magic is forbidden to all but the mage families, Sunaya was forced to keep her abilities a secret until she accidentally used them to defend herself in front of witnesses. Rather than condemn her to death, the Chief Mage, Iannis ar’Sannin, chose to take her on as his apprentice, and now she struggles to balance her shifter and mage heritage.
Baine, Melantha: Sunaya’s cousin, and daughter to the Jaguar Clan’s Chieftain.
Baine, Mafiela: Chieftain of the Jaguar Clan and Sunaya’s aunt.
Baine, Mika: a young jaguar shifter, daughter of Melantha Baine
Baine, Rylan: one of Chieftain Baine’s least favored children, and Sunaya’s cousin. He is an active member of the Resistance, with the rank of Captain.
Benefactor, the: the name the Resistance call their anonymous, principal source of financial support. According to Sunaya’s investigations, this mysterious criminal has many different irons in the fire.
Bosal ar’Nuris: mage, Secretary of Education and Culture of Canalo, member of the Canalo Delegation to the Convention
Canalo: one of the fifty states making up the Northia Federation, located on the West Coast of the Northia Continent.
Canalo Council, usually just the Council: a governmental body composed of eight senior mages, supposed to advise the Chief Mage and substitute for him in case of sudden death
Chen, Lalia: the current Director of the Canalo Mages Guild in Solantha. She serves as deputy to Iannis ar’Sannin, the Chief Mage.
Chartis, Argon: former Director of the Canalo Mages Guild, dismissed by the Chief Mage for insubordination and attempts to undermine the Chief Mage’s authority.
Chieftain: a title used to distinguish the head of a shifter clan.
Canter: an elderly mage often manning the reception at Solantha Palace.
The Cat’s Meow: a diner in Shiftertown, owned by the Tiger Clan.
Coazi: a group of related tribes controlling large parts of Mexia and adjoining states
Comenius Genhard: a hedgewitch from Pernia, owner of the shop Over the Hedge at Witches’ End. Close friend of Sunaya Baine, employer of Noria Melcott, and lover of the witch Elania.
Creator: the ultimate deity, worshipped by all three races under different names.
Dira: female mage, the receptionist at the Mages Guild.
Dara: capital of the Northia Federation, located on the east coast of the Northia Continent.
Elania: girlfriend of Comenius; a witch specializing in potions, with a shop in Witches’ End
Enforcer: a bounty hunter employed by the government to seek out and capture wanted criminals. They operate under strict rules and are paid bounties for each head. While the majority of them are human, there is a strong minority of shifters, and even the occasional mage.
Enforcers’ Guild: the administrative organization in charge of the Enforcers. Also, the building from which the various Enforcer crews work under their respective foremen.
Faonus: one of the three founding mages of the Federation
Fenris: a clanless wolf shifter as well as good friend and confidant of Chief Mage Iannis ar’Sannin. No known last name.
Firegate Bridge: Solantha’s best-known structure, a large red bridge spanning the length of Solantha Bay. It is accessible via Firegate Road.
Captain Galling: the human captain of the Enforcer’s Guild in Solantha City, appointed by the former Chief Mage and Council.
Coman ar’Daghir: Member of the delegation of Rhodea to the Convention, Legal Secretary of that state
Garai: the largest and most populated country on the Eastern Continent. Garaians are known for slanted eyes and ivory skin as well as their complicated, rune-like alphabet.
Garidano, Cirin: Finance Secretary of the State of Canalo.
Great Accord: a treaty struck by the ruling mages centuries ago which brought an end to a devastating war known as the Conflict. It is still the basis upon which mages rule their countries and territories. All new laws passed must be in accordance with the provisions of the Great Accord.
Gulaya: a star-shaped charm, usually made of metal, that is anchored to a specific location and can take its wearer back there at need. Rare, and difficult to recharge.
Hennis: a jaguar shifter, butler in the home of Mafiela Baine, the Chieftain of the Jaguar Clan.
Herald, The: the main newspaper in Solantha City, geared towards the human majority population.
Iannis ar’Sannin: Chief Mage of Canalo. He resides in the capital city of Solantha, from which he runs Canalo as well as the Mages Guild with the help of his deputy. Originally a native of Manuc, a country located across the Eastern Sea.
Jeremidah: one of the three founding mages of the Northia Federation (“The Founding Trio”) together with Faonus and Micara
Kalois: a rare foreign plant which masks the smell of silver so well that shifters can be drugged or poisoned despite their sensitive noses.
Kan Zao: a mental and physical martial art tradition from Garai.
Lakin, Boon: a jaguar shifter from Parabas, recently appointed as Solantha’s new Shiftertown Inspector following Roanas’s death. Sunaya and he are friends and occasional allies. It was a case he investigated and discussed with Sunaya, that led to the eventual exposure of the Shifter Royale.
Loranian: the difficult, secret language of magic that all mages are required to master.
Mages Guild: the governmental organization that rules the mages in Canalo, and supervises the other races. The headquarters are in Solantha Palace. They are subordinate to the Chief Mage.
Magi-tech: devices that are powered by both magic and technology.
Main Crew: the largest group of Enforcers in the Guild. They are generally favored over the other crews and get the most lucrative dockets.
Manuc: an island country off the west coast of the Central Continent.
Magorah: the god of the shifters, associated with the moon.
Melcott, Annia: a human Enforcer. She is a close friend of Sunaya’s, and Noria’s older sister.
Melcott, Noria: Annia Melcott’s younger sister. A gifted inventor, she regularly tinkers with mechanical devices in between her college classes and her part-time job at Comenius’s shop
Micara: one of the mages that made up the Founding Trio of the Federation, together with Faonus and Jeremidah
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br /> Mills, Thorgana: human socialite, who inherited ownership of The Herald in Solantha and several other newspapers, as well as other companies across the Federation. She only resides in Solantha part-time. Sunaya used to do occasional bodyguard gigs for her in the past.
Minister, the: See entry for Zavian Graning
Nebara: one of the fifty states that make up the Northia Federation.
Northia Federation: a federation consisting of fifty states that cover the middle of the Western Continent. Canalo is part of this federation.
Over the Hedge: a shop at Witches’ End selling magical charms and herbal remedies, belonging to Comenius Genhard.
Pandanum: a base metal used, inter alia, for less valuable coins
Pernia: a country on the Central Continent, from which Sunaya’s friend Comenius Genhard hails.
Polar ar’Tollis: Fenris’s former name, from when he was the Chief Mage in Nebara.
Prison Isle: an island in the middle of Solantha Bay that serves as a prison for Canalo’s criminals.
Privacy Guard: a company leasing uniformed guards to governments and other institutions all over the Federation.
Ragga, Elnos: Noria Melcott’s boyfriend. He is a student at Solantha academy and one of the few mages who believes in equality amongst the races. He and Noria can often be found working together, developing new magi-tech devices.
Recca: the world of humans, mages and shifters
Residah: the mages’ book of scripture that holds Resinah’s teachings
Resinah: the first mage, whose teachings are of paramount spiritual importance for the mages. Her statue can be found in the mage temples, which are off-limits to non-mages and magically hidden from outsiders.
Resistance: a movement of revolutionaries and malcontents planning to overthrow the mages and take control of the Northia Federation. Over the past months they have become bolder and more aggressive, using terrorist attacks with civilian casualties. They are financially backed by the still-to-be identified Benefactor.
Rowanville: the only neighborhood of Solantha where all three races mix.
Sandin Federal Bank: a bank with branches in all fifty states of the Federation; its Canalo manager was Danrian Warin. It was shut down after Sunaya brought a scheme of “interest-free loans,” financed with illegally mined gold, to the Chief Mage’s notice.
Serapha charms: paired magical devices that allow two people, usually a couple, to find each other via twinned stones imbued with a small part of their essence. Normally, only the wearer can take a serapha charm off.
Shaman/Shamaness a spiritual leader of the Coazi tribe, highly adept at nature magic, healing, divination and mind magic
Shifter: a human who can change into animal form and back by magic; they originally resulted from illegal experiments by mages on ordinary humans.
Shifter Courier: Solantha newspaper specifically geared towards the shifter population.
Shifter Royale: an illegal underground betting concourse where kidnapped and drugged shifters were forced to fight against each other, sometimes to the death. Discovered and exposed by Sunaya, with help from Boon Lakin and Annia Melcott, after her cousin Mika had been kidnapped by the organizers.
Shiftertown: the part of Solantha where the official shifter clans live.
Shiftertown Inspector: a shifter appointed by the Shiftertown Council to police shifter-related crime. He has deputies who assist him. The position is currently held by Boon Lakin, a jaguar shifter, appointed after the murder of his predecessor Roanas Tillmore.
Solantha: the capital of Canalo State, a port city on the West Coast, home of Sunaya Baine.
Solantha Palace: The seat of power in Canalo, where both the Chief Mage and the Mages Guild reside. It is located near the coast of Solantha Bay.
Taili the Wolf: in shifter legend, the very first shifter (a female).
Tanzarite: a rare semi-precious stone.
Tillmore, Roanas: The former Shiftertown Inspector and father figure/mentor to Sunaya. He was poisoned while digging into the silver murders, prompting Sunaya to take over the investigation.
Tua: a legendary and highly dangerous race of very long-lived beings with powerful magic, who sometimes cross from their own world into Recca, most frequently in Manuc
Turain: a small town north of Solantha, where the Shifter Royale took place
Ur-God: the name the humans call the Creator by.
Witches’ End: a pier in Solantha City, part of the Port, where immigrant magic users sell their wares and services.
Yantz, Petros: the former Chief Editor of the Herald. He fled the city after Sunaya discovered he was behind the silver murders, and is still at large.
Zavian Graning: mage, Minister of the Northian Federation. Elected by the Convention for an indefinite term, he is charged with coordination of governmental business and particularly Foreign Affairs, between the Convention sessions that he prepares and presides.
Acknowledgments
First off, I’d like to thank my beta readers. They’re an absolutely stellar group of people who give me excellent feedback on short notice, and this book would not be the same without them.
Thanks again to Mary Burnett, my writing partner and editor. Publishing four books in less than a year is a big deal, and we’ve accomplished much more than I think either of us expected.
I’d also like to thank Jason Cipriano and Michael-Scott Earle. You two are the best indie author buddies a girl could ask for. And your books aren’t half-bad either. ;)
And of course, a BIG thank you to Judah Dobin, my illustrator and snuggle buddy. Somehow, you manage to be talented at both. Love you lots. <3
About the Author
Jasmine Walt is obsessed with books, chocolate, and sharp objects. Somehow, those three things melded together in her head and transformed into a desire to write, usually fantastical stuff with a healthy dose of action and romance. Her characters are a little (okay, a lot) on the snarky side, and they swear, but they mean well. Even the villains sometimes.
When Jasmine isn’t chained to her keyboard, you can find her practicing her triangle choke on the jujitsu mat, spending time with her family, or binge-watching superhero shows on Netflix.
Want to connect with Jasmine? You can find her on Twitter at @jasmine_writes, on Facebook, or at www.jasminewalt.com.
Also by Jasmine Walt
The Baine Chronicles Series:
Burned by Magic
Bound by Magic
Hunted by Magic
Marked by Magic
Betrayed by Magic — Coming soon!
The Shadows of Salem Series:
Shadow Born
Shadow Marked — Coming soon!
Collections and Anthologies:
Magic and Mayhem: 21 Fantasy Novels by NY Times, USA Today and Internationally Bestselling Authors