Burned by Magic (17 page)

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.

I
t 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.

“Wow.” I couldn’t help the grin that burst across my face. “This is definitely a step up.” I threw open a pair of double doors, then froze at the sight of all my clothes hanging neatly from the racks of the biggest walk-in closet I’d ever seen. My attire took up perhaps a quarter of the available space, and boxes stacked neatly in the center of the room took maybe another quarter.

“By Magorah,” I whispered. “You… you had my stuff delivered?”

Fenris shrugged. “Iannis suggested that I look into it, actually. Good thing, too, because your landlord was preparing to have you evicted. Two servants brought your things over this morning.” He grinned as he produced a set of keys from his sleeve and tossed them to me. “They even managed to recover your steambike.”

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, and I flung my arms around Fenris’s neck. “Thank you so much,” I murmured, so ridiculously grateful to have my things. I would be able to wear my own clothes again, and if the servants had brought over everything, even carry a weapon!

Fenris stiffened briefly, but quickly relaxed and patted me on the back. “It’s no trouble at all,” he said. “I’ll leave you to get acquainted with your room.”

I spent the next few hours organizing my things, unpacking all the stuff in my boxes and rearranging my clothes until they were on the racks the way I liked them. I filled the empty bookcase that stood by one of the windows with my books – a combination of martial arts theory, history texts, and novels that were strictly for pleasure reading – and the second one I filled with my smaller weapons, such as knives and throwing stars. The bigger weapons, such as my staff and swords, had to go in the closet.

Finished at last, I took a long, hot bath, dressed myself in a pair of leather pants and a long-sleeved red top, and tucked two knives into my boots. As an afterthought, I grabbed one of my short swords, similar in style to the ones the guards used, and secured it around my waist with a belt and sheath.

Yep, I thought as I gazed at myself in the full-length mirror installed in the walk-in closet. My curly black hair tumbled around my shoulders, and my tanned skin glowed with good health. I was finally starting to feel like my old self again.

“Going somewhere?”

I nearly stumbled as I walked out of the closet – Fenris had popped his head back in.

“Am I not allowed to?” I demanded, folding my arms across my chest. “Surely now that I’m an apprentice I can come and go from the palace?”

Fenris nodded, stepping into the room. “Iannis has allowed you four hours of free time per day in which you may do whatever you wish outside the palace walls, in addition to any time you may be sent out to run errands.”

I clenched my jaw at that. “So I’m still a prisoner?”

Fenris sighed, running a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Can’t you at least take this one as a win, Sunaya? The Chief Mage doesn’t want you putting yourself at risk until you are properly trained.”

I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time,” I told him. “But I guess I’ll accept the terms. Still, it would be nice if I could get my lost weapons back. Not to mention my Enforcer bracelet.” I tapped my naked wrist.

Fenris winced. “Yes, about that –”

Dread turned my stomach to lead. “They’re gone?”

Fenris nodded. “Iannis asked me to track them down, but the Enforcer’s Guild doesn’t have them.”

My nails bit into my palms as I clenched my fists. “Brin and Nila. Those bastards.”

“We’re still looking for them,” Fenris insisted. “With enough time, we might –”

“Stop.” I held up a hand, my heart aching. Those weapons had been among my most prized possessions. “You can at least get my Enforcer’s bracelet back, can’t you?” I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of losing that, too. It would mean the end of my livelihood, especially if I ended up not making it as a mage.

Fenris nodded. “That should be possible. If we can’t get the original back, we can order the Enforcer’s Guild to issue you a new one.”

I sighed as a modicum of relief trickled through me, then changed the subject. “Did you find anything out last night with that lie detector wand thingy the Chief Mage gave you?”

Fenris scowled. “Unfortunately not,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “None of the kitchen staff appeared to know anything, and the wand didn’t twitch at all when I questioned them, so they weren’t lying. It could have been one of the mages at the party, or theoretically one of the servants of the dignitaries who are staying here as guests. It’s tough to narrow down.”

“That doesn’t sound very reassuring.” I pursed my lips, wondering how effective that wand really was. Why did Fenris rely on it? Surely his nose was good enough.

“It’s not. I’m going to do some further investigation into it.” He pulled a book from his sleeve and handed it to me. “This is a basic primer on magic, one of the few not written in Loranian. Iannis found it last night and asked me to give it to you, so you could practice in your room when he’s not available. I suggest you be very careful and make sure no one is nearby when you are practicing, especially if you are going to perform a new spell. It wouldn’t do at all if you accidentally hurt someone.”

“Thanks.” A spark of delight lit in my chest as I took the book, something that would not have happened a week ago. Strange how my outlook on magic had changed in such a short time, now that it was more accessible to me.

Fenris showed me how to activate the pre-spelled wards set around the perimeter of my room, which I could use to keep anyone from entering while I was performing magic. He then left me to my own devices. I stared at the book for a little while, tempted to start working now, but the outdoors called me more strongly than the spells did. I slid the book onto one of my shelves, between a paperback on Garaian History and a mystery novel.

It was time to go and see how my city had fared without me.

I grabbed a few scones from the kitchen, then hopped on my steambike and headed towards the Port. I was in a ridiculously good mood, and it wasn’t just the fresh air on my face or the sights and sounds of the city that surrounded me as I rode through the streets. The staff and guards had all been fairly pleasant to me as I’d left, addressing me as ‘ma’am’ or ‘miss’, and no longer gave me dirty or suspicious looks. The mages, for their part, hadn’t changed their level of animosity, but only the way they expressed it – instead of sneering at me they scowled, beaming hatred or jealousy my way when they thought my back was turned. They thought their bad vibes would bring me down, but instead they only widened my smile and lifted my spirits. Any day I could wiggle the stick up those stuffy bastards’ asses was a good day in my book.

The bell tinkled as I opened the door to Comenius’s shop, which looked exactly the same as it had the last time I’d walked in here. Of course, that had been less than a week ago, so I shouldn’t have expected anything different, but still, the normality brought me comfort.

“Naya!” Noria dropped the coins she’d been counting back into the register and dashed around the counter as she caught sight of me. I laughed as she flung her arms around me and hugged her back, relieved that she wasn’t mad at me. “I’m so glad you’re here! How did you get out? Did Rylan rescue you after all?”

“No.” I clamped my lips shut on the scolding I wanted to give her for sending Rylan into a trap in the first place – she’d only been trying to help, and in the end the Chief Mage had simply used the situation to his advantage. “I was released.”

“Really?” Comenius popped in from the back of the shop, his stern face all smiles. I embraced him as well, inhaling his comforting sage and thyme scent. “How did you manage that?”

I stuck out my tongue at him. “The Chief Mage made me his apprentice.”

“WHAT?”

For the next ten minutes I was peppered by a barrage of questions, which I answered as best I could. Comenius was stunned, but happy, while Noria was flat-out confused.

“But I don’t understand,” she whined plaintively when I’d finished explaining to her that I was going to have to live at the palace until I’d finished my apprenticeship. “He’s the
enemy
, Naya. How could you?”

“Not all mages are the enemy,” Comenius pointed out mildly. “After all, you’re working with a mage at the Academy right now, are you not?”

Noria pouted. “Yeah, but he’s not the
Chief
Mage.” She worried her lip for a moment. “He’s still working on analyzing that drug. He’s pretty busy between classes and his own projects right now, but I hope he’ll have something for us by next week.”

I nodded, sobering a little as my mind turned back to the murders. “Has there been any other news?”

Comenius shook his head. “No murders since the last one reported by the
Courier
.”

I ran my tongue along my upper teeth, frustrated. “That’s supposed to be a good thing, but…”

“You feel like you need more leads, and you don’t have anything,” Comenius finished. His frustrated look told me that he commiserated, which made me feel a little better. “I know what you mean, but until we get an answer back regarding the drug, I don’t have anything concrete to go on.”

“You know,” Noria said, her brow puckering thoughtfully. “You could easily take this chance to run off to the Underground and join up with the Resistance, now that you’re free. I don’t see why you’ve got to be beholden to the Chief Mage.”