Chapter 9
After I showed Solar around the city, we returned to the Palace for a banquet held in honor of our guests.
Back in my rooms, I sighed a little as a maid helped dress my hair and do my makeup—I was already out of my street clothes and stuffed back into a dress.
Funnily enough, I’d been reluctant to come back to the Palace—I’d been having a good time playing tour guide for Solar, once we got past the initial unpleasantness.
At least it’s not a super-formal outfit, I mused, running my hand along the silky, persimmon-colored fabric my social secretary had selected for the occasion.
It was a summery, high-waisted dress, with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a hem that brushed against the tops of my feet.
It didn’t exactly seem like the type of dress I’d have picked to wear to a fancy banquet, but I wasn’t about to argue with Nelia when it was more comfortable than what I’d been wearing this morning.
Just as the maid was leaving, a knock came at the door, and Iannis entered.
He too was dressed in lighter robes than usual, though they were still the blue and gold state colors he always wore.
There was a gold sash cinched at his waist, and his long, cherry-wood hair was tied at the nape of his neck.
He looked grand and stern all at once, but he nodded cordially at the maid as she bowed to him.
“You look beautiful, a ghra,” he told me once she’d closed the door behind me, using the foreign endearment that meant ‘my heart’ in his native tongue.
His arms encircled my waist, drawing me into him, and I inhaled his sandalwood-and-magic scent greedily, as I always did when we were alone together.
Desire stirred in my belly as he lowered his lips to mine, but I held it at bay—we didn’t have time.
And besides, I had things on my mind.
“Do you think the Minister would respect me more if he knew I was a direct descendant of Resinah?” I asked, gently pulling my lips from his.
His eyebrows rose. “Where is this coming from?”
I sighed. “The Federal Secretary of Economics suggested it. I wouldn’t have thought much of it, except that in the beginning, he was acting like an ass, and then once he found out that Resinah and I are like, best buds, he started acting all impressed.”
Iannis frowned. “You shouldn’t speak about the Lady so flippantly,” he admonished, though he softened the scold by tapping a long finger against the tip of my nose. “You never know when she might be listening, and it would be foolish to risk losing her favor.”
“True,” I muttered, glancing around. Unlike in the temple, I didn’t sense anything spiritual. Then again, I never really had except during the few times Resinah had shown herself to me. I wondered if Solar was able to tell whether she was around or not? That would be a useful talent to have.
“I ran into Mr. ar’Dakis not very long ago,” Iannis said, his violet eyes narrowed in thought.
“He congratulated me on selecting such a beautiful and intelligent bride, so I gathered you had made a good impression. I hadn’t realized it was based solely on your connection to Resinah,” he said, his mouth turning down.
“Well, I don’t know that it was,” I told him. “After I broke the ice with that revelation, he was a lot friendlier, and we had a good time.”
“Is that right?” Iannis asked, tracing the outline of my jaw with the pad of his thumb. “Not too good of a time, I hope.”
I snorted. “Please. He doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
Iannis grinned at that. “I should hope not,” he said, moving to kiss me again.
I put a hand against his broad chest, stopping him before he made contact. “Uh-uh. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Does it matter? Zavian Graning does not think highly of anyone besides himself. He owes his life to us, and yet he still plays those little political games, pitting Director Toring and I against each other, and he barely tolerates you. He is an astute politician—most of the time—but as a person, he does not deserve respect, so why should we worry about his esteem? Sunaya, he is not worth worrying over.”
Put like that, I had to agree with Iannis. “And what about Toring? Why was he so annoyed that you were put in charge of the mission, and why do you dislike him?”
Iannis sighed. “It’s a long story, and we don’t have time now. Just be very careful around him, and do not mention Fenris.”
We headed down to the banquet hall in relative silence after that, both weighed down by heavy thoughts.
But my worries fell away as we arrived, replaced by a sense of awe.
The last time I’d attended a banquet in here, the place had been transformed into a jungle, where I’d hid amongst the trees in panther form and listened to a bunch of mages gossip right before Iannis announced that I was going to be his apprentice.
This time, the dirt floor and jungle trees had been replaced with palm fronds and white, powdery sand.
The walls had disappeared, replaced with a view of the ocean and a cloudless blue sky, both of which seemed to stretch around us for miles, as though we were on a small island in the middle of the sea.
And damned if I couldn’t smell the salty sea breeze in the air.
“If I’d know this was the theme, I would have left off my shoes,” I murmured as Iannis led me to the long table in the center of the room.
It was draped in a white linen cloth, and seashell centerpieces had been placed at intervals down its length.
Servants stood at the ready, trays of canapés and wineglasses balanced in their well-trained hands, and there were already several members of the delegation seated.
I spotted Director Chen close to the head of the table, chatting with Director Toring.
The polite smile on her face was at odds with the coolness in her dark eyes, and I sensed she liked the Director of Federal Security about as much as Iannis and I did.
At least that was one thing we could agree on, I thought to myself as we joined them.
The rest of the guests filed in not long after that, and, to my relief, I found myself seated next to Solar. I was glad not to be stuck next to the Minister, or any of the other delegates—I didn’t feel like having to go through the whole ordeal of breaking the ice with yet another prejudiced mage.
“So,” I asked Solar as we worked our way through a salad. “What can you tell me about the Director of Federal Security? I have never heard of that position before. Just what does he do?”
“Director Toring?” Solar asked, his gaze briefly flickering to the mage in question.
Toring was in deep conversation with the woman to his left—Marlis Ugorna, the Federal Secretary of Foreign Relations if I remembered correctly.
“The position has been created especially for him. He was instated only a few months ago, but the department is growing at an almost alarming pace.”
“What was he before that?” And how was it that he felt more qualified to lead the mission than Iannis, if he was so new to the position? I wondered to myself.
“He worked as a deputy in the Secretary of Justice’s office.
” Solar’s lips briefly twisted in a sardonic smile, and he kept his voice low so that Toring would not overhear from his side of the table.
“In fact, he used to be the Secretary of Justice, but was demoted from the position some years ago for mishandling a case—he let a high-profile fugitive escape.”
“And yet he’s back in a similar position now?” My eyebrows rose so high they probably touched my hairline. “That doesn’t seem particularly smart.”
Solar shrugged his left shoulder. “That’s politics,” he said, then took a sip from his glass of white wine.
“Garrett has worked hard to climb back up the ladder after his fall, and now that he’s back on top, I doubt anything will knock him down again.
With his rapidly growing staff and budget, I can only foresee him becoming more powerful.
” The hint of displeasure in Solar’s voice spoke volumes.
Perhaps he thought Toring didn’t deserve the money or manpower, and could have used some of that extra budget and personnel himself.
The servants arrived with the main course, and the conversation around the table subsided as everyone dug into their food.
As I twirled pasta around my fork and studied Director Toring through lowered lashes, I was glad that Fenris had decided to leave.
Such a driven and ambitious man would not be able to let it slide if he discovered Fenris was actually Polar ar’Tollis, a mage who had been sentenced to execution for treason against the Federation.
He could have Fenris executed, and perhaps even Iannis himself for aiding a traitor.
I remembered Iannis’s hint not to mention Fenris.
Could it be that Toring had been involved in sentencing Fenris to death, back when he had been the Secretary of Justice?
Was that the case he had mishandled, or had he already been demoted by then?
My blood boiled at the thought that we might be consorting with Fenris’s worst enemy, and I glanced toward Iannis.
How could he sit here with Toring so calmly, if that was the case?
“Not all of them are like that, you know. We have a shifter here in Solantha who is a scholar of magic,” Cirin said in response to something I hadn’t caught.
“His name is Fenris, and though, of course, he cannot use magic himself, his interest and breadth of knowledge are most impressive. I have never before seen a shifter so comfortable and fearless around mages. It makes me wonder if our relations with the shifter community might be strengthened if they had a better knowledge of how magic worked, instead of clinging to superstitious fears.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” Toring said, tapping the side of his cheek with his forefinger.
My breathing hitched, and I wished that Cirin was closer so that I could give him a good kick in the shins even though he didn’t know what he’d just done.
“I would love to meet this unusual shifter. I hear he is a good friend of yours, Lord Iannis?”
“Yes, he is,” Iannis said smoothly, but I knew he was on his guard now. Fucking hell. Why did Cirin have to bring up Fenris’s name?
“How and when did you meet this Fenris? It is most unusual for a shifter to be living at the capitol palace in any state,” Toring commented, his gaze turning speculative.
“It certainly is,” I interjected loudly before Iannis could answer. “Things were particularly difficult for me in the beginning, when I was first brought to Solantha Palace. But ever since I became the Chief Mage’s apprentice, it has become a lot easier to integrate with mage society.”
“Yes, and you have done quite well so far,” Iannis said warmly, and I could tell he was grateful at my change of subject.
To my relief, the conversation turned away from Fenris, and onto my apprenticeship.
Even though I didn’t like that I was shining a spotlight on myself, it was better that they looked toward me instead of discussing him.
We couldn’t risk anyone wondering why it was that Fenris had chosen to take a trip right when they were arriving, or for Director Toring to start digging further into the matter.
I could only hope that by the time we got underway with our mission, Toring would have forgotten all about Fenris. The last thing I wanted was for Fenris to go on the run after we’d just convinced him to stay in Solantha.