Chapter 31 #2
I put my ice cream spoon down, my appetite gone now.
“It would be a relief if she’d died in that fire,” I said, as horrible a thought as it was, “but we can’t assume that.
She could be at large even as we speak.” Suddenly, the sun was too bright, the bird calls too harsh, the waves too violent as they crashed against the surf only yards away.
If Thorgana was alive, she would unleash hell upon the Federation in retaliation for all that we’d done to her. I was sure of it.
“Yes,” Iannis agreed. “The humans are also becoming very restive. Not the Resistance so much, but the religious fanatics who follow Father Calmias. They are still demanding that he be freed.”
“Ugh.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, if Thorgana is on the loose, now would be the worst time to free that genocidal bastard.” My lip curled at the memory of him standing in the Ur-God temple, calling for his congregation to unite against mages and shifters.
He might be an old man, but I would never forget the power and charisma he exuded, and the way he used it to drive his audience toward bigotry and hatred.
“I agree. We will have to deal with him when we return to Solantha. And speaking of which….” He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a blue envelope. “A letter arrived for you. From your bodyguard.”
“Really?” I blinked in surprise as I took the letter, gazing down at the familiar script on the front of it, addressed to me.
It was Rylan’s, all right. He’d rarely contacted me during his years in the Resistance, so if he was sending me a letter, it must be important.
Impatient, I tore open the envelope, then unfolded the stationary inside.
“Dear Sunaya,” I read aloud, Rylan’s voice echoing in my head. “I hope you are enjoying your trip abroad. Your pesky parrot seems to miss you as much as I do, and has permanently attached himself to me. We both agree that I make a poor substitute for you, and hope you’ll come back soon.”
Iannis and I laughed at that. “So it is still alive,” I exclaimed. Was alive even the right word? Existing? Perpetuating? Pain-in-the-ass-ing?
“It would seem so,” Iannis agreed. “How very curious. I should like to study your pet when we return.”
“In the meantime, F. and I have decided to name it Trouble,” I read on. “Amazingly, it’s responding to the name, so I think you’re stuck with it. Serves you right for not naming it yourself.”
I snorted at that. “I probably would have picked that name myself,” I admitted with a shake of my head.
“It is quite suitable,” Iannis agreed.
“The children we interviewed are all doing well, and are being taken care of. Your friend Janta has taken an interest in Tinari, and is looking into adopting her.”
“An excellent choice,” Iannis said. “Janta will make a great mother for her.”
“I agree!” My heart lightened at the thought that Tinari had finally found a new home.
Glancing at Liu, who was humming a song as she worked on her ice cream, completely tuning us out, I wondered if the two little girls could become friends.
Liu didn’t have magic, but the two girls were close in age.
And besides, I was proof that one could socialize outside of one’s own race.
“Unfortunately, not all the news I bring is good.” My heart sank at that. “There have been several earthquake tremors recently, more frequent than usual for Solantha. And someone has put out a contract on your head for ten thousand pieces of gold.”
“Shit,” I growled, my fingers tightening around the letter. “Are these assassination attempts never going to end?”
“That is a very large sum, especially for humans,” Iannis observed. His eyes glittered with restrained fury, though in general he was much calmer than I’d expected. “It seems far too coincidental that a contract was put out on you so soon after Thorgana went missing.”
“Yeah.” I licked my lips. “But it could also be Father Calmias. His followers blame me for his incarceration, after all. They might have raised funds to take me out.”
“Either way, we’ll need to be very careful,” Iannis warned. He reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly. “I will send word ahead to have Palace security increased.”
I bit back a sigh. What else was new? “Your friend Comenius and his daughter have returned from Pernia. The wedding has been postponed, and they haven’t set a new date yet as far as I know.
F. and I have been busy, so I haven’t had a chance to ask Comenius in person about what happened. But I thought you might want to know.”
“Damn it,” I groaned, lowering the letter. “I was afraid this might happen… but I really hoped it wouldn’t. Com shouldn’t let his daughter drive him and Elania apart. They’re so good together!”
“Things might not be as bad as they sound,” Iannis said. “It is possible Comenius has simply postponed the wedding because his daughter needs the time and space to settle in.”
“I guess we’ll find out when we get back.” And if there was a rift between Com and Elania, hopefully I could help sort it out. Comenius deserved to be happy.
“By the way, F. has been getting grumpier by the day. Guess he doesn’t like being separated from Lord Iannis.
He’s asked me to urge you to come home as quickly as possible, and I have to agree.
You’ve been gone too long! Just don’t forget to bring something back for your favorite cousin, who has to live vicariously through you now that he’s retired.
“Love, Lanyr.”
I grinned a little at that, but my smile faded as I noticed the serious look on Iannis’s face.
“I suspect that last bit from Fenris is more serious than it appears,” he said, rubbing his triangular chin.
“There is something he wishes to discuss that is dire enough he felt he could not allude to it even in a private letter.”
“Any idea what it could be?” I asked. He knew Fenris a lot better than I did.
“No,” Iannis said, his expression suddenly lightening.
He sat back in his chair, then picked up his glass and took a long drink from it.
“And since there is nothing we can do about it now, we’ll simply have to put it out of our minds until we get home.
We’re scheduled to meet with the Queen this afternoon, but I’ll take you up on that volcano tomorrow.
I’ve booked a secluded lodge on the beach, just for the two of us. ”
“Oh?” I lifted my eyebrows as warmth began to slowly spread through me. “So your solution is to frolic on the beach, then?”
“I have a little more than frolicking in mind,” he purred in mindspeak, his violet eyes gleaming. Heat pooled in my lower belly, and I had to remind myself that Liu was sitting right next to us before I gave into the urge to grab his face and pull his mouth against mine.
“I’m sure you do,” I responded with a grin. A warm breeze laced with magic licked against the nape of my neck, and I shivered in anticipation. Finished with our ice cream, we paid for our drinks, then left, my left hand in Iannis’s and my right hand in Liu’s.
There might be problems lurking on the horizon, but I knew there always would be.
Life had not dealt me an easy hand—it had dealt me cards full of danger and excitement, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Those hard times only made bright, sunny days like this even sweeter, and I wouldn’t let anyone stop me from enjoying them for all they were worth.
To be continued…