Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(14)

“Gallivanting!” I slapped my hand on the table, and the silverware jumped. “You call going after my friends whose lives are in danger ‘gallivanting’? Is that what I did when I took Fenris and Annia to rescue you?”

“No,” Iannis said, completely unperturbed about my outburst. “Perhaps I chose my words poorly. But I am still your master, and I can’t allow you to go off by yourself. The Resistance isn’t the only danger, you know—there are others who would sooner see you dead rather than wedded to me, or would be happy to capture you and use you for political leverage.”

A shiver crawled down my spine at that. “Like who?”

“Rival mages who covet my position. Or citizens who disapprove of giving shifters more status and power.” Iannis shrugged. “In any case, I am not prepared to risk your life in such a foolhardy manner.”

I gritted my teeth. “Then come with me. That way I won’t be alone, and I can still rescue my friends.”

“I cannot.” A hint of anger entered Iannis’s tone now. “As I just explained, I must attend to this mission. If I keep refusing missions from the Minister, he will begin to doubt my commitment. He could even try to relieve me of my position if I anger him enough, and with all the chaos the Resistance has caused, he is on edge.”

“Hang on.” Fenris held up a hand before I could spit back an angry retort. “There has to be a way we can come to some sort of an agreement on this. After all, Annia, Noria, and Elnos are amongst the Resistance right now. Surely, whatever camp they have infiltrated is also a worthy target. The Minister should be happy to see it shut down as well.”

“I can mention it, but I doubt he would consider that a higher priority than the mission he’s currently assigned me,” Iannis said dryly, “especially since we have no idea which camp they are in, or what sort of operation is being run there.”

“It could be a higher priority,” I argued. “When Elnos sends his next ether pigeon, I may have more details regarding their whereabouts.”

“Perhaps, but we cannot count on that. And we have no idea when to expect his next message.”

“How about this, then?” Fenris said, turning to me. “Why don’t you go with Iannis to Dara, for starters, and find out more about his mission. In the meantime, I will call Comenius daily for news from Elnos, and relay it instantly once it is received. I will also keep an eye on Director Chen and the Council to see if they learn anything, since the camp Annia and Elnos went to is within Canalo’s borders. It is entirely possible that you may be finished with the Minister’s mission by the time we receive Elnos’s next message, and you and Iannis can go find them right away. But if not, you can make a judgment call then as to whether or not to finish the mission with Iannis, or leave and go after your friends.”

“I will not allow her to go off by herself—”

“I will meet her there,” Fenris said calmly, cutting him off. “I may not have your power, Iannis, but I am more than capable of watching over and assisting Sunaya until you arrive.”

“Of course,” Iannis said, sounding calmer now. “I did not mean to imply anything to the contrary. It’s just that…” He glanced sideways at me, and I softened a little at the conflicted look in his violet eyes.

“You’re protective of Sunaya,” Fenris said, smiling. “I would be very worried if you were not beating on your chest like an enraged gorilla at the thought of her being separated from you again.”

“I resent that comparison,” Iannis said as I snickered, though he didn’t sound too mad about it.

“All right. Well, I can agree to those terms,” I said, the anger in my chest falling away. I couldn’t bring myself to be mad at Iannis for caring about me, even if his possessiveness was becoming a bit of a nuisance. “What about you?”

Iannis found my hand under the table, gave it a light squeeze. “Very well,” he said, his eyes softening for just a moment before he turned back to Fenris. “You promise that you’ll send me daily reports if you and Sunaya do end up going off without me?”

“Of course.” Fenris picked up his fork, then stabbed at a piece of steak. “Now let’s enjoy our meal, shall we? I have a feeling this may be one of the last we’ll share together for a while.”

No kidding, I thought as we dug into our food. I only hoped that when all of this was said and done, things would return to normal. Or whatever ‘normal’ would be, in the aftermath of this disaster.





7





After dinner, I made my way toward the gardens, figuring a walk and some fresh air would help clear my thoughts. I wasn’t mad at Iannis anymore—in fact, dinner with him and Fenris had been very pleasant—but I was still a little unsettled over this new change in plans. Was I doing the right thing, by agreeing to go to Dara instead of holding myself ready to go after Elnos and Annia the moment I learned their location? Or would circumstances prevent me from helping them? I would never forgive myself if this delay contributed to their deaths.

You shouldn’t worry so much, I told myself. Annia was a competent enforcer, and Elnos a trained mage, even if he was on the young side. Truthfully, he was probably older than I was, but mages were long-lived, and his youthful personality made me think of him as younger, closer to my age. It was likely that the two of them could manage to get out of whatever trouble they fell into, even if the Resistance did discover who they were.