Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(15)

But ever since we’d confirmed that Argon Chartis, the former director of the Canalo Mages Guild, had defected to the Resistance, I was worried there would be others like him. What if the camp Annia and Elnos infiltrated had a renegade mage at their disposal, or some other magic user? They could have recruited a witch, or even a shaman if they were near tribal lands. As I’d experienced firsthand, tribal shamans were not to be underestimated—they could be just as powerful as mages. And though I didn’t know much about witches, some of them might be equally formidable, even if they practiced their magic differently.

I wonder if Elania and Comenius might be willing to come, I thought to myself as I headed down the front steps of the palace and onto the garden path. If Fenris had to come out and meet me, perhaps he could take them along. The more manpower, the better.

The gardens were beautiful this time of year, with paths winding through perfectly trimmed lawns, past fountains and statues of famous Canalo mages. There were bushes and trees with blossoms in every variety of color, some of them magically enhanced. I paused to sit on a carved stone bench and glanced up at the tree above me. It had brilliant blue leaves, and instead of blossoms, tiny bells grew from the branches, ringing softly as the ocean breeze ruffled them. These bell trees seemed to be very popular in the Mages Quarter—I’d seen more than one of them on the front lawns of the mages who lived here.

“Miss Baine! There you are.”

I stiffened at the sound of Director Chen’s voice. She was coming down the path to my left, her pale, ivory-skinned face serene as usual, though I caught a hint of relief in her slanted eyes. She wore emerald-green silk robes with a cream sash around her waist that drew the eye to her slim figure, and her fine, straight hair was tied into an elegant knot.

“Director Chen.” Resigned, I got to my feet to greet her. She was the director of the Mages Guild and Iannis’s deputy, after all, and I had to show some respect even if I didn’t like her all that much. “What can I do for you?”

“Would you mind sitting down with me for a cup of tea?” she asked. “There are some things I’d like to discuss with you that might be better said in private.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of things?” If she was going to warn me off Iannis again, I was going to punch her right in the nose. Sure, that was probably stupid, since she was a powerful mage, but I wasn’t going to stand here and let her try to tear Iannis and me apart.

“Nothing bad,” Chen assured me hastily, reading the look in my eye. “It’s business-related, I assure you.”

“All right.” Biting back a sigh, I followed Director Chen inside, through the lobby, and down the hall toward the Mages Guild offices. I hated Chen’s office with a passion—her visitors’ chairs were incredibly uncomfortable—but I would endure them rather than chance someone overhearing us. Especially if she did want to say something nasty about my relationship with Iannis.

However, we walked straight past Chen’s office and entered a lounge two doors down, commonly used by senior Guild employees for receiving visitors. The room was decorated in Canalo’s blue and gold—dark blue wallpaper with a repeating pattern of the state emblem, gold couches and chairs, dark blue rugs with golden embellishments, heavy wood tables, and parquet flooring. To the left of the seating area was an unlit fireplace of white gold-veined marble, which served as a sort of accent and relieved the colorful space.

“I hope you like green tea,” Chen said as we sat on the couches. She lifted a small red clay teapot with Garaian symbols painted on the sides from the silver tea tray that had been left on the coffee table, and began to pour steaming, pale yellow liquid into matching red cups. “I confess it’s a favorite of mine.”

“Green tea is fine,” I said. I preferred my tea cold rather than hot, especially in summer, but it would have to do.

“Excellent.” Chen handed me the cup, and I held it gingerly—there were no handles, so I had to endure the hot ceramic directly.

“So what’s this about?” I asked, blowing on my tea as I waited for it to cool.

“Well, before I get into anything else, I would like to offer my apologies,” Chen said. She picked up her cup of tea and blew gently over the top before taking a dainty sip. “I misread the situation between you and Lord Iannis. It is quite clear to me now that he is fonder of you than I realized.”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘love’, not ‘fondness’,” I said evenly. I wasn’t going to let her trivialize what Iannis and I had.

An uncomfortable expression crossed Chen’s face, but she nodded. “Yes, of course. In any case, I hope there are no hard feelings.”

“I can move past it if you can.” I took a sip from my tea. Yowch. Still too hot. How the hell did Director Chen manage to sip hers so calmly, when it had to be scalding her lips off? Drinking hot tea had to be classified as some kind of torture, I was sure of it.

“Excellent.” Chen gave me a brief smile, then her expression grew serious. “I brought you here because it’s time to discuss public-relations strategies. Specifically, we need to carefully handle the media regarding your engagement.”

“What?” I stared at her, baffled.

Director Chen’s perfectly plucked brows furrowed. “Surely you realize that the papers and radio hosts are taking a passionate interest in your engagement to Lord Iannis. And regretfully, not all outlets are portraying it in a positive manner. It is essential that the Chief Mage’s reputation should not take any damage from this unconventional relationship. As his fiancée, you can no longer stay out of the public eye. If you do not present yourself to the public in a sympathetic manner, the media will gleefully take advantage of your silence.”