Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(21)

“He’s not innocent though, and, surely, you can charge him for preaching genocide, or something like that,” I argued. There was no way a man like him should be allowed to roam free in the Federation—he never mentioned the Resistance in his sermons, only the Ur-God and His plans, but it stood to reason he must be in Thorgana’s pocket.

“Agreed,” Iannis said. “We have offered to let him go if he promised to stop encouraging his followers to engage in mass murder, but he rejected the deal without hesitation. Exile may be the only option, though that is not likely to appease his supporters.”

“Yeah, well, as far as I’m concerned, his followers should be tossed into jail or exiled right along with him,” I grumbled. Normally, I didn’t believe people should be punished just for having contrary beliefs, but I was getting pretty fed up with the pro-Resistance humans.

Noria is a pro-Resistance human, a voice in my head reminded me.

Iannis and I talked for a little bit more, but eventually he set me off his lap so he could review a stack of reports he’d brought along. Figuring I might as well be industrious myself, I pulled Spellcraft for Beginners, the primer Janta had loaned me, from my bag. I opened the book and started reading, snacking on some walnut cookies as I did so. It was an interesting text, with lots of easy yet useful spells in it, but without a safe space to practice any of them, I was soon bored. An airship wasn’t a suitable place for magical experiments.

“Where are you going?” Iannis asked as I rose from my chair and headed to the front.

“I’m going to bug the pilots to give me a lesson,” I called over my shoulder. “I plan on owning one of these myself in the near future, and I’d like to be able to fly it.”

Iannis twisted around in his chair, and I turned to look back at him, mere inches away from the double doors that separated the pilots from the main cabin. He stared at me for a long moment, as if he were considering strapping me down into my chair to prevent me from committing such a foolish action.

“Just don’t kill us,” he finally said, turning back around in his seat again. “The Minister won’t be happy if we fail to show up for the meeting.”

“Oh, I’ll get us there on time,” I said, grinning. I pulled open the doors and stepped into the pilots’ cabin, prepared to convince them to let me take over. After all, if Annia could fly one of these contraptions, then I sure as hell could learn how. And I might need to, if I was going to get her out of that Resistance camp in one piece.





10





Unlike the last time we came to Dara, we didn’t land the dirigible on the front lawn of the Capitol Dome. I wanted to, of course, but the pilots wouldn’t let me. In fact, they shooed me back to the main cabin because they didn’t want to risk me crash-landing at the airport. Disappointing, but not exactly surprising—I’d done well enough for a first lesson, but I was no pilot yet, that was for sure.

“I didn’t expect you to be up there for the entire flight,” Iannis remarked as I sat back down into my chair. “You’ll need to freshen up a bit before we get off the aircraft.”

“Huh?” I glanced down at myself, then noticed the crumbs clinging to the bodice of the satin green dress I wore. Unlike the ridiculous lacy confection I’d worn for my interview, this one was quite comfortable and easy to move in. But I couldn’t go before the Minister with crumbs on it, and I probably needed to redo my makeup too.

“Here, let me help you,” Iannis said, standing as I got up to retrieve my bag from the overhead compartment. He settled his hands on my waist to pull me forward, then gently slid one hand down my front, brushing stray crumbs away.

“Are you cleaning me up, or trying to cop a feel?” I asked, raising a brow.

“I can always do both,” Iannis murmured, dipping his head down. He kissed me lightly, then skimmed his fingertips over my cheeks. The scent of magic tickled my nostrils as tingles skipped up my face, and Iannis smiled, stepping back.

“Perfect.” He pulled a small, circular mirror from his sleeve and handed it to me. “You’re all set now.”

“Is there anything you don’t keep in that weird magical compartment of yours?” I asked, examining myself in the mirror. Iannis had used magic to freshen up my makeup, and I had to admit the effect was beautiful, and much less time-consuming. My eyeliner was bold and dramatic, my lips red and glistening, and the light dusting of blush on my cheeks gave me a healthy glow. Even my hair, pulled back from my face and artfully arranged with jeweled pins and clips, looked like I had just come from the salon.

“I believe in being prepared,” Iannis said, smiling down at me. “You look stunning, by the way.”

“Thanks to you.” Grinning, I returned to my seat, and we settled in for the landing. It didn’t take us long to disembark from the dirigible, and it was pleasant to head directly into the waiting carriage without worrying about our luggage. The steward would take it directly to our hotel.

“We’re only staying one night, right?” I asked as we drove along the paved streets, heading toward the Capitol Dome, which was on the west side of town. Beyond the curtains, the city rolled past—much less crowded at this late hour than the bustling city I remembered from my last visit, but still imposing and well lit. It was far later than one would generally expect to conduct a political meeting after traveling across the country. But as Iannis had told me more than once, this was an urgent mission, and holding a high office meant working long and irregular hours.