Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(54)

“Love you too.” Smiling, I snagged the bar of soap, which had fallen to the ground, and began lathering it up in my hands. “Now why don’t we get ourselves cleaned up?”





22





The banquet hall was buzzing with chatter when the three of us walked in, nearly full despite the fact that we’d arrived a few minutes early. The entire Parabas Mages Guild must have shown up. Though everyone was dressed in finery, it was easy enough to pick up on who was a peon and who was a high-ranking mage, based on body language. The grand, open space had high ceilings and a wide, carpeted floor. Gold was the dominating color, featured on the drapes hanging from the walls, the molding that edged the ceiling, and the legs and backs of the chairs gathered by the tables arranged in a semi-circle around a glossy wooden dance floor. Toward the back, there was a stage, where the first part of the evening’s entertainment was already set up. A pianist was playing a light and lively tune, pleasant enough, but not too loud, so that the guests could enjoy their conversations.

Those conversations dimmed as heads turned toward us, and I was glad I was properly dressed for the occasion. Iannis wore a version of his Canalo state robes, and Fenris a well-cut black tunic that flattered his yellow eyes. But I was the star of this show in my sapphire-blue silk dress with silver butterflies embroidered over the bodice and across the voluminous skirts. My curls were pinned back from my face with butterfly clips accented with tiny sapphire-blue crystals. A maid had helped me with my hair and makeup. I was well-dressed enough to hold a candle to any of the female mages who looked me up and down, and I lifted my chin a little higher as I noticed the disapproval in some of their eyes.

“Lord Iannis!” Lord Logar called, drawing our attention to him. He was seated at the table at the top of the semi-circle, but he stood to greet us. The other mages sitting with him did the same—three males, three females. “Please, come join us here.”

“Thank you,” Iannis said as we approached the table. He shook Lord Logar’s hand. “We appreciate your hospitality.”

“You have already met Lord Iannis,” Lord Logar said to the other mages, “but let me also introduce you to the lovely Miss Sunaya Baine, Lord Iannis’s betrothed, and also his… advisor, Fenris. Miss Baine, Fenris, let me introduce you to the others.”

He started with his wife, Lady Talari, a lovely brunette who wore the green and gold Parabas colors, just like her husband. She waved away my thanks for providing the lovely dress. Next was Jolen Tular, the Director of the Osero Mages Guild. Then came two of the secretaries who headed the departments in the Guild, followed three of the senior council members who acted as advisors to the Chief Mage. These gave me the stuffiest looks of them all, as if their old bones could barely stand to be in the presence of an upstart like me.

I made sure to give them the widest smiles.

“How unusual, for a Chief Mage’s party to consist entirely of shifters,” Resa Boran, the Finance Secretary, said with a sly smile. She was a gorgeous woman with flame-red hair and deep blue eyes, dressed in shimmering silver robes that were tailored to emphasize rather than hide her curves. I wanted to rip that sexy little smirk off her face, and maybe claw out her bedroom eyes too.

“We might as well embrace diversity, considering this changing political climate,” Iannis said. His hand drifted to my lower back, and I calmed. Just because this woman was sex on a stick didn’t mean that I had anything to fear. But it was difficult not to punch her in the face when she was ogling Iannis right in front of me. “Besides, Miss Baine is not only a shifter. She is a mage, too, and will be quite formidable when she is done with her training.”

“Why don’t we sit down?” Lord Logar suggested, obviously sensing the tension that had thickened the air. “Everyone knows about our mission in Nika, but they are anxious to hear the tale straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were.”

We sat and talked, and though the council members and Resa pretended that Fenris and I did not exist, the others were amiable enough. No, they didn’t treat us as equals, but they were friendlier than the Solantha mages had been when they’d first met me. I imagined this was because of Parabas’s more progressive stance toward non-mages, a stance that would hopefully expand to the rest of the Federation.

“It is most disturbing to realize that the Resistance has been organizing and plotting under our noses the entire time,” Carsid, the Legal Secretary, remarked. He was a black-skinned mage who wore his long, black hair in thin braids, his yellow, orange, and black robes easily the most colorful ensemble in the room. “We have clearly underestimated them.”

“Yes,” Iannis agreed, taking a sip from his glass of wine. “If not for Sunaya, I am not certain we would have unearthed the Resistance’s campaigns in Canalo in time to prevent them from doing even more damage.” He smiled, lifting his glass to me in a toast. “She has quite the nose for sniffing out trouble.”

“To Sunaya Baine and her superb sleuthing skills,” Lord Logar declared, lifting his glass in a toast. The other mages around the table followed suit, and then drank. Embarrassment at the attention warmed my cheeks, and I tried to hide behind my glass. It was too bad that the wine did nothing for me—it would have been nice to have something to calm my nerves.

On the other hand, I mused, glancing sideways at Fenris, it was probably for the best that we weren’t served any spirits that could affect shifters. Fenris needed to stay on his toes around these mages lest he slip and reveal his true identity. The mages of Parabas might be more tolerant, but I had little doubt that Lord Logar was loyal to the Federation and would not hesitate to turn Fenris in. And if that happened, Iannis would be charged with treason as well, both for harboring him, and for using a forbidden spell to turn Fenris into a shifter. The Solantha mages might have started warming up to me, but I had no doubt the Council would cry for my execution again as soon as Iannis was no longer around to protect me.