Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(57)

“You what?” Whirling around, I darted into my room and headed straight for the walk-in closet. Sure enough, space had been made in the front for a variety of conservative but very expensive-looking robes and dresses in all kinds of colors and fabrics. I instinctively cringed at the thought of how much all this stuff had to cost as I riffled through it, before remembering I was rich now, and also engaged to one of the wealthiest men in Canalo. But still…

“Are the clothes not to your liking, Miss Baine?” Nelia asked. I turned to see her standing just outside the entrance to my closet, worry stamped all over her heart-shaped face. Guilt twanged in my gut as I realized I was being incredibly rude to her.

“No, they’re fine,” I said, letting out a sigh as my hand fell away from a dark pink dress with a high collar and gold buttons. There was nothing here that I would hate wearing, even if these more conservative fashions weren’t something I would have picked off a rack myself. As Iannis’s future wife, I needed to expand my wardrobe and style choices a little bit. I wasn’t going to ditch my leathers and boots, but I had to have the correct outfits for many different occasions on hand.

“Oh good, I’m so glad to hear that.” Nelia smiled, then lifted her binder. “May we adjourn to the sitting room, so we can go over a few things? I promise this won’t take long.”

“Sure,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. I followed her out to the sitting area, and settled onto one of the pastel green couches. Nelia perched on the chair next to me, crossing her well-toned legs as she flipped open her binder. She pushed her glasses up her narrow nose as she scanned the pages with her dark grey eyes, lips pursed.

“I took the liberty of dealing with all the mail you received after your article was printed,” she told me.

“Article?” I echoed dumbly, my mind racing to catch up with hers.

Nelia smiled, pulling out a newspaper page from the binder. “Director Chen told me it might have slipped your mind. You did leave almost immediately after the interview for Now.” She handed the paper to me, a full-page article of my interview with Gena Chanie. To my surprise, the reporter had painted me in a sympathetic rather than patronizing light, and had included two flattering photos—one from the batch her photographer had taken that day, and another someone had snapped of me in the street in my enforcer leathers. According to the write-up, I was adjusting to my new role well, bringing dignity and light to the Mages Guild while continuing to stay in touch with my “street roots”, as she called it.

“I will be keeping a scrapbook of these,” Nelia informed me as she tucked the article back into her binder. “So that we have a record of all printed media.”

“Thank you,” I said, with feeling. I had to admit, I hadn’t thought about how much administrative work would come with my new social status, and it was a relief to know that someone else with experience was going to take care of it. Director Chen had chosen my secretary well—maybe she wasn’t out to get me after all. I supposed I would have to thank her later.

Nelia then explained my schedule for the next four weeks. There were meetings and interviews Director Chen had already set up, though many of them had been rescheduled due to my unexpected departure. I imagined this would be a common occurrence, as I doubted this would be the last time Iannis and I would be off on a mission. Still, I would not be able to duck out of these entirely, so I guessed I was going to have to get used to it. The first interview had gone really well, so maybe I was ready for the press after all. But I would make sure to get some tips from Iannis before I did any more, on how to handle personal and inconvenient questions. I told Nelia not to schedule any more interviews for the time being.

“By the way, Chieftain Mafiela Baine called to respond to your invitation for lunch,” Nelia said to me. “I penciled her in for Wednesday the eleventh, in the Winter Garden.”

“Oh.” I let out a surprised breath—I’d forgotten about that too. The Winter Garden was a pretty salon on the second floor of the Palace, filled with mirrors and evergreen plants. It was sometimes used for small dinner parties by the Chief Mage, but would do just as well for a private lunch catered by the Palace cook. “Did she sound happy about it?”

Nelia paused, as if trying to recall. “She didn’t sound unhappy,” she decided.

I held in a sigh. Oh well. Guess that was the best I was going to get out of my aunt. Hopefully, this lunch wouldn’t be a total disaster.

A knock at the door interrupted us before Nelia could continue. “I’ll get it,” I said, rising from the couch and gesturing for Nelia to sit. There were still some things I wanted to do myself, and answering my own door was one of them. “Who is it?”

“Lanyr Goldrin, Miss. I’m your new bodyguard, here to escort you to dinner.”

“Bodyguard?” I echoed. What the hell? Why were all these new employees being sprung on me out of nowhere? Annoyed, I threw open the door to see a Palace guard, decked out in blue-and-gold livery, standing in the hall. As I had suggested, Iannis had hired locals to guard the Palace, and this one was a handsome, orange-eyed tiger shifter with golden-brown hair and a tall, lean frame.

“It’s me, Sunaya.” Rylan’s voice echoed in my head, and I nearly fell over.

“By Magorah,” I hissed, dragging Rylan inside. “What are you doing, dressed like this?” I slammed the door behind us.