Bound by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #2)(54)

“Miss Baine.” The Chief Mage inclined his head. “I was just coming to look for you. You never showed up for your lesson.”

“Huh?” Alarm shocked me out of my foggy state, and I pushed back the sleeve of my jacket to check the time. Eight fifteen. Over an hour late. “Crap. I’m sorry.” I looked up to meet the Chief Mage’s stern gaze. “I was helping the Finance Secretary sort through all the records he seized from Sandin Federal Bank this afternoon. I guess I lost track of time.” Well that, and I’d completely forgotten we were scheduled to have a lesson tonight.

“Ah, yes.” The Chief Mage’s frown lightened. “I’m glad you finally investigated the bank. It would seem there was good reason to look into it.”

“Yeah.” I thought about telling him about the rest of the investigation, but I held back. I really didn’t need Iannis’s help with this, and he was so busy as it was. “Umm, so can I get some food before we start? I haven’t eaten since noon.”

“No need. I had dinner in my quarters with Fenris, and the cook brought more than enough food. If the leftovers aren’t still there, I’ll simply order more for you.” He turned and headed back out of the lobby, clearly expecting me to follow.

“Hang on,” I said, hustling to keep up with his long-legged stride. “We’re not going to the training room?”

“No. We won’t be needing it for what I have planned tonight.”

Warmth blossomed in my cheeks as Iannis confirmed what I’d suspected – he was taking me to his personal quarters. The last time I’d been there, the Chief Mage had briefly seen me naked, and we’d also fought about the idea of him making me his apprentice. I still remember the way my body had tingled as he’d pushed me up against the wall and pinned me with his violet eyes, and I remembered how they’d blazed. I hadn’t been sure whether or not he was going to kill me or kiss me at the time, and the idea of being alone in that room with him again made my heart beat a little faster than it should have.

Then again that room was also the same place where the Chief Mage had unlocked the seal my father had placed on my magic, giving me control over my powers for the first time in my life. So there were good memories of that room too.

Despite being located on the far end of the West Wing, it didn’t take very long for us to reach Iannis’s quarters. I watched as he placed a hand on the brass knob and muttered an incantation, and the knob glowed briefly before the lock clicked open. I memorized the Words he’d used – I wanted to try that out for myself when I got home. With the way my life was going right now, it was probably a good idea to spell my locks so that nobody would try to ambush me in my own apartment.

I followed Iannis in through the open door, my eyes taking in the spacious, yet cozy sitting room. It was decorated in the Chief Mage’s colors, the blue upholstery on the heavy, dark wood furniture and the matching curtains framing the large bay window embroidered with gold thread. The wall to my left was lined with bookshelves, and a large bay window on the right offered a wonderful view of the Firegate Bridge stretching across Solantha Bay. The couches were grouped around a marble fireplace, which lay dark and silent –no fire was needed at this time of year.

“Help yourself,” Iannis said, gesturing to a table by the bay window where the remnants of a meal were laid out – half a platter of ribs, a partially empty bowl of roasted carrots and sweet potatoes, and some salad. “I’ll return shortly.”

I watched as he disappeared through a door on the far side of the room, then sat down and helped myself to the food. As I chewed on rib meat, which was cold but tasty, I stared out the window at the Firegate Bridge. I should have already been across it and halfway to Turain by now, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to have time to make the trip tonight. I would have to do it in the morning.

Once I polished off the food, I stood up and crossed to the other side of the room, perusing the books that lined the shelves. Many of the titles were in foreign languages, some of them even written in strange runes rather than letters, and I wondered just how many languages Iannis knew. I’d never asked his age, but I always assumed he’d lived several centuries already, which was plenty of time to amass quite a few languages. It made me wonder just how much knowledge I would have when I got that old.

If I got that old.

The door opened behind me, and I turned around to see Iannis clutching two gold chains in one of his fists. Small, white tanzarite stones swung from the ends of the chains, their fire catching the light, and I blinked, curious.

“What are those for?” I asked as Iannis closed the door behind him.

“Come sit down and you’ll see.”

I joined him on the couch, sitting as close to the armrest as possible. Even so, our knees nearly touched, and my pulse jumped as his masculine scent invaded my space.

“Tonight,” Iannis said, holding out one of the necklaces to me, “you are going to learn how to make a charm.”

“A charm?” I echoed, taking the piece of jewelry from him. I was careful not to let his fingers touch mine, but even so, my cheeks warmed at the idea of accepting something so beautiful from him. White tanzarite was one of my favorite gemstones; they were pure and full of fire. If I’d been the type of girl to buy myself jewelry I would have a whole collection of them.

But I doubted Iannis knew that, or that he’d chosen the stones based off what he thought my preference would be.