Bound by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #2)(62)

“Are her eyelids flickering?” Fenris’s voice turned urgent. “Iannis, I think she can hear us!”

Strong fingers wrapped around my hand, and their warmth drew my attention to how cold I was. I was half-frigid, half-numb, and I wondered whether my body was actually encased in a block of ice. But those warm fingers squeezed mine, and some of the ice retreated.

“Sunaya. Can you hear me?”

I cracked my eyelids open to see Iannis’s face hovering above mine. Anxiety shimmered in his gorgeous violet eyes, and I was so happy to see those eyes again that I could have kissed him.

“Are we on a first name basis now?” I croaked.

Fury eclipsed the anxiety in Iannis’s eyes, and his grip on my hand tightened painfully. “Certainly not. Being on a first-name basis would imply a level of trust we have clearly not achieved, or you would have clued me into the extreme danger of your investigation.”

Guilt settled onto my chest, a heavy weight that made it hard to breathe. “I’m sorry,” I muttered, lowering my eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the Shifter Royale, or about your plans to apprehend them? I could have provided assistance and possibly prevented this whole catastrophe.”

“Iannis.” Fenris’s voice was low, but firm, and he gently pulled Iannis back, allowing me to see that he was sitting in the chair next to the Chief Mage. He smiled at me. “I think now might not be the best time to berate her. She’s clearly very tired.”

I smiled back at Fenris, thankful for his intervention, but I held fast to Iannis’s hand, not wanting him to go before I explained myself. “I didn’t… keep it from you because I… distrust you.” Getting the words out was an effort, but I was determined. “I just knew you were so busy… and wanted to show you I could take care of this myself. I’m sorry.”

Iannis sighed, his eyes searching mine as he leaned forward. “There is no need for you to apologize. I can see that you were simply trying to ease my workload, as foolish as it was for you to leave me out of this. In the future, though, I expect you to fill me in on investigations that have far-reaching ramifications such as this one.”

“I guess I can do that.”

His lips twitched into a smile as he brushed a curl of hair back from my face. “When I return from my trip, I will make sure to devote more time to your training. In the meantime, you should sleep.” He passed a hand over my forehead, and the scent of magic stung my nose as he spoke a Word.

My eyes grew heavy instantly, but the word ‘trip’ sent off an alarm bell, and I grabbed at his hand as he tried to pull away. “Don’t go.” Rylan’s warning flashed in my head, and I realized that I’d never told Iannis about it.

“I have to go,” Iannis sounded regretful, but firm. “I’ve already postponed my departure to deal with this, and I cannot do so any longer. My dirigible is already waiting, as are the rest of my delegates.”

“You can’t… go…” I tried to tell him, struggling against the sleep spell he put on me, but my tongue was thick, and my eyelids felt like anvils had been hung from my eyelashes. “It’s… dangerous…”

“You’ll be fine.” I heard the smile in his voice. “So long as you stay here in the infirmary, in any case. The conference is only two weeks long, Sunaya. I’ll be back soon enough.”

His hand slipped from mine at the same time that the warning slipped from my mind, and I went under.




When I next woke up, it was to the sound of songbirds trilling outside my window. Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was a table piled with an enormous amount of cards and flowers and candy. My stomach growled at the sight of a box of expensive hand-made chocolates, and it was then that I realized I felt well rested, much better than I had when I first woke.

But there was also a sense of unease in my gut, as though I’d left something unfinished, and I wasn’t sure what it was.

“Guys, guys!” Noria squealed. “I think she’s awake!”

I rolled over onto my back, and my eyes flew wide as I realized there were a whole bunch of people all seated around my bed. Noria, Comenius, Lakin, Elania, Annia, Elnos, Fenris – hell, even Director Chen was here, though she was standing by the foot of my bed rather than seated like the rest.

“By Magorah,” I groaned, pushing myself up into a sitting position. “What is this, a wake or something? Did anyone make sure to embalm me first?”

“You’re aliiiiive!” Noria squealed, throwing her arms around me. I grunted a little as she squeezed me tight.

“Yeah I’m alive, but not for long if you keep squeezing the air out of my lungs.” Despite my words, I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face – her enthusiasm was infectious.

“We’re so glad you’re awake, Naya.” Comenius was beaming. “When they told us what had happened to you we thought you wouldn’t make it through the night.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think I was gonna make it either.” I frowned, trying to remember the events of the past twenty-four hours, but the last thing I recalled was being stabbed in the neck by Danrian. “Damn it. Danrian got away, didn’t he?”

“No, actually.” Director Chen’s cool voice drew my attention back to the foot of the bed. “Thanks to Enforcer Melcott and her task force, Warin Danrian was apprehended before he could get away.”