Burned by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #1)(28)

“And you were taken in by Shiftertown Inspector Tillmore after that?”

I cleared my throat. “Not right after. My aunt Mafiela kept me until I was thirteen. That was about as long as she could stand me before throwing me out in the streets. Roanas caught me stealing bread from a vendor in the town square, and took me in, instead of prosecuting me.”

As a general rule, I tried not to think about those nights I’d spent huddling in cardboard boxes in alleys, scrounging for food wherever I could and staying out of sight as much as possible. Even though I was a child, the other shifters had considered me taboo because of my hybrid status – they all knew that I was only half-shifter, even if they didn’t know I was half-mage rather than half-human. If my aunt Mafiela had chosen to keep me, things might’ve been different, but her throwing me out on the streets was a declaration to all that I was tainted, unworthy.

The Chief Mage’s eyes flickered. “Mafiela Baine… she is the matriarch of the Jaguar Clan, correct?”

I nodded.

“Did she know that your father was a mage when she revoked your status as a clan member?”

“I’m not sure.” I clenched my jaw on the lie. Much as I hated my aunt Mafiela, the fact that she hadn’t immediately reported my shifter-mage hybrid status to the Mage’s Guild was her saving grace. I couldn’t throw her under the train, at least not for this. Iannis stared silently at me for a long moment, and I wondered if he really could tell that I was lying.

“Being a hybrid and born out of wedlock were reason enough for her to give me the boot. She felt no particular loyalty toward me once my mother died.”

“Does Shiftertown not provide any sort of assistance to the needy?”

“Most of the taxes paid by everyone in this city go into your coffers,” I snapped. “What little money Shiftertown gets to keep is used for city maintenance.” The same went for Rowanville and Maintown.

The Chief Mage frowned. “Maintenance? The Mage’s Guild is in charge of civic upkeep. That is one of the reasons why we charge taxes to begin with.”

I laughed. “Yeah, well you ought to take a closer look and see where that money is actually going, because it’s sure not being used for city improvements or welfare.”

“I believe we are going off topic now.” The Chief Mage’s frown deepened. “So Inspector Tillmore took you in. Did he know about your magic?”

I sighed. “Roanas knew everything there was to know about me.” There was no point in hiding it, since he was dead. Grief smarted at my eyes, and I cleared my throat, blinking. The man had taught me everything I needed to know, and it was his recommendation that had gotten me into the Enforcer’s Guild in the first place. “He took me in when I was thirteen years old.”

“Despite your inability to control your magic?” The Chief Mage arched a brow. “A selfless act indeed.”

“Roanas taught me how to defend myself so my magic wouldn’t have to,” I growled. “And I was always safe when I was with him. He did the best he could.”

“I suppose so,” the Chief Mage murmured. His eyes narrowed as he studied me for a long moment, before he set the file aside.

“Hold out your hands.” He stepped toward me, his own hands outstretched.

A shiver rippled down my spine as I eyed him, a sense of déjà vu filling me. This was exactly what the other mages had done when they tested me, and even though I knew there was no harm in having it done again, since everyone in Solantha probably knew I was half-mage, it still made me nervous.

“Your hands,” the Chief Mage repeated, his voice tinged with impatience.

I placed my hands in his reluctantly, watching as his long fingers curled around them. He turned my hands over until my palms rested face up, then stroked my wrists with his thumbs. Another shiver rippled through me, but this one was warm and tingly, and I sucked in a sharp breath through my nostrils. His scent filled my nose, and my cheeks heated as I became incredibly aware of how close we stood together.

If Iannis noticed my sudden discomfort, he said nothing, simply continued to stroke his thumbs across my wrists in small circles. The warm tingles gradually grew stronger as they ran up and down my arms, like an electric current looping between us, and as the scent of burnt sugar thickened around us I realized that current was actually magic.

His eyes opened, and a pang of disappointment went through me as he dropped my hands. “Not a single spark,” he murmured, eyeing me curiously.

“What does that mean?” Fenris, who’d been standing nearby, asked. His brow was furrowed as he studied me.

“It means that someone has put a block on her magic, likely her father.”

“My father?” I echoed. Anger bubbled up in my stomach at the implications. “Why would he do that? So I’d be helpless to defend myself?”

“On the contrary,” the Chief Mage corrected me. “He would have done this to keep you hidden, so you would pass the tests without arousing suspicion.” He sounded intrigued. “Whoever your father is, he must have been a high-level mage to have accomplished such a sophisticated spell.”

“Gee, I’m so proud,” I snapped, folding my arms across my chest.

Annoyance flickered in the Chief Mage’s eyes again, but he ignored my sarcasm as he walked around his desk. I watched, curiously, as he opened a drawer and pulled out a fountain pen. “Hold out your hand.”