Burned by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #1)(42)

“Well…” I racked my brain, then deflated when I couldn’t find an example. “No.” Only when my own life was on the line.

“The bond must have weakened more than you realized,” Fenris remarked to Iannis, studying me with a frown of his own. “Either from your interference or because of something her father has done.”

“Great.” I stood up, tired of being peered at like a caged mouse, and beyond sick of hearing about my father. “Now that this is all settled, can I go? Like, as in, back to my actual home?”

“Soon,” the Chief Mage said. “I’m not quite finished studying you.”

“Oh yeah?” I leaned forward, pinning him with a glare. “Well, I’m finished being studied!”

Iannis scowled, rising to his feet so he could tower over me. “I don’t know why you’re so reluctant,” he began. “If I am able to complete my investigation, you could –”

“I don’t care!” I slammed my palms against the table, making it shudder. “While you’ve got me cooped up in here, people are dying out there! There are shifters being murdered by silver poisoning, and nobody is investigating it no matter how loudly I yell, including you!” I poked my finger in his chest.

The Chief Mage’s eyes blazed. “I haven’t heard anything about these shifter murders, and I don’t appreciate –”

“That’s because Chartis and the Enforcer’s Guild haven’t told you about them, just like all the other things they’ve kept from you. You’re corrupt, all of you!” I jabbed a finger in Fenris’s direction as well, and he took a step back, his eyes widening. “And you’re no better than any of them! I told you about these killings days ago, and you never even mentioned the matter to him, did you?”

Guilt flashed across Fenris’s face. “I –”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “You know what, I don’t want to hear about it from either of you. Any excuses you can make are meaningless to those dead shifters and their families. You all disgust me.”

I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room, leaving them gaping after me. Fuck them all. If they weren’t going to let me out of here, then I would figure it out myself, even if it meant I had to dig a hole to Garai in order to escape.





Chapter Twelve




I spent the entire evening as well as most of next morning trying to decipher a spell book I had pilfered from the library, hoping I might learn something useful. An invisibility spell or instructions on how to remove or disable wards would have been nice. Unfortunately the book was written almost entirely in Loranian, the language mages used for spell casting, and it was damned near impossible for me to figure out anything it said.

I was drilling holes into the book with my eyes, a raging headache coming on, when Fenris knocked on my door. I thought about denying him entry, but the smell of roast beef and potatoes accompanied him, and I was hungry.

“Come in,” I grumbled.

He entered, dressed in his customary dark tunic and holding the anticipated platter of roast beef. “I brought you lunch,” he said cautiously.

Sighing, I put the textbook aside and took the plate from him. “Thanks,” I muttered, not quite meeting his eyes. Part of me was embarrassed about my outburst yesterday, and the other part of me was still angry that he hadn’t brought up the murders to the Chief Mage. Clearly he didn’t take them seriously at all, which didn’t make any sense since he was a shifter. Didn’t he feel any sort of racial loyalty?

“So,” he said, eyeing the textbook I’d placed on the bed next to me as I shoveled forkfuls of meat and potatoes into my mouth. “What are you reading?”

“I’m learning spells on how to boil peoples’ brains from the inside out.”

Fenris tilted his head sideways so he could read the title on the spine. “Well I imagine that would be quite tough, considering that this is a book on Agricultural Magic.”

The tips of my ears burned in embarrassment… and then it dawned on me. “You can read Loranian?”

Nodding, Fenris reached for the book, then began flipping through it. “There’s a lot of useful stuff in here about using magic to influence the weather, repel certain pests –”

“How do you know Loranian?”

Fenris looked up, a vaguely uncomfortable expression on his face. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Iannis these past years. You can’t help but pick up a few things.”

I frowned, sensing he was holding something back, but he broke eye contact, returning to the book, and I decided not to press.

“So are you here to help me bust out of this joint, or to give me more excuses from the Chief Mage as to why I can’t leave?”

Fenris closed the book and set it aside. “I’ve come to inform you that Iannis is hosting a banquet, and that you and I are both required to attend.”

My jaw dropped. “Me? At a banquet?” The Chief Mage must have lost his mind. I had little to no training in etiquette, and besides, I was still considered a criminal. “What is this banquet for? And who’s attending?”

“A variety of Mage Guild members, from Solantha and anywhere else in Canalo who can make it on such short notice,” Fenris said with a shrug. “Iannis needs to choose a new Director for the Mage’s Guild, so he’s gathering the candidates together. It ought to be an interesting night, watching them drool over the position like a pack of wolves gathered around a choice haunch of venison.” His features twisted briefly in disgust.