Burned by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #1)(47)

“Whoa. Hang on there.” I held up a hand and took a deep breath through my nose. “You are out of your f*cking mind.”

“I fail to see –”

“Yes, as usual, you fail to see how anyone could possibly have an objection to your viewpoint.” I planted my fists on my hips. “But I do. Just because I was born half-mage doesn’t mean I’m ready to embrace the lifestyle! I’ve lived my entire life as a shifter, and I’m not going to change that overnight because you wave your hand and command it to be so.” I waved my own hands as I spoke, and his eyes narrowed at my mockery. “If being your apprentice means I have to put on robes and walk around like I have a wand up my ass, then you may as well send me straight to the chopping block, because I would rather die than live the emotionless, passionless existence you mages do.”

The Chief Mage’s eyes flashed, and he took a step forward. “The fact I do not display my feelings all the time does not mean I don’t have them,” he said tightly. “Rather, I would say I exhibit remarkable control for not lashing out at you, even though you mock me at every turn.”

Guilt sank its razor sharp claws into my chest, and I fought the urge to shrink back beneath his glare, which held more than simple anger. Could it be that I’d actually hurt his feelings?

That’s ridiculous.

And yet, I couldn’t deny the truth in his words – any other mage would have happily executed me at the first taste of my flippant tongue. But Iannis hadn’t, and I’d refused to give him credit for that.

“L-look,” I stammered, my emotions off balance, “even if I did agree to be your apprentice, I don’t see what the point is, since my magic is too unpredictable to train.”

The Chief Mage scoffed. “That’s nonsense. You’re the daughter of an extremely powerful mage. There is no reason that I wouldn’t be able to cultivate your talents and turn you into a powerful mage in your own right.”

I froze. “How the hell would you know that about my father?”

“Your magical signature is very strong and distinctive, which considerably narrows the field of possibilities.”

“Oh yeah?” My heart jumped with excitement. “Well who’s on the list?”

The Chief Mage folded his arms. “I don’t see why I should divulge any details to you, since you’re not willing to be apprenticed.”

Damn him. “That’s blackmail, and you know it.”

“Blackmail implies that he’s holding damning information over your head, which he is not.”

I glared at Fenris. “I don’t care how you put it, it’s still coercion and I don’t like it.”

The Chief Mage simply shrugged. “Like it or not, that is the situation. If you want to know who your father is, you must complete your apprenticeship first. Or at the very least, make significant progress.”

Fury blazed in my chest, and I took a step forward. Fenris chose that moment to put his body in between us, and shift back into human form.

“I think perhaps we should change the subject,” he told the Chief Mage. I frowned, noticing that Fenris was fully clothed. How did he do that? Did he have some kind of charm that allowed him to retain his clothing? If so, I needed to get my hands on it, stat. “After all, there is still the matter of the poisoning to be dealt with.”

My ears went on full alert. “Poison? What poison?” Was another shifter dead already?

The Chief Mage wrinkled his long nose. “Fenris detected hemlock in a drink that was served to me,” he said, sounding more annoyed than anything else. “A rather amateur assassination attempt, considering that I am immune to most poisons, but it must be punished nonetheless.”

Fenris inclined his head. “I would appreciate if you could lend me your lie detector wand so I may go question the kitchen staff. They might have seen someone or something, or one of them may even be responsible.”

The Chief Mage nodded, drawing out a long, wooden stick from his sleeve. “Report your findings back to me,” he told Fenris.

“Why do you need a stick to tell you whether or not someone’s lying?” I asked. Any shifter worth their salt could smell a liar – no magic necessary.

“The stick is more reliable,” Fenris said lightly, but his face tightened, and I knew I had struck a nerve. He nodded stiffly at both of us and left.

The door closed behind him, and I shifted uncomfortably on the balls of my feet, self-conscious about the fact that I was alone with a man I was attracted to… a man who had just seen me naked. He regarded me silently, his violet eyes glittering, but with the firelight reflected in them he seemed warmer than usual, less dispassionate.

“I like how at the first sign of an assassination attempt on yourself you rush to have Fenris investigate, but you’ve yet to do anything about the silver murders,” I snapped, more to dispel the sexual tension in the room than anything else.

“There you go again,” Iannis said softly, taking a step toward me. His eyes darkened, and I backed up unconsciously to try and maintain some distance. “Throwing barbs and insults in my face, after I’ve extended you an honor that most apprentices would kill for. What do you hope to accomplish by this, I wonder? Can it truly be that you have a death wish?”

“No.” My shoulder blades brushed the tomes on the shelves behind me, and I stopped moving. “I just don’t like being told what to do by someone who thinks he’s better than me.”