Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #3)(2)

“She has true conviction,” Elania, Comenius’s lover and a talented witch, said in her throaty, accented voice. She’d been sitting silently next to Comenius the whole time, her hand on his thigh in a show of support. “Conviction can be a blessing because it gives us focus, but it can also blind us to certain truths.”

“Conviction or not, I have to say I agree with Noria a little, and definitely with Director Chen,” Lakin admitted. “Wouldn’t it be better to wait until you’re more healed before rushing out into who knows where to go after the Chief Mage?”

“I can’t wait that long.” I let out a shaky breath, my hands fisting in the shredded covers to keep them from trembling. “I’ve already lost Roanas. I’m not going to sit back and let the Resistance take Iannis too.”

“Neither of those things were your fault,” Comenius said, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze. Roanas had been my mentor – he’d taken me in off the streets after my aunt Mafiela had kicked me out of the jaguar clan and raised me as his own, teaching me how to fight as well as fend for myself. I’d loved him as I would have loved my father, had he stepped up to take care of me instead of disappearing without a trace. When I’d found Roanas in his living room two months ago, dying of silver poisoning, the loss had been nearly unbearable. My anger and bitterness against the Mages Guild coupled with my thirst for revenge were the only two things that kept me from descending into grief, and the wound was still fresh enough that I dared not give myself too much downtime to think about it. As my master, Iannis helped fill the hole in my life that Roanas had left behind, but my feelings for him ran along a different path.

No matter what, I couldn’t lose Iannis too.

“Civil disturbance in Shiftertown square,” a tinny voice announced. “Please report immediately.”

“Shit.” Lakin tugged the chain around his neck, pulling out the medallion that was normally hidden beneath his coat. The golden disc, stamped with a fang and edged with tiny runes, was the mark of his authority as the Shiftertown Inspector. “I have to go.” He leaned in and briefly brushed his lips against my forehead. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?”

Shocked by the unexpected touch of his lips against my skin, I said nothing as he swept from the room. Silence descended upon the infirmary for a few moments, until I realized that everyone else was staring at me.

“What?” I snapped, turning to Comenius, whose eyebrows were arched higher than everybody else’s.

“Nothing.” Comenius’s eyebrows lowered a fraction. “Just wondering if there’s anything new in your life you’d care to share with us.”

“No.” Scowling, I crossed my arms over my chest. “There’s nothing new going on in my life aside from the fact that my master is missing and I’m stuck in this stupid bed.” Lakin had made his interest in me clear in the last week or so, but I’d already told him to back off. After the way he’d balked when I’d tried to disguise him with my magic, I’d realized that the two of us could never be a thing. My magic would always get in the way of any relationship I had with a shifter – I could no more deny it as a part of me than I could deny the panther that was a part of my soul.

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?” Comenius scowled at me. “Wrong about what?”

“Wrong that it’s not my fault.” Tears stung at my eyes, and I blinked them back as I met Comenius’s cornflower-blue eyes. “Not long after I defused the bomb on the Firegate Bridge, Rylan called me. He warned me not to accompany the Chief Mage on his trip to the Convention if I valued my life, and that if I warned him the Resistance would punish me accordingly. Of course I’d planned to tell Iannis anyway, but there was just so much going on that every time I tried, something more important came along and sidetracked me. I think I did try to tell him right before he left, but I was so out of it that I couldn’t get the words out right.”

“So this is the work of the Resistance, then.” Annia’s expression turned thunderous. “Just wait until Noria gets back here so I can tell her that. If she still hasn’t changed her mind, I’ll make sure Mom puts her under house arrest. There’s no way she’s joining up with them, not after this.”

“I do not know your sister well, but from what I’ve seen, a curfew is hardly going to stop her,” Elania observed dryly. “She is too strong of spirit, that one.”

The scent of freshly-cooked meat caught my attention, and I lifted my head, hoping that was Noria coming back with the food. Footsteps sounded outside the hall, but only a servant entered the room, bearing a platter piled high with brisket, new potatoes, and green beans. My growling stomach sank as I realized that though Noria had indeed sent word that I needed food, she hadn’t bothered to stick around.

“By Magorah.” I raked my hands through my hair. “We’re losing her.”

“I’ll go talk to her.” Annia jumped to her feet. “Don’t worry about it, Naya – she’s my responsibility, not yours. You just eat and focus on getting well.”

“Thanks.” I gave Annia a wan smile, then accepted the platter from the server and dug in. “I’m getting out of bed as soon as I’m done with this food,” I warned Comenius in between mouthfuls. “There’s no way I’m letting Director Chen shove me out of this rescue mission.”