Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #3)(68)

“Yes, I am Narina Sernan,” I finally said. “Who are you?”

“Oh, forgive me. My name is Coman ar’Daghir.” Without asking, he pulled out the chair opposite me and sat his bony ass down in it. “I’ve been curious to meet you ever since I heard that you were part of Lord Iannis’s entourage. I’ve accompanied my own Chief Mage to the Convention for at least a decade now, and I don’t believe I’ve ever met you.”

“This is my first Convention,” I told him, picking up my cup and taking a sip of my tea. “I’m one of several assistants who work in Lord Iannis’s office, and the one he usually takes along with him was unable to make it this year.”

“Is it true that your airship crash-landed in aboriginal territory?” Coman asked curiously. “And that you were taken prisoner by the Resistance?”

“It is.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to guess at what he wanted. He was the first to come out and directly ask about that, even though I knew the others had to be thinking about it.

“That must have been terrifying. Were you tortured for information?’

“I would rather not speak of it, if it’s all the same to you,” I said, thinning my lips. I set down my teacup, and I didn’t have to pretend to feel as if he’d rubbed my fur the wrong way. If this guy really was my father, he sure didn’t seem to know it. Shouldn’t he be having some inkling that I was his daughter? I mean, supposedly he’d put a spell on me so my illegal magic would remain hidden. Surely that meant he cared somewhat.

Or maybe he’s just not your father and you’re reading too much into this.

“Oh forgive me, I didn’t mean any offense,” Coman tried to assure me. “It’s just that so many people are avoiding the obvious question. And by that I mean, why was Lord Iannis’s ship attacked in the first place?”

“I imagine it was to stop him from reaching the Convention,” I allowed cautiously, curious to see where he was taking this. “But as to why exactly, I’m afraid I don’t know.”

“I see.” Coman looked momentarily disappointed, but he rallied quickly. “I don’t suppose you have any idea who Lord Iannis is planning to vote for to replace the Minister?”

“I haven’t seen him since we heard the news this morning,” I admitted. “He was troubled to hear about the Minister’s rapidly declining health, and I imagine he’ll think deeply on this matter before he makes any kind of decision. Last I knew, he was planning to secure an appointment to see the sick Minister for himself.”

“Well if he does I would love to hear about it, as none of us have any idea where the Minister is.” Coman shrugged, then checked the timepiece on his wrist. “In any case, I must be going now. Pleasure meeting you, Miss Sernan.”

I watched Coman go, trying to discern if there was anything else about him that would prove he was related to me. But he was a man, of course, so any genetic similarities beyond our facial features would be hard to determine. I certainly didn’t have his broad shoulders or the extra six inches of height. He turned the corner and disappeared from my sight, and I committed his name to memory. I would do some digging into this guy and see if I could unearth anything that would give me answers.

The afternoon wore on, and I sat there for several more hours pretending to do administrative work while I listened to the conversations around me. Interestingly, Iannis’s name also popped up a number of times, confirming the Finance Secretary’s theory that Iannis was a possible contender for the position. Following Coman’s lead, several more mages came by and struck up conversations with me, slyly trying to discern which way Iannis was planning to vote. I evaded, playing the vapid bimbo secretary as best I could while also pretending to be a mage. The mages weren’t fooled, though – from the snippets of conversation I caught when they thought I couldn’t hear, they figured I must know something as Iannis’s mistress.

To be fair, there was a kind of logic to that – I knew from my work as an Enforcer that men tended to tell all kinds of things to the courtesans they spent time with, and those women could be a wealth of information if given the right incentive. But then again, Iannis was notoriously tight-lipped when he didn’t want to talk about something – I doubted I would get anything out of him even if I was sleeping with him.

Checking my watch, I noticed that it was getting close to five o’clock, and with nothing interesting to overhear for the last half hour, I packed up and headed out. I had a ball to get ready for, and the dress I’d bought for it was calling my name back at the hotel.





24





I was sitting in front of the vanity mirror in my room, doing my makeup, when I heard the front door open. My heart sped up a little as I caught a whiff of Iannis’s scent, and I had to force myself to sit in the chair and finish what I was doing so I didn’t rush out there with only half of my lips painted red.

“Sunaya?” Iannis rapped on my door. “Are you decent?”

“As decent as I’m ever going to be,” I called back as I finished putting on my lipstick. I put the small tube down on the vanity counter, then pursed my lips as I considered the various clips and pins scattered across the countertop. I wanted to fix my hair in some kind of fancy up-do, but hairstyling wasn’t my strong suit. Made me wish I was the kind of person who had a maid, or someone who specialized in this kind of stuff.