Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(15)

All the mages were already assembled around the dining table when I arrived, snacking on bread and butter while they waited for the first course to be served. Iannis and Director Chen sat at the head of the table, with Cirin to Director Chen’s left, and an empty chair next to Iannis for me. Fenris was there, too, sitting on the other side of my chair, and I sat down between him and Iannis.

“There seems to be an extra setting,” Director Chen remarked, looking at the empty space at her side. “Are we expecting anyone else?”

“Yes,” I said. “I told my guest eight o’clock, so we should wait the few minutes till the hour.”

They all stared at me, even Iannis.

“Who did you invite to join us?” Fenris asked with an encouraging smile, before someone could gather their wits about them enough to reprimand me.

“A human architect named Kardanor Makis,” I said, giving him a grateful smile “He has some important information for us that is relevant to our discussion tonight.”

“That is most unorthodox,” Director Chen said stiffly. “I understood this was to be a working meeting amongst the top mage leadership. At the very least you should have given us warning—”

“I am fine with it,” Iannis said mildly, cutting her off. “Sunaya will have her reasons for inviting this architect, and I, for one, am curious to hear them. How did the two of you meet?”

I took a deep breath, then gave them a rundown of the attack this afternoon. By the time I finished, Iannis’s eyes were glittering with fury, and Director Chen looked pale.

“You are lucky to be alive,” Cirin said, breaking the tense silence. “Your bodyguard ought to be highly commended, and your architect friend as well.”

“Father Calmias again,” Fenris said thoughtfully. “His followers are really getting out of hand. Something must be done.”

“It will,” Iannis said, his expression stony. “This persecution of Sunaya cannot be allowed to continue.” He conjured a pen and paper, then quickly scribbled out a letter, which he handed to a servant. “Make sure this gets to Dira, right away,” he ordered.

“What are you doing?” I asked, a little alarmed at the rage rolling off him in waves.

“I’m having Father Calmias transferred to the Palace. I plan to have a long conversation with him tomorrow.” His tone was ominous.

The doors swung opened before I could ask any more questions, and Rylan stepped inside. “Your guest is here,” he said, then moved aside so that Kardanor could come in. He wore the red coat from earlier, but as he shucked it off and handed it to a servant, I noticed he wore a decent grey suit and red tie, and silver cufflinks glinted at his wrists. A man with a sense of style, and not poor, though he didn’t seem to be particularly wealthy either.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Makis.” I rose from my chair to greet him. Shaking his hand, I was careful not to brush against his cufflinks. “I appreciate you coming on such short notice.”

“It’s an honor,” he assured me, bowing over my hand with a charming smile. Hiding my grin, I turned and introduced him to the others. The men greeted him politely, but Director Chen was a little frosty in her reception. Kardanor, on the other hand, stole more than a few admiring glances her way as he was seated and served at her side, despite the self-assured way he conducted himself around the other mages. He probably viewed her as an exotic beauty, with her ivory skin, almond-shaped eyes, and delicate features. In fact, her chilly demeanor would only make her more alluring, since confident men like him would take that sort of thing as a challenge. I had to wonder where he got his balls from, though—most human men wouldn’t dare look at the Director of the Mages Guild the way he was.

“Well,” Chen said coolly once our appetizer course had been cleared from the table. She fixed her dark gaze on Kardanor’s face. “Now that you are finally here, I am interested to know what information you have that Miss Baine found so pertinent. Please tell us what you think we need to know.”

“Certainly,” Kardanor said, responding to her chilly tone with another charming grin. Oh, man. He was definitely going to give Director Chen a run for her money. “I am an architect, as Miss Baine may have already explained. Public buildings are my specialty. I went to school at the University of Alacara, and assisted in the rebuild when a highly destructive hurricane struck our coast some seven years ago.”

“Ah. Then you have experience with natural disasters,” Cirin said, looking mildly impressed. Alacara was located on Northia’s southeastern coast, which was notoriously prone to hurricanes.

“Yes. I moved to Solantha a few years ago, and found work here quickly enough. I’d always wanted to experience life on the West Coast.” He smiled, but the expression faded quickly. “A year and a half ago, I worked on plans for a new school in Maintown. The contract was given to Mendle Construction. I make a habit of checking in on projects that I design, even when I’m not directly involved in the execution, and I was very dismayed to find out that the company was deviating from my plans to save money. They cut corners by making pillars less sturdy, and using cheaper, shoddier materials than I had specified.”

“Resulting in a building that would not stand up to an earthquake?” Iannis asked, his eyes narrowed.

“The roof would very likely collapse even in a moderate quake, killing the teachers and students within.” Kardanor’s square jaw tightened. “I immediately brought the matter to the attention of the Maintown school board, insisting my designs were not being properly followed and that they were putting the students and staff in danger. For whatever reason, they decided to take the builder’s word over mine, and I’ve had difficulty finding work ever since.” His blue eyes glittered with ire now. “I discovered that Mendle and Gorax, the other large construction company, had gone about spreading rumors that I was overpriced and difficult to work with. Being new in town, nobody wanted to hire me after that.”