Taken by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #8)(47)

“I should go and find Mina,” Fenris said, noting the way I slumped against Iannis. “You two look like you need to rest.”

“All right,” I said sleepily. “You said you were staying at the Marwale, right?”

“Yes,” he said.

“That’s much too far away,” Iannis protested. “You and your friends must come stay here in the palace tonight. It’s getting late for such a long drive.”

“I agree,” I said before Fenris could argue. “I’ll have a suite readied for you and will tell the staff to expect you. Tell Com I said hi, and that I’ll come see him when I’m alive again.”



Alone at last, I snuggled with Iannis on the couch. “Can we just sleep here?” I mumbled into his chest. “I don’t wanna move.”

“We’ll be waking up with aching backs if we do,” he said, scooping me into his arms. “I see no need for that when we have a big bed waiting for us.”

I wrapped my arms around Iannis’s neck and closed my eyes as he carried me to the bedroom. A few moments later, he set me down on the mattress, and I groaned in relief—it was the softest surface I’d lain on in days. “I am never taking this for granted again,” I moaned as Iannis rummaged through a chest of drawers nearby. “Never.”

Iannis pulled out a crystal bottle filled with gold liquid and filled two small glasses. “Drink this,” he said, handing one to me. “It’s a restorative potion for rest and relaxation. I take it when I know I’m only going to manage a couple hours of sleep, and it makes me feel like I’ve had eight.” He downed the contents of his own glass. “We cannot afford the luxury of resting very long, but I’ll make it up to you on our honeymoon.”

“Sounds good to me.” I took a swig, then shimmied out of my clothes and burrowed beneath the blankets with Iannis. As he folded his strong arms around me, I immediately began to drift off. Soon we would be married, and this bed would be ours, not just his.

Take that, Ta’sradala, I thought sleepily as I drifted off. She might be a bitter old bitch, but Iannis and I were stronger than all the malice in her ancient, blackened heart.





21





The week following our return was a crazy whirlwind of activity. I met Mina, who was very likable and a perfect match for Fenris, and instantly decided to help organize her and Fenris’s wedding. It seemed best not to wait, as my shifter senses told me she might already be expecting their first child—or cub, as the case might be. Whichever they got, I had no doubt Fenris would be a wonderful father.

“Why do you think Fenris fell in love now, after going so long without female companionship?” I asked Iannis as we were riding in the carriage to yet another reception. “Do you think he was waiting for Mina all this time?”

“They fit together well,” Iannis said, “but I think it just was time for him. When he was a Chief Mage he hid behind his position, duties, and scholarship, and his parents’ nagging to find a wife probably had exactly the contrary effect. Then, while he lived here with us, being a fugitive who had to hide his true nature would have been an obstacle. I suppose that being all alone, thrown upon his own resources, made him reevaluate what he truly wanted in life—and lo and behold, there it was, right within reach.”

“Very lucky for him,” I said, “and for Mina too.”

“Now, of course, our case is very different,” Iannis said. “I was waiting for you, obviously, all those centuries, though without being aware of it. It took me a little while to realize what a treasure had fallen into my lap.”

“I forgive you,” I said with a wink, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Since you eventually came to your senses.”



It was a good thing Nelia did most of the actual preparations for Fenris’s and Mina’s wedding, as I was soon involved in some very unpleasant business. The chief suspect of the aborted Resistance plot, a construction tycoon called Moredo, turned up dead in his cell in the Enforcers Guild. I was called down to investigate whether it had really been suicide, as the enforcers claimed—and even if it was true, why had they left the man his belt to do the deed? That seemed pretty suspicious, and since Iannis was busy with the Convention, the responsibility to find out what had really happened fell on my shoulders.

“Enforcer Baine,” Captain Skonel said calmly as I entered his office. His deputy was standing by his side, stiff-backed and stern-faced, but the captain himself seemed relaxed. “I’m happy to see you’re back here in one piece.”

“As am I.” I gave Skonel a smile of my own as I sat down, ignoring the lie. He was certainly not happy to see me—I could tell by his change of scent—but he was diplomatic enough not to say so, and since I didn’t actually think he wished me dead, I didn’t see a need to press the issue. “Do you have the report I asked for?”

“Of course.” Skonel gestured to his deputy, who handed me a file. I flipped open the manila folder and perused the contents, which included Moreno’s arrest report, notes from several interviews, and the suicide report, which was accompanied by some grisly photographs.

“So,” I said slowly, closing the file, “the guards really didn’t see anything?”