Taken by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #8)(50)

Supposedly, all these bigwigs were there to celebrate Iannis and me getting hitched. It was more likely that they were all here to hobnob and trade favors with each other, but I just went with the flow, chatting with everyone I was introduced to, sipping at my wine, and letting the glitter and noise wash over me like a river. Yes, it was more mind-numbing than filing paperwork, but at least I was back home instead of fighting my way through another one of Ta’sradala’s challenges.

As usual, there were a few mages who eyed me with disdain, but I ignored them. I couldn’t wait to seal my bond with Iannis, our commitment to each other, in front of the mage community, and finally shut up the naysayers who insisted our romance would never work out. After everything Iannis’s grandmother had put me through, I wasn’t ever going to let anyone say that I wasn’t worthy of Iannis. I had survived those tests for him, and we had made it through the last one together. If that wasn’t a sign from the Creator that we were meant to be a couple, I didn’t know what was.





22





“Sunaya! Iannis!”

I froze, mid-conversation with a nosy socialite, at the sound of Fenris’s voice in my head. It sounded staticky, like it was coming through a bad radio connection, and I frowned. Was I imagining things?

“Miss Baine?” the socialite asked, giving me an odd look. “Is everything okay?”

I shook off the strange feeling. “Everything’s fine,” I said. I must have imagined his voice. What would Fenris be doing here anyway? He was supposed to be back at the palace, enjoying his reception with Mina.

“Sunaya!” Fenris’s voice came through loud and clear this time, blowing that theory out of the water. “Can you hear me?”

“Fenris?” I called back, alarmed now. “Are you here?”

“Outside. I forgot my invitation and the guards won’t let us in. We have a theory that the Resistance may have found a way to smuggle in bombs and are planning to blow up the concert hall tonight.”

“Fucking hell,” I swore. A possible attack? I’d thought we were past all this!

“Excuse me?” the socialite said, sounding highly offended. I ignored her, stalking away from the crowd so I could duck behind a pillar and take advantage of the relative privacy.

“What’s going on?” I asked Fenris, plugging my fingers into my ears to try and drown out the ambient noise.

“This is just a hunch, but Barrla thinks there could be a bomb hidden somewhere inside the concert hall,” Fenris said urgently. “With all the recent construction done on the building, it is entirely possible one could be hidden inside a pillar or behind a wall. We already know for certain that the construction companies are behind the plot—it isn’t a stretch to imagine that they rigged this place for the attack.”

“Shit.” I bit my lip—the venue owner had offered the hall at an absurdly cheap rate, which was why the Minister had chosen to host the reception here. “We didn’t find anything like that during the security check, but I’ll speak to Iannis and Garrett immediately. We can’t evacuate the place based solely on a hunch, but if we find anything suspicious I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks,” Fenris said, and then the connection went dead as I moved back into the crowd. Looking around me at the glittering throng, I had to admit that if the Resistance wanted to decapitate the entire mage regime with one fell swoop, tonight would be the ideal occasion. Everyone of power and influence in the Federation was assembled in here, drinking and dancing and chatting. All the late Benefactor’s worst enemies, gathered in one spot.

And yet, from what I gathered, Fenris and his friends merely had a hunch—a suspicion—and no proof whatsoever. I sniffed carefully but could not detect anything amiss, not the slightest whiff of explosives or gunpowder. The vast amount of power concentrated here would easily take care of any attack, unless we were completely blindsided, taken by surprise. Surely the Resistance would know that.

And yet…

Scanning the crowd, I quickly found Garrett standing just a few paces away. I caught his eye, and he moved closer to me at my gesture.

“How carefully did your people vet this venue?” I muttered, leaning in close enough to be heard over the music and buzzing conversation. “Is there any chance you might have overlooked some bomb? Perhaps hidden in the walls or floor?”

He scowled, looking affronted at the very idea. “Sunaya, you know me better than that. We went over everything carefully only this morning, and the guards have been here ever since. Do you really think I would take the slightest risk with the Minister’s event? You are perfectly safe—relax and enjoy the party.”

“I’m not normally one to be paranoid, but Fenris is outside, and he seems to think there’s danger afoot.” I briefly explained the theory to Garrett, knowing full well what his answer would be.

“We can’t shut this whole place down based on some hair-brained theory,” Garrett said firmly. “Like I said, my men and I scoured this place thoroughly. If there was a bomb, we would have found it.”

“Right.” There was no point in pushing Garrett on this—he was right. But still…my blood was humming now, and I found myself moving toward the entrance. I might as well let Fenris and his friends inside. They could look around while I was stuck here with these politicians.