I expected the Chief Mage to scoff at this, but he said nothing for a long moment, simply staring at me. I forced myself not to fidget, wondering what was going on behind those strange violet eyes. Was he actually considering letting me off the hook in favor of pinning responsibility on my father? If that was the case, I would have to give Fenris a good, long smooch for his suggestion.
And maybe I had enough gratitude in my heart to give the Chief Mage a pat on the head, too.
“Your father will not escape justice,” he said finally, and then glanced at the clock on the wall. “Unfortunately our time is up for now, as I have other obligations to meet. Return here at the same time tomorrow, and we will resume our study.”
“Yessir.” I sketched a mocking bow and carted myself back to my room, wondering if the Chief Mage really was going to find my father, and if he did, whether or not I would finally get to meet the bastard face to face.
Chapter Eight
I spent most of the afternoon training, burning off my frustration as best I could with the forms and exercise routines my mentor had taught me. Practice reminded me that I was still missing my crescent knives and chakrams, and I wondered where they had gone off to. I really hoped Brin and Nila hadn’t decided to keep them for themselves, or sold them off to other Enforcers. They were valuable weapons, both gifts from Roanas. The chakrams were especially valuable, because they were spelled to return to my pouch after they’d been thrown.
Perhaps I can ask Fenris to try and get my weapons back for me.
Huh. That might actually be a good idea. Even if he held on to them for me, that was better than leaving them to the Enforcer’s Guild. Heck, I might even be able to get him to convince the Chief Mage to let me wear them – the guards would think twice about messing with me then.
With that thought in mind, I left my makeshift training area and went to find Fenris. A human servant told me he was in the West Wing, so I headed in that direction, passing through the balcony that overlooked the foyer as I did so.
“What do you mean, we can’t see her!”
I froze at the sound of Noria’s strident tones, and looked over the railing to see her standing below, arguing with the mage who served as the receptionist for the palace. Her cloud of red curls bounced around her face in time to her wild gesticulations. Next to her stood Comenius, who looked slightly uncomfortable about her outburst. Both were dressed in white from head to foot – mourning colors – and my heart sank into my toes as I realized what that meant.
Roanas’s funeral.
Rage began to build inside me. Why had nobody told me he was being buried today? Even if I couldn’t have attended the funeral myself, I would have liked to pray for him, perhaps even hold a rite on my own.
“I’m sorry, but Sunaya Baine is a prisoner,” the mage sniffed haughtily. Ire bubbled up inside me as he wrinkled his long, slightly crooked nose. “And as such, she is not cleared for any visitors at this time.”
“That’s preposterous!” Comenius protested, his handsome features tightening into a scowl. “Even Prisoner’s Isle allows their inmates visitors, and Sunaya hasn’t even been sentenced.”
“I don’t know why you’re wasting your time here,” the mage sneered. “With her volatile behavior, it’s only a matter of time before the Chief Mage has her executed –”
The animosity building inside me finally came to a head. I vaulted over the balcony, twisting around in the air before landing in a crouch directly in front of the mage.
“What was that you were saying about my volatile behavior?” I asked, baring my fangs at the snotty old mage. His wrinkly skin turned sallow, his beady eyes widening as much as they were capable.
“Naya!” Comenius and Noria exclaimed at the same time.
The mage’s bushy grey eyebrows quivered as he scowled at me. “Just what is the meaning of this, young lady? Are you threatening me?”
The guards standing by began to close in, and I stepped in front of my friends to shield them, not wanting them to get caught up in another altercation with these brutal bastards.
“Fenris,” I called out mentally. “Could use a little help here.”
“Sir, we apologize for the intrusion,” Comenius said swiftly from behind me. I turned to see him grab Noria around the waist and begin steering her towards the door. “We’ll just be on our way now –”
“No!” Noria actually stamped her foot. “I’m not leaving!” She flung herself at me, and I staggered as she wrapped her arms around my waist like a child would do to a mother who was trying to leave them behind somewhere.
“Noria,” I muttered, trying to extricate myself from her grasp as the guards drew closer, one of them testing the draw on his short sword. I didn’t want to give the guards an excuse to work off some of their aggression on her. “You can tone it down a notch.”
“May I ask what’s going on here?”
Relief sang through my veins at the sound of Fenris’s voice, and I turned to see him standing at the top of the stairs, watching us with a bemused expression.
“Oh hey.” I waved nonchalantly, as if I didn’t have a human girl dangling from my waist and a bevy of guards ready to pounce on us. “I’m just greeting some visitors.”
“This vile hybrid threatened me!” the reception mage shouted, pointing toward me with a trembling finger.
Fenris’s brow darkened as he descended the staircase. “I don’t care for your choice of words, Canter,” he said sternly, the guards backing away as he approached.