Turpis blinked, brow furrowing. “I assumed you were expecting the post near House Mitis, but you make it sound like you never want to set foot in Areator again.”
It would be for the best.
The closer she was to the palace, the more likely the possibility her treason would be discovered.
Especially since the latest gossip was that Queen Clelia had been overheard in Nikias’ study with her suspicions that the illness that had taken King Nero out right before the negotiations with the clan mages wasn’t an illness at all.
“I’m sure I wouldn’t be away forever,” Aimilia said. “Gavril and Marcella are still here, but…”
“You’re restless.”
Maybe Turpis wasn’t as obtuse as he looked.
“I’m ready to move on.”
She swallowed her next words. Her grandfather wasn’t getting any younger or any healthier. It had been over a year since she’d gotten a letter in her grandfather’s own hand. She didn’t expect to ever again. It had been over a month since she’d gotten a letter from her mother updating her. What was going on back at home?
Turpis looked up at the palace. “And yet, His Highness won’t let you.”
Aimilia followed his gaze. “Well, we’ll see about that.”
She hoped this was Nikias’ pettiness. That she could survive. If it wasn’t…
There was only one reason Aimilia could fathom why he’d want her so close.
One she had no hope of surviving.
Chapter 2
AIMILIA
“Slower!” Marcella waved her hands through the air, curls flying as she repeated in her thick accent. “Slower!”
Aimilia paused, both in her pacing and her ranting. She turned, putting her hands on her hips so she could take a deep breath. She stood in Marcella and Gavril’s quarters at the Academy while Marcella sat on the sofa.
While Marcella had made great strides in understanding their language, she still struggled if Aimilia spoke too quickly or used more obscure vocabulary and Marcella had yet to shake her thick accent. Aimilia doubted she ever would.
Aimilia steadied her racing heart and said, “Where did I lose you?”
Marcella dropped her hands to her lap and stared up at Aimilia, a helplessness in her eyes that Aimilia was certain was the reason Gavril had been wrapped around her finger from the beginning. Now that Aimilia no longer wanted to send the clan mage back where she came from, she was more endearing than she was frustrating.
Marcella finally said, “The… post? Yes, the post.”
Aimilia bit back a groan. That meant she’d lost Marcella after the first sentence. Dare she start over again?
She was saved from making the decision herself as the door behind her opened. Gavril stepped into the room, raising an eyebrow at her presence. She might as well start from the beginning.
Marcella was out of her seat the second the door opened, and Aimilia quickly backed up so she wasn’t in the girl’s path as she rushed to greet her husband. She rolled her eyes as Gavril swept her up into a hug, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. Marcella pulled back, resting her hands on his shoulders. “Class went well?”
“Mostly. The twins from House Salum were a handful as usual. When their peers are able to beat them in practicals with only one hand, maybe then they’ll start paying attention.” Gavril looked up over Marcella and over to Aimilia. “You’re always welcome to join and start learning for yourself. The children would benefit from seeing a commander herself willing to learn how to cast in the style of the clans.”
Since returning to Areator after their wedding, Gavril and Marcella had taken up residence at the Academy and started making good on their terms with Hypatia and the clans to train mages in the one-handed casting style of the clans as well as the traditional two-handed style of Imperia.
“At this rate, I might take you up on that. It’s better than sitting on my hands for the rest of my life.” Aimilia leaned back against the dresser.
Gavril shifted, keeping a hand on Marcella as the two of them moved to sit on the sofa. When they were in the same room, they were always touching in some innocuous way. It was sickeningly sweet.
They were lucky they were her only friends at the moment; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to stomach their saccharine interactions for more than five minutes at a time.
