“You better not,” I warned. “I do want to see yousometimes.”
Iannis laughed, kissing my forehead. We sat for a while in companionable silence, but eventually my mind began to drift again. I felt guilty for snapping at Iannis earlier—yes, I had to deal with some ragging, but didn’t everyone when they were the new kid on the block? Once we were married, and my apprenticeship was officially completed, all that would die down. People in powerful positions always had to deal with criticism of some kind oranother.
The problem was, I had never aspired to a powerful position or spending time in mage high society. I’d only ever wanted to be an enforcer, to serve justice to those who needed it and protect the less fortunate. That was why reforming the Enforcers Guild was one of the first projects I’d taken on, in addition to helping with the rebuilding and relief efforts after the bigquake.
On top of all that, I was still in charge of testing schoolchildren for magical abilities—another round of testing was due in the fall, just a few weeks after the wedding. That was always an emotional time for the families and children concerned. I suspected that by winter we’d need a full school, perhaps a boarding school, for the talents we identified state-wide. Yet another job I’d have to supervise myself if I wanted it done right. It turned out that once I got past the annoyance of having to deal with multiple people, I was good at organizing and directing. At first, the mages who had been assigned to work with me didn’t know how to react, but now that I’d begun to prove myself as a leader, everyone seemed to expect so much ofme.
There were times that I wanted to tear off the fancy clothes and howl, to shift and run in my beast form and escape the endless formalities and duties. But I hated the idea of disappointing Iannis, not to mention everyone else who supported me. Shiftertown hailed me as a hero now—something else I was still trying to get used to—and Nelia, my secretary, sorted through endless piles of fan mail that came in from all over the country. I wondered if I would ever get used to all of this, if it would just seamlessly become part of my ever-changinglife.
“Is everything all right?” Iannis asked, noticing my pensivemood.
I shook my head. “It’snothing.”
He slid an arm around me, pulling me tight against him. “It’s more than nothing. You look like you’ve been carrying the weight of the world on yourshoulders.”
I laughed a little. “Sometimes I feel like I am.” I nuzzled his neck, taking in a deep breath of his sandalwood and magic scent. “I don’t mean to complain, I really don’t. You deal with ten times the amount of work I do, and you never whine about any ofit.”
“I also have centuries of experience in doing so,” Iannis reminded me, kissing the top of my head. “And when I started, I wasn’t nearly as good at it as you are. You have the right to be out of sorts as youadjust.”
“But that’s just the thing, Iannis,” I said, lifting my head to meet his violet gaze. “I’m not sure I’lleverget used to it. All this high-society stuff…it’s not for me. I miss my friends—I haven’t seen Annia in forever, not since she went to look for Noria, and since I’ve got responsibilities I can’t go looking for her. Rylan lives in the same damn town as me, and yet I rarely get to see him or Comenius. And Fenris…” I shook my head, not willing to go down that path again. “I hardly even seeyouanymore, Iannis.” I cupped hischeek.
“I know it seems like it was an age ago, but we did have occasional free time before the quake, and we will again,” Iannis said, running a hand over my curly hair. “Canalo has recently gone through turmoil, but it will settle down eventually. We’re well on our way to restoring order, and once the wedding is past, we’ll have more free time to enjoy each other. Our life together has only just begun, Sunaya, and with the Creator’s favor, we’ll have several centuries to enjoy it. There is still so much for us to look forwardto.”
“You’re right,” I said, smiling at the tender look in his eyes. “There is a lot to look forward to, and a lot right now to be thankful for. It’s a good thing I have you around to remind me ofthat.”
“Indeed.” Iannis shifted, then pulled me on top of him. “I don’t know about you,” he said against my mouth, his hands sliding up my skirts, “but I can think of much better ways than mere conversation to spend the remainder of our carriageride.”
Laughing, I kissed him, and let all my thoughts drift away. I had said I wanted more alone time with Iannis, and with no one around to disturb us for another hour, I wasn’t about to squanderit.
3
By the timewe made it back to Solantha Palace, it was close to two in the morning. Exhausted from the day’s activities and our passionate lovemaking in the carriage, Iannis and I headed straight for bed, but we were waylaid halfway to his suite by DirectorChen.
“I’m sorry to disturb you at this late hour,” Chen said, a dismayed expression on her usually placid face, “but we’ve received an urgent missive from theMinister.”
“So urgent that it could not wait until morning?” Iannis asked with afrown.
Chen pulled a folded-up letter from her sleeve. “See for yourself,” she said, handing it tohim.
Iannis unfolded the single sheet, and I peeked over his shoulder. “You’vegotto be kidding me,” I grumbled, a headache pounding at my temples with each line that I read. The Minister had decided that he wanted to hold the Convention in Solantha this year, during the week immediately before the wedding, since nearly all the Chief Mages were coming hereanyway.
Iannis groaned. “We’ve only a few weeks left before the wedding. He wants us to start preparing for a Conventionnow, on top of everything? Has he lost hismind?”
Chen shook her head. “The Minister is clearly thinking of no one but himself,” she said, crossing her arms. “Yes, this might be more convenient for the other Chief Mages and save them a trip to Dara, but it is going to be a nightmare for those of us who have to organize the event with such a shortdeadline.”
“No fucking kidding.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, already feeling overwhelmed. “That means it’s not just the Chief Mages coming into town—they’re all going to drag their entourages with them,plusall the officials and media VIPs and lobbyists and all the other crap that comes along with theConvention.”
“We might have been able to handle such an influx before the quake,” Iannis said tersely, “but many of our hotels are still being rebuilt, and Solantha Palace does not have a meeting room large enough to safely hold the entireConvention.”
Thatwas an understatement. My shoulders knotted with tension at the thought of all these strangers descending upon what I was beginning to think of as my home. “We may have to hire cruisers again to accommodate everyone,” Director Chen said. “Seeing as how we have very little time to make the preparations, I thought you and I should go over the logistics before weretire.”
“As much as I would rather rest, I’m afraid I agree with you.” Iannis sighed, then put an arm around my shoulders and kissed me. “Go to bed, Sunaya. I’ll join you in a littlewhile.”
“All right.” I kissed him back, resisting the urge to protest. I knew Iannis liked this even less than I did, but with only eight weeks until the new Convention date, there was no choice. I had a feeling that what little free time we had was about to evaporatecompletely.
Disheartened, I trudged off to bed alone, hoping that Iannis wouldn’t take too long. As I lay in the big platform bed, staring up at the ceiling, I tried to fall asleep. But despite my exhaustion, thoughts about the upcoming Convention plagued me. I knew from my experience in Garai that delegates were prissy and demanding—the Chief Mages and the other guests would fuss if they weren’t given “appropriate” accommodations and service, or if any one of them seemed to get preferential treatment, as if Solantha Palace was some fucking hotel instead of Canalo’s seat of power. I wondered what they would think if they were locked up in a tower room, as I had been when I’d first arrivedhere.
Oh, how far you’ve come, Sunaya,I thought to myself as I rolled over. I’d gone from sleeping in a dingy apartment in Maintown to the Chief Mage’s apartments. I certainly had no right to complain about anything, even if said Chief Mage couldn’t share the bed right now. In a few short weeks, this would officially become my bed too, and I could move my stuff from my suite down the hall tohis.
