He frowned. He knew I knew—had known when I’d stopped losing my bets against him. “Can you trust me for now?”
Part of me wanted to say no. I trusted my Captain, my friend, with my life. But putting my blind faith in him when I knew he was hiding something from me? That was difficult to come to terms with.
I placed my hand on his forearm. “You promise me there’s a damn good reason why you aren’t telling me everything?”
“I promise.”
I hesitated, but conceded in the end. “Fine.”
Relief washed over his features. “This might be a good thing—mastering that magic you used on the ship. I’ll admit you scared me back there. Not that I was scared of you, but for you. I didn’t know you could use magic.”
“Neither did I, not truly. Prior to that night on the ship, I’d summoned tiny balls of shadow, but never on such a grand scale. Honestly, I’m not sure I want to use my magic like that again.” I looked down at the floor. “I’m so sorry. Hurting you, Kaelias,and Makatza was not my intention. I didn’t have control of myself.”
“We don’t blame you, Nairu.” He reached to place his hand atop mine. “You were doing everything in your power—quite literally—to protect us. I don’t want to see you kicking yourself for it, alright? Captain’s orders.”
“It strikes me you could have ordered me to remain here.”
“I’m not that kind of Captain.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’ve followed you these past two years.”
There was a quick rap at the door before a blond head of hair poked through the doorway, leaning halfway into the room.
“Is everything in order?” The girl’s voice was bubbly and sweet, the perfect match to her lively appearance. Her gently pointed ears identified her as a half-Elf, and her jacket displayed the same pin—a crescent moon within a sun—I’d seen on Alandris’s shirt. A Consortium Mage, then.
“Yes, I was just leaving.” Lorian mouthed me a quick farewell and pushed past the girl out of the room.
She was in front of me before the door could close behind him, grabbing for my hand. “I’m Luelle. I’ll be your roommate.”
There was always something awkward about meeting someone so incredibly outgoing when you were… not. “I’m Nairu. Are you showing me to our room?”
I had no idea where I’d been staying so far, but I’d gotten used to the room. It was small, cozy, and best of all—all my own. Not that I wasn’t used to sharing a space with other people—the ship had desensitized me to the idea of personal space—but I’d been enjoying the familiarity of this room in what was otherwise a completely unknown environment. I could pretend everything was fine within these four walls. I wasn’t sure I was ready to face the Mages Consortium in all of its glory, or lack thereof.
“I’m going to give you the full tour of the Consortium!”
Great. Nothing like ripping off the bandage.
Apparently, I’d been staying in a guest wing. Luelle had given me extensive details on every notable guest the Consortium had hosted over the past ten years. Mind you, Luelle had only been training at the Consortium for two years now, but she was basically a walking history book on the place. I asked her questions even when I didn’t care, because it was both humorous and adorable to watch her light up with excitement at the prospect of showing off her knowledge.
My favorite place she showed me was the library. The small collection I’d gotten to browse in the meeting room was nothing compared to the main library. Endless rows of books shot high into the ceiling beyond where anyone could reasonably reach. I suspected some sort of magic was at play that allowed the shelves to be accessed. In the center of the room were lines of tables. Several Mages sat at the tables, studying books in caplet jackets bearing the Mages Consortium emblem, just like Luelle’s.
“There’s a uniform?” I asked her.
“Just a jacket and the pin, of course. You’re free to wear whatever you’d like underneath, but I’d recommend something easy to move in. Probably not something you care about, either. Battle training can get intense. Spells misfire sometimes.”
“I have with me exactly what I’m currently wearing.”
She scanned her eyes over my outfit, and to her credit, did not give a look of abject horror when she saw my week-old, unwashed leather pants and once white—now yellowed cotton shirt. “I have some clothes you can use. The jacket is provided.”
We appeared roughly the same size and height, and if not, I could make it work. I’d always been slender, but I’d managed to put on some muscle on the ship. My week of bed rest and my chaotic magic use destroyed any muscle definition I had gained. I could feel it eating away at me still. I’d not had a chance to lookin the mirror, but I had a feeling I didn’t want to, for more than one reason.
“Is there a bath?”
“Shall we?” She didn’t wait for my answer before grabbing my hand and half skipping out of the library.
The baths were as luxurious as I’d expected them to be, based on the rest of the castle so far. Columns of carved stone jutted out from the ground separating the nine differing bathing pools, further separated by lattice panels covered in flowers and vines. Not exactly private, but again, seafaring had ruined the concept for me, anyway. I’d seen more in two years than I’d seen in my entire life. Skin was just skin at this point, and I didn’t care enough to be bothered by a near stranger seeing me naked.
“Oh! If you wait, I’ll run and grab you a change of clothes!” Luelle said, setting her jacket on the nearby shelf. “There are some oils in the cabinet there. Pick whatever you’d like. I don’t mind, I like them all. You can get in first. It won’t take me long.”
