Zak stepped up to the mage in charge of the squad, engaging him in hurried conversation. The man exclaimed, clapping Zak on the shoulder, and the prisoner was soon taken in hand by the red-robed mages. They worked a number of compositions I couldn’t see or feel before dismantling Zak’s binding and marching the man away.
He tried to growl at us as he passed, but one of the mages yanked him viciously forward.
“Don’t worry,” the other mage said to us. “He won’t be bothering you again.”
They took the rest of the guards with them, including the first two, and the crowd that had started to gather streamed up the street in their wake. Finally only Zak and I remained. He took my hand, trying to gently tug me toward the street.
“I’m going to walk you home,” he said firmly, clearly unwilling to accept any arguments on the matter.
I stood my ground, however, tugging back until he stopped. He looked inquiringly at me, and I took a deep breath.
“Did you mean everything you said?” I asked him.
“About you saving us?” He stepped to my side. “Of course.”
“No, earlier. This morning.”
Hope blazed in his eyes. “Every word.”
I took another deep breath. “Then I’m willing to try. I’ll fight at your side for a future where we can be together.”
He didn’t ask any questions, merely sweeping me into his arms and kissing me until we were both so breathless we fell apart.
Smiling down at me, he finally asked. “What made you change your mind? Was it the heroics I displayed by lying on the ground like a motionless board while a maniac tried to kill us?”
I laughed but quickly sobered. “I’ll admit that my fear for you made a few things clear to me. If I’m willing to die for you, why would I walk away without even fighting for us?”
His arms tightened, and he looked like he was going to kiss me again, but I held him off. “But it was also the Shrouded Mage himself.”
“Do I make a dashing comparison? I’m glad to know I rate at least a little higher than a serial killer.”
I whacked him lightly. “I’m being serious. Did you see the way he looked at me? I’m not surprised he’s been killing people in the lower city. He’s not like other mages. They think they’re above commonborn, but they still see them as human. But the Shrouded Mage…” I shuddered. “I don’t think he sees commonborns as people at all.”
Zak frowned, his arms once again tightening around me.
“It made me realize that he’s not the only one who sees commonborns differently from most mages,” I continued. “Youdon’t see us the same way other mages do either. You see us as equals. And it’s not just me. You were like that before you ever met me.”
“You’re right, I do,” he said. “And I hope that one day more mages will think the same way. It may take decades—even generations—but I believe things will change.”
“And that,” I said with a smile, “is one of the many reasons I love you.”
This time I didn’t push him away when he leaned down to kiss me again.
EPILOGUE
My parents proved as willing to embrace Zak as I had predicted, their opinion changing instantly once they understood he meant to defy his entire society for my sake. Or it might have been his role in saving me from the Shrouded Mage. He tried to tell them I had been the one to save him, but my mother merely collapsed sobbing on his shoulder, thanking him again and again for saving her baby.
Zak’s parents proved less amenable. He seemed undaunted by their opposition, but I was less able to believe they would eventually come around.
Those doubts filled my mind as I moped at home on the next rest day. I was brooding over the future when my mother called that I had a visitor. My mood lifted immediately, given the enthusiasm in her voice, and I hurried toward the door, expecting to see Zak.
Instead, I found Faylee.
“Welcome back!” I exclaimed, almost as glad to see her as I would have been to see Zak.
She didn’t waste any time on greetings, however, thrusting an armful of material toward me.
“Quick, go and put that on. As fast as you can. We need to get going.”
