“Lysander,” the Chief Mage said in a voice like boiling lava, addressing the silver-bearded mage who’d made the remark. “You have been around longer than most of the mages in this room, and know that I do not tolerate gossip and rumormongers, correct?”
“Y-yes, my Lord.” Lysander bowed so low that the tail end of his beard touched the ground.
“Excellent.” The Chief Mage’s icy gaze swept the room. “Then you understand that anyone who repeats such a vile rumor, in my presence or outside, will be struck deaf and dumb for the rest of the year. Short of Miss Baine actually killing someone or causing extreme damage, I do not want to hear any more complaints about her. You are all grown mages and more than capable of defending yourself from a single hybrid shifter. Do I make myself clear?”
The mages all rushed to assure Iannis that he did, their heads bobbing furiously. I noticed that none of them were able to meet his eyes, though I stared openly at him. I should have been relieved at this turn of events, because it officially meant that I wasn’t going to be executed, and was no longer a prisoner. But I was too confused to be grateful. What in the world was he thinking, taking me on as his apprentice? As much as I was loath to admit it, the other mages were right – there were many more apprentices out there who were more deserving of the position. Regardless of what Iannis said, the fact that he was favoring me would only encourage the rumors that we were lovers.
A hot flush spread beneath my fur as I realized what this meant – I would constantly have to endure whispers and speculative looks, not just from the mages but from everyone in Solantha. And what if this didn’t end up working out? What if he dropped me like a piece of garbage, like my family had? I would be known as the scorned lover and the failed apprentice.
“You are all dismissed,” the Chief Mage said, locking eyes with me. One by one, the mages filed out of the banquet hall, muttering and grumbling amongst themselves, until it was just Fenris and Iannis in the hall with me. Them, and my screaming thoughts, telling me to run as far and as fast from this room as I possibly could.
Chapter Thirteen
Bolting from the room didn’t work. All it took was a single Word from the Chief Mage, and I froze halfway to the door like a fuzzy black ice sculpture.
“As much as I’m certain you’d like to leave my presence and never return, we are not yet finished with this conversation, Miss Baine.” Iannis’s cool tones echoed in the empty hall. “We shall adjourn to my chambers for further discussion.”
“I don’t want to go to your chambers!” I snapped at him mentally. If he heard me, though, he didn’t show it; he simply walked past me, his ornate blue and gold robes brushing against my fur before he disappeared through the doors. The spell dissipated and I growled, the beast inside me interpreting his “accidental” touch as an act of marking territory, which I did not appreciate.
“Come on.” Fenris paused beside me, regarding me with his yellow gaze. “You may as well get this over with.”
Huffing out a breath through my nostrils, I followed Fenris into the hall and back down to the Chief Mage’s chambers. When we got there, Iannis was standing by the fireplace, holding a blue silk robe in his hands.
“Change,” he commanded, his stern eyes on mine.
Heat flooded through my body as I stiffened beneath his gaze. I wasn’t a prude, and had certainly never been shy about my body, but something about getting naked in front of the most powerful man in Canalo made the fur along my spine crackle.
“Miss Baine, I would prefer to have this conversation verbally.” The Chief Mage held the robe aloft again, which shimmered in the firelight. “Please change back into your human form.”
The please – which he’d never used on me before – reached past my embarrassment and softened me up. I did my customary yawn and stretch, then shifted back into human form. White light engulfed me as my legs and arms grew longer and my snout, fur and claws receded. Crouched on the carpet in human form, I reached up and snatched the robe from his grip, incredibly aware of the fact that I was not only naked, but practically kneeling at the Chief Mage’s feet. I stood quickly and shrugged the robe on at the same time, the cool silk fluttering against my skin, and did my best to avoid Iannis’s penetrating gaze. It didn’t help matters that the blue silk smelled like him, and by the time I was done tying it around my waist I was decidedly hot and bothered. Worse, Fenris was in the room with his keen sense of smell, so at least one of these men knew I was hot and bothered.
As if things could get any worse.
“Alright, you boys have had your show,” I said, trying to make light of the situation as best I could. I leaned my hip against the arm of one of the couches and crossed my arms. “Now can I go?”