“I didn’t bring you here because I wanted to look at your body, Miss Baine,” Iannis said mildly. But the gleam in his eyes and the pheromones coming off him told me that he had enjoyed looking. “I brought you here to discuss your apprenticeship.”
That doused my fire as effectively as a hailstorm. “Yeah, I really like how you announced that to the Mage’s Guild without even bothering to consult me first. Has it occurred to you that maybe I don’t want to be your apprentice?”
“Sunaya –” Fenris began, his voice full of reproach, but the Chief Mage held up a hand.
“Has it occurred to you, Miss Baine, that perhaps you’re being childish?”
“Childish?” I shouted as anger scalded my cheeks. “How is my desire to be consulted on matters regarding my future fucking childish? Maybe the problem is that you’re treating me too much like a child, and not that I’m acting like one!”
“You are many things, Miss Baine,” Iannis murmured, his violet eyes traveling up and down my body. “But a child is not one of them.”
The heat in my cheeks spread to the rest of my body, and I wanted to sink into the floor. Thankfully, the Chief Mage blew right past his comment and back to the matter at hand. “Nevertheless, I’d like you to put your emotions aside for the moment and view this rationally. Aside from the fact that I’m bestowing an incredible honor on you –” he ignored my snort of disbelief, “– this is the only way I can grant you your freedom. I cannot simply set you loose in the world without proper training.”
The argument ballooning inside me deflated abruptly. “Hang on. Are you saying that I’ll be allowed to leave the palace?”
“You will be granted certain freedoms, yes,” the Chief Mage confirmed with a nod. “Although, with these freedoms come responsibilities. You will have to work hard and study every day, and in addition you will be expected to conduct yourself like a mage at all times. You will need to observe proper etiquette and curb your overly emotional attitude, and we will need to get you a proper set of robes –”
“Whoa. Hang on there.” I held up a hand and took a deep breath through my nose. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
“I fail to see –”
“Yes, as usual, you fail to see how anyone could possibly have an objection to your viewpoint.” I planted my fists on my hips. “But I do. Just because I was born half-mage doesn’t mean I’m ready to embrace the lifestyle! I’ve lived my entire life as a shifter, and I’m not going to change that overnight because you wave your hand and command it to be so.” I waved my own hands as I spoke, and his eyes narrowed at my mockery. “If being your apprentice means I have to put on robes and walk around like I have a wand up my ass, then you may as well send me straight to the chopping block, because I would rather die than live the emotionless, passionless existence you mages do.”
The Chief Mage’s eyes flashed, and he took a step forward. “The fact I do not display my feelings all the time does not mean I don’t have them,” he said tightly. “Rather, I would say I exhibit remarkable control for not lashing out at you, even though you mock me at every turn.”
Guilt sank its razor sharp claws into my chest, and I fought the urge to shrink back beneath his glare, which held more than simple anger. Could it be that I’d actually hurt his feelings?
That’s ridiculous.
And yet, I couldn’t deny the truth in his words – any other mage would have happily executed me at the first taste of my flippant tongue. But Iannis hadn’t, and I’d refused to give him credit for that.
“L-look,” I stammered, my emotions off balance, “even if I did agree to be your apprentice, I don’t see what the point is, since my magic is too unpredictable to train.”
The Chief Mage scoffed. “That’s nonsense. You’re the daughter of an extremely powerful mage. There is no reason that I wouldn’t be able to cultivate your talents and turn you into a powerful mage in your own right.”
I froze. “How the hell would you know that about my father?”
“Your magical signature is very strong and distinctive, which considerably narrows the field of possibilities.”
“Oh yeah?” My heart jumped with excitement. “Well who’s on the list?”
The Chief Mage folded his arms. “I don’t see why I should divulge any details to you, since you’re not willing to be apprenticed.”
Damn him. “That’s blackmail, and you know it.”
“Blackmail implies that he’s holding damning information over your head, which he is not.”
I glared at Fenris. “I don’t care how you put it, it’s still coercion and I don’t like it.”
The Chief Mage simply shrugged. “Like it or not, that is the situation. If you want to know who your father is, you must complete your apprenticeship first. Or at the very least, make significant progress.”