But the words, whatever they had been, dried on my tongue, and I swallowed. “Thank you,” I said quietly, looking away. I jumped to my feet, releasing his hand as I did so. “I have to go now. Goodnight.”
And I fled the room, leaving my pride somewhere between the Chief Mage’s couch cushions.
17
It was after nine o’clock by the time I finally made it out of the Palace, too late for me to be driving up to Turain now, so I reluctantly decided to postpone my trip until tomorrow. A little lost, I toyed with the idea of seeking out Comenius or Noria, but at this hour of the night I figured they’d be with their lovers, so I went on home instead.
After trying out the spell I’d seen Iannis use on my own doorknob – yes, it did work! – I traded in my leather pants and jacket for a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, then climbed into bed with the Residah, hoping the thick leather tome would lull me to sleep.
As I propped the book up on my thighs, it seemed to open of its own accord, the pages flipping until they finally settled on a chapter regarding self-control. My eyebrow arched, and I wondered if whichever god was watching from above was trying to send me a message. In any case, I figured it was as good a place as any to start, so I began reading.
Self-control is possibly the most important quality a mage must cultivate. In order to safely practice magic, a mage must have achieved mastery over every aspect of their existence – mind, body and soul. Magic is controlled by thought and intention, thus it is necessary to have a firm grip one one’s emotions before casting even the most minor spell. To do otherwise could have catastrophic results.
I pursed my lips as I thought about that. I’d always made fun of mages for being so stoic, but if they were taught from an early age that controlling their emotions was necessary to mastering magic, I supposed it only made sense that they were raised that way. And though I’d seen Iannis use his magic while angry a time or two, he’d never done so while performing any kind of major spell, and even when he’d been angry he’d somehow seemed in control. I knew that if I had the kind of power he did and I lashed out with the full force of my anger, I would cause all kinds of damage. Maybe he was right to place limits on my magic until I was ready to handle more.
I was about to dive back into the book when a loud knock at the door startled me. Jerking my head up, I strained my ears for any sign that there might be trouble – visitors were a rarity.
“I don’t think she’s home.” I blinked at the sound of Comenius’s voice.
“Of course she is home.” A woman’s richly accented voice floated through the crack beneath the doorway as I quickly shrugged on a robe and hurried into the living room. “You said the steambike parked at the curb belonged to her, did you not? And the lights are on. She must be here.”
“Well yes, but that doesn’t mean she’s –”
“Hey!” I threw open the door, a smile tugging at my lips at the thought of seeing a friendly face. Sure enough, Comenius was standing in the hall, dressed in one of his dark green tunics, and on his arm was his new girlfriend, Elania. “Wasn’t expecting any visitors.”
“I can see that,” Elania said, her throaty accent tinged with amusement. Her dark gaze swept over me, and as I took in her flawless pale skin, her perfectly curled, inky black hair, and the deep red velvet dress that hugged her curves, a wave of self-consciousness swept through me. But if she was unimpressed with my outfit, or lack thereof, she didn’t show it outwardly, so I tried to push the feeling aside and smiled at her.
“Sorry, Naya.” Comenius scratched the back of his head, looking vaguely embarrassed. “I can see that you were in bed, and we didn’t mean to disturb you –”
“Yes we did,” Elania said firmly, but kindly, squeezing Comenius’s arm. “My iubito has been fretting about you for the past few days, ever since he heard about your involvement with the terrorist attack on the bridge, to the point that it’s been affecting our time together. So I brought him over here to see you, so he can assure himself you are alive and well.”
“Oh.” Guilt and shame burned at my cheeks – I should have considered the possibility that like Annia, Comenius would have found out about my involvement with the bridge, and that he would have worried about me. “I’m sorry, Com. I’ve just been so distracted these last couple of days. I should have thought to drop by. Please, come in.”
I stepped back to let them in, and Elania’s bourbon-vanilla scent drifted past me, making my nose twitch. I’d seen her around once or twice at Witches End; she was a witch who specialized in potions, as in rather than making you a good luck charm, she’d whip up a lucky elixir for you instead. From what I heard she also did the occasional hex under the table, but since those were illegal I’m sure she’d deny it if someone like me came around her shop asking for one.