I trotted up the steps of the Capitol Building in my new robes, and though the guards studied me with a critical eye as I passed, they made no move to stop me from entering. Unlike yesterday evening, the entrance hall was swarming with activity, both humans and mages alike bustling to and from the building and looking very official. In the center of the entrance hall was a large, mounted map of the building, and I stopped to study it, trying to figure out where I wanted to go. It looked like the main assembly room was located in the Great Rotunda on the first floor, surrounded by smaller meeting rooms. There were a few clerical offices down here, but most of the offices were on the upper floor, on the opposite side of the building from the banquet hall. I wondered if there was anyone up there right now worth eavesdropping on, or if everyone of importance was in the Convention.
Knowing the only way to find out was to go up there, I walked through the entrance hall. I passed a coffee shop on the corner as I turned right, heading for the stairs at the other end of a secondary hall that would take me to the stairs. Unfortunately, there were two guards guarding the steps, and as soon as they saw me they both stepped in front of the staircase, blocking my path.
“I’m sorry, miss, but these stairs are for authorized personnel only,” the guard to my right said. There was a hint of apology in his tone, but he spoke firmly. “Is there someone in particular you’re looking for?”
“No,” I admitted, giving the guards a sheepish smile. I really wanted to vault over their heads and dash up the stairs, but the female mage I was pretending to be wouldn’t be able to do that, so I had to behave. “It’s just that I’m not allowed into the Convention, so I was hoping to find a place to sit and work.” I lifted the leather portfolio that I carried in one hand, which had papers and a notepad in it so I could pretend to be doing something useful if need be.
“If you need a place to wait, I’d suggest the coffee shop.” The second guard pointed back down the hallway. “There is lots of comfortable seating, and the beverages are very good. But you can’t go up these stairs.”
“Thank you.” I briefly inclined my head to the guards, then turned around and walked back to the coffee shop I’d passed earlier. My stomach growled at the scent of fresh pastries, and though I was disappointed at this setback, there were actually quite a few mages sitting at the glossy wooden tables and chairs that I could listen in on. Approaching the dark granite countertop and the glass case of pastries next to it, I ordered a plate of muffins and a large cup of coffee, then brought my fare to the rear of the store, where the walls were lined with cushioned booth backings. I rested my back against the dark green velvet as I settled in at one of the little tables and prepared for a long afternoon.
As I chewed on a blueberry muffin and studied the mages chatting away at the tables, I noticed that a number of them were also surreptitiously studying me. It occurred to me that these mages probably saw each other at the Convention every other year, but I was a new face, and they weren’t sure what to make of me.
“Have you noticed that Lord Iannis seems a little…different, from the last time we saw him?” a redheaded mage asked her dark-haired companion.
“How so?” the other mage, also a female, asked. She picked up her white china espresso cup between dainty, painted fingernails and sipped at it like she was having coffee with the queen of Sandia instead of sitting around in a coffee shop with a fellow underling.
“He seems distracted, as if his mind isn’t entirely on the Convention.” The redhead traced the rim of her coffee cup with her forefinger. Her expression gave little away, as was the case with most mages, but it almost seemed like she was pouting. “I was in the Great Rotunda this morning before the session started, and watched him talking with the Chief Mage of Nayra. It just seemed like his mind was elsewhere.”
“Well I can’t say I’m that surprised, considering he arrived so late, and that he brought his mistress along.”
“Mistress?” The redhead’s pale blue eyes widened.
“Yes. You know, her.” The brunette looked over her shoulder and met my eyes. I smiled politely and shifted my gaze back down to my papers, pretending that I hadn’t heard what she’d just said – as far as they knew, I was too far away to hear their conversation.
“Really?” I looked back to see that the redhead’s brows had shot up. “Well she’s got a pretty face, but someone like Lord Iannis could do a great deal better.”
“Oh I’m sure it’s just a fling,” the brunette said airily. “I suppose even the most distinguished Chief Mage is bound to let their hair down occasionally like lesser mortals, but she doesn’t look like she’s doing much more than shuffling papers back there. I can’t see that she’ll serve as more than a passing interest for someone like him.”
My jaw clenched at that, and I had to force myself to relax. Yeah, so maybe I was doing little more than shuffling papers over here, but I was definitely more than a piece of ass to Iannis.