I shook off the strange feeling. “Everything’s fine,” I said. I must have imagined his voice. What would Fenris be doing here anyway? He was supposed to be back at the palace, enjoying his reception with Mina.
“Sunaya!” Fenris’s voice came through loud and clear this time, blowing that theory out of the water. “Can you hear me?”
“Fenris?” I called back, alarmed now. “Are you here?”
“Outside. I forgot my invitation and the guards won’t let us in. We have a theory that the Resistance may have found a way to smuggle in bombs and are planning to blow up the concert hall tonight.”
“Fucking hell,” I swore. A possible attack? I’d thought we were past all this!
“Excuse me?” the socialite said, sounding highly offended. I ignored her, stalking away from the crowd so I could duck behind a pillar and take advantage of the relative privacy.
“What’s going on?” I asked Fenris, plugging my fingers into my ears to try and drown out the ambient noise.
“This is just a hunch, but Barrla thinks there could be a bomb hidden somewhere inside the concert hall,” Fenris said urgently. “With all the recent construction done on the building, it is entirely possible one could be hidden inside a pillar or behind a wall. We already know for certain that the construction companies are behind the plot—it isn’t a stretch to imagine that they rigged this place for the attack.”
“Shit.” I bit my lip—the venue owner had offered the hall at an absurdly cheap rate, which was why the Minister had chosen to host the reception here. “We didn’t find anything like that during the security check, but I’ll speak to Iannis and Garrett immediately. We can’t evacuate the place based solely on a hunch, but if we find anything suspicious I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks,” Fenris said, and then the connection went dead as I moved back into the crowd. Looking around me at the glittering throng, I had to admit that if the Resistance wanted to decapitate the entire mage regime with one fell swoop, tonight would be the ideal occasion. Everyone of power and influence in the Federation was assembled in here, drinking and dancing and chatting. All the late Benefactor’s worst enemies, gathered in one spot.
And yet, from what I gathered, Fenris and his friends merely had a hunch—a suspicion—and no proof whatsoever. I sniffed carefully but could not detect anything amiss, not the slightest whiff of explosives or gunpowder. The vast amount of power concentrated here would easily take care of any attack, unless we were completely blindsided, taken by surprise. Surely the Resistance would know that.
And yet…
Scanning the crowd, I quickly found Garrett standing just a few paces away. I caught his eye, and he moved closer to me at my gesture.
“How carefully did your people vet this venue?” I muttered, leaning in close enough to be heard over the music and buzzing conversation. “Is there any chance you might have overlooked some bomb? Perhaps hidden in the walls or floor?”
He scowled, looking affronted at the very idea. “Sunaya, you know me better than that. We went over everything carefully only this morning, and the guards have been here ever since. Do you really think I would take the slightest risk with the Minister’s event? You are perfectly safe—relax and enjoy the party.”
“I’m not normally one to be paranoid, but Fenris is outside, and he seems to think there’s danger afoot.” I briefly explained the theory to Garrett, knowing full well what his answer would be.
“We can’t shut this whole place down based on some hair-brained theory,” Garrett said firmly. “Like I said, my men and I scoured this place thoroughly. If there was a bomb, we would have found it.”
“Right.” There was no point in pushing Garrett on this—he was right. But still…my blood was humming now, and I found myself moving toward the entrance. I might as well let Fenris and his friends inside. They could look around while I was stuck here with these politicians.
But when I got to the entrance, Fenris and his party were no longer there, and the majordomo didn’t know where they’d gone. The hairs on the back of my neck rose—Fenris wasn’t one to give up. If he thought we were truly in danger, he would have found another way to get inside.
“Iannis,” I said urgently, striding back inside to where he was standing, deep in some conversation with a Southian diplomat. “There’s something wrong.”
Iannis lifted his head, meeting my gaze across the room. “What do you mean?”
“Iannis, are you there?” We both paused at the sound of Fenris’s voice, clear as a bell once more. He must be inside, past the wards. “I need you and Garrett to come down to the basement. We’ve found an intruder.”
“I’m on my way. Is anyone hurt?”
“No. But come quickly.”
“Excuse me,” Iannis said to the diplomat as I finally reached him. “Sunaya and I have an urgent matter to attend to.” He slipped his arm into mine, and we hurried across the room toward Garrett.
“Come quickly,” I said, grabbing his sleeve. He whirled to face me, an annoyed look on his face, and I couldn’t blame him—he was in conversation with a stunning brunette who was batting her incredibly long eyelashes at him. “Now.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve actually found a bomb,” Garrett muttered as he reluctantly allowed me to pull him away.
“I don’t know, but Fenris said that he found an intruder in the basement.”
“Where are the three of you going off to?” the Minister demanded, planting himself in front of us. He had a plate of canapés in his hand, and was frowning heavily. “This is supposed to be a party in your honor, Iannis.”
“I’m afraid this trumps any celebration,” Iannis said. “In fact, you’d better come with us, Minister. We have a security issue.”
The Minister sputtered, but Iannis steered him toward the basement, explaining the situation as we went. We hurried down the staircase together into a dingy storeroom that looked like a tornado had swept through it. Boxes and party supplies were scattered everywhere, and the far wall had been smashed open. I frowned at the sight of a light switch, which had obviously been covered up by plaster. Was that some sort of trigger?
“Thank the Lady you’re here,” Fenris said, sounding relieved. His friend Marris was on the ground, straddling a man who had been bound from head to neck with rope. “You’re just in time.”
“What is the meaning of this?” the Minister demanded, looking at the prisoner and then at the wreckage. “What was this man doing in here?”
“He was paid by the Resistance to come in here and flip that switch,” Fenris explained. “He had just uncovered it in the wall when Marris and I caught up to him. It would seem that the whole contraption was arranged while the concert hall was being renovated.”
“A walled-in switch?” Garrett echoed. He stalked over to the wall, a scowl on his face. “Damn. These wires could be connected to explosives at any place in the building. It will take some time to trace the wire and disarm whatever trap they’re connected to.”