Hunted by Magic (21 page)

Or maybe he’s just not your father and you’re reading too much into this.

“Oh forgive me, I didn’t mean any offense,” Coman tried to assure me. “It’s just that so many people are avoiding the obvious question. And by that I mean, why was Lord Iannis’s ship attacked in the first place?”

“I imagine it was to stop him from reaching the Convention,” I allowed cautiously, curious to see where he was taking this. “But as to why exactly, I’m afraid I don’t know.”

“I see.” Coman looked momentarily disappointed, but he rallied quickly. “I don’t suppose you have any idea who Lord Iannis is planning to vote for to replace the Minister?”

“I haven’t seen him since we heard the news this morning,” I admitted. “He was troubled to hear about the Minister’s rapidly declining health, and I imagine he’ll think deeply on this matter before he makes any kind of decision. Last I knew, he was planning to secure an appointment to see the sick Minister for himself.”

“Well if he does I would love to hear about it, as none of us have any idea where the Minister is.” Coman shrugged, then checked the timepiece on his wrist. “In any case, I must be going now. Pleasure meeting you, Miss Sernan.”

I watched Coman go, trying to discern if there was anything else about him that would prove he was related to me. But he was a man, of course, so any genetic similarities beyond our facial features would be hard to determine. I certainly didn’t have his broad shoulders or the extra six inches of height. He turned the corner and disappeared from my sight, and I committed his name to memory. I would do some digging into this guy and see if I could unearth anything that would give me answers.

The afternoon wore on, and I sat there for several more hours pretending to do administrative work while I listened to the conversations around me. Interestingly, Iannis’s name also popped up a number of times, confirming the Finance Secretary’s theory that Iannis was a possible contender for the position. Following Coman’s lead, several more mages came by and struck up conversations with me, slyly trying to discern which way Iannis was planning to vote. I evaded, playing the vapid bimbo secretary as best I could while also pretending to be a mage. The mages weren’t fooled, though – from the snippets of conversation I caught when they thought I couldn’t hear, they figured I must know
something
as Iannis’s mistress.

To be fair, there was a kind of logic to that – I knew from my work as an Enforcer that men tended to tell all kinds of things to the courtesans they spent time with, and those women could be a wealth of information if given the right incentive. But then again, Iannis was notoriously tight-lipped when he didn’t want to talk about something – I doubted I would get anything out of him even if I
was
sleeping with him.

Checking my watch, I noticed that it was getting close to five o’clock, and with nothing interesting to overhear for the last half hour, I packed up and headed out. I had a ball to get ready for, and the dress I’d bought for it was calling my name back at the hotel.

I
was sitting
in front of the vanity mirror in my room, doing my makeup, when I heard the front door open. My heart sped up a little as I caught a whiff of Iannis’s scent, and I had to force myself to sit in the chair and finish what I was doing so I didn’t rush out there with only half of my lips painted red.

“Sunaya?” Iannis rapped on my door. “Are you decent?”

“As decent as I’m ever going to be,” I called back as I finished putting on my lipstick. I put the small tube down on the vanity counter, then pursed my lips as I considered the various clips and pins scattered across the countertop. I wanted to fix my hair in some kind of fancy up-do, but hairstyling wasn’t my strong suit. Made me wish I was the kind of person who had a maid, or someone who specialized in this kind of stuff.

The door swung open, and I turned in my chair to face Iannis as he entered. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but stopped short when he saw me sitting at the vanity in my finery.

“Well, this is new,” he murmured appreciatively. “Stand up and let me see you properly.”

The husky note in his voice sent a thrill through me, and I rose to my feet without even thinking about it. A faint blush rose to my cheeks as Iannis studied me from head to toe, his violet eyes drinking in my form with a kind of intensity I’d only experienced from him a handful of times. I’d chosen a red satin dress for the occasion, with a corset-style off-the-shoulder bodice and a tulle skirt that flared out from my waist. Tiny crystals were scattered throughout the fabric of the skirt, and also in the tulle that overlaid my breasts and sleeves.

“I see that you’ve done a decent job of spending my money today,” Iannis said softly as he crossed the room to me. His lifted a hand, and a shiver of longing passed through me as his fingers traced my bare collarbone. “Although perhaps you could use a bit more practice, since I don’t see any jewelry on you.”

“I haven’t had a chance to put it on yet,” I responded, my voice slightly strained. The
serapha
charm was tucked into my bra since I couldn’t openly display it, so I’d bought a crystal necklace and matching earrings that were still sitting in their boxes on my vanity. “Or do my hair yet, as you can see.”

“Leave your hair.” His fingers moved to my curly locks, which were still slightly damp from the shower. “I like it the way it is.” He wrapped a curl around his finger and rubbed the pad of his thumb against it, instantly reminding me of the time he’d cornered me in the living area of his suite. That had been the same day he’d announced to the Mages Guild that he was making me his apprentice, and I’d been pissed as hell that not only had he not bothered to consult with me beforehand, but he was still refusing to give any serious attention to the silver murders. In response to my insults, he’d backed me up against the bookshelf and half-threatened, half-teased me, and just like then, a spark of heat lit in my lower belly as he toyed with my hair, the heat of his hand brushing against the curve of my cheek.

“I don’t understand.” I stepped back, the spark of heat quickly turning to anger. “Why do you keep doing this?”

Iannis’s hand abruptly dropped back down to his side. “Doing what?”

“Leading me on,” I snapped. “You get this look in your eyes like you want to fuck me, and it scares the shit out of me. And then after you get close, you change your mind and we act like nothing happened.” Closing the distance, I fisted my hand in the front of Iannis’s robe and dragged him forward, feeling a perverse amount of satisfaction as his eyes widened. I bet the bastard had never been manhandled in his life. “I fucking
kissed
you, Iannis. I pressed my naked body up against your chest and you
liked
it. Are we going to keep pretending that didn’t happen?”

Iannis’s eyes sparked dangerously, and the air between us thickened with power as he leaned in close. “Do you really want to go down this route?” he asked softly, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose in response to the menace in his tone.

“We’re already on the path, so I don’t see why not,” I snarled, fed up. “I think it’s about time you put up, or shut up.”

“And just what do you expect me to do, Sunaya?” Iannis’s hand clamped around my wrist, fingers tightening painfully, but he didn’t remove my grip from his clothing. “Shall I sweep you up into my arms and carry you up the hill and into my palace, in full view of the other mages? Just how do you think it will look if the Chief Mage of Canalo breaks the rules and starts sleeping with his apprentice?”

“I know the rules as well as you do,” I growled. “Which is why I don’t understand why you’re leading me on like this when you know better.”

Iannis’s jaw clenched. “I’m a man, and I have needs just like anyone else. Despite whatever differences we may have, and all the reasons why I should pretend you are no more attractive than a plucked chicken, you are a beautiful woman, and when you look like this…” His other hand curled around my waist, fingers sinking into the satiny fabric. “How can you expect me not to want you?”

“What, so you’re telling me you’re just a man who can’t control his desires?” I snapped, not sure if I should be pleased or offended.

“I
am
controlling my desires,” Iannis growled. “That’s why I haven’t stripped this dress off you and tossed you onto the bed yet. Or any of the other times I’ve wanted to.”

“Yet?” My breath quickened at the idea, and my eyes involuntarily flickered to the bed behind him.

Iannis’s eyes darkened. “This discussion is over,” he said tightly, stepping back.

“No, it isn’t!” I tightened my grip on his robe and dragged him back. “You don’t get to say things like that and just walk away!”

“I can do whatever I want.” Iannis’s voice simmered with barely suppressed fury. “I’m your Master, and the Chief Mage of your state of residency, Miss Baine. I believe that makes you my subject, not the other way around.”

He grabbed my wrist again, and I yelped as a shock of energy bit into my skin, forcing me to let go. Iannis whirled around, his robes swirling around his ankles, and I shook with rage, my claws biting into my palms and dripping blood onto the carpet.

“So I guess you won’t care, then, when I go into heat next week and find someone else to warm my bed?” I spat, unable to resist one last parting shot.

To my surprise, Iannis froze in the doorway. “What?”

“You heard me,” I bit out. “Next week.”

Iannis turned slowly, his eyes hard, but I noticed his face had paled a little. “Explain.”

I arched a brow, keeping my expression flat, but inside I was pleased I’d actually snagged his attention. “I would have thought you mages knew everything about us shifters, seeing as how you created us.”

“I’m afraid that particular event happened before my time,” Iannis said tightly, folding his arms across his chest. “So you’ll have to enlighten me as to why you absolutely must have a male in your bed next week.”

I sighed, sitting down on my vanity chair again as some of the fight abruptly went out of me. “Twice a year, shifter females go into heat in a fashion vaguely similar to what animals do, although thankfully not the same because otherwise we’d be forced to birth cubs constantly. You’ll forgive me if I don’t understand the exact science behind it, but we have a fertility cycle that culminates into ovulation every six months, and during that one week we’re completely consumed by the need to have sex. We become off-the-charts horny, and if we don’t have a male to help us release the tension we go bat-shit crazy and we can’t focus on anything else. Think of it as a drug addict suffering without his fix, except that it only happens twice a year. And we have really nasty tempers and lethal claws and fangs.”

“That last part is certainly true.” Iannis sighed heavily as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “I had heard of this phenomenon in shifters, but I hadn’t realized it was quite so…intense. It must be terrible having to deal with this.” He actually sounded a little appalled.

“Well, in a way it is, but the sex is pretty damn good.” He scowled at that, and I couldn’t help but smirking a little. “But since you’re not available, I guess you’ll never find out.”

Iannis clenched his jaw as he surged to his feet, and I watched in fascination as he began pacing back and forth in front of the bed. Part of me couldn’t believe I was actually saying these things. But as I’d told Iannis, we were already going down this route, so I figured I might as well go all the way. Was talking about this really going to make the situation any worse at this point?

“This wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” he muttered.

My brows shot up. “Which way was this supposed to happen?” I asked, intrigued at the idea that there was actually a plan in his mind.

“I thought…” Iannis hesitated. “I thought that when your apprenticeship was over and the mage community had no choice but to recognize you as mage, that I could approach you as something more than a mentee. I thought that I would have
time
.” His eyes lifted to mine, and there was such distress shimmering in their iridescent depths that for a moment I actually felt bad for him. “I failed to consider your own constraints and limitations.”

“Wait a minute.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’ve been planning to pursue me this entire time?”

“I wouldn’t say the entire time,” Iannis said dryly. “But as we’ve spent more time together…I couldn’t help but ponder it. You’re quite unlike anyone I’ve met, and your…outlook on life has pushed me to see things in ways that I might not have otherwise. I am intrigued by what we might accomplish together.”

I grinned a little at that. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I might think the great Lord Iannis is admitting that I’ve helped him become a better Chief Mage.”

Iannis smiled a little. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

I laughed at the absurdity of the statement. “We’ve gone a couple years ahead of ourselves with this conversation,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean seriously, just how long is it going to be before my apprenticeship with you is done, anyway?’

“Around ten years.”

“Ten YEARS?”
I grabbed the edge of my vanity table to keep myself from falling out of my chair, and gaped at him. “You’re joking, right?”

“Not in the least.” Iannis’s lips thinned. “Which is why the news that you have to have sex twice a year is very unsettling.”

“Are you fucking serious?” I shook my head, unable to wrap my head around the audacity of his statement. “Let’s sweep that aside for a moment and focus on the fact that you expected me to be celibate for
ten years.
Just because I only go into heat twice a year doesn’t mean I haven’t had sex more often than that in my lifetime. What do you think, I’m some kind of monk?”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be celibate the entire ten years.” An uncomfortable expression crossed his face. “I was just hoping that perhaps, if you did take lovers between now and then, that you wouldn’t be parading them past me and that they would be flings. I was also prepared for the possibility that you might find someone else to strike up a relationship with, which in a way would have been a relief.”

“By Magorah.” I shook my head, not at all knowing what to make of this. “Do you think this is just some kind of game of chess, Iannis? That you can move the pieces around, and if things fall into place properly I’ll swoon into your arms at the right moment when you’re ready for it? You’ve lived longer than I can even fathom. Haven’t you figured out by now that life doesn’t work like that?”

“It is precisely because I am so long-lived that I think in such terms,” Iannis pointed out. “Ten years isn’t so long to wait. I often think in terms of decades, if not centuries.”

“This is just too much.” Agitated, I pushed to my feet and began pacing. “I don’t know how this could ever work. You and I are so ridiculously different.”

“You are half-mage yourself,” Iannis pointed out softly. Somehow he was in front of me, and he took my hands as I stopped short in front of him. “And though the world considers me a full-blooded mage, I am not.”

“Yeah, but the part of you that isn’t mage is even more ancient and alien.” I bit my lip as I looked into his face. The feel of his hands wrapped around mine sent a current of warmth through me, and I wanted so badly to soften. “Honestly, I don’t know why we’re having this conversation, Iannis. Unless you’re willing to break your rule about waiting ten years before you can touch me, this is never going to work.”

Iannis frowned. “We could get married,” he suggested. “The Mages Guild wouldn’t like it, but there wouldn’t be anything they could do about it.”

“Marriage?”
I gasped, wondering just how much crazier this conversation was going to get. “You and I haven’t known each other that long, and marriage is an eternal commitment. Are you going to tell me that you love me and want to be with me forever and ever?”

“I believe I’ve proven on more than one occasion that I care for you,” Iannis said tightly, hurt flickering in the depths of his violet eyes.

I sighed, then reached up and touched his face. “I believe that, but caring for me isn’t the same as love.” I searched his gaze, wondering if I might see something in them that would convince me that emotion actually did exist in Iannis, but his eyes were shuttered now and I couldn’t read him. “Who’s to say that you and I won’t get sick of each other in a hundred years, and then what? We’re stuck together for life. I’m not going to give up my independence just so you won’t have to suffer embarrassment if someone catches us together.” I dropped my hand and turned away.

“I am not thinking merely of my embarrassment, Sunaya,” Iannis pointed out quietly. “Your safety would also be at stake if we became lovers and were found out.”

“I get that, but…” I raked a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to explain my feelings. “This might seem strange to you, but shifter relationships are very physical. I can’t marry someone that I’ve never made love to. I just can’t.”

“Are you saying that if I took you to bed that you’d marry me?” Interest lit Iannis’s eyes.

Another thrill rippled through me, and I ignored the little voice that shouted
“Yes!”
in my head. “Can’t make any promises, but we’d be moving in the right direction.” My body simmered with need just thinking about it, and I fought the urge to wet my freshly-painted lips with my tongue. I remembered all too well how his body looked and felt beneath those robes, and with all those years of experience behind him, I couldn’t help but think he would be a fantastic lover.