The Queen of Mages (55 page)

“I mean to convince that man,” Amira told
Katin one evening as they warmed themselves at the great hearth in
Count Razh’s sitting room. It was a rare night of relaxation; every
day for weeks had been spent with the growing class of new mages.
Dardan and Razh and his sisters played at five-jacks, slapping
cards down onto the table and calling out bets. Liam lurked by the
wall, uninterested in the game or even in engaging conversation
with the other
valai
.

“He seems a true believer, m’lady,” Katin
said, warming her hands before the fire. “One cannot corrupt an
honest man.”

“Hmph,” Amira said, and made the air before
her glow. Katin watched as the little ball of pale light flitted
back and forth. Amira’s displays of power were still fascinating
and strange to her. “If Warden Iris were truly honest, he’d admit
to his king’s foul deeds. Besides, if Edon does find out Mason’s
been accompanying us all this time, his majesty will likely not be
pleased.” A small smile flitted across her lips.

“That’ll likely end up with the Warden’s
head on a pike,” Katin said.

“Perhaps. He is a mostly pleasant man; I
would be saddened to see him die. But I owe him nothing. I could
have left him locked up in Stony Vale.”

“You certainly should have left him locked
up in Stony Vale.”

“Risk not, win not,” Amira said.

“Oh, does m’lady now believe she understands
risk?”

The smile that crossed Amira’s lips this
time was less certain. Katin saw that Amira’s wine cup was empty
and took it to the sideboard to fetch more.
Why do I feel like a
bear cub chiding its mother?

———

Each week brought one or two new students to
the school. Amira listened to all their stories. A few, a very few,
came from towns like Stony Vale—Amira had told Katin all about her
time there, and about how accepting and practical the residents had
been about her power—but the majority had been ostracized or even
attacked. However easily the people of Elland accepted mage-power,
the smaller towns and villages beyond the city walls were not so
sanguine. Perhaps they’d heard about Carson’s Watch before Razh’s
message had gotten out.

Katin was obligated to attend her lady at
the school, even though she would rather have stayed away. Being
around so many mages deeply frightened Katin, so much so that she
reluctantly went to a temple a few times to pray at the altar of
Terror. Amira insisted that the mages were all learning rapidly,
and would be able to defend the city even if Edon did show up.
Francine told Katin one afternoon that Amira was certainly the most
skilled among the mages—which made sense, as she’d been the first
to develop the power, and had the longest to practice with it. But
Amira disagreed, saying that Francine had a speed and precision
that Amira couldn’t match. It made the farmgirl blush.

Garen, this blacksmith’s apprentice that
Amira had found in Stony Vale, apparently had the greatest skill
among the male mages, and so took the lead in training them. Katin
was envious of the infatuated glances Garen and Francine shared.
They made her think of Liam. In all the weeks since their arrival
in Elland, she and Liam had barely had any time together. She
wanted to speak to him, to accept him, to tell him that, yes, she
would marry him.

There had just never been the right time.
Amira stayed up until all hours, practicing her power with the
other girls, even when Dardan bade her goodnight and went away,
taking Liam with him.

And then an opportunity finally came, one
evening in late winter. Amira and Dardan dined with Count Razh and
a few guests of his—some baron and baroness, and a sea captain
who’d long been friends with House Bahodir—and went up to bed at a
reasonable hour. They were already halfway to the Tarians’
bedchamber when Katin realized that she would finally be able to
speak with Liam, once their masters sent them away. The man seemed
to be brooding less than usual, which she took as
encouragement.

Katin was lost inside her head, planning
what she’d say to him, when it dawned on her that Amira and Dardan
were arguing. The two nobles walked ahead in the corridor a little
ways, and Liam was at her side. Dardan’s voice rose sharply, and he
stopped long enough to glance about, looking a little chagrined at
having made a scene. Liam scooted ahead to open the door to their
chamber.

“Calys is capable, I cannot argue that, but
she is not the lord of Hedenham. Neither is Ilya.” Dardan stood
stiffly as Liam helped him out of his coat. “We must think of our
return there. It is home to both of us now.”

“I miss Hedenham too, but I cannot let you
cannibalize the school. What if Edon comes?”

Katin had definitely missed something. “Is
m’lord going somewhere?”

“Not until spring at the earliest,” Dardan
said, in an impatient tone that told Katin this was not the first
round of this discussion. He and Amira had probably argued about it
in bed after the
valai
had gone off to the servants’
quarters. “I mean to take some mages to Hedenham to reclaim my seat
and ensure that we will not be at Edon’s mercy.”

Amira sighed. She motioned to Katin and went
behind the dressing screen. Many noble homes had guest chambers
suitable for a married couple, with attached dressing rooms and
cells for their
valai
, but Tal Vieran did not. It was a very
old castle, maybe predating the institution of
valai
. At
least there was a bell-pull so that Katin could be summoned if
Amira needed anything, but a
vala
really should be by her
mistress’s side.

Katin helped Amira into a nightgown and
robe. Even with Amira’s power to warm them, it could get quite cold
and drafty here on this upper floor of the keep. When Katin reached
for the hairbrush, Amira snapped some remark at Dardan and then
snatched the brush from Katin’s hand. “Go off, I’ll send for you in
the morning,” Amira said.

Katin had rarely seen Amira in such a state.
She and Dardan argued all the time, but it was always to do with
the school—logistics, planning, that sort of thing. More like
reasoned, if impassioned, debate. There was never any venom to it.
Tonight had been different. How could they have become so angry
with one another? Would Liam be like that? Would he show his rage
to her?

She withdrew quickly and waited out in the
hallway for what felt like an eternity. Her insides felt all
twisted, and she simply wished it could be done with. Finally the
door opened again and Liam came out, shutting the door on raised
voices. “Like an old married couple already,” he murmured as they
went toward the servants’ stairs.

She grimaced and let him take her arm. “I do
hope m’lady talks him out of it. I don’t think it’d be wise for
them to separate, even if he does long for his home again. She’s
already in a mood just from the suggestion of it.”

“Edon’s still a threat, but Dardan is no man
to be cowed, especially if he thinks he can counter the threat.”
Liam held the door for her as they reached the servants’ stair. It
was less drafty in here. Instead of going straight down, Katin
stopped and took Liam’s hand. He looked into her eyes, then glanced
back at the door. “Perhaps the school could move to Hedenham with
them, or they could establish a second campus there. They’ve
already gathered two dozen mages here, and there’s likely to be
more in Tidemere alone.”

Katin buried her face in his chest. “Stop,”
she grunted. “I don’t want to think about all those mages.
Something terrible is going to happen.”

“As long as it happens to someone else,”
Liam said. “Not us.” Katin leaned back and looked up into his eyes.
They were clear and sober now, with barely a trace of the sardonic
humor they’d once evinced. The man had even started to drink less
since Carson’s Watch, which baffled Katin more than anything else.
Elland had a number of excellent malthouses, so she’d been
informed, including a few public houses, but Liam had not shown
much interest in them.

“What is it?” he said, gazing down at her.
Katin opened her mouth to speak, to agree to marry him, but her
lips felt dry. She licked them. It should be easy to say it; she’d
convinced herself, hadn’t she? And then a voice said,
You don’t
deserve this. What use are you?

Instead she grabbed Liam’s head and pulled
him down into a kiss. “I want you,” she breathed into his ear. He
hesitated only a moment, a moment in which Katin felt a strange
heat radiate from him, as of something lurking. Then he pushed her
up against the wall.

———

The cold began to lift as winter neared its
end. When Evenday came, spring was rung in with bells, and floral
wreaths were hung on every door, and the last, weak winter storms
blew themselves out on the shores of Barrowmere County.

The school had grown preposterously large.
Dardan kept hinting to Razh that it would need to move to a larger
facility, as the mages were starting to overrun the castle grounds.
They debated whether it would be wise to remove the school from the
familiarity and safety of Tal Vieran.

They had heard little from points west,
owing to the wet and snow that had befouled the roads. The nobles
speculated on whether Edon had learned of the school yet; it had
existed for a whole season, but word might not have gotten as far
as Callaston. “Or maybe it has,” Razh said. “It would not do to
take chances.”

When the first blush of spring spread across
the landscape, and the snow began its farewell, Razh dispatched a
few riders toward Callaston to try to find out what Edon was up to.
None had reported back yet. It was a solid week’s journey at a
moderate pace for a single man ahorse, and depending on what was
happening in the west, it might be a while longer before they heard
anything.

By now the whole county, and probably every
county in the realm, knew of mages. Traders, travellers, and
couriers began to flow again. Soon Amira and Dardan, and thus Katin
and Liam, would have a much better idea about what was going
on.

Mornings meant breakfast with Count Razh and
his sisters before Amira and Dardan went down to the school
grounds. One particular day, half a month into spring, Mason Iris
attended as well, as he had on occasion. He did not wear his armor
today, only the customary gray linen tunic and trousers of his
order.

Katin sat off to the side with the other
valai
. Liam mopped at his eggs with some toast while Count
Razh’s old
valo
, Patric, shuffled through parchments. Lady
Arta’s
vala
had already finished eating and worked at
needlepoint. Katin listened with half an ear to the nobles’
conversation, and was surprised when she realized that the Warden
was speaking to Count Bahodir.

“I am compelled to remind you once again
that what you are doing is dangerous in the extreme. King Edon will
bring his wrath down upon you when he learns what you have done
here, if he hasn’t already.”

Razh put down his fork with a clatter.
“Warden Iris, I have great respect for the Virtuous Order of the
Wardens of Aendavar. I must, however, have less respect for a man
who would still so loyally follow his majesty after the things he
has done. My own interactions with the king, which are surely to
come, are my concern, not yours.”

Katin had turned to watch them. It would be
impolite for a
vala
to stare or involve herself in the
conversation, but she could not help it. She could not sit by and
let tense situations get out of hand.

No one had stood up in anger or raised their
voices yet. “I serve my king loyally,” Mason said. “You must submit
yourselves to—”

“We must do nothing!” Razh said, slapping
his palm on the table. Now all the
valai
turned to stare,
and even the footmen lurking in the corners watched with mild
alarm. “Lady Amira, I apologize for my rudeness, but I must insist
that this Warden be sent away at once. He need not be exiled from
the city, but I will not have him in my home any longer.”

Amira seemed about to speak, but noticed
that all eyes were on her now and held her tongue. She took a
moment to smooth her dress and then slowly stood up. “Lord Razh,
permit me to speak with the Warden privately for a moment.” At
Razh’s nod she turned and swept toward the door. Katin rose to
follow, eyeing Warden Iris sidelong as he trailed after her lady.
Katin put herself between the two of them, not for fear of Amira’s
safety—Iris wore neither his armor nor his sword—but for
Iris’s.

Amira came to a halt squarely in the middle
of the corridor outside, and waited until the door had closed and
Warden Iris stood before her. Katin took up station at Amira’s
elbow and let her own glare loose toward the Warden.

“M’lady, I—”

“Be silent,” Amira said, her voice as cold
as Katin had ever heard. “I applaud your loyalty. Few men could be
so constant. But you are acting the fool. Even if you feel you must
keep up this charade, you would do well to acknowledge the reality
around you rather than blindly assert your righteousness. You are
surrounded by enemies and kept safe only by my word. I have
protected you more than you know.”

Iris, in Katin’s experience, rarely betrayed
any emotion either in face or voice. What lay beneath was a
mystery. But now his eyes showed alarm, or perhaps fear. “My…
m’lady, I must—”

“You know that Edon is evil. Don’t deny it,”
she interrupted when he opened his mouth again. “I see through you.
You told me what he did in Vasland. Your heart has been against him
ever since, hasn’t it?”

Now the Warden’s face grew red, and he
trembled. Katin felt her own instinctive panic begin to rise—but he
would not try to hurt Amira, Katin was sure of it. “My heart is not
your concern!”

“So I am correct, then,” Amira said quietly.
She stepped forward and put a hand up to Warden Iris’s cheek. His
jaw went a little slack at her touch. “You must join me. Edon is a
monster. You know it is true.”