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"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll take care of them for you," the boy said, chest expanding with pride. "And they'll be with the rest of the fleirals in the stables, if you want to come visit."
"Go on, Finn," Alpha Blackwood interjected, ruffling the child's hair. "I'll take the guests to the Great Hall. After you're done with the fleirals, find your great-gram and tell her to prepare a calming potion for Tye. And if he's not back by then, could you go out and find him?"
The boy looked like he wanted to ask something, but nodded and scampered off across an enormous field of what seemed to be wheat, fleirals trailing behind him.
They barely dodged a giant white diyre laying, ears half-cocked, while a half-dozen puppies tugged at her fur.
They're adorable!
"Jaiel — look!" I turned to show him, but froze as a tall man in a floor-length black cloak stepped in front of us. His brown eyes were wide with mock shock.
"Prince Kierstall?"
"Mage Korym," the prince said, voice tight as he gripped my elbow and pulled me back to his side. "What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask the same thing," the man replied, smile not quite reaching his eyes. He looked between the two of us, brow knit. "I'd heard you both perished."
"Oh, really?" Jaiel glanced behind the man. "Well, we're both alive, thank the Gods. We'd better get going, though. Wouldn't want to keep Alpha Blackwood —"
The man removed his hood, revealing a head of short black hair, and allowing the sunlight to reveal the scrolling tattoo decorating the side of his scarred face and the metal collar secured around his neck.
A collared mage?! What in hells was one doing here of all places?
The man's green eyes widened. "Strange you haven't checked in by now. Lady Frexin has been worried."
My mind struggled to keep up … was he an agent? If so, how was he so nonchalant about being an Empire's collared mage in this place? And how did he know Jaiel?
Jaiel's jaw tightened, but he kept that smile. "Unfortunately, we've been unable to check in due to complications of our arrival. You wouldn't know anything about that, though, would you?"
"Unfortunately, not," the mage said, shaking his head. "I know nothing beyond what Lady Frexin has sent me. I'm sure you'll get in contact with her soon and explain yourself, though."
I suppressed a pang of concern … if he worked so closely with Lady Frexin, why had I never heard of him?
As though he'd heard my thoughts, Mage Korym turned to me, eyes wide. "And you! Savior of Karemi! What an honor to finally meet you. I've heard from a certain someone that you are quite the relic hunter."
Gods. I hated that title, and it was even worse coming from him!
The mage smiled his empty smile and held a hand out.
I forced myself to shake it as chills and disgust rolled through me. Touching him was like being bitten by a slimy trostell, and I couldn't stop myself from yanking my hand back.
"Oh, apologies." He chuckled softly as he withdrew his outstretched hand. "As a collared mage, I tend to make both mages and non-mages uncomfortable. We can't all be beautiful and famous, now can we?"
I'd met collared mages before, and had never had a reaction like this.
No. There was something else wrong with him.
Winking, Mage Korym slipped his hood back on, then waved to someone behind me.
"Apologies," he said. "I must be off. I'm still on an important mission for the Lady, and have much to do before tonight's festivities. At least you should be able to enjoy yourselves, though, now that Lady Frexin has sent a replacement team to finish your work!"
"Replacement team?" I gasped.
Chapter 44
Kaiya
"Oh, of course you don't know." Mage Korym's eyes widened, and he dipped his head into a slight bow. "My apologies. When you and the mech team were flagged as missing, Lady Frexin released the second team. Nowhere near as special as you two, of course, but she has a timetable to keep. She even sent them via one of those fancy new airships! Something about accelerating the plans given new information. She's tenacious, isn't she?"
