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“How could they have been here for the storm?” I asked, confused. “No one knew it was coming.”
“Precisely,” the girl said as if my point flowed perfectly from hers. “They claim everything would fall apart without the Mage’s Guild, but where was the warning about the storm from the elements mages?”
“But the storm—” I cut myself off when I realized it wasn’t my place to spill the truth about the storm to a group of random apprentices.
“As I said,youcarry no blame,” the first girl said earnestly. “We all saw how hard you worked. Our masters have all been holding you up as a cautionary tale ever since.”
They chuckled among themselves, as I tried to hide my astonishment. We had been afraid of people wrongfully blaming the Calistans for the sudden killer storm, but I hadn’t expected them to blame the Guild for failing to see the unnatural weather coming. The Eldridan mages must have known for themselves that there was nothing normal about that storm.
One of the girls hissed suddenly, pointing at where the sun had slipped below the buildings on the western side of the square.
“We have to get back to the hospital,” one of the boys said, “or else we’ll hear it from our masters.” He sent us a questioning look. “Do you want to come with us?”
I shook my head quickly. “We have to get back to our own masters.”
The other apprentices all accepted this without question, hurrying away in the direction of the hospital.
“I think we really should get back,” I said to Luna. “I don’t know how long the others will be out, but the market is about finished now.”
She agreed without protest, and the two of us hurried back toward the stable that had become our temporary accommodation. I didn’t know about Luna, but I had plenty of food for thought. And the more I thought, the less I liked the picture I was building.
ChapterFifteen
Nik was waiting for our return in Acorn’s stall. I caught his murmured voice before I saw him and peered in at him in surprise.
“She really has mellowed,” I said with a grin when I saw how calmly the mare had accepted her visitor.
“You just don’t know how much work I put in during our travels.” Nik came out into the stable aisle, securing the door behind him. “Did you discover anything?”
“Maybe?” I glanced at Luna who shrugged. “It’s hard to say.”
He raised an eyebrow, but I just shrugged as well. “There was nothing definitive. Let’s wait and find out what the others have discovered before I say anything.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You have a theory.”
I looked away. “Maybe.”
It was unsettling how well he understood me. He was right that I had a theory, but I wasn’t willing to say it out loud until I’d heard any other information on hand.
It took several more hours for Amara and Hayes to return. We had prepared a meal in the meantime, and as soon as everyone had finished eating, we gathered in one of the bedrooms.
Luna succinctly described what we had observed about the mood in the city, as well as the unsettling conversation with the other healing apprentices. She apologized for mentioning the epidemic, but none of the others seemed concerned.
“What did your contacts have to say?” I asked Amara.
“The elements mages I could find were withdrawn and cagey,” she said.
“The ones you could find?” Gia asked with raised eyebrows.
Amara frowned. “Every time I asked for one of them, I was told he was at the law enforcement hall. It was always said as if I should understand the significance of that, although no one was willing to be drawn out on the topic.”
Nik leaned forward. “He’s been arrested, then?”
Amara shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. It didn’t seem like it from their manner, anyway.”
“Did they say anything about the storm?” I asked. “Why aren’t they correcting the people’s mistaken impressions?”
“All of them seemed weary of that topic,” she said. “As if they’ve grown tired of explaining and being ignored.”
