a prescribed set of moves.
Dax and Gelsi appeared. Bain’s students greeted the three Master Magicians with a stiff formality. Gelsi wore a soft green gown that shimmered in the lantern light. The gown’s color matched her big eyes. Studded with gold buttons, Dax’s red shirt had a mandarin collar. Gold piping lined the outside seam of his black pants.
“Hey, we match,” Dax said to me. I could just hear him over the music. “Would you like to dance?”
I glanced at Cahil, debating with Leif. “Sure.”
Dax smiled and pulled me into an opening on the dance floor. Watching had been easier than doing, but with Dax’s steady guidance, I soon caught the rhythm.
As we circled the floor, Dax said, “Remember when I said you had three points against you?”
I nodded.
“Now there are five.”
“What now?” I asked in exasperation. It was hard to believe I’d had time to make anyone else mad.
“You came to the feast on Cahil’s arm. Everyone will assume two things. One. That you’re his girlfriend. And two. That you’re an Ixian sympathizer, which is the greater of the two evils.”
“Well, they would be wrong. Who comes up with all these points and assumptions?” I demanded.
“Not me, that’s for sure,” Dax said. “If I were in charge, we’d have more desserts at dinner, more feasts and much more dancing.”
We danced for a while in silence. I mulled over the implications and decided not to waste my time worrying about what everyone else thought, or to bother attempting to change their perceptions. My time at the Keep was just a stopover. Let them wonder. My nervousness about the evening dissipated with my decision. I smiled at Dax.
“You have a mischievous glint. What are you planning?”
“Only five points against me?” I narrowed my eyes in mock concern. “Such a small number. I say we try for eight or ten.”
A wolfish grin spread across Dax’s face. “My lady, you are far too modest. You’re more than capable of handling fifteen or twenty.”
I laughed with genuine pleasure. Dax and I twirled around the dance floor for a few more songs before rejoining the group. Cahil met our return with a sour look. Before he could say anything or go back to debating with Leif, I grabbed Cahil’s hand and pulled him toward the dancers.
“Tonight is not for business,” I said as we followed Dax and Gelsi around the floor. “Tonight is for fun. Dancing instead of fighting.”
He laughed. “You’re right.”
The evening flew by as I danced with Cahil, Dax and Bain. Even the Stable Master swung me around for a rowdy foot-stomping song. If Cahil hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t have stopped to eat.
Irys’s arrival should have made the evening perfect, but I could see exhaustion etched in her face. Wearing a simple light blue gown instead of traveling clothes, she must have taken the time to bathe and to decorate her regal bun with rubies and diamonds before coming to the feast.
“Is everything okay? Did you find Tula’s sister?” I asked.
Irys nodded. “Her sister, Opal, is with Tula now.” She gave me an odd look.
“Should we try to help Tula tonight?”
Irys shook her head. “Let Opal spend some time with her sister. It’s the first she’s seen her since Tula was kidnapped.” Again, Irys flashed me that strange look.
“What then? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“I warned Opal of Tula’s condition—both mental and physical.” Irys rubbed a hand along her cheek. “But when we arrived, it seemed a miracle had occurred.” Irys peered with a deep intensity into my eyes.
“Is Tula awake?” I asked in confusion. Irys’s news contradicted her body language.
“No, her soul is still in hiding, but her body is completely healed.”
16
“HOW?” I ASKED IRYS. Hayes had said he could only heal a few bones at a time. Perhaps another healer had come to help him with Tula.
“You tell me,” Irys demanded. “What did you do that day? Hayes has been in a state ever since. He’s terrified of you.”
“Me?”
Bain came to my temporary rescue. “Perhaps you ladies would like to go outside.”
I looked around. Several people had stopped talking and gawked at us.
“I forget myself,” Irys apologized to Bain. “Now is not the time to discuss this.”
She headed toward the buffet. Everyone returned to their conversations. But she wasn’t finished with me.
Yelena, she said in my mind. Please tell me what happened with Tula.
Sudden dread churned in my stomach. Was Irys upset because I had lost control of my magic and had accidentally healed Tula, or because I could have jeopardized Tula’s life? With reluctance, I told her everything that had happened that day in Tula’s room.
You were in pain and you pushed the pain away from yourself? Irys asked.
Yes. Did I do something wrong?
No. You did something impossible. I thought you tried to heal her, which would have been dangerous, but it sounds as if you assumed her injuries and then healed yourself.
I stared at Irys with pure amazement. She sat across the room, eating her dinner.
Could you do it again? she asked.
I don’t know. It must have been an instinctive reaction.
There is only one way to find out. I felt Irys’s weary sigh. For now, I want you to get a good night’s rest. Meet me in Tula’s room tomorrow afternoon. Irys broke her magical connection to me.
Confusion creased Cahil’s face, and I realized he had been watching me. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Shouldn’t Fourth Magician be pleased that you healed that girl? That would mean … Oh, my sword!” He gaped.
Before I could press him for details, the music stopped.
“Midnight,” Bain declared. “Time to go. The students have a full day tomorrow.” His delighted anticipation of a full day of learning caused a ripple of smiles around him.
Obediently, everyone streamed out into the darkness, heading off to dorms and apartments. As he passed, Dax caught my eye. He grinned and held up seven fingers. I looked forward to hearing from him about my additional two points of gossip-inspiring behavior.
Cahil
