“You make no sense, you know that?” I shook my head, wishing that I could do something about it. Had I given him a little less of my power when I accidentally created him, he would have faded away as ether birds were supposed to; with a little more, he might be able to truly understand and respond.
Trouble came closer, attempting to burrow beneath my hair, and I sensed that he was lonely. “You okay, little guy?” I asked, petting his head and wishing I could feel his feathers. I wondered, not for the first time, if there was a way to improve Trouble without accidentally destroying him. I’d already tried it once in the past and had nearly unraveled the magical weft of his existence. Fenris’s vast magical repertoire was no help, and Iannis had no idea what to do either. One thing was clear—I’d somehow bound up a bit of my essence into Trouble, which was why he was tied to me.
“Well, there’s no point in worrying about what we can’t change, right?” I said to the bird, snuggling down in the mattress. I pushed my hair off to the side, and Trouble settled right into it, like it was a nest. Being ethereal, he would not mess it up. The sight made me smile, and I was finally able to drift off to sleep.
Glowing blue mist swirled around me, clinging to my shoulders and ankles, almost as if the very air was trying to cover me in a blanket. I squinted, trying to see through it, but I only caught glimpses of huge tree trunks, as wide as ten men, looming around me. Above, the night sky was a deep purple, with a round, green-tinged moon. The stars were all manner of colors, ranging from pure white to brilliant orange to pale lilac.
“Whoa!” I cried out as the ground shook and I was nearly thrown to the floor. I reached out to steady myself against one of the massive trees when a foot the size of a steamcar came crashing down next to me. Swallowing, I looked up to see a giant looming directly above me. He had long hair and gleaming sapphire eyes, but it was too dark to see his features.
His cave-sized mouth opened, and he spoke to me in a strange language, so loudly that it made my brain hurt. A clawed hand bigger than my whole body reached down to grab me, and I screamed, then darted away as fast as I could. I nearly ran straight into the outstretched palm of another giant, and as I shrank back, my heart hammering, I saw that what I’d seen earlier hadn’t been tree trunks at all. I was in a forest of giants, and those gleaming stars were all eyes looking down at me hungrily, so hungrily…
“Stay back!” I yelled, conjuring a fireball. I shot it toward one of the hands, but the giant batted it away as if it were a fly. Strong fingers closed around my torso like a vise, and I screamed, beating at my captor with my tiny fists…
“Crazy! Crazy!” Trouble’s voice startled me out of my dream, and I shot straight up in bed, my heart beating a mile a minute. Breathing hard, I clutched my hand to my chest and looked over at Trouble, who was squawking at me indignantly from Iannis’s pillow.
“Sorry, buddy,” I said, petting his head. “Didn’t mean to give you a scare like that. Thanks for waking me, though.” That had been one scary dream. I’d been totally helpless against those giants—not a feeling I relished, even if it hadn’t been real.
The glowing bird squawked again, then hopped onto my shoulder and nuzzled my cheek. I smiled a little at his obvious effort to comfort me, but even as I leaned back against the headboard, I couldn’t help but wish it were Iannis instead. A glance at the clock by my bedside told me it was after four in the morning—over two hours since I’d gone to bed. At this rate, Iannis probably wouldn’t get a wink of sleep tonight.
Settling back down with Trouble, I wistfully thought back to that snowy mountain lodge Iannis and I had escaped to for an uninterrupted week of privacy in the middle of winter. We’d planned the excursion to coincide with my Heat and had enjoyed an incredible week rolling around in the sheets, on the rug in front of the fireplace, and especially in the hot spring in the backyard. It had been one of the best vacations of my life. My next Heat was coming up just after the wedding, during our honeymoon.
Maybe I’ll forgo the special precautions this time, I thought. I hadn’t thought much about having children, but the idea of a playful panther cub with Iannis’s violet eyes was very appealing. Of course, there was no guarantee our child would be able to shift at all if he or she took after the mage sides of the family more. After all, Iannis was a full mage and I was half, so there was only a quarter chance that shifter genes would come forth. Though who knew, since mage-shifter unions were so rare and Iannis was not exactly a purebred mage either.
You should finish your apprenticeship before you have kids, a voice in my head suggested, and I sighed. That would be the responsible thing to do, wouldn’t it? Luckily, I’d be able to finish my training much sooner than anticipated, thanks to Fenris’s gift of knowledge…if I could get through all these damn events and obstacles that kept piling onto my plate.
The very idea was exhausting, and finally, my eyelids began to droop again. I stroked Trouble’s head one more time, then slipped back into sleep, hoping I could get in a few more hours nightmare-free.
4
The next morning, I woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Yes, the Minister had just given us a giant pain in the ass by scheduling the Convention like that, but at least this time we weren’t battling to save the Federation from a deadly disease, or foiling an assassination attempt. In some ways, that stuff was easier than dealing with politics, but not having to worry about loss of life was a nice change.
I showered, then wrapped myself in a bathrobe just as a servant knocked on our door, bringing breakfast at the same time as usual. Whenever possible, Iannis and I shared our morning meal in the suite before starting our day. There was more food than what I usually ate on the platters the servant rolled inside, but I was confident I could polish it off on my own.
Iannis arrived when I was only a few bites into my meal, and there was plenty left for him. “Thank the Lady for hot coffee,” he groaned, sitting down in the chair across from me. He took the pot that the server had brought up with the trays and poured himself a large cup.
“You look like you’ve been having a fun time,” I observed over my forkful of sausage. Iannis usually looked fresh as a daisy regardless of sleep, but this morning there were faint lines of strain on his face, and his long red hair actually looked a bit frazzled. “You sure you don’t need to catch some sleep?"
He shook his head, then took a long drink from his cup. “Just caffeine and good food,” he said, and began heaping his plate with hash browns, bacon, and eggs.
We were halfway through breakfast when there was a loud pop, and suddenly an envelope appeared in the middle of the table. “What the hell is that?” I demanded, jolting back and turning over my chair at the unexpected intrusion.
Iannis stared at the envelope, his face turning paler than usual. “There is only one person who has ever sent me letters in this manner,” he said, gingerly picking up the envelope.
“And who is that?” I demanded.