Page 63 of Rogue Familiar

Not taking his hand would only be rude, and she couldn’t afford to offend him. Setting her hand lightly in his, she stepped out of the carriage. He didn’t move immediately, instead enfolding her fingers in a loose, warm clasp as his wizard-black eyes gazed into hers. Unlike other wizards, his eyes didn’t glitter or seem depthless. They had a soft warmth to them, like a hot summer night, his healing magic green and verdant as the marshes in full bloom. She didn’t at all like that she found him attractive.

“I’m only asking you to consider what you know of him, how you came to be bonded to him,” Chaim said with soft urgency. “You may have an opportunity few familiars ever enjoy, the chance to choose for yourself.”

“At the cost of my wizard’s death,” she pointed out relentlessly.

“His death will be the result of his actions, nothing more, nothing less. If that sequence of events leads to you being free of him, of you receiving the great gift of the freedom to choose your own path in life, that is simply the way of things. You can receive the gift without paying the price.”

“He will pay the price.”

“Of his own misdeeds? For being an abomination. Yes, as it should be.”

“An abomination,” she echoed, aghast. All of Jadren’s dark mutterings about being a true monster rattled around in her mind, chattering against each other. He’d said all along that having access to her magic threatened to bring out the very worst in him. Had she, by encouraging him to use their combined power, by suggesting that he reverse his healing ability in order to kill, fulfilled his insistent prophecy? “He was only acting to protect me.”

Chaim gave her a look of such soft pity that she cringed. “Oh, bright one,” he murmured. “You are wise in the ways of nature, but not of wizards. He used you to save himself, to viciously murder a competitor. What do you truly know of him?”

“He’s damaged,” she whispered. “You have no idea what he’s been through.”

Chaim nodded, his expression full of regret. “I sensed that in him. His mental turmoil is truly terrible. And yet, while we can regret how a monster has been birthed and shaped, that does not mean we must offer our throats to its ravages.” He turned and led her inside, holding onto her hand. The interior smelled of soft spices, oiled wood, and sweet flowers. The placement of the many windows and the open grace of the large room made it seem as if the gardens outside entered the space. It was the closest thing to being outside while being indoors that she’d ever experienced. She hated how much she loved it.

Canting his head, Chaim observed her reaction. “There is nothing wrong with appreciating beauty when you find it. Nothing wrong with recognizing a place that speaks to your heart and spirit. It’s not disloyal to discover what you want, to receive the answer to a question you didn’t know to ask.”

How did he seem to see inside her head? “Can you read my thoughts?” she asked in sudden alarm. She’d thought only Hanneil wizards could do that.

Chaim smiled, placing a gentle fingertip between her brows, smoothing away the furrow, a nourishing trail of healing magic shimmering behind, easing the headache she hadn’t been aware was building until it was gone. “I have psychic magic, yes, but not so much that I can read your actual thoughts. Consider me more of an empath. I can sense how you feel, your yearnings, what causes the moonlight in you to sharpen with distress, the water magic to turn to ice.” He trailed the finger lightly down the bridge of her nose, dropping his hand to press it over her heart. “I sense the turmoil in your heart, Seliah. You have suffered much. I want only health and happiness for you. I see you flourishing here. That is not a bad thing to want for you.”

“I—”

“Don’t need to decide anything right now,” he interrupted gently. “Maya will show you to your room, so you might bathe and change into clean clothes. Eat, drink—I will arrange for refreshments ideally suited to what your body needs right now. Rest, nap if you can. In a few hours, I’ll send for you.”

“I want to see my wizard,” she said, though all of that sounded really good. Dangerously enticing, in truth.

“And you will,” Chaim assured her, handing her over to Maya, who gave her a welcoming smile. “He is also bathing and refreshing himself. It is our ethic to give everyone who comes here what they need.”

“Except their freedom,” she retorted.

“None of us may act without consequence, Seliah,” Chaim replied with a hint of sternness. “Our actions create reactions. At this moment in time, I am the vehicle for assessing the correct reaction to your wizard’s action. I am sorry that you blame me for it, especially as I yearn for your goodwill, but I must shoulder that responsibility, also. Maya?”

With that he glided away, murmuring greetings to the people he passed.

“If you’ll come with me, Lady Seliah?” Maya gestured with one hand, holding some of their packs from Vale, Selly belatedly realized. “Your horse has been cared for, his injuries healed and his exhaustion eased,” Maya assured her. “He has a noble heart. An exceptionally fine companion.”

“I can take those bags,” Selly said, feeling a bit ungracious, but not caring for how much she liked Maya’s recognizing Vale’s extraordinary qualities. These people were the enemy; they shouldn’t be likable. Maya handed over the bags without protest. They walked down a long hall, the healer wizard seeming to drift almost insubstantially. One side of the hall was entirely glass from floor to high ceiling, giving onto a garden in the near view and then falling away to a stunning perspective over the greening valley below. On the other side were doors, some closed, others standing open to reveal inviting rooms, pristinely made-up and apparently unoccupied.

“This is our guest house,” Maya explained. “For visitors and other temporary guests. Those who choose to stay on with us move out to other domiciles of their preference.”

“Is my wizard behind one of these closed doors?” Selly could sense Jadren only vaguely on the other end of the muffled bond. He was here somewhere, but she couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.

“I couldn’t say,” Maya answered, firmly enough that Selly knew Maya meant she wasn’t allowed to say, not that she didn’t know. They reached the end of the hall and the Refoel wizard opened a pair of double doors, standing aside to gesture Selly within. “For our most important guests,” Maya said, dimpling.

With a sense of guilt-inducing awe, Selly surveyed what had to be the most beautiful room she’d ever seen in her life. More windows, all floor-to-ceiling, gave a panoramic view of the valley and hills, while careful plantings screened anyone from being able to look in from below. A huge, enticing bed all in white sat near the back, while scatterings of chairs, settees, and large, colorful pillows beckoned one to sleep, sit, or recline. All so very restful. Several pairs of glass doors stood open, allowing cross-breezes, and led out onto a lovely terrace with three pools. “I’m being seduced,” she murmured to herself.

“Chaim wants nothing spared to please you. Hot, warm, and cold,” Maya said, pointing to each pool in turn. “They are self-cleansing, so you may bathe in any of them. Leave your soiled clothing there and they will be cleaned for you.”

Selly wondered if the self-cleaning water counted as a trademark infringement on House Phel’s planned product line. Nic and Gabriel would want to know about this. In fact, she should let them know where she was and what might occur. “Could I have some paper and pens, and access to a Ratsiel courier?” she asked, doing her best to make it sound deserved and normal.

Maya’s forehead creased in doubt. “Chaim wished for you to rest and relax.”

“I need to tell my brother, Lord Phel, where I am,” Selly replied, imitating Nic’s regal poise that exacted obedience. “So he’s not concerned about my wellbeing. After all, I’m not a prisoner here, am I?”

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