Those conversations dimmed as heads turned toward us, and I was glad I was properly dressed for the occasion. Iannis wore a version of his Canalo state robes, and Fenris a well-cut black tunic that flattered his yellow eyes. But I was the star of this show in my sapphire-blue silk dress with silver butterflies embroidered over the bodice and across the voluminous skirts. My curls were pinned back from my face with butterfly clips accented with tiny sapphire-blue crystals. A maid had helped me with my hair and makeup. I was well-dressed enough to hold a candle to any of the female mages who looked me up and down, and I lifted my chin a little higher as I noticed the disapproval in some of their eyes.

“Lord Iannis!” Lord Logar called, drawing our attention to him. He was seated at the table at the top of the semi-circle, but he stood to greet us. The other mages sitting with him did the same—three males, three females. “Please, come join us here.”

“Thank you,” Iannis said as we approached the table. He shook Lord Logar’s hand. “We appreciate your hospitality.”

“You have already met Lord Iannis,” Lord Logar said to the other mages, “but let me also introduce you to the lovely Miss Sunaya Baine, Lord Iannis’s betrothed, and also his… advisor, Fenris. Miss Baine, Fenris, let me introduce you to the others.”

He started with his wife, Lady Talari, a lovely brunette who wore the green and gold Parabas colors, just like her husband. She waved away my thanks for providing the lovely dress. Next was Jolen Tular, the Director of the Osero Mages Guild. Then came two of the secretaries who headed the departments in the Guild, followed three of the senior council members who acted as advisors to the Chief Mage. These gave me the stuffiest looks of them all, as if their old bones could barely stand to be in the presence of an upstart like me.

I made sure to give them the widest smiles.

“How unusual, for a Chief Mage’s party to consist entirely of shifters,” Resa Boran, the Finance Secretary, said with a sly smile. She was a gorgeous woman with flame-red hair and deep blue eyes, dressed in shimmering silver robes that were tailored to emphasize rather than hide her curves. I wanted to rip that sexy little smirk off her face, and maybe claw out her bedroom eyes too.

“We might as well embrace diversity, considering this changing political climate,” Iannis said. His hand drifted to my lower back, and I calmed. Just because this woman was sex on a stick didn’t mean that I had anything to fear. But it was difficult not to punch her in the face when she was ogling Iannis right in front of me. “Besides, Miss Baine is not only a shifter. She is a mage, too, and will be quite formidable when she is done with her training.”