I shook my head. “Fenris is an early bird, like Iannis.” I imagined that even as a shifter, his old habits as a mage, and a Chief Mage at that, would be hard to break. “Well, maybe not quite like Iannis, since Iannis is already at some meeting or another,” I amended. “But he’s usually here this time of day.”

Rylan nodded. “You would know,” he said easily, buttering a piece of toast. “Just as I imagine you would know where to find him.”

I sighed. “I’ll start with his room. If not there, he could be in the library.” I’d found him there more than once in the past—Fenris liked to study magical texts discreetly, to keep up on his spell lore even though he wasn’t officially a mage anymore. But the library wasn’t open for another ten minutes, so unless he snuck in, I doubted I’d find him there.

It was a little annoying, having to walk all the way back to the west wing after already coming from there. Fenris’s room was located a few doors up from Iannis’s, on the same side as Rylan’s. I sniffed the air as I knocked on his door, and his scent was strong enough that I was certain he was present.

“What is it?” Fenris called, his voice uncharacteristically irritable.

I frowned, really concerned now. Fenris was normally so unflappable, and he usually was the one calming me down. I wasn’t totally sure how to handle the role reversal.

“I need to get the list of suspects from you,” I said through the door. “Iannis said I should help you interview them.”

“Did he now?” Fenris asked, sounding downright petulant.

Okay, enough was enough. “Wait here,” I told Rylan as I pulled a set of lock picks from one of my pouches. I selected the right one, then unlocked the door and opened it.

“Hey!” Fenris snapped, tossing a sheet over his naked body as I stepped inside. To my surprise, he was still abed and looking very scruffy, with bags under his dark eyes and a serious case of bedhead. “You can’t just break into my room like this.”

“I can damn well do whatever I want,” I told him, kicking the door shut behind me. “After all, you’re too busy moping around in bed to stop me, aren’t you?” I grabbed his desk chair, then flipped it around so I could straddle it.

“Don’t be so overconfident,” Fenris growled, his dark eyes flashing. “I may not be a full mage anymore, but I can still wipe the floor with you without ever leaving this bed.”

“Then do it,” I challenged, crossing my arms over the back of the chair and meeting his stare without fear. “But until you either kick my ass, or tell me what the hell is going on with you and Iannis, I’m not leaving this room.”