“Oh, thank you!” I took the book carefully from her, then opened it. To my delight, it was written primarily in Northian, and the Loranian spells all had a pronunciation guide. “So this has all the basic spells that mage children learn?”

“Nearly,” Janta said. “And I’m sure Lord Iannis will teach you anything that’s missing.”

“Is that trick where you pull large objects out of your sleeve one of those spells?” I asked, staring pointedly at Janta’s sleeve. I’d seen Iannis do the same thing multiple times, and I really wanted to add it to my list of skills. I could carry much more food around, which would be handy because using magic always left me famished.

A knock on the door sounded before Janta could answer, and we turned to see Fenris standing on the other side of the glass.

“Sunaya?” he asked, surprise flickering in his dark eyes as Janta opened the door for him. “What are you doing here?”

I folded my arms and arched a brow. “I could ask you the same question.”

He huffed. “I came here looking for Miss Urama. Lord Iannis asked me to retrieve a book from the restricted section.” He smiled briefly at Janta. “I was told she was already back here, but not that she was with you.”

“Miss Baine wanted to find out more about mage weddings,” Janta said smoothly, saving me from having to lie to Fenris. He was a friend, sure, but he was still more Iannis’s friend than mine, and he probably wouldn’t approve. “I was explaining to her about the legalities involved.”

“Ah.” Fenris’s expression cleared, and he shut the door behind him. “Thankfully, you won’t have to deal with the usual contracts and endless negotiations between mage families, but you will still need to observe the proper protocol expected of any Chief Mage who marries.”

My heart sank a little. “What kind of protocol?” By Magorah, I really did not want this to get any more complicated than it already was.

“A man of Lord Iannis’s position would be expected to invite the other Chief Mages in the Federation to the ceremony,” Fenris explained. “Some couples choose to have the ceremonies held in Dara when the Convention is in session, since the Chief Mages will all be gathered in one place anyway.”

“Ugh.” I made a face. “I’m definitely not a fan of that idea.” I wanted my friends to come to the wedding, and I didn’t know if that would be possible if we held it in the middle of the Convention. Besides, I didn’t want to have to travel across the country to get married—I wanted to do it right here, in my hometown.