Fenris glared at me for a long moment, then sighed and raked a hand over his hair. The sheet dropped, exposing a muscular torso dusted with dark hair. I didn’t know what Polar ar’Tollis had looked like under his state robes, but Iannis had made him damn good looking when he’d transformed him into Fenris. Strange really that I’d never been attracted to him that way—he was more like a brother, or maybe an uncle-type figure, to me. But as I looked at him now, so closed off, I wondered if he felt lonely. He deserved someone to love, and for someone to love him.

Eventually, he dropped his gaze. “It isn’t what you think,” he finally said, staring down at his dark red bedspread. “Iannis didn’t reproach me for slipping up at the banquet. He came to check on me, and to reassure me that my identity is still secret.”

“Good.” Relief swept through me at that—I didn’t have to be angry with Iannis after all. “So if that’s the case, then what did the two of you argue about?”

A look of pain flashed across Fenris’s face, his fists clenching in the sheets. “About my leaving Solantha.”

“What?” I grabbed the edge of the desk to keep myself from toppling sideways off the chair. “Leave Solantha? What the hell for?”

Fenris finally met my gaze, and the pain and sadness in his dark eyes nearly stole my breath. “I’m sure you can empathize more than most, Sunaya… but I do not belong. I sit on the sidelines here, in the shadows, watching other mages walk freely in the sunlight, able to practice their magic without fear and pursue their ambitions and dreams. These past few years following my faked execution and transformation into a shifter, I’ve mostly focused on staying alive and out of the spotlight. But I have had no real goals, no ambition, no… direction in my life.” Fenris waved his hand in the air, a frustrated motion. “I am not truly a shifter, as I have no clan and was not raised with their customs, and before you came here, I did my best to avoid real shifters. And I am no longer allowed to be a mage, even though I still retain some power, and all of my knowledge.”

“Oh, Fenris.” I abandoned the desk chair for his bed, then wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry.” A lump began to swell in my throat. “I’m sure this is very hard for you.”