“That’s true,” I said, smiling a little. Noria was smart and resourceful as hell. She might be sulking now, but surely she’d figure out how to come out on top. She had to.

“On a happier note,” Comenius said, reaching across the table to link fingers with Elania. “Elania and I have decided to move forward with our relationship. We’re to be married in three months.”

“Married!” I nearly fell out of my chair. “In three months?”

“Yes.” Elania beamed. “We hope to start a family soon too.”

“That’s great.” I smiled at them both. “I’m really happy for you two.” In truth, I was also a little envious of them—they had it so easy, not having to wade through all these stupid mage customs. “Guess we’re both going to be married soon, huh?” I said to Comenius.

“Who would have thought it?” Comenius joked, but his smile dimmed a little. “In all seriousness, you should discuss the issues regarding your family with Iannis as soon as possible. I assume he already knows and has planned for the various contingencies, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure.”

“I will,” I promised, but honestly, there was no rush. I’d bring it up when the time was right. “By the way, what ever happened to those jewels I gave you?”

“Oh, right!” Comenius’s face brightened. “I sold them for a good price, and bought you a used but very serviceable airship. I can arrange for you to see it tomorrow, if you’d like.”

“Well, look at you,” Rylan teased. “First, you’re engaged to the Chief Mage of Canalo, and now you’re the proud owner of an airship. Moving up in the world.”

I rolled my eyes at him, smiling.

“That sounds great, Com. I’d love to see it.” I’d hire an instructor to teach me how to fly it too. After all, I didn’t want the task-force missions to be the only occasions when I got to travel around the Federation. Now that I had time and money, I wanted to see the world. And hopefully, if everything turned out well with Noria, I’d be able to take her and my other friends along with me.

28

I didn’t have a whole lot of time to think about Noria’s upcoming trial the next morning—I was back to work in the Mages Guild as an apprentice. Now that I was Iannis’s fiancée and he’d given orders to include me in all magical tasks, I was no longer doing paperwork for the Agricultural department. I actually got to spend the morning out with one of the maintenance crews, checking on the various spells that helped regulate the city’s water and sewage systems. It was educational, if rather gross at times, and I came back with a healthy appetite.