Keigan looked at me for a solid three seconds. And then he threw his head back and laughed. “Ah, the ignorance of youth. I forget how little I knew myself when I was your age.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” I asked pissily.

He shook his head as the elevator doors opened and led me into his office. Up here, it was easier to ignore the shocked looks as I walked down the fifth floor. If Albert found out I was here, heads would roll. It wasn’t like Keigan to have a pissing contest with his boss.

“That means what you think you want would be the worst thing you could give yourself. The boredom would drive you crazy within three days.”

I wasn’t a sulker, but my lower lip was coming perilously close to sticking out in a pout. Because I had a pretty good feeling that Keigan was right.

“Take a seat,” he said as he broke the ward on his office door and gestured me inside.

I picked up a stack of files off his guest chair and held them above his desk, searching for a clear space.

“Oh, just put them on the floor,” Keigan waved his hand.

This wasn’t like him. The Keigan I knew kept his office spotless. “Uh, are you okay?”

He smiled absently at me. “Never better.” He opened a closet and unlocked a beat-up file cabinet, pulling out a manilla folder which he handed to me.

I opened it, frowning down at the photos. It looked like some kind of… store?

I glanced up at Keigan and for the first time he seemed flustered. “When I became a Discipulus Mage I knew I wanted to make some smart financial decisions. With the state of this world, putting my money in the bank didn’t make much sense. So, I turned to commercial real estate.”

I had no idea where he was going with this. He smiled at whatever he saw on my face.

“This is one of my properties. The tenants have given their notice as they’re moving to South Carolina. It will be empty in a few weeks.”

Was he… offering it to me? I gaped at him. His smile widened.

“It’s not much, but there’s room for an office and a small cell. I don’t have a mortgage on the property, so you won’t need to pay me rent–”

“Hold it right there. If I’m doing this, I’m paying you a fair market rent.”

Tears pricked at my eyes. With the money I’d made from Mariam, I could more than afford to rent it and still pay my other bills. And Mariam had promised to give me a reference. I’d also bargained for access to the library. She’d said she would talk to the fae king about allowing me to visit occasionally.

Screw the Mage Council, I’d do just fine without them.