Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Numair Salmalín sat in the corner of the ballroom in the royal palace of Corus swirling a goblet of wine in his hand. He’d been sat for the past hour swirling the same goblet of wine, alone, and feeling morose. The reason for his depression stood on the opposite side of the ballroom surrounded by a group of adoring young men. The mage understood how the beautiful young woman had drawn such a crowd: she was wearing the same lilac muslin dress with the delicate gold surcoat that had captivated him in Carthak. It wasn’t just the dress though, Daine Sarrasri was a gorgeous young woman in her own right with curly brown hair, slender curves, and the most incredible blue-grey eyes with extravagantly long lashes. Numair hadn’t meant to fall in love with his very young student and had been fighting against his feelings for several months and losing.
At the start of the evening, the mage had enjoyed chatting with his old mentor, Lindhall Reed, who had recently received a letter from his previous assistant. She was studying the merfolk on the Carthaki coast, and the two mages had been debating the contents of her letter, namely the mating habits of merfolk. Lindhall posited that they would share the habits of fish and lay their eggs for the males to fertilise, but Numair theorised they would more likely copulate like cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales. It had been a good diversion for a while, but Harailt of Aili had stolen the older man to discuss next term’s lesson plan for the pages and left Numair alone.
Several noble women and court ladies had propositioned him, but the mage had no interest in dancing with any of them. The only woman he’d have liked to share a dance with was the one woman he couldn’t dance with, not without raising eyebrows. Numair had watched his friend accept several offers to twirl around the floor and hated every single one of her partners. Thankfully, no one could command him to dance, and after the incident with the council table, the king wouldn’t ask. Relations between King Jonathan and his Chief Mage had been strained since Carthak, and while Numair still performed his duties and accepted his king’s commands the friendship between them was gone.
The mage swirled the wine in his goblet again using a small amount of his Gift to shape the liquid into an image of Daine and himself dancing. It was so tempting to drown his sorrows in alcohol but due to his Gift, that wasn’t an option. Mages were heavily discouraged from getting drunk, as losing control of one’s magic was never a good idea, and certainly not for Numair. There were several Carthaki artifacts that could never be replaced after his one and only experience of getting drunk in his youth. The incident had terrified the young mage and he had always been very careful with the amount of alcohol he consumed since that night. He raised his head to glare at Alanna, Raoul and Buri who were happily getting drunk at the side of the room wishing he could join them.
“Not dancing tonight?” Onua approached the mage. “That’s very unlike you.”
Numair quickly dissolved the illusion in his goblet before his friend could see and forced a smile onto his face. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“That’s nothing new. It doesn’t usually stop you from taking a turn.”
The mage smiled at the K’miri. “Would you do me the honour then?”
“Me? Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t dance!” Onua argued hotly.
“All the more reason you should.”
Numair rose from his seat, placing his goblet onto the table and offered the K’miri his hand. The woman blushed a deep shade of crimson but accepted it as he led her to the dancefloor. The only reason Onua didn’t dance was because she avoided relations with men after her history with an abusive husband. The mage whirled his friend around the room, dipping her several times, until she was laughing in his arms. It always did his heart good to see her smile and getting the K’miri to laugh was a reward in of itself. Once the dance finished, he gave her an exaggerated bow and kissed her hand causing Onua to blush and hurry away to a corner.
Tucking his hands into his pockets, Numair smiled and used the opportunity to exit the ballroom, going outside to stand on the balcony. The temperature was below freezing but Corus hadn’t had any snow yet. The sky was gloriously clear, and he could see every star in the heavens sparkling brightly.
“Excuse me, Master Salmalín?”
The mage turned to see Lady Rosamond Blackwood smiling prettily at him. His heart sank as he wondered how he could dissuade this noble that he wasn’t interested in company tonight.
“Would you accompany me to the gardens? It’s such a lovely night and it would be a shame not to take a walk,” the lady fluttered her lashes.
“Lady Blackwood, I’m afraid I’m not looking for –”
“Please? It’s just a walk,” she interrupted, her eyes pleading with him.
Numair sighed and offered his arm as he escorted the young lady down the steps and out to the gardens. He allowed her to take the lead as she wove her way down the paths, not once trying to engage him in flirting or any kind of conversation. The mage was about to ask if there was a purpose to the walk when they reached a side gate between the hedges, where the lady excused herself politely and disappeared. Frowning, the mage followed to see the young woman fling her arms around a poorly dressed middle-aged man who embraced her tightly. Numair kept to the shadows and shook his head in amusement realising he’d just been used as an accomplice in the lady’s deception to be with her secret lover. The gossips would have the two of them in bed by morning, leaving the lady free to be with the man who she truly loved. He looked to be a low-born commoner, and probably not considered a suitable enough match for a noble. The mage silently wished the couple luck as he entered the gardens and sauntered down the paths losing himself in thought.
His mind inexorably returned to Daine and how beautiful she looked tonight. His infatuation with his student was supposed to have ended after Carthak, but if anything, it had only grown worse. Numair couldn’t seem to stop blushing whenever their fingers brushed, or worse, on the occasions when she kissed his cheek. He must have been scarlet earlier that day when the pair had exchanged midwinter gifts early and Daine had flung herself at him kissing his cheek enthusiastically. The mage fervently hoped her attention had been too diverted by the sapphire bracelet he’d given her to notice his reaction. The bracelet matched the sapphire drops he’d given her the previous year with the addition of a few more protection spells woven into it.
The mage hadn’t noticed before now how affectionate he and his student had become until he’d fallen in love with her. Now it was a double-edged sword, as he was afraid to touch her knowing his gestures were far from platonic, but he didn’t want his friend to think he was pulling away from her after the events of Carthak. Ignoring his feelings hadn’t made them go away and pretending not to love his magelet was eating away tiny pieces of his soul.
Something had changed in the young woman since Carthak. Before, she’d had very little interest in the opposite sex, but since their return Numair had found her in the arms of several young men as they slobbered all over her. He wasn’t sure he’d term any of what those boys were doing as kissing, but he’d promised Alanna and himself that he wouldn’t interfere in his friend’s romantic life, so as much as it hurt, he’d left quickly without interrupting and tried to put the images out of his mind.
A forlorn chirp at his feet drew him from his melancholy. He looked down to see a grey looking Kitten shivering at his feet.
“Hello, sweetheart. What are you doing out in the cold?”
Numair bent down to scoop the dragonet into his arms and cuddled her close not liking how cold she felt. Kitten snuggled into him burying her head in his chest and squawked indignantly.
“Was no one paying attention to you at the ball?” the mage guessed kissing the top of her head. “It’s too cold for any stargazing tonight. Why don’t we head back to my rooms? We can get a fire going and I’ll read you a bedtime story.”
The dragonet trilled happily with her head still buried in his chest.
The pair were soon settled into a comfortable chair in front of a roaring fire as Kitten cuddled into Numair’s lap while he continued reading the dragonet’s favourite fairy tale. They had read most of the books on myths and legends about her species, but now the young Immortal loved to hear stories about fearsome dragons that terrorised villages and had young maidens sacrificed to them. The mage wasn’t sure it was entirely appropriate reading material for his little girl, but he took care to emphasise these were just stories and not based on factual events.
Over the last few months, Numair had redefined some of the relationships with the people in his life since his revelation. He now thought of Kitten as his adopted daughter, deciding that if Daine was her adopted mother, he’d like to be considered a father to her. The horses, he liked to think of as the dragonet’s odd aunt and uncle who rounded out their strange little family unit. None of this was ever spoken out loud of course, it was just how he viewed his travelling companions. Numair wasn’t quite sure how Zek fit into their family yet, as the marmoset spent a lot of time with Lindhall when they were on the road, and Tkaa had designated himself a cousin to the young dragon even if he only meant in terms of species.
Kitten eventually fell asleep, so the mage settled her onto the chair with several blankets wrapped around her and marked their place in the story before returning the book to his shelves. The dragonet could have shared his bed, but since returning from Carthak, Numair had barely slept having been plagued by nightmares interspersed with the occasional erotic dream involving his fifteen-year-old student. The former woke him sweating and screaming and the latter left him aroused and filled with shame. Either way, he didn’t want his daughter in his rooms for whatever awaited him this night. The mage decided he should really set an aural shield around his bedchamber, so the dragonet didn’t come charging in if he did have a nightmare.
Numair stripped down to his loincloth and climbed into bed after adding a few more logs to his own fire. The mage didn’t enjoy sleeping anymore and wondered if he would be better just staying up and reading as he had done the past two nights. The decision was made for him as he passed out from exhaustion the moment his head touched the pillow.
As dawn’s first light shone through the mage’s window, he awoke soaked in sweat, but not from a nightmare or any other dream: it was the barrier between the realms, it had finally fallen. He was suddenly aware of every person who possessed the Gift and wild magic around Corus as if there were no physical barriers separating them. He knew what each of the mages were doing from the king in his study to Harailt at the university as the man fell out of bed. The black robe was even aware of those with wild magic as Onua jumped from her bath shrieking a K’miri war cry to Stefan Groomsman who fell out of the loft in the stables, thankfully unhurt, but they all paled to the connection he felt to Daine.
The mage could feel the fur of the cats, marmosets, martens, and dogs that formed her bed companions. Numair was surprised to find that Kitten was in Daine’s bed and not in the room next to his as the dragonet began to trill.
“Kit, hush,” he could feel Daine’s lips move as heard her speak. “Numair what is it?”
Despite the distance between them, the mage didn’t question the young woman talking to him as if he were beside her. He felt like he was sharing her mind although there seemed to be some sort of physical link as well because he had access to all of Daine’s senses.
“It’s the barrier, the barrier between the realms,” he whispered softly. “It’s – gone. Evaporated.”
She blinked her long lashes and Numair felt them brush against his own cheek. This connection went far deeper than anything the mage had ever experienced before with anyone else. He didn’t even remember forming a link, it was as if the barrier fell, and he was instantly connected with Daine. It felt like they were one person: two halves making up a whole. With that last thought the mage’s world shattered and remade itself in an instant.
“The immortals – they’ll be on us like a ton of brick.” He heard Daine’s voice say practically. “I’d best get up.”
Numair threw up every mental barrier he could to break the connection between them. While he longed to stay linked with his best friend, he didn’t dare risk sharing any of his thoughts or feelings with her. His heart wailed in despair as he finally understood just how deeply he’d fallen in love with Daine. Daine, who would never consider him as anything more than her teacher and her friend, not a husband. Numair found himself laughing and crying at the hopelessness of his situation and wondered which of the gods he’d offended to curse him this way. He was utterly and tragically in love with the gorgeous, stubborn, spirited, passionate Wildmage. Every little thing about her was glorious, even her temper was a force to behold.
Crawling out of bed, the mage made his way into the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. “You are a fool Numair Salmalín. You were born a fool and even changing you name hasn’t altered how foolish you really are. You were supposed to get over her not decide that she – she –” completes me. He couldn’t finish the thought out loud. “I’m doomed!”
The mage covered his face with a hand and scrubbed it through his hair, suddenly feeling his age. He’d be thirty in a few days’ time and Daine wasn’t even in her twenties! Up until this point Numair hadn’t considered himself an old man but now, he felt weary beyond his years. That could of course be put down to a lack of sleep as he’d stayed awake the past two nights, and not slept until midday today. A knock at his door pulled the mage back to reality.
Numair did have the presence of mind to pull on a pair of breeches before he answered the door but started feeling very self-conscious in front of the female servant.
“Excuse me, Master Salmalín. The king would like to see you in his study as soon as you are dressed,” the girl said politely as she took in his appearance.
“Tell His Majesty I will be with him shortly,” he said as she hurried away down the corridor.
It was at least an hour before Numair joined King Jonathan of Conté and Harailt of Aili in the king’s study for breakfast.
“Is there any way the barrier can be repaired?” Jon asked the mages.
“From our study of the books on the Divine Realms, generously donated to us by Emperor Kaddar, we’ve learned that it took twenty mages with the equivalent of Numair’s power, who created the barrier between the realms.” Harailt replied.
“Ozorne’s mages have been tearing holes in the barrier until the structural integrity of the spells could no longer hold, which is why it fell,” the younger mage added.
“So, what you’re telling me, is there is nothing we can do?” the king rubbed a hand against his temple.
“I’m afraid so, Your Majesty.” Harailt exchanged a worried look with Numair.
“I have been developing a sensory net which can detect Immortals approaching within a range of three miles,” the black robe said softly stroking his nose. “It isn’t as accurate as Daine’s wild magic, of course. The net cannot distinguish between peaceful or harmful Immortals. It could give us a lot of false reports.”
“Can you teach others how to make this net?” Jonathan’s eyes were filled with hope as he looked to his Chief Mage.
“I believe so, Your Majesty. The spell itself isn’t complicated, but it will require at least three mages to create it.”
“Very good,” the king nodded to himself. “Numair, if you will go to the college and begin teaching your spell to as many mages as possible, then we can start sending them out with the patrols. Harailt, you can scour the books on the Divine Realms for anything that can help us. If we can’t recreate the barrier between the realms, is there a barrier we can create to protect Corus and our fiefs?”
“Very good, Your Majesty,” the Dean answered as both mages left the king’s study.
“I don’t think Jon understands the magnitude of the task he’s just given me,” Harailt said once the door was closed. “There is no way to create a barrier like the one that was forged to keep the Immortals locked in the Divine Realms. You yourself told me it couldn’t be done.”
“The king is desperate. He knows it’s only a matter of days before we’ll be inundated with Immortals. We’ve been struggling for years with the ones that have either been summoned or snuck through the cracks. Only imagine what we’ll have to deal with when there is no barrier.” Numair murmured.
“I shall do my best, but I feel as if I’ve just been asked to come up with a miracle,” the Dean shook his head.
“Welcome to the club,” the black robe muttered with a slight smile.
The two men separated once inside the college, with Numair headed towards the auditorium and Harailt going to his study. The black robe spent the entire day teaching mages how to successfully create the detection net, and how to attach it to rune stones so it could be set up in villages and fiefs. He was exhausted and famished by the end and missing his student who he hadn’t seen all day. The mage went in search of his friend finding her in the stables packing travel bags. The young woman was dressed in filthy breeches, a creased shirt, and a heavy woollen tunic with bits of straw sticking out of her hair, and yet, Numair still found himself entranced by her. He may prefer his friend in an elegant gown occasionally, but this was the Daine he knew and loved.
“Hello, magelet. How was your day?” the mage smiled warmly.
“Fine,” came the grumpy reply.
Numair went over to pat Spots, who had stuck his head out of his stall at the sound of his master’s voice. “Just fine?”
The young woman sighed. “Busy. We’ve had to get most of the horses and ponies saddled and ready to go in case there’s trouble. But they don’t want to be saddled unless they’re going somewhere, so I’ve spent most of that time trying to explain why their riders want them ready to go.”
“That sounds exhausting,” he agreed stroking his mount’s nose gently.
“On top of that, the king has ordered us to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, so I had to go into your rooms and pack your saddle bags as well as mine,” Daine spared him a long-suffering look.
“You packed a bag for me?” It always caught Numair by surprise when his student did this for him. She was generally better at remembering what he needed to take on the road than he himself did. “You didn’t have to, magelet. You could have told me to do it later if you were too busy.”
“You weren’t around to ask, so I did it for you.”
“I’ve been at the college most of the day,” he explained. “The king asked me to teach the other mages how to create the detection net I’ve been working on.”
“Is that the one you had me help you create?” she asked genuinely curious.
“Precisely,” the mage grinned at her. “It’s not as accurate as your wild magic, but I don’t think I’m going to have the opportunity to experiment further and see if I can perfect the spell. The king is worried. He wanted to know if we could repair the barrier.”
“You can’t though, can you?” Daine snapped and turned her back to him.
“I’m afraid not. Is something the matter?” Numair rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Nothing. I’m fine,” she huffed shrugging his hand off.
“Daine –” he was now getting worried. That was the second ‘fine’ in one conversation.
“Why’d you take Kit to your rooms last night? Why didn’t you just leave her in mine?”
The question caught the mage by surprise, and he wasn’t sure how to respond. “Kitten sought me out and wanted some company. I didn’t realise that would be a problem.”
The young woman whirled to face him, a dangerous light in her stormy blue-grey eyes. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was sneaking into your rooms last night to retrieve her?”
Numair blinked in complete confusion. “You’ve never been embarrassed to enter my chambers before. Why was last night any different?”
Had Daine reached an age when she would no longer feel comfortable being alone in his rooms with him? The thought hurt more than he wanted to admit, but she was a young woman now, and in Carthak they hadn’t been allowed in his rooms without a chaperon. Maybe his magelet had finally had enough of the gossips or maybe one of her young admirers had said something…
His friend scowled and muttered something under her breath, which Numair missed as the dragonet in question chose that moment to appear and whistle happily in greeting. The mage scooped the young Immortal into his arms and scratched under her chin as an idea occurred to him.
“Would you mind if I borrowed Kitten in the morning?” he asked politely not wanting to antagonise the young woman further.
“She’s her own person. She goes where she wants.” Daine waved him away.
The mage closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache. He was trying very hard to decipher if this mood of hers had anything to do with his rooms, Kitten, or something else entirely.
The dragonet chirped in his arms and thrust her nose in his face to sniff him.
“Do you mind if I borrow you, sweetheart?” he asked opening his eyes to gaze into slit-pupiled ones.
Kitten shook her head and whistled a question.
“There’s a project I’d like your help with,” the mage answered cryptically.
The dragonet agreed happily as they both faced the back of the cross young Wildmage who was now shovelling hay with a pitchfork.
Numair sighed and made one last attempt at conciliation. “I was heading to the dining hall and hoped you might join me for supper.”
“Let me finish up here and I’ll join you.”
“Can I help?” he asked hopefully.
“No, it’ll just take longer if you help.” Daine stopped shovelling and looked at the man and dragon. “You go on with Kit and I’ll catch up.”
The mage took a step forward and cupped her cheek tenderly. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
Her beautiful blue-grey eyes softened as she gazed up at him, and Numair had a strong desire to kiss her worries away. He dropped his hand quickly swallowing hard but didn’t move away, needing to be close to her.
“I guess I’m just worried – what with the barrier falling and all.” she replied. “We’re stuck waiting to be attacked and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Why don’t you finish your chores later. Some food and company might help,” the mage smiled softly.
Daine returned the smile and finally agreed to join them as she followed him out of the stables. As the three of them headed for dinner, Numair knew he’d do anything for one of those smiles every day of his life.