Feral Mage Book 3: Chapter 3

“Bryce, there you are!” Alice greeted him as he entered the guildhall.

The girls were gathered around a standing mirror in the guildhall that hadn’t been there when Bryce left for the University, everyone except Thea. Alice waved for him to come over and join them.

“Did you go shopping for books?” she asked, seeing the tomes in his hands.

He held the books a little tighter, expecting Vex to charge toward him as she usually did for an embrace.

“A task Mark sent me on,” he answered as he watched Vex.

He realized the charging wolfgirl wasn’t coming when he saw the bag of candies she was currently eating, along with Omelet at her feet. The griffin was impatiently waiting for one to drop.

“You put the bonnet back on him,” Bryce growled.

Janna laughed.

“He looks cute with it,” the kitsune answered.

Vex nodded.

“Sir Omelet, Baron of Hambone, looks good,” the wolfkin agreed before popping another candy into her mouth.

Bryce shook his head as he neared the mirror, careful to keep his gaze away from the reflection as he set the books down on the table, right beside several packages from the girls’ shopping trip.

“We are not calling him that,” he stated.

Callie stepped forward to look at the books.

“Agreed,” she said as she picked one up. “Also surprised there’s not a naked girl with a tail on any of these covers. They must really be for Mark.”

Bryce ignored the snow elf swordswoman’s jab, keeping his focus on Vex and Omelet.

“Also, no more scraps for Omelet,” Bryce said firmly. “He’s getting too fat.”

Vex frowned.

“Omelet isn’t fat,” she protested, shaking her head.

Bryce raised an eyebrow before reaching down and flipping the griffin onto his back. The griffin’s legs kicked in the air as he tried to use his wings to right himself, only to give up after a few seconds and stare up at them. Bryce heard Janna and Alice stifling a laugh.

“Maybe he is getting a little big…” Vex said in beastkin.

Bryce fought a smirk at hearing her admit he was right. Doing so might tip the wolfkin off to him learning her language. One of the few good things to come out of these three months in Witchbrook.

Callie scowled at him before coming over and righting Omelet.

“Don’t pick on the little creature,” she scolded.

Bryce crossed his arms and returned her scowl.

“I’m not picking on him. He’s supposed to be Vex’s companion in battle, someone she can depend on. Not a pet house dog with feathers that rarely leaves his sleeping spot by the fireplace,” Bryce said.

Callie’s scowl shifted to a sigh.

“I’ll start taking him along on my morning walks,” she said.

Bryce rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the girls. His team.

“What we really need is to take a contract out of Witchbrook,” he said. “We’ve been here far too long.”

Callie scoffed while Janna’s lips thinned. Vex added words to what they all were thinking.

“Thea won’t like that,” she said.

He looked to the hallway that led to the private rooms of the guildhall, then back to the girls.

“I’m going to talk to the Twins, see if they’ll take over bodyguard duty for the Princess,” he said.

Alice bit her lip as her blue eyes locked on him.

“The Twins didn’t bring her back from being a monster, Bryce. You did,” Alice said. “She—”

Footsteps that sounded unlike anything a merc would wear echoed down the hallway. Turning, Bryce saw golden locks of hair bouncing as Thea walked into the tavern of the guildhall wearing an elegant red dress.

“Bryce!” Thea said, smiling. “There you are! I picked something up for you while we were out.”

She lifted the seam of her dress and hurried toward them. Bryce caught a glimpse of the shoes she wore, ones with an elevated heel that made his feet feel sore just looking at them.

“Going to another ball?” he asked. Silently groaning inside.

Thea just smiled at him. When she arrived at the table beside them, she began shuffling through the packages and handed one to him.

“Yes, and I purchased this for you to wear,” she said. “This is an important event. A celebration of the Duke of Witchbrook’s sixty-first birthday on his private ship. If I can convince the Duke of our cause, then we will have one of the most powerful voices in the Kingdom of Brook to help us convince King Bradford!”

Because a damn army on his shores isn’t enough to…

Bryce kept that thought to himself. He knew Thea would try to justify the King’s actions and make excuses, even if her tone told him she was just as frustrated.

“Go try it on!” she said, shooing.

He took the package down the hallway to his room. Once there, he untied the package and saw the outfit Thea had purchased for him. A cotton dress shirt dyed a crimson red to match Thea’s dress and a black vest with silver buttons along it. He examined the buttons and scoffed at the realization that they were pure silver.

“A man would get his throat slit in The Rim for just one of these buttons,” he said.

He started to unbutton the shirt he wore, already dreading this event. A short while later, he was walking back down the hallway, the girls waiting beside a grinning Thea, who nodded to herself.

“I knew it would look exquisite on you!” she said.

Vex’s ears perked, while Janna’s eyes ran up and down his frame. Both girls’ tails were swishing behind them. Alice stood beside them, but Bryce couldn’t see her face since she was looking at the ground; however, he could see that the tips of her ears were red.

Callie tilted her head.

“It does suit you. A haircut, along with a proper shave, and you could pass as a nobleman,” she said.

Thea nodded in agreement before she moved forward and took Bryce’s hand.

“Let’s see how we match!” she said before dragging him to the mirror.

Bryce kept his gaze locked on himself and Thea in the reflection, and he had to admit they matched well. Her dress had hints of silver along its edges that went well with the buttons on his vest.

“We will be stunning together,” she said as she released his hand to loop her arm through his.

He heard a low growl before Vex inserted herself between them, pushing Thea’s arm away from his.

“My Bryce!” Vex declared as she clung to his arm.

Thea took a step back and cleared her throat before curtsying.

“I apologize, that was a bit too informal of me,” she said.

Her face was flushed as she stood straight once more.

“Thank you for the reminder, Vex. I was a bit too excited about the event and forgot my status. Had I done such a thing while at the Duke’s birthday, the rumors would have never ceased,” she said, refusing to meet the wolfkin’s gaze. “I believe I’ll retire to my chambers and rest until the event. Would our leaving an hour before dusk give us time to reach the docks?”

Bryce nodded as he put an arm around Vex. He could already tell she would be clinging to him until it was time to leave.

“It’ll be the usual rate,” he said, reminding the Princess. “Minus what you spent on my attire for this.”

Thea smiled.

“I’ll have the silver ready for you when we leave.”

***

A few hours after dusk, Bryce stood behind Thea as the waves gently rocked the river galleon on which the Duke’s party was being held. The rhythmic motion was one of the few reminders that they were on a ship and not in a ballroom. Thousands of red roses covered the railing of the vessel as magic lanterns provided light against the darkness of night. The Duke’s guests moved about sampling food from the six tables laden with it, or danced to the music performed by an orchestra at the front of the ship.

More wealth went into this event than Bryce would see in a hundred lifetimes. He pushed the thought from his mind as he kept an eye on the crowd of party-goers. Thea and Baroness Julia were currently talking to two counts within the Duchy of Witchbrook.

One kept bringing up his son, who was close to Thea in age and whose feats grew as the count’s wine dwindled. The other was a nervous man who did listen to Thea’s talks of a looming war, but was fixated on what such an event would do to the price of dates from the Southern Islands.

Thea just smiled as she humored both men’s attempts at conversation, all while casting glances at the Duke of Witchbrook, Leon Brook. Bryce had only ever seen the Duke once before in his life, and that had been when he gave a speech within the city. Bryce couldn’t recall what the speech had been about. He had only attended because he thought the man was part of the King’s immediate family. He later learned Duke Leon was from a branch of the Brook family far removed from the noble line that ruled the Kingdom of Brook.

Duke Leon sat at a table on the quarterdeck of the ship, overlooking the party. At least he could watch the party if he ever averted his gaze from the mound of papers he was scribbling on. Those around him, whom Bryce assumed were his family, visited and dined, all except one man with a pencil mustache who stood beside the Duke. His hand was placed on the stack of papers to keep the wind from blowing them away. Bryce had seen the man tense multiple times at even the slightest breeze.

“Thank you both for the wonderful conversation,” Thea said. “I was hoping you might help me meet with the Duke of Witchbrook.”

Bryce saw both counts’ posture shift uncomfortably at the request.

Here comes the excuses.

“Such a subject would be ill-suited for the Duke on the day of his birth,” the one who tried to play matchmaker with Thea and his son said.

The other frowned while shaking his head.

“The financial fallout alone from even rumors of such a war would be disastrous,” he grumbled.

Both of them bowed before leaving, with Thea returning the gesture with a timid curtsy.

“Bullocks,” Baroness Julia cursed as she sipped her wine. “Cowards, both of them.”

Thea sighed.

“And counts. I’m a foreign Princess trying to drag them into a war. I know many believe this is all just a ploy by me to usurp my father for the Kingdom of Volpin,” Thea said quietly, her voice tired.

Thea lifted her glass of wine, finishing it.

“I think I’ll step away from the music for a bit. Compose myself before the next conversation,” Thea said.

Baroness Julia gave a warm smile to Thea and gently patted her shoulder. Thea turned and moved away from the music and crowd of party-goers to the back side of the ship, Bryce following behind her. Here, the shadows hid them from the rest of the guests, but there was still enough light for Bryce to see Thea’s dejected look.

He watched as her breathing grew more rapid before Thea turned and punched the side of the ship.

“Ouch!” she cried, holding her hand.

Bryce swore as he saw blood dripping from her knuckles and pulled out a handkerchief, wrapping it around Thea’s hand.

“Why the hell did you do that?” he asked.

Thea’s body shook.

“No one listens to me,” she said.

Bryce held pressure to her knuckles to stop the bleeding.

“I listen to you. So talk to me,” he said.

Thea huffed.

“No one import—” she winced. “No one with the power to help me will listen.”

Thea drew a stuttered breath.

“It’s been months. I go to these gatherings and events, telling the same story over and over again just to hear the same excuses. My only noble supporter is Baroness Julia, whose coffers I am burning through for these fruitless endeavors.”

Bryce gave Thea a sympathetic look before he lifted the piece of cloth, checking to see if the bleeding had stopped.

“Mark’s friend at the University is making headway in figuring out what your Uncle’s magic is,” Bryce said. “Keep your chin up.”

Thea watched as he removed the handkerchief from her hand.

“Sometimes I wish I could trade places with Alice, just be a simple barmaid at the guildhall,” she said.

Bryce smiled.

“You would have to deal with Darren’s drunken singing,” he stated.

A quiet laugh escaped her.

“Alice has told me about that. She said one night, a few of the mercenaries paid a mage to cast a silence spell on him each time he started singing.”

Bryce nodded.

“I bet the mage made a killing that night. Probably ended up with more coins than their last contract,” he laughed.

A small smile graced Thea’s face, and Bryce smiled at her.

“You ready to get back out there?” he asked.

She nodded.

As they returned to the party, the orchestra finished the song they were playing to the applause of the guests. Bryce and Thea moved to stand by Baroness Julia before joining in. As the musicians bowed, Bryce looked over the railing to Witchbrook and frowned. The faint glow of the city seemed to be farther away than it had been a few minutes earlier.

Isn’t the ship supposed to stay near the harbor?

He was about to ask Thea, seeing if he had initially heard wrong. Screams replaced the applause and Bryce turned to see the musicians draw long knives hidden within their sleeves and attacked those nearest them.

“Thea, Julia. Stay behind me!” Bryce yelled, foregoing formalities as he drew his blade and pulled on his Manticore Aspect.

He wasn’t the only one to draw steel. Another bodyguard did the same, cutting the head from one of the musicians. Bryce’s blood chilled as the body kept moving, charging the bodyguard before plunging the long blade into his heart.

“Shit!” he swore before looking at Thea. “Use your Drake Aspect and get yourself and Julia out of here!”

Thea’s eyes widened at his words, and he saw her hands start to shake.

“I can’t!” she yelled, tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t do that again!”