“The news is going to go out tomorrow.” I traced the rim of the coffee cup. “Today is my day off.”
The laughing didn’t quite make it out of Jallina, but her lips twitched. “Your day off.”
I nodded regally. “Master Dorian saw fit to give me a day.”
“Master Dorian is a jackass, isn’t he?”
A burst of laughter escaped me. I slapped my hand over my mouth. “I thought exactly that yesterday.”
“And are they going to announce this to the public?”
Taking a giant swallow of coffee, I tried to steady my nerves. “Tomorrow morning at dawn. There’s some… ceremony thing they have to do to install me as the newest master.”
But a moment later, I shook my head quickly. “I’m not ready for this, Jallina. This isn’t who I am. I’m a teacher, and that’s really all I wanted to do.”
Jallina grabbed my hand across the small table. “Don’t think like that. Don’t go into this with a ‘you’re not worthy’ attitude. You are. You’re smart, kind, and your magic has been growing. I’m sure that you’ll grow even more.”
“It was nearly unanimous. Who was the last one?”
“Whoever wasn’t there.” Jallina pulled her hand back. “Whoever didn’t show for the announcement in the meeting. That’s the way I understand it. You show up if you agree with the decision.”
“Even you know more than I do about the council!”
A low chuckle rumbled through her. “Only because that’s what I studied in college. Remember that. I only know these things because of my history training. The common person wouldn’t know that.”
“So who wasn’t there?”
Who hadn’t been there?
“Master Argo wasn’t. He was the only one.”
“Ah, Master Disagreeable from the Southern Temple. He doesn’t like the council. He has a particular problem with Vitus. Doesn’t think that someone as powerful as Vitus has any place in an office.”
“It’s not an office, really.” Confusion rolled through me.
With an indulgent smile, Jallina patted my hand. “No, no. Not a literal office. He thinks a mind like Vitus’s should have been trained for the military. For defense. Not politics.”
My eyebrow went up. “Vitus? Political? He has a mouth on him!”
Jallina sighed. “Doesn’t he, though? A dreamy one…”
Gasping, my jaw dropped. “You like him?”
She straightened in the seat. “He’s a very good-looking man.”
“Oh, my gods, you have a crush on Master Vitus!”
She glanced around furtively. “Will you keep it down?”
I wanted to cause trouble. “You know he’s available. He’s not dating anyone that I know of, and he’s not mated.”
Her hands slid over her face. “Oh, I regret this.”
“Want me to set you up?”
“No! Oh, this was a bad idea.”
I patted her hand. “I’ll drop your name at dinner.”
“No, please, no. Don’t.”
Her hand was trembling. I was surprised. She really liked the guy, at least from afar. “Jallina. Jallina, look at me.”
Her eyes were fearful as she brought them up.
“I’m not going to tell him, Jallina. I was teasing. I would never do that to you, you know that.”
With a quick glance at the floor, she gave a mirthless chuckle. “Yes. I know. My obsession with him is unhealthy. I have tried to keep it under wraps. But the man has a body to die for and…” She cleared her throat. “Never mind.”
“It’s okay, Jallina. Your secret is safe with me.”
“I’m sorry. This went sour. We’re supposed to be talking about you taking on the role of leader of S’Kir and ended up talking about my lusting after one of the masters.”
We could go on like this for hours. I bit my tongue and let my laughter settle for a few minutes. The coffee was a critical cover up for that.
Jallina also sipped her coffee and cleared her throat. “So, is anyone allowed to come to this ceremony? I’d like to be there for my friend.”
“Not the sunrise one. There’ll be another in about a week that will be a public announcement and party.”
My hands started shaking. Again. I couldn’t stop them. I was going to be named a master, one of the rulers of S’Kir. A person who was sought out for their wisdom.
Jallina grabbed my hands and tried to still them.
“You’re trembling.”
“I’m terrified.” The confession fell from me.
“What wisdom do I have? Lemon goes well with tea. Willow bark is a good painkiller. Don’t wear black with brown. Steak should be cooked medium. Vinegar is a great deodorizer.”
“That’s not the kind of life advice people are going to seek from me.”
They were going to want to know if they should turn to one profession or the other. They would ask me to mediate their disputes.
And magic. They would ask me to help with magic.
That was my real weakness. I was a poor magic worker. I was not strong.
This was all wrong. I shouldn’t be named to the council. I had hundreds of years of learning to do yet. This was pure insanity.
“Can’t you talk to them? Make them see you don’t feel you’re ready or right for this?”
That mirthless chuckle bubbled up from me this time. “Oh, Jallina. You’ve been around them a few times. You’ve felt the power rolling off them. There’s no arguing with them. There’s no talking them out of anything.”
“Especially Master Dorian.”
“Sweet heaven, especially that man.”
The coffee shop was mostly empty by then, and the reason I’d asked Jallina there needed no audience or prying eyes.
I took another sip of coffee and lowered my voice. “Jallina, I need your help.”
She bobbed her head. “Of course. Anything.”
“No, this isn’t a blanket ‘of course.’ Don’t say that until you hear me out.” I kept my voice quiet. “I need your help on a more sinister level. I’m learning things I didn’t want to, and I need help.”
Jallina laid a hand on mine. “Good, bad, sinister. I am your friend, Kimber. I’m an ally of the temple.”
“Elex had me thinking the other night. About how I really don’t know much about the people in S’Kir or what they think and do. I’ve been in the temple so long that I feel as though… Well, I don’t know people. They’re about to make me a master, and I’m unprepared. In so many ways. But I can find out what the people think. Of me, or Master Dorian, of the opposition, of most things. You and your sister are already in with the Loyalists, and we often chat enough that us being seen together would raise no suspicions.” I paused, then finished. “I want to create a little personal spy ring.”
Jallina’s eyes lit from within. “Really.”
“Yes, really.” I tried to hide my smirk. “You could try to be less happy about this. I’m asking you to be a spy.”
Her answer was a whisper. “I already am.” She grinned. “That you’re asking me to help you is what I hoped for. Where did you get the idea to have a little spy network?”