Page 18 of Feathered Thief

Then Kazik appeared at her side, drew her close, and said, “Thank you all for joining our celebration. Princess Helena and I have more guests to greet this evening, so we’ll be moving on. We hope you enjoy the celebration of our betrothal.”

He spoke firmly, and the surrounding young nobles withdrew. Even the brash one, who towered over Kazik, appeared cowed and ashamed. Helena nodded to the group at large, imitating Madame Euzebia’s regal dignity. A moment later, they had left their supposed peers behind.

“You’re amazing,” Kazik said for her ears only. “I could never have remained so composed.”

“Did they . . .” She wasn’t sure what to ask.

“Go ahead.”

His tone made her feel safe. “Did theyintend to be rude?”

He huffed a humorless laugh. “Sadly, I’m sure several of them did, but you put them in their place.”

“I did? How? I mean, did I offend them somehow?”

“No. I would guess they’re jealous.”

“Jealous of what?”

“Of our happiness.” He rested his gloved hand over hers on his arm.

“Oh.” That made her smile, and the tension eased. “Then I feel sorry for them.”

“I doubt any of them are as happy as we are.” He gave her a quick glance. “That is, I hope you’re happy. I sure am.”

Warmth flowed into her heart, and she deeply appreciated his sincere kindness. Daring a sidelong glance, she gave his hand a little squeeze. “I amveryhappy.”

6

MAGES AND MONSTERS

The betrothal celebration seemed forever ago. Not a day passed that Kazik didn’t miss Helena. He frequently wrote letters to her but never dared to send one, knowing that his father would insist on reading it first.

It wasn’t fair, but it was his life, which was becoming interesting in ways even less welcome than a lack of privacy. Kazik had always known that his parents both possessed magic. Not until recently had he recognized that his mother’s magic was stronger than his father’s.Farstronger. She had never forbidden Kazik to speak of it, but even as a small child he’d known better than to bring up the topic.

“Most modern kings and other rulers do have magic,” his mother had explained to him years ago, “even though international law forbids mages to gain positions of power in government. The problem with such a law lies in enforcement, since most mages are too powerful for unmagical humans to dethrone.”

Ludwik, the advanced-magic tutor hired by Madame Euzebia, had recently informed Kazik that a World Magic Council was reorganizing. “And what will that mean to us?”Kazik asked. “And to non-magical people? Are they afraid of another fay invasion?”

“No, that portal is closed. The problems we now face are inherent to this world, such as countries falling into petty wars to expand their borders, or evil-emperor mages rising to enslave the weak and non-magical. The kind of cycles that repeat throughout history.”

Currently, according to good ol’ Ludwik, openness to the idea of magical teamwork for the common good was reviving worldwide. If a new World Magic Council were to be formed, Kazik would be in favor. Mages and monsters should never rule by force and fear. Cooperation was necessary to protect the non-magical world from domination, and only organized mages possessed the power to subdue rogue mages or to deal with yet undiscovered invasion-minded beings from other dimensions.

As far as Kazik knew, the grand duke remained unaware that his son was a mage. After extensive testing, Madame Euzebia and Ludwik agreed that a male human possessing Kazik’s level of magic was historically referred to as acaroven, whatever that meant, and they warned him to tell no one. He still wasn’t entirely sure what his magic-rating meant, but he’d promised secrecy.

But of what possible use was his magic if he couldn’t talk about it and had no idea how to use it? Seriously, it was hard enough to be an adolescent and in love without the triple-whammy of magical chaos in his blood.

In early spring, Kazik’s blood nearly froze in his veins. It so happened one Sunday, just after morning worship in the chapel, that his father spoiled the midday meal—more like the entire month—by broaching the prospect of a father/son trip up north as soon as the mountain passes cleared, so that Kazik could visit his grandfather and cousins.

The very idea of visiting his paternal relatives dropped a weight on Kazik’s spirit. “What about my aunts and uncles and grandmother?” Kazik asked between bites, striving to appear casual. “Honestly,Ojciec, I have too much military training at this time of year—especially practice for the melee. I’ll see the family when they come for my wedding. That way I can introduce them all to Helena.”

Sometimes Kazik felt guilty about disliking his relatives, but it didn’t help that his father praised them so incessantly that he felt almost smothered by the thought of them. And his grandfather, the archduke? That man chilled him to the bone.

Sure, his mother might have influenced his attitude toward his father’s relatives, but that didn’t mean she was wrong. Then again, he realized he’d never once heard his mother speak or even hint ill of any of his relatives. The dread was entirely his, based on experience.

His one and only visit up north, four years earlier, was engrained in his memory. Although his grandfather the archduke was a man whose face seemed permanently carved into a sneer, he and Kazik had discovered a shared passion for draughts. The freckled boy and the withered old man had played innumerable games on that checkered board. Kazik lost far more games than he won, but he’d learned a great deal. Since that visit he’d overheard tales about the archduke that chilled the blood, but to Kazik personally, the old tyrant had been tolerable.

But his female cousins? A total nightmare. Even the little girls were self-absorbed and bossy, and the older ones were far worse. No, he would not go back for a sack of . . . No, make thattwentysacks of jewels. Not a chance.

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