Threads of Desire (Spellcraft) - By Stone, Eleri Page 0,26

of a modest but pleasant home. The light descending from the high arched windows was mellow and golden. The rug beneath her feet was master work and very old. She’d just bent to examine it more closely when Kal took her arm and led her deeper into the house. “We’ll leave by the servant’s door, if you don’t mind.”

She shook her head. “I’m not one of your aristos, Kal. This is a far finer home than any I’ve lived in.”

“Not true. You lived at the University for years. They say that it’s finer than the palace even.”

“You’ve never been there?”

“I’ve never had that honor, no.”

That surprised her. It was true that Lanel rarely extended invitations to the University, using them as gifts or lures, but Kal was a powerful man. He held the door for her after checking to be certain the narrow alley was clear. Pressing his hand to her back, he guided her to the left. Toward the fountains of Risa. It was one of her favorite spots in the entire city. The white cliffs, while not as high as those that formed the University, served as a pretty backdrop to the multitiered fountains. She liked the contrast between the white marble and the blue-green waters of the bay. There would be people there. Children splashing in the water. Vendors selling fruit and watered wine.

“If the University is truly such a wondrous place, why did you leave it?”

He asked the question just as they stepped from the shelter of a tall building and into the blinding light of the midday sun. It was the question that brought her up short, but she hoped he’d believe it was the sun. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she glanced at Kal’s earnest expression and then down the wide street leading to the sea. The city lay drowsing in the heat. The only movement was the light sparkling off the water in the distance. Sarians had come from the sea, all of them descending from merchants, pirates and fishermen. They said it was still in their blood, the source of their magic.

She started walking again and he fell into pace beside her. Patiently quiet, still waiting for an answer.

“Does it matter to you? I’m a master. I can’t use the guild mark to certify that, but no one will doubt my work.”

“I’m not questioning your abilities.” He took her hand and pulled her out of the path of a barefooted boy running down the lane on some errand. “I only want to understand.”

The corner of her mouth edged up in a bitter smile. “There are questions at court?”

“Hmm.”

“Let them talk. It will make the rug more valuable in the end. No one really minds a mystery.”

“I do.” He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. “I had a falling out with the guildmaster about a year ago. It began as a personal dispute but ended badly. The emperor was forced to intervene and Lanel seems to believe my interest in you stems from a desire to see him spitted on a pike. I ask myself—why would the guildmaster believe I’d use you against him?”

“You want the guildmaster dead?” A curious little thrill raced through her followed by a vague feeling of guilt.

“I’d shed no tears over his death, but I wouldn’t try to hasten it either.”

Murder within the emperor’s peaceful Saria meant a very public and very painful execution, even for an aristo. She wouldn’t want that to happen to Kal even if it meant Lanel’s death too.

She forced a smile. “Are you certain you don’t ask yourself—how might I, Kalar Azi, use my new servant to wound the guildmaster?”

“I admit the thought did cross my mind.”

The day had lost some of its shine, but she owed Kal an explanation. Especially if her presence in his home placed him in danger. “Let’s just say that the guildmaster and I had our own falling out, but there was no emperor to intervene. I...convinced Lanel that it would be best if I left the guild.”

“No one leaves the guild.”

“I did. I had information the guildmaster didn’t wish to be known at the time. It might not be as valuable as it once was...I don’t know. It was enough then for him to let me go. I disappeared before he could change his mind.”

“He heard about your exhibition in the marketplace then,” Kal said. “He might think we’re conspiring against him.”

“He might simply want me to return to the University.” A shiver chased