Mara rode with Leif on Rusalka. The trip to the Citadel would be a day longer because of the added weight on the horse. My emotions wavered from happiness at having my sister nearby to dread. Before this trip to Booruby, I kept meaning to send a message to Mara about Aydan’s need for an assistant, but I never did. Since Leda turned into such an accomplished helper, the problem was solved.

I squirmed in my saddle as understanding revealed my childish jealousies. My reluctance had two main reasons. The Keep was my domain and I was unwilling to share it with her. And I didn’t want to be Mara’s Little Sister again.

On the road for six days, Ulrick studied her as fellow male travelers tried to flirt, and as everyone, even the women, tripped over themselves to accommodate her. It was hard to get angry at her. She didn’t seek the attention; she shooed away Leif’s efforts to do everything for her.

We arrived at the Magician’s Keep without trouble. Mara was given a guest room. The equipment we had ordered before leaving had been delivered in our absence. Construction on the workshop had begun. The new building, built with marble blocks, was located in the northeast corner of the Keep between the pasture and Zitora’s tower.

As predicted, the Stable Master was livid over Ulrick’s horse theft. “…had to beg—do you hear me, boy?—beg Councillor Sandseed to send me another right away. How could he trust me with a new one, when I lost the other!”

“I did you a favor,” Ulrick said.

His reply rendered the Stable Master speechless. A sight I’ve never seen. Impressive. And scary.

“Moonlight is a fantastic horse. Too good for the Commander. You should save him for a special student or future Master Magician or even for yourself.” Ulrick’s matter-of-fact tone didn’t waver despite the flaming red color spreading on the Stable Master’s cheeks. “I’ll come exercise him for you until you find a rider.” And with a jaunty wave goodbye, Ulrick swept out of the barn.

I hustled to catch up. There was no way I wanted to be anywhere near the Stable Master when he finally exploded.

I reported the whole spider incident to Zitora and she was most anxious for me and Ulrick to start experimenting with magic and glass.

“I’ll ask Master Bloodgood if he knows about another magician in history who could transform magic into a useful object,” she said. “Meanwhile, you should hire Mara to help you in the glass shop. There’s lots of work to be done.”

“Hire?”

“Yes. Offer her room and board plus a weekly wage—the accountant should know how much. You’ll need a manager to keep track of supplies and work schedules while you and Ulrick concentrate on learning about your powers.”

I knew all along what we would use the shop for, but when Zitora talked about managers and schedules, the reality of the situation hit me. It wouldn’t be a hobby, but serious research. Results would be expected, and I could no longer look to another to lead the way. Perhaps we should hire Aydan as a consultant.

Squashing my fears into a hard lump that sank to the pit of my stomach, I asked, “Should we pay Ulrick, too?”

“No. We’ll grant him student status and a stipend until you determine the extent of his magical abilities. Then we’ll decide how to proceed.”

As I returned to the glass shop, I thought there wasn’t much difference between being a student and a worker. Mara would be given a small apartment in the staff quarters and Ulrick would be assigned a room in the apprentice wing. The stipend was smaller than wages, but not by much. Ulrick should be happy with the new arrangements. He would no longer be a guest, but a member of the Keep.

It didn’t take long for Ulrick, Mara and I to settle into a pleasant routine. And a funny thing happened while Mara worked with us. The population of the Keep would introduce Mara as Opal’s sister to others, and she never batted an eye. She even boasted with pride over being my sister. I berated myself for my previous misgivings and pettiness. In those few days, Mara showed me how I should have behaved.

And even though there had been no sign of Sir or Tricky or blue-eyed Devlen for a month, Ulrick accompanied me everywhere.

On the first day of the cold season, I received a message from Zitora to come to her office. Alone. I told Ulrick I would meet him at the glass shop after the meeting.

“I’ll just wait outside her office, so you can do your secret magician stuff with Master Cowan,” Ulrick said. He tried to keep his tone light, but his voice held a sharp edge.

“It’s not secret magician stuff.”

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“My point.”

Ulrick escorted me to Zitora’s office. He leaned on the wall next to the entrance. She waved me in, then stared at the door. It swung shut.

A split second of jealousy pricked me. “Handy.”

“Lazy. It’s been a long night.” She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. She wore the same clothes as yesterday. “You’ll need to let Ulrick and Mara work on the shop without you for a few days.”

“Why?”

“Remember the conversation the Masters had about the Moon Clan?”

“Vaguely.” It had been close to three weeks ago and so much had happened since then.

“We’ve discovered there’s more going on with the Moon Clan than the illegal border crossings and a possible assassination attempt on Councillor Moon. There’s a whole faction who want Councillor Moon to step down and the faction’s leader to take her place. Rumors of a civil war have reached us and now—” Zitora waved a scroll in the air “—now I have a report saying this group is selling illegal Ixian goods in the Citadel to raise money for weapons.”