Volt didn't bother to wait for her. He strode down the hall, magic shimmering in a haze around him. Or maybe her eyes were just blurry. Maevus blinked hard to clear her vision, keeping one hand on the wall as she made her way toward the stairs. The ripple of magic was still there, clinging to the irritated set of his shoulders and shimmering around his hands.

Maevus groaned internally. Whatever this was, it was not going to be pleasant.

His feet light on the steps, Volt descended to the next floor. Maevus tried to hurry, but her equilibrium had other ideas. A warm smell of fresh bread floated up the stairs, making her belly snarl. Alone, Maevus allowed herself a brief pout, wishing she could just blow Vraylor off in favor of going to the main hall and stuffing her face.

She managed to get to the second floor without running into anyone or succumbing to the dizziness beginning to build in her head. When she got to the door leading into Vraylor's office, she leaned against the wall and caught her breath. Her lips felt dry and cracked, her tongue like sandpaper.

After she talked to Vraylor, she decided, she was going to get some breakfast and nothing was going to stop her.

With that thought to bolster her, she straightened, used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow and pushed the door open. Her ears popped and her eyes were dazzled by the lightning shimmering around Volt's hands. The blueish streaks of energy zigzagged up his arms and got lost in the folds of his dark cloak.

Vraylor sat in the chair behind his desk, looking worn out. His tan skin had a sallow undertone and there were bruise-like shadows beneath his icy eyes. Maevus eased the door shut behind her, every muscle in her body clenching tight at the display of power.

At the click of the lock, Volt whirled. Maevus' eyes widened when she realized he was holding a dagger. She hadn't even seen him draw it.

When he saw who it was, he stopped.

Vraylor sighed, propping his chin on a fist. "No use, Voltain. You can't argue. You know that."

A frown creased Maevus' brow, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the master and the other Encant. She shrank back against the door, attention going back to the knife in Volt's hand. 

It was gone. She blinked, confused. She hadn't even seen him tuck it under his cloak. 

Food definitely should have been her first priority this morning.

"There's a reason I don't work with anyone. I don't want to work with her," he snapped, his low voice little more than a snarl. Then his tone turned pleading. "I can't." He threw a hand toward her, skin pale against the dark material of his fingerless gloves. "She can barely stay on her feet. Didn't you mention that?"

"I mentioned she was tired" Vraylor said, his voice calm but edged in annoyance. "What about this summons makes you think they care?"

Volt hissed between his teeth. He shook his head, making the edges of his hood quiver. "I can't..." His words died away on a sigh when Vraylor gave him a hard look. "Fine. I'll go, but I'm not sure I'll be inclined to do anything."

Maevus rolled her eyes and took a few cautious steps forward, skirting around Volt so she could sink into the faded armchair stuffed in the corner. Vraylor flicked his eyes to her, then leaned forward, pushing a tray across his desk. "Thought you might be hungry."

Fragrant steam rose from a delicate blue china cup. Beside it was a plate heaped with hashbrowns, eggs and bacon. Maevus' mouth filled with saliva and she stood, moving toward the table like she was being drawn by a leash. She plopped into one of the chairs in front of the desk, tugged the plate toward her and began to devour the food.

Volt remained standing, maintaining an icy silence that grated on her nerves. She took a gulp of the tea, a sweet orange tang playing over her tongue. When roughly half the food was gone, she began to pick more sedately at what was left.

"If he wants to go by himself, I sincerely don't care," she finally said, making her voice as emphatic as possible around a bite of hashbrowns. "As a matter of fact, I think it would be better that way."

"At least someone else is making sense," Volt grumbled, leaning against one of the bookshelves that lined the walls. Maevus glanced over her shoulder, giving him a raised eyebrow. He responded with a tiny shrug.

Vraylor scowled. "And what part of it doesn't matter what you think or want are you failin' to understand?" He threw a piece of paper down on the desk. 

It hit the wood with a heavy slap. Maevus stared at the heavy cream paper. The pale-green wax seal had been broken, silver ribbon trailing from the stamp. She could just make out the shape of a dragon imprinted in the wax.

"This comes directly from the queen, Voltain. And if you'd like to continue as you are, you'll duck your head, do as you're told and mind your p's and q's." Vraylor again slumped back in his seat, running a hand over his hair, mussing the silver-streaked dark strands.

Trying to chew a piece of bacon as quietly as she could, Maevus turned in her seat to look at Volt. His mouth was thinned down into an angry line, his jaw set. He tilted his head toward Vraylor. Again, a waver of magic floated around him, distorting the air. A metallic tang itched at her nose and Vraylor cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Volt." He glanced at Maevus. "And I'm sorry to you, too."

She drank the last of the tea, glancing down at the folded piece of paper. "Okay, but sorry for what, exactly?"

Light flickered in the corner of her eye, and she turned her head to find lightning once more webbing between Volt's fingers. "We've been summoned," he said sourly. "Wear something nice. The queen likes pretty things." Even hidden by the hood, she could tell he was glowering. "Pretty, powerful things."

He left without another word.

Maevus turned and raised a brow at Vraylor. He closed his eyes, rubbing at his temple. Feeling better after having eaten, Maevus leaned forward and picked up the summons. The paper was thick and soft, the edges of the ribbon that had bound it oddly sharp as they scraped against her fingers.

When she flicked it open, she found emerald ink sweeping across the paper in a delicate, graceful script. It read: Her Majesty, Selna Vorox, Queen of Escana, Regent of Samra, Princess Heir of Iressa—Maevus snorted at that—requests the presence of the Magic Wielders of the Carneri Guild.

Beneath this brief message were two stylized depictions. One was a swirling storm cloud, jagged lightning bolts crisscrossed beneath it. The other was a sinuous dragon, twisting and curling in on itself to stare from the page at Maevus.

She blinked rapidly. Then she jabbed at the paper with a finger. "What the hell is this?"

Vraylor's lip curled at the corner in an expression somewhere between a sneer and a smirk. "They don't want names, they want abilities."

She stared at him blankly for a moment, not understanding. Then she snarled, even managing a little smoke coming from her fingertip. Vraylor snatched the paper away. "Don't burn that. I have to keep it for records."

Her chest heaved with impotent rage as she glared at the piece of paper crumpled in his hand. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Then how do you know who she wants? How do you know she wants me and Volt?"

Vraylor just gave her a dry look before he smoothed the paper back onto the desk. He traced a fingertip along the green lines of the dragon's body. "Well, if I've acquired any new Dragon-Charmed Encants that you're aware of, I'd certainly like to know about it."

An angry blush rose in her cheeks at that, but she didn't respond. After all, she'd walked right into it.

"Okay, so what about this?" She pointed at the storm cloud. "Surely you have other Storm-Charmed Encants? It's not exactly the rarest Charm."

Vraylor grimaced. "We do. The Carneri Guild has seven of them, not including Volt."

"So why not send one of them with me?" In her head, she pictured the angry set of Volt's shoulders, the harsh slant of his mouth and set of his jaw. "Like he said, he doesn't work with anyone and he specifically doesn't want to work with me."

Try as she might, she couldn't quite manage to keep the irritation out of her voice. She didn't want to work with the moody Encant either, and it bugged her that he'd beaten her to the punch.

"Because she always wants Volt," he said, his blue eyes darkening.

Maevus' brow wrinkled in a frown. Before she could explore that more, a weary smile etched itself across Vraylor's face. "Actually, I get the feeling Volt likes you more than he's letting on." 

She scoffed, snatching up the last piece of bacon and shoving it in her mouth in lieu of gracing that statement with a response.

The master heaved a sigh and stood, taking the piece of paper over to a small cabinet that had been shoved into a corner. Pulling a chain with a small silver key on it from his pocket, Vraylor unlocked the cabinet and slid the royal summons into it. "Volt has his reasons for the way he acts."

"Yeah, so does everyone else," Maevus retorted, crossing her arms. "But he has his reasons, and I have a chip on my shoulder." She raised expectant eyebrows at him.

Vraylor shut and locked the cabinet, stuffing the key back into his pocket before he turned to her. He braced both hands on the edge of the desk, leaning down to look her in the eye. "And just like I've told everyone else when they ask about you, I'll tell you the same thing. You wanna know somethin' about Volt, you're gonna have to ask Volt."

"Who's been asking about me?" She shook her head, dismissing the distraction. "It doesn't matter." She drummed her fingers on the armrest of the chair before pointing at the cabinet the summons had disappeared into. "That little note didn't mention when we were supposed to go entertain Her Royal pain in my ass."

The master lowered himself back into his chair. "I'd suggest you don't address her as such to her face."

Maevus stuck her tongue out and stood, pleased that her head was no longer spinning. It was amazing what a little food could do for a person. When she thought about it, she could still eat a little more.

She turned toward the door and opened it. "Usually the time is at your earliest convenience," Vraylor said behind her. The way he said it made it sound like what he really meant was at the queen's earliest convenience. That was reinforced when Vraylor added, "You'd best hurry. Volt isn't inclined to wait on people."

Wrinkling her nose, she let the door fall shut behind her. With a bracing breath, she turned and headed for the stairs and her room.

Hopefully, Korie had gotten her something worthy of being worn in front of a queen.