"Thought you weren't going to sleep."

Iris woke with a start at Char's teasing voice in her ear. She pulled free from his embrace and climbed out of bed, careful to avoid his green eyes. "I guess you're comfortable," she said coolly, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks.

"Comfortable. That's a new one."

There wasn't much in the room to look at other than him. She went to the window and put her hand on the glass, leaving fingerprints in the fog. The blizzard was still raging outside. She hadn't thought about it last night, but it suddenly struck her as strange.

"Why is it snowing?" she asked. "It's summer."

"I've been wondering that myself," Char replied, coming up behind her and sliding his hands around her waist.

"Char-"

"Good morning, Iris," he whispered in her ear. His lips touched her neck, and she wished she could repress the shiver that ran down her spine. He was good at this. Really good. And she wondered again exactly how many girls he'd done this to.

"Shouldn't you introduce me to your friend?" she asked nervously.

"In a minute." He turned her around and kissed her on the lips, and she couldn't pretend she didn't feel the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

"Good morning, Char," she said shyly.

He smiled as he gazed down at her. "I don't want to leave you, Iris."

Her heart did a somersault in her chest. "I bet you say that to all the girls you sleep with."

"None until now. And I haven't actually slept with that many girls."

She pouted. "You're just saying that."

He chuckled. "No, I'm not. Rath is the playboy in our family, not me."

"But all those girls at the party-"

"They don't mean anything to me. I like to dance. That's all." He placed a chaste kiss on her lips, and then he pulled back, taking her by the hand and leading her to the door. "Hide that amulet and let's go."

"Wait. Is my hair okay?" she asked, pulling free and finger-combing through her hair. "And my dress is wrinkled from sleeping in it..." she muttered, dropping the amulet down her neckline.

"I can help you change, if you'd like," he teased, his green eyes dancing.

She scowled at him petulantly. "Never mind. Let's just go to breakfast."

Outside the door was a small landing breaking up a tight spiral staircase. Char led her down the blackened stones, past more flickering wall sconces, to another rough wooden door. He pulled the iron latch and went in ahead of her.

"Hey, Jonah," he called cheerfully.

Iris' ears pricked at the familiar name. But it couldn't be.

"Hey, Char. Who's that behind you?"

She knew that voice. She pushed past Char, and her eyes landed on a man in his early thirties with platinum blonde hair and warm, pale blue eyes. "Jonah?" she gasped.

His eyes widened. "Iris?"

He pushed his chair back from the dining table and stood up to catch her as she ran into his embrace. She threw her arms around his neck, and he picked her up, spinning her around once before setting her back on the floor.

"Jonah! I can't believe it's you!" she exclaimed, beaming up at him.

"Never mind me. What happened to the little girl who used to follow me around like my shadow?" he asked, smiling brightly.

"It's been fourteen years, Jonah," she giggled.

"Has it been that long?" He patted her head fondly. "Let me get a look at you."

She twirled in place, stopping to smile up at him again. He pulled her into another embrace.

"I missed you so much," she said.

"I missed you, too, Iris."

Char cleared his throat, and Jonah and Iris pulled apart.

"Sorry," Iris said, smiling back at Char. "Jonah was an orphan, too."

"I got that," Char replied.

"How did you end up with him?" Jonah asked, nodding toward Char. "And that dress - unless Father John's doing really well lately, he didn't get you that."

"What about you? You're a mage! When did that happen?" Iris countered.

"How about we sit down to eat?" Char suggested.

"Good idea. I'll have the fairies bring more food for you two," Jonah said, snapping his fingers.

"Fairies?" Iris asked curiously.

Jonah grinned and pulled out a seat for her. "Yes, fairies. This tower is right in the center of an enchanted forest. You probably couldn't see it because of the storm."

"Storm or no storm, I have a tendency to pass out when flying," Iris replied, taking her seat. Jonah returned to his chair at the head of the table, with Iris on his right and Char taking the spot on her right.

"Huh. How many times have you flown with him?" Jonah asked, his blue eyes flicking from her to Char.

"My story's a bit long. Why don't you go first? When did you find out you were a mage?"

"Oh, I've always known. I just didn't tell anybody except Father John," Jonah replied, shrugging. "Why did you think I was always taking off on my own?"

"I thought it was because I was annoying you."

He laughed. "Not at all. I was practicing my magic. Father John found out what I needed for tuition at the magic school in the capital, and when we saved up enough, that's where I went. Your turn. How did you end up with Char?"

"The war has started," Char replied.

Jonah nodded, his smile fading. "Heard about that. So it's true that Little Rest was sacked."

Iris looked quickly at Char.

"We attacked it, yes, but we didn't sack it," Char said firmly. "The king's mage did that after we left."

"Char?" Iris asked.

"Sorry. I was going to tell you, eventually," he said apologetically to her. He turned back to Jonah and continued, "I went in for a scouting mission ahead of the attack. Ran into Iris, found out the king's mage was in town. Things got complicated."

"I bet," Jonah said, frowning. "What was he doing there?"

"Looking for Iris."

Jonah sighed heavily. "This is about the amulet."

Iris and Char exchanged glances. "You know about that?" Iris asked in a small voice.

"I found you, Iris," Jonah replied. "When you were left at the church. I picked up your basket and brought you to Father John, and when I saw that amulet, I knew it was magical, and I told him to lock it up."

Iris pulled on the chain to draw the amulet out of her dress. "This amulet?"

Jonah's blue eyes narrowed. "Yeah. That amulet." He dragged his hands across his face, but just then the door to the staircase opened, and several plates of food floated in on dozens of pinpoint golden bits of light. The golden lights moved to the edges of the plates and deposited them in front of Iris and Char, and then they swirled together in a mini tornado and swarmed Iris' amulet.

"Um...Jonah?" she asked nervously, sitting perfectly still. They weren't touching her, but they kept darting in and out, coming to within half an inch of the amulet before zipping away again.

"Fairies," he replied. "Okay, knock it off. You're scaring her."

The golden lights zipped up toward the ceiling, scattered like fireworks, and darted for the door. It shut behind them with a resounding bang.

"They mean well, but they can get a little out of line sometimes," Jonah said apologetically.

"What did they want with my amulet?" Iris asked.

"Uh, well, that's..." He sighed. "That's the most powerful magical artifact in the world, and it draws all magic, including magic within other creatures, to it."

"You seem to know quite a lot about it," Char commented.

Jonah nodded. "Any mage worth his salt knows about it. Legend has it that it was cut from a single, massive magical crystal a thousand years ago. It enhances its bearer's power and stores their magic within the amulet after their death, thereby making the next bearer even more powerful. At this point, its power is almost unlimited."

Iris felt a heavy weight of dread settle in her stomach. "That's why the king's mage wants it."

"Not just it. You. It chooses its next bearer, and the only way to take it from that person is by killing them. But then the amulet has to choose the killer in order for them to use it, so that's a risky play. The last person to do that ended up with a useless necklace for years and years until a serving girl stole it."

"My mother?" Iris asked hesitantly.

Jonah nodded.

"So the king's mage lied when he said it belonged to him," Char mused.

"In his mind, it does, because he killed to get it, only to find out it had already been stolen," Jonah replied.

"How do you know all of this?" Iris asked. "The little details about the serving girl, and the person she stole it from, and the king's mage?"

Jonah sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because the person she stole it from was my master, and the king's mage and I went to school together. We were both apprenticed to the same man. He was always boasting about how he had the amulet, even though he knew full well that it had been stolen, and that boasting got him killed." Jonah dropped his hand to the table and met Iris' eyes with an intense gaze. "The king's mage won't stop until he finds you, Iris, but he's not going to kill you and risk losing access to the amulet's power. He's been experimenting with ways of extracting magical power from outside sources - artifacts, magical creatures, other mages. That's why his power keeps growing. That's what he's going to do to you if he finds you."

The food on the table had grown cold. Iris was pale and trembling. Char's hand found hers under the table and gave it a squeeze.

"Can you keep her safe here?" he asked quietly.

Jonah answered with another question. "Can he track her?"

She nodded. "He touched my wrist in the inn, and I healed a dragon he'd wounded."

"Oh, Iris," Jonah groaned, putting his face in his hands.

"There's no hope, is there?" she whispered.

Char squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Jonah dropped his hands to look her in the eye. "I'm nowhere near as powerful as the king's mage, but I have the help of all the magical creatures that have taken refuge in this forest. We're all hiding from him. Our combined barrier should hide you for a little while, too, long enough for me to start teaching you how to use your magic. That's your best defense."

She nodded. "I've already learned a little. The amulet tells me what to do," she said hesitantly.

"The voices of the past bearers. Good. I'll need you to tell me exactly what you've learned so far, and everything you've done, but you'd better eat your food first. This is going to be a long day."

"I'm...not really hungry."

"Nonsense. Wouldn't want to upset the fairies," he said, grinning. He snapped his fingers, and the door burst open again, little golden lights swarming to the table and spinning around the cold food so quickly that the food vanished behind a golden blur. When they stopped, the food was steaming hot again, and the golden lights hovered in midair for a moment before darting toward Iris, dancing around her.

"What are they doing?" she asked, an inexplicable smile coming to her lips. They weren't focused on the amulet right now. They were zipping around her face and her hair. She looked at Char, and he was watching curiously, too.

"They like you," Jonah replied, the golden lights reflecting in his blue eyes as he smiled at her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as one landed on the hair falling over her shoulder. More followed, and she felt more landing on top of her head, too. "They're like little snowflakes," she said. "Except golden and warm."

"Speaking of snow, what do you know about this weather?" Char asked Jonah.

"Definitely something magical going on," Jonah replied. "Not the king's mage, though."

The golden lights arose from Iris all at once and landed on the table around the plates, fluttering across the porcelain edges and the silver utensils.

"Okay, I'll eat," she said, laughing.

They arose again and flew out the door. She watched them go, still smiling, and picked up her fork.

"Are they always like that?" she asked.

"No," Jonah replied, shaking his head as a soft smile played across his lips. "You have some powerful little friends now, Iris."