Free Abuse of Power (Rise of the Mages 1) by Brian W. Foster

Benj. “Find a tender. I’ll go after the mayor.”
    Alaina stumbled after them and soon found herself alone in front of a shop. Staring.
    Should she go in? Go through with the marriage?
    She and August had been through a lot together despite the short time they’d known each other, and she was pretty sure she had his measure—the brave knight who roams the world saving fair maidens. A foolish child in some ways but with a good heart. And he’d decided that she was in need of rescuing.
    Alaina grimaced. Not that his assessment wasn’t accurate.
    Sure, he likely felt some affection for her, and the marriage did solve an apparent problem for him. But there were better women for him. Nice ones who weren’t commoners—or mages for the Holy One’s sake!
    Alaina had never been to court, but tales were full of the goings-on. Imagine the embarrassment she’d bring him. And he certainly had brushed over how complicated marrying a person under edict of death would be for him.
    It would be the height of selfishness for her to go through with it.
    She chuckled at the irony of her situation. The last time she ran, it had been the wrong thing to do. The only question was whether she had the guts to do the right thing.

15.
    Auggie dashed into a jewelry store and threw a handful of coins on the counter—more than enough to cover any possible purchase.
    A diamond ring caught his eye. Perfect. He grabbed it and two gold bands before rushing out of the shop and over to the nearby town hall. An attendant sitting in an antechamber tried to stop him, but he barreled past and burst through the door to an office.
    “What the blast—” A man wearing a distinguished gray suit popped to his feet.
    “I’m Major August Asher, niskmo of Vierna. Round up the sealer and follow me.”
    “Oh! Well, then. I’m Mayor—”
    “No offense, man, but I just don’t care who you are. Find the town sealer and follow me.”
    Auggie fully expected that the mayor would nod and instantly fulfill the command. The whole deal should have taken five minutes. Instead, locating the sealer required a quarter hour of searching the building, finally finding her going over records in the basement. She turned out to be an elderly lady who didn’t move quickly, and of course, her book for recording official town marriages had been misplaced. Another twenty minutes gone.
    When they eventually made it outside, Auggie expected to see both Alaina and Benj waiting at the wedding arch in the square. Of course, neither were.
    Had they run into trouble? Was Benj dodging guardsmen left and right? But the town wasn’t that big, and Auggie saw no signs of Emar.
    And Alaina. What if she had changed her mind? Maybe she ran. Maybe Benj was chasing her. It would be just Auggie’s luck to finally find a woman worth marrying only to lose her. He trudged to the middle of the square and waited with the mayor and the sealer.
    What else could Auggie do? If he ran around town trying to find Benj and Alaina, he was likely to miss them if they showed up at the arch. Finally, a flash of color caught his eye. Alaina. His breath caught.
    She wore a pale green gown that set off her eyes. It dipped low in the front where a white lace camisole hinted at her charms. The dress, though not a perfect fit, tapered to her thin waist before falling from the swell below her waist and flaring down her legs. Instead of being confined in a braid, her brilliant yellow hair hung straight down her back and shone in the sunlight.
    He gawked at her as she approached. Even when he realized he was staring, he couldn’t do a thing about it.
    Once Alaina reached him, she put her hands on her hips. “Just what do you think you’re looking at, milord?”
    He closed his gaping mouth. “You’re beautiful.”
    “Is it that surprising to you?” She sounded pleased.
    “Yes. Uh … I mean, no. I mean …”
    There was no way to defeat her with words. No, to gain the upper hand on her, he’d have to take a