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up foam and soot. Toria shoved the charred knife into a drawer that collected random scraps of metal. “Want to help me again tomorrow? Or do you have another date with what’s-his-name?”
    “I doubt there will be more dates with Duncan,” Kane said. “Oh. There was something else that happened this morning. We were, ah, asked to leave the first restaurant we went to.”
    Toria paused in her scrubbing to quirk an eyebrow at him. “Dress code?” That didn’t seem likely, when she took in Kane’s black slacks and green collared shirt.
    “Nope,” Kane said. “A sign that basically said ‘no nonhumans.’ And since there was a bright flash of blue light when I walked in, I guess mages qualify. Which is ironic, since they were using magic as a detector.”
    Toria stared at him. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Where was this?”
    “Café Lizzette, off Main Street. We ended up at that Castillian place a few blocks down.”
    “Isn’t Café Lizzette owned by Emily Fabbri?” Toria remembered the campaign posters all over downtown—Fabbri had been elected as a human representative to the city council in the last election cycle. Interesting.
    “I think so. We got out of there pretty quick,” Kane said. “But I’m curious to see which mage set that charm. Up for an adventure today?”
    “Definitely,” Toria said. “There aren’t that many mages in Limani, and I want to know who’s selling out.”
    “Me, too,” Kane said. “Between the vampire bans up north and the werecreature segregation in the Roman Colonies down south, we can’t afford that bullshit in Limani.”
    Bullshit indeed. Toria resumed her work on the scorch marks. This was her home, and she adored Limani’s independent spirit. She and Kane might just be college students, but there were few mages in Limani, and they were the only warrior-mage pair. That gave them some pull, and she was going to pull threads and see what unraveled.
    What else was she going to do on summer break beside set fires in her kitchen?

    In simple black script, the sign in front of Café Lizzette read: Humans welcome. Patronage discouraged from all others.
    Toria read the sign a second time, waiting for the meaning to sink in. “But that’s . . . that’s outrageous! Isn’t that illegal?” She turned to Kane. “Please tell me it’s illegal.”
    He leaned against a lamppost and shook his head. “I did some research while you were showering. It’s not. The city council was created with the idea that this sort of prejudice wouldn’t exist, so there aren’t any laws to actually combat that. Awful logic.”
    Toria was about two seconds away from marching into the café. “I don’t understand. The last census showed that barely a fifth of the population was a mage, werecreature, or elven. It’s not like we’re overrunning the place.”
    “To some people, even one is enough.”
    “So Emily Fabbri owns this place? One of the new councilmembers?”
    “Yep,” Kane said. “That’s why I’m worried.”
    “Mama wasn’t happy with the election results.” They stared at the restaurant. Toria’s skin crawled at the notion of this sort of prejudice, especially since the city had almost descended into civil war less than five years ago when the werepanthers sued for fair representation on the council. She knew she’d grown up in the rather rose-tinted world of Limani, but this bordered on ridiculous. Scratch that. Insanity.
    Worry for her mother also itched in the back of her skull. No one had answered at the house when she’d called, which meant they hadn’t made it home last night. She kept telling herself that the boat had been late and the three had been stranded at the docks. It wasn’t like Mikelos not to call them, though.
    “That’s it,” Toria said. “This is so not cool.” She strode forward, reaching the door of the restaurant before Kane could react. A last look over her shoulder before entering revealed that Kane still