Page 152 of Blood Feast

The minutes slipped away, and the sky lightened. He thought of all the things he might say but spoke none of them, unsure of whether his words would only wound her more. He watched helplessly as she slipped into Slumber.

Before sleep claimed him too, he needed to ask Mak how Lyros was. Lio dragged himself out of bed and went to their door, where he waited for them to sense his aura.

When Lyros opened the door, Lio breathed a sigh of relief. Until the cold anger in Lyros’s aura swept over him.

“How are you feeling?” Lio tried.

Lyros leaned one hand heavily on the door frame. “It grazed my heart, but didn’t go through it. Hard to aim a corpse. Is Cassia all right?”

“She’ll mend. Slowly. Lightning magic isn’t fire magic, but it’s bad enough.”

Lyros looked at him for a long moment, his jaw clenched.

“Think about when Solia ignored you in battle,” he said at last. “What happened?”

Solia hadn’t heeded Lio’s pleas to be patient and strategic. An innocent healer mage had paid the price when the Collector had ripped out her magic. Pakhne continued to exist, hollow and suffering, without hope of a cure or even comfort.

Heat flushed under Lio’s collar. “That would have been Cassia’s fate if I hadn’t Gifted her. Don’t compare that to tonight.”

“People get hurt if we fight before we think.”

Lio thumped his hand against the door frame. “Cassia did get hurt. Over and over again by Kallikrates and his Overseers. Don’t tell me not to fight them.”

“Throwing yourself at Skleros won’t get Cassia’s magic back. Do not ever ignore my retreat signal again. Do you understand?”

“Kallikrates knows more about the Lustra than we do. If there’s any chance his secrets could help me restore Cassia’s power, I will tear apart every Overseer’s mind, and I will not retreat until I’m done.”

Lio turned on his heel and walked away. Behind him, the door slammed.

Lio fell back into bed beside Cassia, gazing at the burn on her chest. Would it be there, if he had heeded Lyros? Would they have captured Skleros, if Cassia had heeded Lio?

He thought through everything they could have done differently until day closed his eyes for him and banished him into uselessness.

22

Nights After

WINTER SOLSTICE

HER ONLY PROTECTOR

Lio tasted sparks onhis tongue and jolted toward consciousness. Snow. Bones. Cassia. He felt like he was running through lightning and feared he would reach her too late.

He got a breath in him and scented her lifeblood. She was alive. Her heart beat against his at the slow pace of immortal rest. Fumbling for her, he found her lying beside him and wrapped his sluggish arms around her. Safe.

He opened his eyes and saw her face. Her chin was set at a stubborn angle, as if she remembered why she was angry at him, even in Slumber.

Lio brushed his fingertips over her heart. The dark scar had turned to angry, red new skin.

As he stirred, so did Knight, lifting his head from his paws. He drowsed on the floor in the pile of furs Lio and Cassia had cast off the bed. He certainly didn’t share their Hesperine aversion for the pelts.

“She’ll be back with us in a little while,” Lio said. “You’ll have to make do with my company for now, I’m afraid.”

Knight laid his head back down with a grumpy chuff.

“I know,” Lio said. “The Dawn Slumber makes us all miserable.”

After everything she had suffered yesterday, at least he could make her awakening easier. Would her mind wake caged in the stasis of her body tonight? Or would the Slumber continue to inebriate her while her physical instincts awakened first?Either way, he knew how she hated those moments of pure vulnerability.

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