Page 169 of Blood Feast

“No one has ever mastered it before the age of one hundred and sixty. You aren’t going to learn it tonight.”

Lyros pulled away. “You can stop me from training tonight. But I will never give up the battle arts. Don’t you dare suggest it again.”

Lyros stepped out of sight.

Cassia looked at Mak in confusion and tried to keep her tone tactful. “You’ve never told him to give up being a warrior. Have you?”

Mak slumped onto a bench. “That’s not what I meant.”

Lio sat down beside his cousin. “I think that’s how Lyros interpreted what Mak said in front of Rudhira tonight.”

She supposed she couldn’t avoid that topic any longer. “What did Rudhira say?”

“You didn’t hear him?”

She shook her head. “I was too absorbed in my spell.”

“Good.” Lio’s gaze fell. “None of it bears repeating.”

She had a flash of understanding, finally. How right he had been to caution her that their Grace Union didn’t always reveal the reason behind his emotions.

So she spoke through their bond.That’s why you were so affected by what happened tonight. I thought you were angry and hurt because of how he reacted to my spell.

I was,he insisted.I still am.

But Rudhira said something that hurt you, too.

“Don’t be close-lipped about it, Lio,” Mak said. “You can see how much trouble secrets have gotten me into lately.”

Cassia crossed her arms. “Did you two learn nothing from Lio waiting too long to tell me I’m his Grace?”

“The things I’ve been keeping from Lyros aren’t as important as Grace,” Mak said defensively.

“And I had good reasons for waiting to tell you about our bond,” Lio protested.

She gave them both a pointed look. “‘For their own good’ is never a good reason.”

Mak groaned. “You’re right.”

Lio sighed and gave in. “It’s just as we feared. Rudhira wants us to turn ourselves in so he can to take us back to Orthros to face trial.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “He really tried to arrest us, then.”

Lio and Mak relayed the rest of their standoff with Rudhira. By the time they finished, Cassia was fighting tears.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“So am I.” Lio sounded tired.

She sent him her warmth through their bond. “I never imagined Rudhira would be so hard on us. He’s the one who heals wounds, not someone who rubs salt in them.”

“We made this hard on him,” Mak said.

“I’m still surprised he wasn’t gentler with us,” Cassia replied.

Mak snorted. “The Blood-Red prince doesn’t have a reputation for being gentle.”

“Not with his enemies. But with the people he loves…” She thought of how, without judgment, he had helped her tame her spell at her first Ritual. Then of how he had fought against her magic tonight. It seemed all wrong. “That was so unlike him.”

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