Page 176 of Blood Feast

“Neither do I,” Cassia said. “Too many raiding parties have already infiltrated Segetia’s defenses.”

Lyros picked up a doll lying on the path. The door to the nearest home hung open. He set the toy inside the house and shut the door. “There is no honor or courage in this war. Instead of facing his equals in battle, Lucis is bent on slaughtering those powerless to fight back. The world has never seen a war quite like this.”

“Or perhaps we have,” Lio said quietly, “but all memory of it was buried with the last civilization the Old Masters’ game destroyed.”

Cassia shivered, thinking of the last raiding party they had killed. Lucis’s soldiers and the Order of Anthros’s mages had died as pawns. The gauntlet of violence and death was taking its toll on her, night by night.

She knew this was part of her calling as an immortal. It was one of the oldest promises the Hesperines had made to Tenebra in the Equinox Oath. Criminals who hurt honest people were fair game for Hesperines errant. When Tenebran law failed, immortals enacted Orthros’s justice.

She did not know how that promise coexisted with the guarantees of peace she cherished from the treaty. Every time another mortal fell before her power, she tried to understand. But she found no answers in the hollow eyes of the men who hadno more future, no more hope that they might one day transform into their better selves.

Lyros unrolled their map, pulling her out of her thoughts. “We’re nearing the area where the knights were headed with the refugees we helped across the river.”

Cassia ran her finger south of the River Silvistra. “The defenses here will be better. Segetia’s strength lies in their alliances and trade agreements. All across this region, there’s a swath of fortresses that belong to Flavian’s most loyal lords.”

“I remember reading about those,” Lio said. “For centuries, they’ve been the main line of defense against invasions from the south. They’ve held out through countless wars.”

“Here’s Castra Augusta.” Cassia pointed to the fortress. “That’s the stronghold of a Knight Commander in Ben’s order, where he said they were taking the Mederi villagers.”

“Good,” said Lyros. “We can hope that raiding party from earlier tonight will be the last one we meet for awhile.”

“But that also means there might be Chargers near,” Mak reminded them. “If Rudhira has been able to spare any Hesperines errant to fight in Segetia, they’re sure to be protecting the fortresses where the refugees are.”

Lyros nodded. “Let’s be on our guard.”

Lio looked to Cassia. “Where to next?”

The Lustra was pulling her toward the fields past the village. The farmland felt too open and exposed. But she squared her shoulders. “This way.”

They swept over the fallow fields of Tenebra’s bread basket. It seemed dead now, with animals in their burrows for the winter and the humans gone. Would any of the farmers make it back in time to sow their fields in spring? Would Lucis’s armies leave them any fields to return to, or would they come home to find their livelihood trampled by armies? Cassia feared there was famine in the future for Solia’s kingdom.

It was midnight when they scented fire. There was no cover to be had, so they gathered close under veil spells. Knight paced restlessly, and Cassia could hear his heart beating faster.

Mak scanned the horizon, where a column of smoke rose. “That seems like something worse than another skirmish between the knights and a raiding party.”

“Miranda’s trail leads right toward the fire,” Cassia said.

Lio’s magic stretched out from him. His dread crept over their Grace Union before he spoke. “I don’t sense any minds. Whatever happened out there…I don’t know if anyone survived.”

A weight settled in Cassia’s belly. “We have to find out.”

Mak nodded, his aura grim.

“No one drop any veils until we’re sure what we’re dealing with,” Lyros said.

They drew their weapons and moved into their defensive formation. This time, the smoke was the guidance they followed across the fields.

When Cassia smelled the bodies, she nearly gagged. She put a hand to her mouth, swallowing hard. This was different from any of their battles so far. There was more death here. So much more.

The source of the smoke came into sight ahead. They all came to a halt as shock reverberated through their Blood Union.

A castle stood battered and scorched before them. Fire magic had made short work of the outer palisade and left its fresh timbers snapping with hot sap. The old stones of the inner wall had succumbed, and the Charge’s wards were long gone, too. Smoke swirled up from the keep.

Through the odor of burnt flesh, Cassia comprehended what she was seeing. Bodies lay amid the broken remnants of tents. She glimpsed dark hair and white hair, rough homespuns and fine surcoats.

This was Castra Augusta, the fortress where Ben and his knights had brought the villagers for safety.

Lio held his magictaut, striving to catch any hint of a living mind. He could feel nothing but the memories of suffering that flooded the Blood Union.

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