Page 231 of Blood Feast

Then he saw Cassia’s face, twisted with pain, her mouth open in a scream of despair. Rage hardened his power. He struck, and the smoke shattered, slicing through his mind.

He stood bleeding in the orchard at Paradum. In this mindscape, the trees were not dead, but heavy with apples. A crow winged between the branches overhead.

“You won’t find this duel as easy as the last one,” Miranda said.

Lio spun to face her. He tightened his hands around Final Word, unsure if he clutched his real staff or a vision of it that embodied their mental battle.

Miranda held the digging fork on which Skleros had met his end. “Every time you break me, I become stronger. That’s the choiceImade here, while Cassia chose the wrong side.”

Lio stood his ground. “I’m not here to break you.”

“You’ll have to, if you want to know what’s behind the doors.”

Let her think that was all he had in store for her. She didn’t suspect there was something he wanted even more than her secrets, and she couldn’t imagine how long and hard he would fight to get it.

He made a mighty swing with his staff. Beyond the vision of the orchard, her mind strained against the force of his blow.

She blocked him with the digging fork. Lio felt the impact through every inch of his ephemeral shape, as if his body might dissolve into the pain in his mind.

Miranda turned and raced through the orchard toward the castle.

“You can’t run any longer!” Lio shouted. “This ends here.”

He tried to levitate after her, but the very air held him down. By sheer force of Will, he broke through the resistance and managed to run toward her.

He swept Final Word out before him, catching her in the ankles. She went down, and he aimed the butt of his staff at her head.

She rolled, springing to her feet. With a parry, she shoved his staff away from her. Her counterattack was as fast as thought. The tines of her fork slashed Lio’s side as he dodged.

Gasping, he hunched over and pressed a hand to his bleeding abdomen. Through a haze of red over his sight, he saw Miranda flee again.

Lio!came Cassia’s worried mind voice.Are you all right?

Is my physical form bleeding?

No. She hasn’t reached the dome yet. Your body is safe behind my roses.

Then I’m better than all right.Gritting his teeth, he pushed through the pain of the mental wound and ran ahead.

He caught up to Miranda in the shadow of the inner wall. She disappeared through solid stone, leaving him outside her defenses.

Lio glanced left and right along the wall. No thorns grew on it, as they did in reality.

And yet, Cassia’s stolen magic was here, too. He had to believe that her power, even held captive by Miranda, would know him. The Silvicultrix’s mate.

Cassia.

Even as he thought her name, their Grace Union drew her nearer, in defiance of any dream wards. Her presence filled his mind, and he felt an echo in Miranda’s. Could that be Cassia’s lost magic responding to her nearness?

What do you need, my Grace?Cassia asked.

Just stay in Union with me. Can you do that and cast your spell?

Yes. Our nearness only seems to make my spell stronger.

Lio turned a savage smile on the walls of Paradum. His theory was correct.

Holding his connection to Cassia, he tore his hand with his fangs and spread his blood on the ground. Everywhere the drops fell, black roses sprang up, scaling the wall. With Final Word on his back, he took hold of one vine and climbed. Thorns tore at his hands, but his blood only strengthened the roses.

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