Page 249 of Blood Feast

She lifted her gaze.

“You saved him,” Rudhira said. “That is all you need to remember about this night.”

She knew she would see the battle in her dreams. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Mak put his arm around her. “We’ll be here to remind you.”

“You all fought well.” Rudhira’s gaze swept over the carpet of Hespera’s Roses that covered the ground, the Sanctuary Roses that shored up the ruins, and the thorned vines with their black blooms that stood guard. “Our Goddess’s flower, growing in Hagia Boreia again.”

“The destruction we brought here grieves me, though,” Cassia said.

“Don’t grieve,” Rudhira replied. “Anastasios would rather have a garden like this as his memorial than a cairn. When my mother Alea hears of it, she will say our youngbloods have brought her temple back to life.”

Cassia had spent so many nights despairing over what the Queens must think of her now. She drew hope from Rudhira’sprediction that the Annassa would think kindly on tonight’s events.

Rudhira beckoned to her, Mak, and Lyros. “Now come away from reminders of our martyrs. There is a living fortress of our Goddess, and I promise it will feel like home. Your horses are in my stables, and we’ve been making the fortress ready for you while we waited on the pardon.”

As they gathered their belongings, Cassia hesitated over the pieces of the relic dagger. “What should we do with this?”

“Miranda left an artifact behind?” Rudhira asked sharply.

“Do you want it for study?” Lyros asked.

“It should go in the vault at Castra Justa,” the prince answered. “There’s a warded bag in my satchel. Be careful.”

Mak and Lyros collected the dagger for him while Cassia retrieved her foci and took charge of Lio’s scroll case and Final Word.

“What will we do for a stretcher?” she asked.

“Nonsense. I will carry him myself.” Rudhira rose to his feet, lifting Lio in his arms. A bloodborn was no small burden to carry, but their prince appeared deeply grateful to have this one safely in his arms.

Cassia kept hold of her Grace’s hand as Mak and Lyros gathered around them. The hounds came obediently, quiet in response to their pack’s somber mood.

Rudhira quirked an eyebrow at Dame. “I am steppingtwoliegehounds into my fortress?”

“She isn’t a liegehound anymore.” Lyros put a defensive hand on Dame. “She’s a Hesperine’s familiar.”

Rudhira shook his head. “That is a tale all of the Charge will want to hear.”

“Lio can tell it to you when he wakes up again,” Mak said staunchly.

Cassia was grateful for his encouraging words, but a chill of unease slid down her throat.

Rudhira’s power bolstered them and carried them away from the fields of their battles. Cool, moist air enveloped them, and a river rushed in the near distance. Cassia stepped foot on green earth, and the vibrant Lustra murmured with interest.

They stood at the top of a cliff, with a long drop behind them and the gates of Castra Justa before them. The portcullis began to rise.

Mak craned his neck to look up at the massive fortifications. “The Fortress of Justice, in the flesh.”

Lyros took Mak’s hand. “From the night you forged your first adamas, I should have known you would lead us somewhere glorious.”

The fortress dominated the bluff, built of the sharp gray stone of Tenebra’s eastern wilds. The tall towers and layers of walls might have passed for a Tenebran castle, if not for the shining auras of the Hesperines within.

A banner flew over the keep, emblazoned with a lion, a star, a red crown, and a midnight-blue moon. Another was rising below it. Chill mountain wind caught at their robes, and the banner unfurled to display four black roses. Cassia pressed a hand to her mouth.

“I can’t give you a victory parade to House Annassa—yet—but I can give you this.” Rudhira led them into his stronghold.

Two crowds of Chargers packed the courtyard beneath black banners, and the aisle between them was scattered with black rose petals. The cheer that went up among the Hesperines errant split Cassia’s immortal ears, and she had never heard anything more wonderful.

---