Page 155 of Blood Feast

A moment later, Mak and Lyros’s voices drifted down the stairs.

“No,” said Lyros, “I really don’t need you to carry me.”

“Don’t go all hardened warrior on me yet.”

“I am a warrior, not a human bride, and I can go down on my own two feet.”

“Won’t you let me enjoy carrying you?”

Their conversation halted abruptly, and it seemed Lyros had offered Mak a kiss as a consolation.

“No,” said Lyros.

A moment later, they entered the dining hall hand in hand. Despite Lyros’s assertions that he was in a hardened warrior frame of mind, they weren’t dressed for battle. They’d come down in their veil hours robes as well, the attire Hesperines only wore at times of relaxation among their confidantes. That gave Lio hope they hadn’t come for a fight. Then again, maybe those were the only clothes they had left that hadn’t been torn to shreds in a skirmish by now.

They poured themselves some coffee, and Mak took the other chair by the fire. Lyros sighed as if he’d lost the argument this time. He slid onto his Grace’s lap, and a grinning Mak gave him a kiss.

For a moment, it felt like they were all at ease in one of their coffee rooms back home.

But Lio knew that illusion wasn’t enough. “I owe you all an apology. I will not make the same mistake again.”

“We all owe each other enough apologies to go around,” Mak said. “Call it even?”

Lyros said nothing, but he nodded.

Cassia’s face was impassive, the expression she got when she was trying not to show weakness. “I owe you all an explanation before you hand out forgiveness.”

She didn’t look at any of them as she related her conversation with Kallikrates.

Lyros got up and began to pace. There was still so much anger in the way he moved, although his aura was veiled. Lio couldn’t blame him.

At last, Lyros faced Lio and Cassia. “Mak and I are trying to keep us all alive.”

Her hand went to her chest, where her pendant no longer hung. “Whatever the consequences of my negotiation with him, it will only come back on me.”

Lio’s own anger flared again. “That is not how this works.”

“It is,” she insisted. “He knows if he harms any of you, our deal is off. I bargained with him for your protection.”

Lyros’s gaze flashed. “Do you think ‘keeping us all alive’ excludes you? We’re trying to ensure your safety, too. Will you two stop making that so sunbound difficult?”

“Thank you.” Cassia’s voice was small. “Yes, we’ll try.”

Lyros stalked back to Mak’s lap.

Their quest was in shambles. Roborra had reminded all of them what their enemy was capable of. They were woefully unprepared and outmatched. They had lost Miranda’s trail, and their most precious resource—each other—was under strain. Over the past few nights, Lio had taken plenty of time to think about how he could fix this.

“We need a new plan. The least I can do is suggest a way forward.” He held up a hand before Lyros could protest. “You can reject the idea if you think I’m being a hothead again.”

Lyros crossed his arms. “We’ll consider it. That’s all I’m promising.”

“Thank you. I think we all agree we should avoid Skleros.”

“Yes, but Miranda is a Gift Collector, too. Kallikrates could just as easily manifest through her and fry us all.”

“We’ll plan wards for that,” Lyros interjected.

“Of course,” Lio agreed, “but think about what Skleros said. She was their master’s favorite, but now he’s displeased with her. Perhaps Skleros is more dangerous than she is right now because he has Kallikrates’s favor.”

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