Page 197 of Blood Feast

Cassia moved away from the fire. “I hadn’t realized you ventured that far out of Namenti.”

“I tried to get out of the city once. I stowed away on a wagon headed for greener pastures, or so I thought. The caravan made it all the way to Hierax Temple before the traders found me and put me out on my ear. I decided I’d rather try my luck on the streets than in the wilderness, so I hopped into another wagon heading back to the city.”

“With the traders’ coin purses,” Mak finished.

Lyros rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll get my spear and scout the temple. Wait here.”

Mak didn’t protest, so he and Lyros must have agreed on this privately. Lio started to say something, but Cassia caught his hand and held him back while Lyros headed for the armory.

Did they think Lio such a fool that he couldn’t be trusted with a simple scouting mission?

Save your thelemancy for Miranda,Cassia said in his mind.

When Lyros returned with Night’s Aim, Mak held him close for a moment. Lyros gave Mak a tender kiss, then stepped away.

The minutes slipped by. Mak sat down and failed at pretending he wasn’t worried for his Grace. Cassia paced. Lio nursed his pride and his fear for their Trial brother.

At last, Lyros appeared by the fireside again. Lio sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

Mak jumped to his feet and pulled Lyros into his arms. “What did you find?”

“Nothing good,” Lyros reported. “It appears the invasion force vanquished the temple on their way up from Cordium. The Aithourians have made themselves at home. Their leader is playing a game of kings and mages with Skleros over a bottle of wine.”

Cassia curled her hands into fists. “Skleros is there? Could you tell if he has my pendant with him?”

Lyros nodded. “He was boasting to the war mage about taking a witch’s artifact.”

“This witch will send his pretty new body back to Kallikrates in pieces. What about Miranda?”

“No sign of her.”

“She’s there somewhere. I can tell.”

“Marvelous,” Mak said. “A temple full of Aithourians and two Gift Collectors. Our odds just keep getting better and better.”

Lio resented every war mage between them and their goal. But he was not a reckless idiot, contrary to others’ belief. “What do you recommend we do, Lyros?”

Lyros narrowed his eyes. “I would prefer to continue avoiding Skleros since our last battle with him was such a disaster. We can’t afford to lose another of Cassia’s foci to him. But it seems we have no choice. We’ll have to face him tonight.”

Cassia’s temper flared. Lio knew the flavor of her anger when she was using it as armor. He alone could sense the regrets she was trying to hide.

He glared at Lyros. “Now is not the time to berate ourselves or each other for past decisions.”

“I’m simply stating facts. Skleros is the greatest threat in the temple tonight, especially since we don’t know how he might use Cassia’s pendant against us. We should concentrate our power on him.”

Cassia crossed her arms. “This might be our only chance to get my focus back. Could we steal it from him and then pursue Miranda?”

“No,” Lyros replied, “there’s no hope of using stealth. The temple is a maze of fire traps and revelatory spells. We’ll have to fight our way to Skleros and take the pendant by force.”

Cassia fumed, “I hate the thought of Miranda slipping our grasp while we’re fighting him.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Mak said. “When we confront him, I doubt she’ll let him steal her prey.”

Lyros nodded. “She’s sure to make her move. With her in the wind, following a plan is vital.”

“We’re listening,” Lio said.

Lyros explained the temple’s defenses in detail and gave each of them instructions. The look in his eye said that if any of them put a toe out of line, he’d put them in their places with the sharp end of his spear. But he wouldn’t hear any complaints about this plan from Lio. He was spoiling for a rematch with Skleros.

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