Page 216 of Blood Feast

“I’ve got another couple of hours before the magefire permeates vital organs.”

“That’s not enough time to fight your way to Rudhira.”

Lyros’s gaze dropped to his wound. “It’s enough time to re-examine my decisions.”

“You can do that after you get some healing.” Lio pulled Lyros’s arm around his shoulders. “Come on. I’ll get you there in one piece.”

Lyros made no attempt to stand. “You’ve decided to follow Cassia and me into Charge custody, have you?”

“No. I’ll take you to Mak if you’d prefer his blood over the healers. You tell me where we’re going. Wherever it is, I have your back.”

Lyros swallowed. “You don’t have to take me anywhere, Lio.”

Lio sat back down. “I would rather have this conversation when you don’t have magefire seeping toward your heart, but if you need me to make amends now, I will. I owe you an apology, and I know words aren’t enough. I’ll try to make things right between us with my actions.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

Lio wouldn’t shy away from it anymore. He looked Lyros in the eye. “I’m ashamed of what I did in the temple. I feel such remorse for causing those mortals unnecessary pain, and for subjecting you and Mak and Cassia to that.”

Lyros gripped Lio’s shoulder. “It’s all right.”

“It is not, in any way, all right. Neither are the times when I failed to listen to you in battle. I went my own way, instead of fighting with you as one of a circle. I will endeavor to earn your forgiveness.”

“None of us judge you for what you did to those mages. Of course our empathy made Castra Augusta torture for all of us, but none of us are thelemancers. We didn’t walk throughthe minds of the dead like you did. All that pain has to go somewhere.”

“That wasn’t the right thing to do with it.”

“No, it wasn’t. That’s why we were so horrified on your behalf. We knew how you would feel after you realized what you’d done, how you would torture yourself. Just as you’re doing now.”

“Oh,” Lio said.

His circle had forgiven him before he had forgiven himself.

He tried to clear the lump in his throat. “I’m grateful for you.”

Lyros gave his shoulder a squeeze before letting his hand drop. “Surviving a raiding party on my own made me more grateful than ever for you, too. That battle certainly showed me what I’m capable of. And what I’m not. So did the temple.”

“Your strategies in the temple were faultless,” Lio reassured him. “You planned for everything.”

“Yes, I did. We still lost.” Lyros sighed. “So I gave up.”

“I can’t blame you.”

“I was an idiot.” Lyros gestured to his leg. “While I was fighting this mage alone, there were so many moments when I remembered decisions each of you made in battle. That’s what saved me.”

“I can’t imagine how any of my fumbling with my staff and throwing my magic about helped you tonight.”

“Your faith in me helped.”

Lio slid his hand into Dame’s ruff. She lay down between him and his Trial brother. After a moment, Lyros ran a hand down her back.

“Mak and Cassia and I have been mired in self-doubt on this entire journey,” Lyros went on. “You’re the only person who had any confidence in us all. All along, you’ve been telling us to have faith in our power and use it to the fullest. You encouraged us to be our greatest selves. I wish I had trusted us as much as you did.”

Lio frowned at him. “You’ve been the most confident of all. Your leadership has kept us going.”

Lyros shook his head. “That wasn’t confidence. That was fear. I’ve been terrified that a surprise I didn’t plan for would get one of you killed out here. So I tied you all up in so much strategy you could barely move.”

“We know you were trying to keep us safe.”

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