Page 136 of Blood Sanctuary, Part One

“Should we have destroyed it?” Nodora wondered.

“Surely it would be better to confiscate it for study,” Kia said.

“Well,” Lyros answered, “you know the inlaid box he kept next to the bed during veil hours and on his desk come first moon?”

Lio nodded. “I took note of it on my patrols.”

“It was on his desk when you started the fire,” Mak said. “He began his search right where it had been and spent the most time looking there. He went over his entire rooms, then returned to where he’d started to search again.”

“That must be it,” Lio said. “He scarcely let the box out of his reach, even when he slept.”

“That was the only chest I couldn’t open.” Kia dusted her fingernails on her robes. “All his other spell locks popped easily enough.”

“Do we have a theory about what the inlaid box might contain?” Cassia asked.

Lio nodded. “He would be a fool to come into enemy territory without a powerful artifact in reserve, or perhaps supplies for a devastating spell.”

“We’ll have to wait for Rudhira’s verdict,” Mak said. “The box is in the Charge’s hands now.”

Lio smiled at Cassia. “In the meantime, shall I return you to the ballroom so you and I can dance?”

“With that as an incentive, certainly.” Cassia smiled.

“Wait a moment.” Kia took a seat in front of Cassia. “Did Lio start teaching you Divine when you two were together back in Tenebra?”

Cassia shook her head. “We didn’t have a chance till I came to Orthros.”

“So you’ve been learning a new language in a different alphabet for exactly three weeks,” the scholar said.

“Well, I’m not as good with the alphabet yet. It will take much more time before I can read and write fluently in Divine. But I spend a lot of time listening.”

“I’m a teacher, Cassia,” Kia said. “I know how long it takes students of various ages and levels of education to learn Divine. Listening does not suddenly enable you to understand complex conversations just by reading lips. At least, not most people. I have never seen anyone accomplish what you have in just three weeks.”

Cassia shrugged. “Perhaps some of it rang a bell because I’ve heard Divine in temple all my life.”

Lio shook his head, his gaze full of admiration. “You have a gift for languages.”

Cassia snorted. “The last thing I am is a scholar.”

“Your aptitude is more organic,” Lio said. “You don’t learn best from scrolls, but from, as you say, listening. Next thing you know, you’ll be speaking.”

Warmth suffused Cassia. “Well, perhaps I will.”

Kia looked at her with great concentration. “How did you learn to read lips in the first place?”

“I bet Solia taught you,” Lio guessed.

Cassia shook her head. “Actually, no. I just…picked it up along the way.”

“You taught yourself to read lips that precisely?” Kia asked. “That must have taken practice.”

“I don’t remember teaching myself, or practicing, really. When I think about it, I suppose there was a time when I couldn’t, a time when I could, and a time when I got better at it.”

Kia’s brows shot up. “People don’t usually become so adept at it unless they’re making an effort to learn, adapting to hearing loss, or both.”

“What affinity does it sound like to you?” Lio asked.

“A lot of rare theoretical things occur to me,” Kia answered. “No, it has to be something more practically applicable…”

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