Page 153 of Blood Sanctuary, Part Two

Cassia wrapped her hands around one of his. “Again.”

His eyes filled with his familiar, tender warmth. “You’ll get your chance to thank me.”

“Be patient with yourself, Cassia,” Queen Soteira advised. “Sanctuary magic is profoundly draining as other affinities and mundane blood loss are not, especially for a mortal using it through an artifact. You will need rest, at least until the end of the week.”

Queen Alea took a chair at the foot of Cassia’s bed. “You worked a beautiful spell. I could not bear to end it, even once the danger was past. I channeled it back into the glyph stone so you may keep it forever. Although the glyph shard’s power is spent, the mother stone endures. If you take care not to break any more shards from it, it should last as long as Orthros.”

Lio brushed Cassia’s hair back from her face. “I’m sorry about your pendant. I know how important it was to you to carry its protection with you.”

“It’s all right. I don’t need it anymore. I’m ready to discover my own magic.”

A smile lifted his exhausted expression. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“I will find out what my affinity is, and I will become a master in my own right.”

“You are well on your way,” Queen Alea said.

The curtain flipped back, and Kassandra strode in. “I brought you something from Rose House.” She held up her prize and unfurled it before them. The historical Tenebran banner now had new burns, stains, and tatters as well as old ones, but the Mage King’s emblem endured.

“How did it survive the attack?” Cassia wondered.

Kassandra hung the banner over the bouquets. “I have a feeling this is only the latest of this artifact’s many adventures.”

“It stands testament to the true queen.” Cassia turned Solia’s pendant over in her hands. “Will the embassy bear it back to Tenebra as the banner of their cause against the king?”

“I gave it to you, not the embassy. Flavian may come up with an emblem of his own.” Kassandra took her seat next to the Queens.

Lio gestured at Cassia’s gardening satchel on a side table. “I did take the liberty of turning the treaty over to Lord Gaius and Sir Benedict.”

Cassia looked around her at the elders. “Chrysanthos knows I was at the shrine. By now he must have told the Tenebrans I was a heretic all along. He’ll say I was never acting in Tenebra’s best interests, only to further the interests of Hespera worship. I’m so sorry. The secret is out, and it will destroy the embassy’s trust in me and in the treaty I championed.”

“As a matter of fact,” Queen Soteira replied, “Chrysanthos has not mentioned the matter to anyone.”

“Not even during his long discussion with the embassy regarding his own future,” Queen Alea added.

Lio rubbed Cassia’s palm. “The Tenebrans believe you discovered an abandoned shrine on the palace grounds that was so ruined, you could not distinguish its origins. You found a warding artifact there that you brought with you to Orthros for their protection.”

“They didn’t recognize the spell as Sanctuary magic?” Cassia asked.

Queen Alea folded her hands. “My magic hasn’t been seen in Tenebra since the Last War. It is not only extinct, but was the specialty of mages now considered heretics. Even a mage of the Semna’s expertise wouldn’t recognize it.”

“Everyone assumed it was a Kyrian shrine,” Lio explained, “since feminine warding magic is associated with the Harvest Mother. The Semna has done nothing but praise your rescue of a sacred relic from the king’s neglect. Master Gorgos seems willing to forgive your unauthorized use of magic, as it is the reason his heart still beats.”

Queen Alea’s eyes twinkled. “I see no reason to correct that assumption, do you?”

“Then…” Cassia took a breath. “The treaty stands?”

Lio looked into her eyes. “The Tenebrans have framed the paper stained with your blood in a place of honor in their new lodgings. We won your fight.”

She gazed back at him. “Our fight.”

“The embassy is eager to return to Tenebra to enact the changes we agreed on. As soon as everyone has time to recover from the attack, we will see to their safe return. Hesperine magic will make it possible for them to leave Orthros before the spring thaw.”

“What is to become of the Dexion?”

“After considerable negotiation, Orthros is surrendering him to the custody of Tenebra’s Acting Council of Free Lords. They have assured us he will be held responsible only for his own deeds and suffer no vengeance for his half brother’s crimes. He will be allowed to correspond with his dependents in Cordium while the Council negotiates with the Aithourian Circle.”

“So the Dexion is going back to Tenebra as their hostage. Incredible.”

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