MEMORY AMBUSHED LIO’S FIRST coherent thoughts, while the Slumber still trapped his body. He lay with his
eyes shut and limbs frozen and relived the scene again.
Torchlight. Silent, empty body. Blood slowing there, rushing faster in those around. Blood. On a
furred flank, a homespun tunic, a glimmering length of steel.
At last Lio’s eyelids responded to his frantic efforts. He forced them open to fill his sight with
something, anything besides the visions in his mind’s eye.
Rough stone blocks overhead. He dragged in his first breath of the night. Damp rock. Old wool.
Lio was in Tenebra.
A pang shot through his stomach, and he winced. He pried his tongue from the roof of his mouth.
The Thirst was a powerful distraction from his thoughts, at least.
Thank the Goddess he had not dreamed. She had given him respite in the Dawn Slumber. If the
rising sun hadn’t banished him into sleep, he might have been haunted all day by what he had
witnessed last night. How did humans ever rest, with so much to trouble their minds and no
irresistible Slumber to give them relief?
Did Lady Cassia ever rest, or did she spend all her nights seeking forbidden company in the
woods?
Now that was no mere distraction. Lio focused on the puzzle of Cassia Basilis to drive out all
other thoughts of the night before. He must decide how best to proceed in regard to the lady.
When he tried again to move his unwieldy limbs, they finally complied. He succeeded in rising
from his bunk and took the two steps necessary to cross the chamber to his washstand. The basic
appointments of his room gave him no cause to complain. The gnawing pit in his stomach was another
matter. Lio doused himself at the wash basin. The water’s chill served to refresh him but did nothing
to assuage the hot ache in his veins. Hespera’s Mercy, but he thirsted. And he still had to get through
tonight’s negotiations before he could do anything about it.
He braced his hands on either side of the washstand and shook his head, letting the water drip from
the ends of his hair. He was stronger than this. He could do this.
He could also see the logic in sending diplomats to Tenebra who were already Graced and could
start the night with a thorough feast upon one another before they left their beds.
And that was truly useless thinking on his part. He had no time for a second cold bath, and he
would need one if he kept thinking about how he might have started this night, if circumstances were
different.
Lio grabbed the rag beside the basin and worked himself over, as if that could drive regrets from
his mind. The purpose of this journey was to build on his successes as a diplomat. Not dwell on his
utter failure in love.
Lady Cassia might prove to be his greatest diplomatic success yet. Or his most spectacular failure.
It was up to him to determine which.
By the time he was dry and attired in his formal robes, his thoughts were clear. Lio could no longer
deny what he must do.
He lifted his veil from the room and gathered the working about himself, adding yet another unseen
layer to the power that cloaked him. The others would not notice he had strengthened his personal
veil again. They would be too busy bolstering their own against the nearby mages, and Lio had been
trained too well.
Lio went out into the corridor, narrowly escaping a knock on the head from the door frame. This
time no unsettling flames blinded him. The torches had burned down to blackened, odorous shafts.
There was no doubt the whole embassy now awaited him in the common room. He felt their silent
greetings through the Blood Union, from Javed’s friendly warmth to Basir’s brief acknowledgment of
Lio’s presence.
Even if it wasn’t Lio’s fault he was the youngest among them and last to escape the Slumber, he
didn’t want to arrive any later than necessary. He stepped to the common room on a bit of power.
He found the others already seated, as he had expected. The table, typical of hierarchical Tenebra,
was a rectangle, but Lio’s aunt and uncle had pulled both their chairs to the head of it. To their left,
Basir and Kumeta sat with their shoulders touching, focused as ever on the work at hand. Lio couldn’t
remember the last time he had seen either of the Master Envoys smile.
“Lio.” Uncle Argyros gestured to the empty chair nearest the door. “Please join us.”
“Thank you, Uncle.” Lio’s veil felt heavier than ever as he took his place. It was the seat at his
uncle’s right hand.
“Don’t look so apprehensive.” On Lio’s other side, Javed laughed. “I won’t subject you to an
examination here and now. We’ve no time before the negotiations for a proper evaluation of how your
diet of deer is affecting your health.”
Lio had not imagined an occasion when the Thirst would have its advantages. If the others detected
any sign of tension in him, let them dismiss it as malnourishment. “I can spare you the time now and
later. I’ve never felt better.”
“I never said you could escape me later. I promised your mother I’d keep an eye on you.” Despite
his threatening words, Javed relaxed back in his chair, twining a hand in Kadi’s.
“Don’t be stubborn.” Kadi leaned around Javed and subjected Lio to a brilliant smile. “I wouldn’t
like to have to coerce you.”
“Of course you would, Cousin. But there is no need for violence.” He put on a grin. “You may both
take my word for it. I’m fine.”
“Are you?” Uncle Argyros asked.
Lio met his uncle’s gaze. “I am. I will have no difficulty waiting until after the negotiations are
over to drink again.”
Aunt Lyta fixed Lio with a warm but level gaze. “Are you sure? Now is the time to speak, if you
feel the Thirst may give you difficulty during the Summit.”
“I cannot say I approve of this schedule,” Basir said to Uncle Argyros. “Now is not the time for
such risks.”
Kumeta frowned. “This is too rigorous a test of one so inexperienced. It would be better if
Deukalion drank first and arrived late.”
Join the negotiations late and miss the beginning of the proceedings? Certainly not. Lio gave a
slight bow to Basir and Kumeta. “You can have confidence in me, Master Envoys. I will not allow my
thirst to affect my performance.”
Even as he said it, his belly knotted. Let it gnaw on all he left unsaid. His growling stomach was
the least of what his veil would conceal tonight.
But it was not upon him that everyone turned their gazes. Under their scrutiny, Javed appeared
amused. “His color is no worse than I would expect. Since he came out of his room, I’ve been
listening to his pulse, and it remains steady and strong. You can all sense there is no confusion over
his mind. I believe we may rest assured he is not in bad condition.”
Aunt Lyta smiled at Lio, and his uncle nodded in satisfaction. Basir and Kumeta said no more.
Kadi narrowed her eyes at Lio. “Don’t think this means you’re excused from a thorough exam
later.”
“As long as I don’t miss any of the negotiations, I shall submit to Javed’s ministrations as docilely
as a lamb. Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Hmph.”
Trust Kadi to be in good spirits, even after last night. Or at least to appear so and make an effort to
lighten everyone’s moods. She was so much like her younger brother. Not for the first time, Lio
wished Mak were here to jest with him. And now more than ever he needed Lyros to give him an
honest opinion.
What would they say if they knew what he had done?
Uncle Argyros cleared his throat. “Now then, let us continue. All of us know the terms of the
ancient treaty established between our people and Tenebra over fifteen centuries ago. I suspect we
dream the Oath’s tenets in our Slumber. They are written on our hearts. Tonight we shall remind the
humans who have, perhaps, forgotten. This is our last hour of preparation before the negotiations
commence.”
“We must make good use of this time,” Kumeta cautioned.
Basir nodded. “The humans accept that we Slumber under a ward throughout the day, but now that
night has come, it will alarm them.”
“We must not maintain our shield much longer,” Aunt Lyta agreed. “Kadi and I will bring down our
protections as soon as we conclude our discussion.”
“You can all feel it.” Kadi gestured at the stones around them, no teasing in her voice now. “There
isn’t a scrap of magic on the fortress, unlike the temple and the palace. This is the domain of
warriors, and there aren’t centuries of leftover magic muddying the water. It will be easy even for a
mage of Amachos’s skill level to sense spells we cast here, especially those like wards that require a
noticeable expense of power.”
“And yet, not all magic is a spell,” Basir reminded them. “Now is the time to take full advantage
of that fact.”
“We must rely almost solely on our innate Gift, rather than on active castings,” Kumeta advised.
“As I need hardly remind everyone,” Basir said, “one wrong move by any of us reflects on every
one of our people. To the mortals here, we are a faceless force, a threat with only one name:
Hesperines. If the embassy antagonizes the Tenebrans, we will put every Hesperine errant who walks
Abroad in immediate danger of retribution from mages and warriors alike.”
“On the other hand,” said Kumeta, “making a good impression could make Tenebra safer for all
our Hesperines errant.”
“We are fortunate the Charge can spare you,” Aunt Lyta said.
“Is willing to spare you, rather.” Kadi frowned. “I don’t think they really can.”
“Rest assured the envoys in our service carry on our work in force,” Kumeta replied. “They will
keep our Hesperines errant well informed in our absence. Basir and I are prepared to give our
undivided attention to making the Summit a success.”
“Or at least mitigating the damage it could cause.” Basir’s frown deepened. He added to Uncle
Argyros, “You know that is no reflection on my faith in you, my friend.”
“And you know I have the greatest respect for your fears,” Uncle Argyros replied.
Lio began to wonder just how much his uncle shared the Master Envoys’ fears.
Kadi sat straighter in her chair. “Mother and I did not come Abroad to see it become more
dangerous for our Hesperines errant. Whether at home in Orthros or here in Tenebra, the Stand keeps
our people safe.”
Lio sent up a silent prayer for Nike and for Kadi. Although Kadi seldom showed it, they all knew
the toll her elder sister’s absence took on her.
Javed squeezed Kadi’s hand. “At last, we have our chance to do some good Abroad. I can only
hope the king will not close his heart to my offers of medical aid for his people. The gifts we’ve
brought could alleviate so much suffering.”
Uncle Argyros arranged the documents in front of him. “Let us once more review how we will
discuss our aims with King Lucis and what facts we shall present in favor of our terms.”
As the conference proceeded, anxiety took hold of Lio anew. Or perhaps it was just the
restlessness brought on by the Thirst. He had studied all of this, pored over it. The only thing he
lacked was experience. All those nights he had spent in Orthros searching for answers to the
dilemmas that compelled him had revealed to him the path he wanted to walk in his future. He was
taking the first steps on it now.
He would prove to everyone their confidence in him was not misplaced.
It felt as if far less than an hour had passed when Kumeta warned, “The royal house will soon
finish their evening meal. It is nearly time to join them on the greensward.”
Hours were shorter in Tenebra, Lio reminded himself, and there were twenty-four of them instead
of sixteen. Even the way humans counted the passage of the night was different from Orthros.
“Does anyone have any additional questions or points for us to discuss?” Uncle Argyros asked.
Perhaps Lio was mad. But he needed more information if he was to proceed with proper caution,
and he possessed information he owed to the embassy.
Besides, one of the best ways to keep a secret was to wear it in plain sight, as if it were not a
secret at all.
“I wish to present a fact for our consideration, if I may.” Lio looked to his aunt and uncle.
“Something we neglected to discuss last night?” Uncle Argyros questioned.
“Our conversation turned to other subjects, Uncle. Also, I think we would benefit from Basir and
Kumeta’s counsel on this matter. Something came to my attention last night that may be of concern to
us.”
Aunt Lyta’s gaze sharpened. “What is the matter, Lio?”
“As I’m sure everyone noted, one member of the king’s family was not present at the welcoming
ceremony.”
Uncle Argyros raised his brows. “His son and heir, Prince Caelum, was much in evidence. There
are no other surviving members of the royal family, as you know.”
“Sadly, yes,” Lio answered. “The king has already buried two queens and a princess. However—”
“He lost two wives and his daughter?” Kadi shook her head. “For the first time, I feel some
sympathy for the man.”
Javed’s gaze was full of regret. “What befell them? If this subject ever arises, I would not wish to
appear ignorant or disrespectful before our hosts.”
Uncle Argyros held out a hand toward Lio. “You wrote your initiation treatise on King Lucis’s
reign.”
Lio cleared his throat. “Lucis’s first queen suffered a long series of disastrous pregnancies trying
to birth a son, and she ultimately gave her life in the attempt. She had one healthy daughter, however:
Princess Solia Basilinna, the king’s only heir. When Princess Solia was seventeen, rebel free lords
captured her and held her for ransom. Although Lucis fulfilled their demands, they did not honor their
agreement to spare her life. Widowed and without a successor, Lucis had to remarry in haste. His
second union produced the coveted male heir, Prince Caelum Basilarion, but the second queen did not
survive her son’s birth.”
“So much tragedy in one family,” said Kadi.
Lio nodded. “The kingdom still mourns Princess Solia especially. She was beloved among
Tenebrans of every station. But Lucis has one surviving daughter. A member of the king’s family who
is not royal. She was not there last night.”
“You are speaking of his daughter by his concubine,” Uncle Argyros said.
“What do we know of her?” Lio asked.
“I confess to a preoccupation with the royal line.” Uncle Argyros spread his hands. “It’s possible
you know more about her than I do.”
A great deal more. Lio knew she had a wealth of freckles and enjoyed the bath. He tried to put
those distracting details out of his mind. “The recent chronicles I was able to obtain provide little
more than a confirmation of her existence. You know human historians. They write almost exclusively
about children born within marriages and focus their accounts on the male line. We probably know
more about Lucis’s living daughter from rumor than records.” Lio looked to Basir and Kumeta. “Have
you heard talk of her?”
In Basir’s gaze there was no evidence of suspicion or censure. He appeared interested. “We know
the king did acknowledge her, which means he provides for her. How well, we can only guess.”
“But that does not erase the stigma of her origins in the Tenebrans’ eyes,” Kumeta pointed out.
“One can imagine the prejudice the poor child faces here.” Aunt Lyta shook her head. “Some things
have not changed since we were human.”
Uncle Argyros looked to the Master Envoys. “I can’t say you have ever mentioned her name.”
“She hardly seems to be a secret,” Lio protested.
If she felt any regret over her status, she certainly didn’t show it. Lio had seen how proud she was.
How could her countrymen fail to respect her for it?
“I am sorry to say she is often spoken of simply as the king’s bastard,” Kumeta said.
“Cassia,” Lio corrected. “I can tell you that much about her. Her name is Cassia.”
“Cassia Basilis, I presume,” Uncle Argyros added. “Befitting a female relative of the king outside
the line of succession.”
“From what I recall,” Kumeta said, “the king constantly sends her from one residence to another
and allows few to know her location. I would hazard a guess she is never where our reports say she
is, and she is seldom in one place for long.”
Basir let out the sigh of someone resigned to an old problem. “We are often fed the same ‘common
knowledge’ as the free lords Lucis wishes to deceive.”
“Where does common knowledge say she is right now?” Lio asked.
Kumeta paused to consider. “A remote household of the king’s in the eastern Tenebrae, I believe.”
Lio shook his head. “That’s not where she is.”
Basir’s eyes narrowed. “How can you be certain?”
“I’m afraid I may have underestimated the Tenebrans’ boldness. The grounds were not entirely
deserted last night—no, don’t worry. I had no disastrous encounters.”
“Of course not,” Uncle Argyros said mildly. “Considering who trained you in concealment.”
And that training was serving him well even now as he concealed the truth from his fellow
Hesperines. His own family. “In my discreet stroll across the grounds, I overheard a few things.”
Such as the growling of her hound. And the flutter of her heartbeat. “Namely that the king’s daughter is
here at Solorum.”
Aunt Lyta thumped her hand on the table. “She is here, and yet we saw no sign of her when we
arrived. That is an insult.”
Uncle Argyros rested a hand upon hers. “Children born out of wedlock are not public figures.
Lucis is certain to keep her out of sight.”
“That does not change the fact that she must take part in the Summit,” Aunt Lyta countered. “She
carries the king’s blood in her veins.”
Lio hated where his logic had taken him. “The free lords would be mindful of this as well,
wouldn’t they?”
His uncle gave a nod. “Some would be tempted to overlook her origins, for a daughter of the king
is still a daughter of the king. She may attract suitors.”
“This is most likely why the king sends her away so often,” Kumeta said. “To prevent her from
becoming too great an advantage to one of his lords.”
Lio really was not used to being this thirsty. He felt hot, within and without, and it gave him the
urge to deal the table a blow as his aunt had. “That is all she amounts to in their eyes. A means to an
end.”
“Nearly everyone here is someone’s means to an end and uses someone else as their own,” Uncle
Argyros said. “Tenebran society is mere hierarchy upon hierarchy, with each person at a greater level
of power making what use he or she sees fit of those beneath.”
“Except for Lucis,” Lio said.
“He stands at the peak of this hierarchy, yes.”
“He has misstepped,” Aunt Lyta insisted. “The treaty has always been sworn between the Queens
of Orthros and the King of Tenebra’s family. All of his family.”
“The circumstances of our arrival did not go as the king planned,” Uncle Argyros reminded them.
“There could have been many reasons why his daughter was not included in the welcoming
ceremonies. He may have brought her to Solorum with the intention of introducing her at some point
in the negotiations. Let us wait and see if she makes an appearance.” He fixed one of his unreadable
gazes upon Lio. “You could have told me this last night.”
The heat in Lio’s veins seemed to have reached his neck, even his cheeks. “As I said, other topics
occupied us.”
“Other topics besides information of immediate relevance to the Summit?”
Hespera help him, he should have said something to his uncle last night, if only to avoid this
conversation before the entire embassy. His veil held steady. That did not make their scrutiny any less
uncomfortable.
The best defense was always the truth. “I confess...I feared you would think I was not careful
enough last night. To come close enough to mortals to discover such information...I would not wish
you to think I showed disregard for the strict rules of conduct to which we must adhere while we are
here.”
Javed chuckled. “Disregard for the rules? You?”
Kadi laughed outright. “Lio, you probably inscribe a Ritual Circle to the rules in your bedchamber
every morning before you Slumber.”
Lio shot his cousin a sardonic look and placed a hand upon his chest. “Not in my bedchamber. I
carve the Ritual Circle on my heart, Cousin.”
Aunt Lyta appeared to be struggling not to grin. “As long as the Tenebrans who were on the
grounds did not accost you, we have nothing to worry about. I take it this was no bull-driving mob.”
“Not at all. Just a couple of Tenebrans trespassing on the king’s grounds.” One human Tenebran
and one canine Tenebran.
“Poaching is a perennial problem for the nobility,” Basir conceded.
Some of the bite went out of Kumeta’s aura. “Apparently starvation is more frightening than we
are.”
“And the punishment they would face from their king,” Javed murmured.
Lio corrected none of their assumptions.
“They did not see you,” Uncle Argyros said. It was not a question. “It is of no concern. But I hope
you will be more forthcoming next time, should you overhear anything else. This information may
prove useful to us.”
Basir studied Lio. “See that you come to Kumeta and me with anything you learn.”
“I certainly will.”
Kumeta looked to Aunt Lyta, who nodded.
“We are out of time,” Lio’s aunt told them.
“Well.” Uncle Argyros rose from his chair. “Let us begin.”
Lio took a deep breath as they stood and followed his uncle out. They walked through the fortress
for the benefit of the guards, who stood at very visible intervals from the hallway outside their guest
quarters all the way to the gatehouse. See, said the embassy’s dignified walk. See how harmless and
well-mannered we are?
Lio watched the portcullis of Solorum Fortress rise to let them out. Was all this show lost on the
men who watched? Or were there those among the soldiers who shared Lady Cassia’s balanced view
of Hesperines, but feared to let on to their countrymen?
It seemed the embassy’s so-called honor guard comprised only armed men and not of any workings
by the royal mage. Lio had yet to feel a hint of magic at work in the fortress, as Kadi had said. It was
from the temple and the palace that the strongest power emanated.
Lio could feel in the age of those spells that this had once been the capital of not just a king, but a
Mage King and a queen wise in her own arcane traditions. The ghosts of magic that haunted Solorum
stood testament to the royal couple’s steadfastness against Cordium. It was easy to understand why it
had not been until after their reign that the Order of Anthros had succeeded in forbidding monarchs
and lords to wield magic.
But at last the mages had enforced their decree that men must choose to live by the sword or the
spell, and any who hungered for the power of both went against the laws of Anthros. If Tenebra’s
finest king and queen lived now, the Order would strike them down as apostates.
The drawbridge unleashed the Hesperines from their prison into a cool, damp night. Mist crawled
along the ground, promising a winter rain to come. Lio breathed deep and let his head clear, here in
the Goddess’s hours where she ruled. Tomorrow night would require a pavilion set up, he predicted,
but for now, the king and his company occupied the dais and the greensward in the open air. A vast
council table had been erected at the foot of the throne. Lio could still smell how recently the wood
had been part of living trees.
The ward the Solorum temple mages had built around the council table shimmered in the air like a
wall of heat, visible but much fainter to the senses than Aunt Lyta and Kadi’s working. Five of the
men were retreating across the greensward to the temple, their work complete. Through the barrier,
Lio could make out the royal mage, who sat in an unassuming position near the back of the dais to the
king’s right, with his apprentice hovering at his elbow.
As the embassy set foot within, Lio struggled not to shudder. He had never before felt the magic of
Anthros, certainly not on his very skin. Its acrid taste made him feel ill.
Lio took a deep breath, hoping for a powerful fragrance to banish the bitter magic. He looked
around the entire gathering, even the chairs set out in rows beyond the table for those who were not on
the Council.
Lady Cassia was nowhere to be found.
King Lucis sat on the Mage King’s chair, towering above all present. Unfortunately for Prince
Caelum, his apparent attempt to mimic his father’s dignified expression only served to make him look
petulant. Lord Titus commanded one end of the Summit table, while Lord Hadrian sat encamped on
the opposite end. The men who held the chairs between comprised nearly the entire Council of Free
Lords.
Lio was looking at the most powerful men in Tenebra, those who held the chains of fealty and
power that bound the fractious kingdom together. Only one of them, Lord Hadrian, was considered
loyal to the death to King Lucis. Lio counted off the others. Loyal for personal gain, loyal out of fear,
on the verge of rebellion.
Seven empty chairs awaited on the nearest side of the table, facing the king, with a lengthy expanse
of empty table on either side to protect the lords from the Hesperine lepers. As the embassy took their
places, Amachos watched their every move from his place by the king.
Lio followed his people through the performance of greetings and contemplated what seat Lady
Cassia might occupy in this informative display, were she here. An oppressed subject engaging in
secret rebellion. A hopeful contender for a crown seeking weapons against her father. A neglected
daughter fishing for information that might buy her father’s approval. She might be any of these things.
Not for the first time, Lio wondered how anyone but a Hesperine engaged in diplomacy with any
confidence. He was sure one more conversation with Cassia Basilis was all he needed. Another
chance to truly communicate with her, to sense her, and he would know how dangerous their meeting
had been for him and his embassy. Or how promising.
She had called one of their most sacred practices by its proper name, the Mercy, when the kindest
terms humans normally used were desecration of the dead, corpse theft, or necrophilia. She knew the
Mercy to be none of those things. Where had she learned the truth?
He must see her again. There was no other way to discover the source of her interest...and to what
degree it inclined her toward his people.
He found it difficult to guess if she would give him the opportunity. Her status and the severity of
the transgression made the odds seem slim. But the anticlimax of their discussion made him think she
was not done with him yet. Such a question...was that really all? Didn’t she want more answers than
the one he had given her?
He could only hope she would make another appearance on the grounds for a private Summit.