CASSIA COULD BARELY SEE the impressions in the underbrush that marked their path. The clouds had drawn
near again, and the air felt wet with the rain they had yet to release. She clutched her skirts in both
hands, wary of stumbling. In a moment, the muddy hem of her gardening dress became easier to make
out against the darker ground. The wavering shape at the edge of her vision resolved into Lio’s black
silk robe, bordered in thick red-and-white embroidery shot through with real silver. She blinked, but
the colors only became clearer. She snapped her gaze up to see where the light was coming from.
She closed her lips on a gasp. A soft white glow spilled from between Lio’s fingers.
He gave her no chance to protest. “No one will see it, even if they do happen to wander out of
their way, this far into the woods. Just like no one saw me talking to you in the great hall the night of
the prince’s temple day.”
“I dare say you can make folk see or not see whatever you wish.” Cassia had witnessed plenty of
ostentatious magery in the temple. But nothing like Lio’s simple spell. It looked as if he held a bit of
the stars in his hand. “You’re a light mage.”
“That is in fact the magic that comprises one of my areas of study.”
“Not just conjuring bright baubles,” she said with certainty, “but also sophisticated illusions.”
“Very handy when I’m trying to have an uninterrupted conversation with a lady at a dance.”
He did not deny he possessed powers that could give a mortal cause to doubt the evidence of her
senses. Such a revelation would have put Cassia on the alert if he were anyone but a Hesperine. Even
when such power was used under the auspices of the Order of Hypnos, it frightened people. Folk
usually gave a wide berth to mages devoted to the god of death and dreams, both the necromancers
and the illusionists, but especially the most feared of all: thelemancers. Mind mages had the power to
read and manipulate your innermost thoughts, to subdue your will and command you to do their
bidding.
But Cassia was not most folk, and the illusionist beside her was anything but an Ordered mage.
She continued down the path with Lio. “Amachos’s poor apprentice would be jealous of how your
spell light puts his to shame.”
“Strange, isn’t it? He and I can achieve similar results, although our powers are of such different
natures. This spell light is blood magic, the very heresy his Order despises.”
Cassia caught sight of the blood on the tip of Lio’s thumb. He must have pricked himself to work
his magic. “Summoning light seems a very Hesperine sort of thing to be able to do.”
“Very few humans would arrive at that conclusion.” He smiled at her. “But light magic is an
essential Hesperine affinity. It was one of the arcane paths taught long ago in the Great Temples of
Hespera.”
“Affinity? Arcane? I’ve no idea what you mean. You mustn’t let my service in the Temple of Kyria
fool you—I am very ignorant.”
“Of course. Just as you are not a philosopher.” He tossed his hand, and the light drifted up to hover
over their heads. “An arcane path is what the Mage Orders refer to as a discipline of magic. They like
to draw lines between things, but in truth, all varieties of spellwork are paths into the same whole—
magic. Your affinity is simply the kind of magic you’re good at. It is the same as with any other skill.
Anyone can learn to garden, but it may be an ordeal for them, and many of their plants may die before
they see a single bloom. You, on the other hand, have a green thumb.”
“Well, Hypnos’s season has yet to wither my perennials beyond hope, if that’s what you mean. It’s
nothing like your red thumb, I’m sure.”
A smear of light appeared on Lio’s thumb, and the blood was gone. “You take to it naturally, and
you excel at it intuitively, although study or experience will improve your results.”
“Not just anyone can learn any type of magic,” she protested. “You’re born with it, or you’re not.”
“Is that so?” he asked.
“Of course. That’s why the mages keep those with aptitude in the temples and forbid everyone else
from using magic. It would be dangerous otherwise.”
“Dangerous for whom?”
“Well. That does fill my head with new and seditious thoughts.”
“Be careful, fair lady. I may yet corrupt you with my heretical ideas.”
“I fear there is no work left for you to do upon me. I was corrupted from the first moment I drew
breath.”
“In that case, we are two of a kind.”
Hardly. His people had celebrated his birth under auspicious stars. “Not a fair comparison. You
don’t have to breathe.”
He laughed. “But I enjoy breathing. How else would I speak with you?”
Cassia bent double to snatch up a branch at her feet, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.
Straightening, she tapped Knight on the shoulder, then hurled the stick ahead.
As he bounded between them, Lio slid out of his way. “I hope I am never the object of his chase.”
Actually, Lio was right. At least while they were both in Tenebra, a concubine’s bastard and a
bloodborn Hesperine were on equal footing. “As I’ve said before, Knight will never go after you. He
only hunts the enemy.”
“I rejoice to hear it.” Lio smiled down at her again. “I wouldn’t like to find out if I can outrun
him.”
“You continue your habit of running here?” What must that look like, a Hesperine pushing his body
to the limit, racing like the athletes before the war games?
“As time allows, yes.”
“I cannot help but wonder why you would require such pursuits. I doubt you even need to train to
maintain your...” Cassia almost cast a glance up and down Lio’s body, but stopped herself from
indulging the odd and inexplicable urge. He didn’t need her to remind him how the Gift benefited him.
“...your skills.”
He gave her an amused glance she found even more inexplicable. “The Gift keeps a Hesperine’s
body at his or her personal peak of health, but within that optimal range, our bodies do respond to our
habits.”
“Are athletics popular among Hesperines, then?”
“There is no art my people do not love, and that includes the art of the body. Running is what I
enjoy most. But it is my cousin Telemakhos and my dear friend Lysandros who spend every spare
hour in the gymnasium.”
“How glad your cousin must be that the Gift has ensured his club foot is no longer an obstacle for
him.”
“With proper care, such conditions need not be obstacles for anyone. Do you know, that’s why
those of us who are Gifted as children are so much taller than humans or Hesperines who reached
adulthood as mortals.”
“I thought that must have something to do with your magic.”
“No, only with proper nutrition and a safe, healthy upbringing. Tenebrans would be taller if they
did not face such harsh conditions here.”
She tilted her head back so she could look into his face. “I find it hard to imagine any Tenebran
man achieving your stature.”
The mysterious warmth appeared in his gaze again, something between humor and pleasure. It gave
her the impression he took her statement as a compliment.
“It’s a side effect of being bloodborn. I’m even taller than usual for a Hesperine—the tallest
among all our people, in fact. It’s a good thing, too, for I need all the advantage I can get against my
much more athletic cousins.”
Cassia returned to the more manageable topic of Lio’s family. “I am curious why Telemakhos did
not accompany his parents, as his sister Arkadia did.”
“He and Lyros are guarding Orthros’s borders.”
“They are guards?”
“Initiate Stewards in Hippolyta’s Stand. Aunt Lyta and her Stand serve as the Stewards of the
Queen’s ward, the magic that protects our borders. Kadi is the Master Steward and her second-in-
command.”
“That explains Master Arkadia’s military bearing.”
“I see you are not one to let appearances fool you. She and Aunt Lyta train equally hard, although
they are naturally different shapes. Kadi is one of the greatest warriors in Orthros’s history.”
“Orthros is ruled by Queens. I should not wonder that females can also be warriors there.”
“Indeed, any Hesperine may choose any life path, based on skill and desire. But few desire to
pursue the path of war. Our people strive to avoid violence at all costs. Aunt Lyta and her children
are the only ones who devote themselves to the preservation of the Hesperine fighting arts, and Lyros
is one of the few who sought her training from outside her bloodline.”
“Your aunt is...the leader of Orthros’s army?”
“She is the Guardian of Orthros.”
Cassia was silent for an instant. “Not the legendary warrioress from those hateful marching
songs.”
“She rather likes those songs, to tell you the truth.”
“Those old ballads must be as exaggerated as everything else about Hesperines.”
“No, the songs of her deeds are all true.”
“She is...shorter than I imagined.”
Lio laughed.
Cassia found herself smiling. “The Guardian of Orthros is breathing down the necks of the most
powerful men in Tenebra, and none of them have a clue.”
“Aunt Lyta and Kadi accompanied the embassy as our protection. In their absence, Mak and Lyros
are solely responsible for the defense of Orthros.”
Had Lio just told her inside information about Orthros’s defenses? He was very foolish after all.
“Just the two of them?”
“It only takes two,” Lio said with a sanguine smile.
Perhaps not so foolish. “They say Orthros is impregnable, and all those who have tried to enter
have lost their way in the frigid mountains and died an excruciating death, driven mad by blizzard
wraiths that pick their bones.”
“We only do that to unpleasant people.”
“Like mages?”
Lio didn’t answer that.
“No one dares lay siege to Orthros,” Cassia said. “Wars with Hesperines always occur on
Tenebran soil. You are in very dangerous territory.”
Lio put the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic gesture of distress. “I live in fear of a
particularly ferocious liegehound who stalks me every night, for I did not heed my cousins’ warnings
that I should learn to defend myself.”
Cassia pursed her lips, trying not to smile. “I have told you. I shall defend you.”
“No, you have not told me that before.” Lio’s tone changed. Did he let his steps weave him a little
closer to her, or did he seem so near simply because he was so tall? “With such a capable protector
as you, Cassia, I feel very safe indeed.”
Cassia had never heard him speak quite like this. Surprise sent an uncomfortable flush across her
skin. To her astonishment, she found herself unable to interpret his tone of voice.
But she knew he was indeed unwise, if he took her banter about protecting him to heart. If he felt
safe with her.