CASSIA SWALLOWED AGAIN AND again. She mustn’t be sick. They would hear her.
Heavy footfalls sounded inside the tent, and all speech ceased. Lord Hadrian broke the silence. “I
thought I heard a disturbance.”
No one answered.
“What I thought I heard troubled me. Words that sounded like treason, which gets soldiers killed.
But I’ve had orders shouted in my ears since I was a scrap. I must have misheard. Speak up, men! Tell
me what I really heard.”
The man who had started all the talk answered. “Yes, my lord. I would give my oath in the temple
that no words were spoken which were treasonous against the rightful monarch.”
“Good. The king decides whether he can spare any men to retrieve the fallen. The king decides if
he can trust the enemy to honor a white flag and not rain arrows from the walls, and if he can afford to
lose the men who might not make it back. He also decides the severity of the message he needs to
send the enemy in order to make it clear he is not concerned about the security of his position on the
throne.”
“Of course, my lord.”
There came the sound, almost inaudible, of a heavy hand falling to rest on a broad shoulder.
Lord Hadrian’s voice was quieter than ever before. “What I’m certain I heard were the words of a
man willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of our rightful queen. Our Solia. Such a man puts to
shame he who would not do the same.”
“My lord,” said his soldier, “I won’t let this go unsaid, if the king has my tongue for it. You’ve
been in council with him for hours. You shouted yourself hoarse. If starting the siege could have saved
her, you’d drive the battering ram yourself. If the kingdom was yours, you’d hand over ever acre for
her sake. Every man here knows you did all you could.”
Lord Hadrian stalked out of the tent and out of earshot.
Cassia managed to sneak out of camp and into the woods without being seen. She had to climb a
tree a couple of times so her father’s patrols wouldn’t see her, but they weren’t on the lookout for a
girl. Once she got past them, there was no one in the forest to stop her.
She started running. Icy wind tore at her face as she raced between the towers of the trees, and
tears came to her eyes again. She should be afraid. But she wasn’t. She didn’t care what happened to
her, as long as she made it to Soli.
No one would go back for Solia unless Cassia did. She had to find her sister before the
Hesperines came.
When she reached the edge of the woods, she crouched down in the darkness where the moonlight
didn’t reach between the trees and bushes. She peered out of her hiding place.
An enormous field of grass, blue and bare under the moons, lay between her and Castra Roborra.
The fortress’s walls rose up, up into the night. She couldn’t see any movement on the ramparts. The
field was equally still, smudged with a few patches of white snow and dark blue shadows.
Her whole body broke out in a sweat in the icy air. Those dark shapes weren’t shadows.
They were bodies.
Cassia knew where she was headed, now. The only way to get there was to cross the field. There
were no hiding places between her and...Soli.
Cassia looked at the castle one more time. She didn’t see anyone moving on the walls. Maybe the
lords in the fortress would let someone come get Solia after all. Father could have sent his warriors.
But he hadn’t.
Cassia had to go. She had to be brave for Solia.
She crept out of the trees.
Her only warning was the barest touch of warmth on her skin. Then strong arms held her fast, and
the ground was far away below her feet. She started to fight, kicking and striking out with all her
might. But the grip on her was impossible to break. Over her captor’s shoulder, she watched the field
and Solia slip away.
A single arrow quivered in the grass. At first Cassia didn’t understand. Then it became clear to
her. The arrow had come from the direction of the castle and landed right where she had been
standing.
She stopped trying to struggle. All her determination drained out of her, and all she could do was
lay limp. Her captor’s hold gentled. Cassia found herself cradled close to a body both soft and strong,
and a hand stroked her hair.
“Easy, little one. You’re safe.” The voice was female, deep, with a strange, lovely accent. “I’ll
keep you safe now. Nothing in the world can harm you while I protect you.”
The forest surrounded them. The person who held Cassia eased her onto her feet and let her stand,
holding her shoulders to steady her. At last Cassia saw her rescuer.
Kneeling on Cassia’s eye level was a beautiful lady. She wore a black cowl and long black robes.
Her skin was the fairest Cassia had ever seen. There was shadow all around them, the kind of deep,
dark shadow that was safe to hide in.
They were not alone. The lady’s two companions towered over Cassia. They too wore hoods
pulled close around their star-pale faces and sky-dark eyes. Cassia could see them because of a
gentle glow in the air, like mist, only made of light.
Cassia stared, too frightened to utter a sound. Fear kept her frozen. Helpless. She stared at the
ground, at her numb feet and the layers of embroidery on the woman’s black robe.
No, she wasn’t a woman. Cassia knew what she was.
A warm, smooth hand cupped Cassia’s cheek and urged her to lift her gaze. She looked at the
lady’s beautiful face again. Everyone said they were beautiful until you saw their fangs.
The Hesperine smiled.
Cassia gasped. Her smile was...kind. Her eyes looked sad. Sad for Cassia.
An ache threatened in Cassia’s throat. She couldn’t cry. Not again.
“Don’t be afraid, little one,” the Hesperine said. “We would never hurt you.”
Cassia swallowed, trying to find her voice. No words came out.
Cassia’s rescuer glanced at the other two Hesperines. She spoke to them in a language Cassia
recognized, the same one the mages used in the temple. One of the other Hesperines drew near and
knelt down. Without disturbing her hood, she reached up and pulled a mantle off her shoulders, then
made to wrap it around Cassia.
Cassia jumped and backed away.
Her rescuer laughed softly and let her go. “What a fighter you are.”
“But you don’t want to go out there, sweetling,” said the second Hesperine. “It’s not a safe place
for a child.”
“I have to go. To find—” Cassia shut her mouth. The Hesperines were already here. There was no
hope of getting to Solia first. What would they do to her? When would they stop pretending to be kind
and show what they were really like? Cassia’s lips trembled.
Her rescuer reached for her again and rubbed her arms. Cassia wanted to flinch and move away,
but those hands were so gentle. They warmed her through her cloak and made it easier to control her
shivers.
“How brave you are,” her rescuer said. “Tell us who you are looking for, and we will help you in
your honorable purpose.”
“No,” Cassia cried. “You’re not here to help. You’re here—to take her away, not to let me—take
her back—home. She should—at least get to come home—and be next to her mother. I should at least
be able to visit her under the temple.”
Cassia had not thought that far ahead until now. Imagining Soli like that made her feel sick again.
She found herself cradled between two warm bodies that smelled good. This time her tears fell on
a soft black robe, and the hands that stroked and rocked her were not thin and cold like Nurse’s. The
way the two Hesperines held her made her feel safe and important.
“Who are you looking for?” Her rescuer’s voice was steady and sure. She sounded like the kind of
lady who could make sure everything was taken care of. “If you tell us, we will find her for you.”
“I have to protect her,” Cassia protested.
From the Hesperines?
Or from Father?
“I know you want to do the right thing for her, but how will you find her without getting hurt?”
asked her rescuer. “I am sure she would not wish you to be in danger for even a moment. And even if
you could get to her safely, how would you carry her all the way back home by yourself?”
Cassia clenched her hands. She had to try, because no one else would.
Except the Hesperines.
Cassia’s rescuer wrapped firm, gentle hands around her fists and looked at her again. “I promise
we will not do anything for her until you tell us you will permit it. Is that all right with you?”
“You s-swear?”
The Hesperine put one hand on her chest. “By your gods and mine, I give you my word.”
“She has blond hair and blue eyes and a—a secret around her neck. M-my sister,” Cassia wailed.
“Soli.”
She wanted to explain, to scream at someone what their father had done. But as soon as she said
Soli’s name, she couldn’t speak. She could only cry and keep on crying. She didn’t care anymore how
useless and weak it was. She wept in the Hesperines’ arms.
Soli was dead.
Cassia sobbed until her whole body was exhausted and her belly ached. Her rescuer held her on
her lap while the second Hesperine cleaned Cassia’s face with a soft cloth. The two ladies talked to
each other in the Divine Tongue. They kept their voices quiet, but Cassia could tell they were very
angry. Only not at her.
The third Hesperine must have left while Cassia was crying, because now that one returned. From
the direction of the field.
The third Hesperine got down on her eye level as well. This one was a lord, but he looked just as
kind as the ladies. He held out one large hand and opened it. “Is this your sister’s secret?”
Cassia stared at the carved wooden pendant that rested on his palm and the ribbon that dangled
from it. She had never seen them anywhere except around Solia’s neck. In the Hesperine’s big hand,
the familiar symbol of ivy vines twisting in and out of each other looked smaller than before. It felt
wrong to see a strange male with Solia’s secret. But he held it very gently, and it was clear he knew
how important it was.
Cassia nodded.
He took both her hands in one of his big ones and gave Solia’s pendant to her. “It’s your secret
now.”
Cassia stared down at the necklace. In her hands, it felt very big. He was right. She should take
care of this for Solia now.
Cassia’s rescuer asked her, “Why have you come to find Soli all alone, without anyone to help
you?”
“Because he wouldn’t.”
“Who wouldn’t, little one?”
She didn’t want to talk about him, or even say his name. But the Hesperines were going to help her
with Solia, so she answered the question. “F-father.”
Her rescuer exchanged glances with the other two Hesperines again. “Where is your father?”
“The camp on the other side of the woods. But I won’t go back without Soli.”
She resettled Cassia on her lap. “Do you know why we are here?”
Cassia had thought she understood, but now she realized she had been very wrong. She shook her
head.
Her rescuer explained, “Our Goddess, Hespera, has given us a very important duty called the
Mercy. When people harm one another, Hespera wants us to help.”
“You,” Cassia whispered, “can help Solia?”
“It is difficult for a child,” said the second Hesperine.
“Yes it is.” Cassia’s rescuer hugged her close. “But this one has been forced to grow up quickly
tonight. How old are you?”
“I will be eight next month.”
“The Mercy is distressing to think about, but I can see how brave you are. Because you are here to
help your sister, I think you should be allowed to know how we will help her. I think you are big
enough for me to tell you what the Mercy is. But if it sounds too frightening, you can tell me to stop,
and I will not say any more. Very well?”
Cassia nodded.
“There is nothing wrong with being afraid,” her rescuer added. “Your sister would be so proud of
how strong you’ve been tonight. If you don’t want me to go on, you don’t have to feel ashamed, do you
understand?”
Cassia held Solia’s necklace tightly. She didn’t feel brave. But the Hesperine said she was, even
though Cassia had cried in front of her. “I understand.”
“After a battle, sometimes the fallen on the field are still alive, but they are too gravely wounded
for any healer to help them. We ask them if they want us to save them and turn them into Hesperines. If
that’s not what they want, we make sure they don’t feel any more pain, and we wait with them until
they go to be with their own gods. If they don’t want to wait, they can ask us to send them swiftly on.”
Cassia gasped. “Is Soli a Hesperine now?”
“I’m afraid your sister had already departed when we arrived. Only one of her guards needed us to
ease his journey into the next life.”
Cassia’s throat closed. It was really true. Soli was gone.
“Do not be sad that it is so,” her rescuer said. “It means she didn’t lie there in pain or fear, not
even for a moment, for she went quickly to your gods. They must be so happy to see her, if she is
anything like you.”
“No, she isn’t like me,” Cassia cried. “She is beautiful and good and everyone loves her. She is so
much better than me.”
“Is that what she told you?” the Hesperine asked.
Cassia shook her head.
“What did she say to you?”
Cassia thought about all the things other people had said, and then about what Solia said instead.
“She told me I am b-beautiful and good and that she loves me.”
“Then that is what you must say to yourself. That is what she wants for you.”
Cassia felt more hot tears at the back of her eyes. “How can you help her, if she’s already gone?”
“Sometimes it is not possible for families to give their loved ones proper rites,” said the
Hesperine. “Even when they want to very much. So we take it upon ourselves to care for the fallen on
behalf of those who loved them. We give them our Goddess’s sacred rites and honor them as we
would our own people.”
Cassia hung her head. “I love Soli and want to give her rites. But I can’t. I’m not enough.”
She had failed.
The Hesperine put a hand under Cassia’s chin again and lifted her face once more. “Do not ever be
ashamed. You have done a courageous deed tonight, and your sister is proud of you. She knows you
love her, even now.”
“How will she know it if I have no grave where I can visit her?”
“It doesn’t matter where she is or where you are. She will feel your love.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you showed her you love her while she was with you.”
Cassia looked into the Hesperine’s eyes, and she could see tears there. “Someone you love is gone
too?”
“My brother. He was taken prisoner. I couldn’t help him that night. Will you let me give his Mercy
to your sister?”
Cassia reached out and touched the tears that slid down the strong, beautiful lady’s cheeks. Tears
just like Cassia’s own.
When she wrapped her arms around her rescuer, the Hesperine froze, as if taken by surprise. But
then she pulled Cassia closer than ever.
They held each other for a long time, and Cassia cried again. But this time she didn’t feel ashamed.
At last Cassia’s rescuer drew back and set her on her feet.
“Please take care of Solia,” Cassia requested.
“It will be my honor. For your trust in me, you have my gratitude.”
“Thank you.” Cassia tried to give a lady’s curtsy like Solia had taught her, but her knees wobbled,
and she almost stumbled. Three pairs of Hesperine hands steadied her on her feet.
“Can I—” Cassia hesitated.
“Yes?” Her rescuer waited.
Cassia whispered, “Can I see her before you take her away?”
The Hesperine who had found Solia’s secret answered. “She would rather you think about all the
times when you were together. Remember what she looked like when she said she loves you, and
imagine what she looks like now, feeling your love in the safe, happy place where people like your
sister go.”
Cassia nodded in silence.
Cassia’s rescuer touched a hand to her cheek. “Will you tell me your name, so I can remember it,
along with Solia?”
“Cassia.”
“Cassia. I am so sorry about your sister. I carry your grief in my veins.”
The Hesperines carried Cassia all the way back through the forest. They strode right past the
king’s guards, who did not look their way. That was the last thing Cassia remembered before she
rested her head on her rescuer’s shoulder and fell asleep with Solia’s secret clutched in her hand.