Blood Feast: A Fantasy Romance

A Worthy Artifact

After one dance, andnot enough kisses for Lio’s liking, their Trial circle joined them on the deck. Mak collared him and Cassia in a hug. “Thorns, congratulations, you two. It’s about time.”

“A triumph, Cassia.” Kia tossed her turquoise silk mantle over her shoulder.

Nodora set her lute aside so she could embrace them, too. “Now we can start avowal planning!”

Released from his sit-stay, Knight bounded over to join the gathering. He came straight to Lio’s side and sat on his feet, his tail wagging hard.

Lio gave Knight’s back a scratch. “Thank you for welcoming me into your pack, old boy.”

Xandra crossed her arms. “It’s a good thing you said yes. We Trial sisters were prepared to take Cassia to my greenhouse with piles of handkerchiefs and chocolate, and possibly send an emergency message to Solia on the battlefield.”

“And Mak and I were planning to take you drinking with Tendo,” Lyros said.

Lio frowned down at Cassia. “You feared I would say no! Why in the Goddess’s name would I do that?”

Cassia waved a hand. “Because it is objectively madness to try to hold the avowal ceremony of the century in less than three weeks. And because you are self-sacrificing and worried about my Craving. I thought I might need a great deal of consolation chocolate.”

“I would never tell you no,” Lio said. “Only, ‘yes, later,’ perhaps.”

Her arm around his waist, Cassia leaned into him. “I’m so glad you said ‘yes, now.’”

“So am I.” He would have a clear conscience about it once he confirmed his plan would work.

Xandra pointed at her brother’s gift. “Don’t forget that. You can open it now.”

Lio opened Rudhira’s veiled box to find a cup, the traditional gift of congratulations to Hesperines upon finding Grace. Lio smiled, remembering the one he had given Rudhira when the prince had been doubting Kassandra’s prophecies about his own Grace.

Rudhira had carved this goblet from a single piece of deep red wood. On its knots and flaws, he had engraved twining thorns, while exquisite roses adorned its smooth curves. A true symbol of the pain and joy of Grace. Lio sensed that Rudhira had imbued the cup with his blood, a promise to always lend them his strength.

“Our next destination is House Komnena,” Kia announced.

“Zoe insisted on being the one to throw your congratulatory party,” Nodora said.

Lio chuckled. “Of course she did.”

They stepped to Zoe’s spacious upstairs room and into a sea of purple flower petals and purpler ribbons. A collective sense of joy erupted in the Union like a cheer. Nearly everyone who had attended Cassia’s Ritual was gathered in the light of the stained glass window depicting Zoe’s goats and Knight.

Zoe threw her arms around Lio. “You said yes!”

He managed not to laugh at the riot of lavender and violet all around them, and said very seriously, “Thank you for hosting such a lovely party for us.”

She whispered, “I’m so excited that I’ll get to call Cassia Grace-sister in front of everyone.”

“I’m glad you’ll get to do that, too, Zoe flower.” He turned to their mother. “But I know planning an avowal this quickly is a great deal to ask.”

Instead of looking harried, his mother glowed. “That was Cassia’s first concern when she hatched her plan. As I assured her, I decapitated a member of the Aithourian Circle in my kitchen while I was pregnant with you. I am not daunted by throwing you an avowal worthy of eternity on the spur of the moment.”

“Besides,” Kassandra put in from nearby, “a certain Oracle gave her a few hints about what to have ready in advance.”

Cassia’s brows rose. “Does that mean I chose the moment of destiny to propose?”

Kassandra raised her glass to Cassia.

Lio’s father held out a silk bundle in one war-honed hand. “I didn’t know how many centuries might pass until I could give you this, Son. But even before you met Cassia, we crafted it, hoping you wouldn’t wait as long as I did for your mother.”

Lio unwrapped the gift. His parents’ congratulatory cup was a chalice carved by his father’s stone magic in an ancient style, masterful in its simplicity. It was engraved with calligraphy twisting among stars. The words, an ancient Hesperine blessing, emanated his mother’s theramancy.

Cassia touched the stars, the constellation Anastasios. “It’s beautiful.”

“We’ll treasure it.” Lio placed it next to Rudhira’s cup on the windowsill. “These will be the first we place on display in our residence.”

“You’ll need a room full of display cases once all of Orthros finishes congratulating Firstgift Komnenos,” his mother predicted.

For the first time, Lio felt a hint of panic at their upcoming avowal.

He hadn’t even started on his and Cassia’s avowal cup.

The chalice they would drink from during the ceremony should be a powerful magical artifact and an eternal symbol of their love. An embodiment of Hespera’s sacred cup, from which flowed her divine generosity, including Grace. And as the Hesperine welcoming Cassia into his bloodline, it was Lio’s responsibility to craft it. How could he create something worthy in what little time they had?

As their loved ones presented them with a series of cups that were all exquisite masterpieces of craftsmanship and spellcasting, he tried not to despair.

Even worse, all of this celebration and the happiness shining in Cassia’s aura would be for nothing, if he failed on another front.

His opportunity came when Konstantina floated into the gathering on a current of royal power. If anyone could advise him on his plan, it was the Queen’s eldest daughter, Royal Master Magistrate and author of Orthros’s legal scrolls. He only hoped such a traditionalist would not be thoroughly offended by what he was about to ask.

Twirling one of the black roses in her hand, Konsntantina paused to exchange a word with Xandra before coming over to Lio and Cassia. She lifted Cassia’s chin. “Ah, my newest immortal rosarian. Let me look at you.”

Cassia smiled, showing her fangs.

Konstantina gave her an arch smile in return. “Beautiful. Another bloom plucked from the mortal world to flourish in Hespera’s garden. We will accomplish great things together, my dear.”

“I think I have a new rose variety to present to the Circle of Rosarians,” Cassia said.

“So I see.” Konstantina held the black bloom to her nose. “These are the most fascinating conjuration. The concentration of blood magic in their petals is extraordinary. When I imagine how your Lustra magic will advance Hesperine botany in the centuries to come, the possibilities are thrilling.” Her fingers tightened on the flower almost imperceptibly. “My brother had best return you to me in one piece.”

Cassia’s wince shot through their Grace Union. I hate thinking that I’m the latest point of contention in Rudhira and Master Kona’s relationship.

If it wasn’t you, Lio consoled her, they would find something else to set off their epic sibling rivalry.

I suppose it’s inevitable, given how strong-Willed they both are—and how fiercely they love each other.

Cassia hesitated. “Thank you for your vote during my Gifting. You have my eternal gratitude.”

“Don’t make me regret endorsing the war.”

Cassia reached out to touch Konstantina’s hand with an air of beseeching her princess. “I hope Orthros will see our avowal ceremony as our promise not only to each other but to our people. We embrace our privileges and duties as the heirs of Blood Komnena. We will return to take our seats in the Firstblood Circle.”

“See that you do. I look forward to the debates we shall have, as much as the gardening lessons.”

Now, while Orthros’s great politician was feeling charitable toward Cassia, Lio took his opportunity. “Aunt Kona, I would be grateful for your advice on a legal question pertaining to our avowal.”

“Gladly,” she said. “I trust you and Cassia wish to have the full ceremony? No hasty, common-law admission of your bond before any convenient pair of ears outside the immediate family?”

“Of course not,” he assured her. “We will have the full eight witnesses each who will swear before the Queens that they have beheld the symptoms of our Craving. There is only one modification I hope to make, not for my own sake, but for Cassia’s. It regards our Ritual separation.”

“An ambitious undertaking, so soon after her Gifting.” For once, Konstantina gave Cassia a look devoid of subtext and full of genuine concern. “None of us doubt your fortitude, but we are worried for you.”

“So am I,” Lio said. “She already suffered so much as a mortal, as everyone who saw her illness can attest. If they were to bear witness to her Craving, would that satisfy the law and make a Ritual separation unnecessary?”

Surprise shot through Cassia’s aura. Lio, I don’t want there to be any doubt. I will honor the requirements.

Please, let me at least try to make this easier for you.

She squeezed his hand.

Konstantina pursed her lips. “That is a highly interesting legal question. The Ritual separation is defined as a period of eight nights in which the couple must abstain from one another’s blood, and a different witness must hold vigil with them each night to observe their symptoms. It is understood this can only take place if the pair are both Hesperines, as mortals do not hunger for blood.”

“But is that stated in the law?” Lio asked.

Konstantina shook her head. “No, but we have no precedent for what you are suggesting. The symptoms of Craving are not usually sufficiently evident in humans to prove the bond.”

A muscle twitched in Solia’s temple, the first sign she was less than supportive of the proceedings. “With respect, Second Princess, Cassia’s need for Lio was tragically evident even when she was mortal. After their separation in the Maaqul Desert, I carried her back to him myself. She was dying in my arms.”

“And Kella and I kept Cassia alive while they were apart,” Tendo spoke up.

“For which Orthros is grateful,” Konstantina said. “The question remains, however. How much of her symptoms were Craving and how much the result of her displaced magic?”

“I can attest to that.” Rudhira stepped closer to his sister, despite the tension simmering between them. “Using my power as a healer, I studied how she absorbed his magic. It’s true that her illness was caused not by Craving but by the Collector starving her of her magic. However, her aura would draw on no magic but Lio’s as a surrogate for her missing power. The unbreakable channeling between them, the way his power kept her alive—that was only possible because of their bond.”

Konstantina put a hand to her lips, considering. “That makes four witnesses to Cassia’s symptoms.”

Nike stepped forward. “I was there the night Rudhira and Annassa Soteira identified the arcane channeling occurring between Lio and Cassia.”

“So were we.” Lio’s mother held his father’s hand. “I was with her when she fell ill in the greenhouse, and Apollon helped her to Lio’s side.”

“That makes seven,” Lio said, tense with hope.

“Eight,” Kassandra interjected. “I trust the magistrates will take my word as the Oracle?”

The whole room seemed to hold their breaths, immortal and mortal alike, while Konstantina considered.

“As the Royal Master Magistrate,” she said at last, “I say the separations Lio and Cassia endured are more than Orthros can ask of any pair of Hesperines, and their companions on their adventures are worthy witnesses to their Craving. As a friend of Blood Komnena, I say I am glad I can spare these two any further suffering.”

Everyone let out exclamations of relief, then broke into applause. Cassia’s hand slowly relaxed in Knight’s ruff, the only outward sign that she had dreaded their separation more than she would ever admit. At that small, powerful betrayal of her relief, Lio felt an immense weight life off of him.

After this party,she swore, I’m going to drag you into the nearest dark corner and devour every inch of you with the knowledge that I don’t ever have to abstain from you again.

Lio swallowed hard and tried not to show his fangs to everyone. “You have our gratitude, Aunt Kona.”

The princess smiled. “I look forward to the ceremony. I expect a seat next to my mothers while they officiate.”

Cassia’s eyes widened. “The Queens are planning to officiate for us?”

“Of course,” Konstantina replied. “They are the first Graces and seldom miss an opportunity to hear a couple’s vows, especially a rare joining in Anastasios’s bloodline. And as for your cupbearer, who will carry your avowal cup during the ceremony? That role is an honor even greater than witnessing.”

Lio made an effort to shove his worries about the cup behind his veils. Through their Grace Union, he showed Cassia who he had in mind, and she sent him her emphatic agreement.

Lio turned to their mentor. “Uncle, I still regret how you found out about Cassia and me. I should have confided in you instead of letting you find out with the entire Firstblood Circle. Let me make amends now. Would you do us the honor of being our cupbearer?”

His uncle clasped his wrist and pulled him close. The full depth of Silvertongue’s emotions escaped his veil spells and reminded Lio just how deeply his stoic uncle felt everything. “It would be my honor.”

Now if only Lio could craft a suitable artifact in time. He must find a way to catch these memories in a cup before time ran on and they must face the inevitable course of the war.