Blood Feast: A Fantasy Romance

Nonnegotiable

The room was bareand lit by a single, dismal spell. Hard benches lined the gray stone walls. Cassia thought it must be the only place in Orthros devoid of comfort and beauty.

Worst of all, wards smothered the room. She felt deaf to the Blood Union. Especially when she tried to listen through the implacable veils over Aunt Lyta’s emotions.

But the legendary warrior was not actually very good at hiding her feelings. There was care in her hands as she released Mak and Cassia’s arms. Pain flickered in her eyes. Every tense line of her petite, muscular frame revealed her anger.

Cassia didn’t blame her. She was so angry at herself for putting Aunt Lyta in this position.

“Mother,” Mak said. “I’m sorry.”

Aunt Lyta opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head. She closed her hands around the weapons hovering before her. She stepped away, the artifacts disappearing with her.

Mak sank down onto a bench and put his head in his hands.

Cassia paced the length of the chamber. She shook her wrists, hating the feeling of the Blood Shackles. They weighed on her veins, dragging at her every time her arcane senses twitched.

Some Lady of Schemes she was now. She had managed to slip out of the King of Tenebra’s grasp every time, and yet she had just entangled her immortal family in a tragedy.

Hespera help her, how could she have made such a catastrophic mistake?

She pivoted and paced back the other way. She would think of how to make this right. She would.

“Where are we?” she asked.

Mak let out a humorless laugh. “The disenchantment chambers in Stewards’ Ward. When rowdy youngbloods set off stupid spells, this is where we throw them so they don’t blow themselves up. Do you know how many times I’ve been the one to toss someone in here for their magic to cool off?”

She winced. “That just adds insult to injury, doesn’t it?”

“Well, this is better than Phaedros’s prison under the midnight sun, I can tell you that. More darkness. Fewer polar bears.”

Cassia gave a weak laugh. Trust Mak to find a jest, even now.

Lio hovered in their Union. Are you all right?

She had gotten them into this mess. The least she could do was be strong for her Grace. She mustered her composure. We’re perfectly fine. Aunt Lyta is being gentle with us.

Nice try, my Grace. I know you’re devastated. Where are you?

Panic stirred inside her. Can’t you tell?

He hesitated. No. Ah. That must mean you’re in the disenchantment chambers. They’re warded against stepping and all kinds of magic.

She tried to reason with herself. At least the wards would prevent him from doing anything rash that would get him arrested next.

But her unruly heart began to race. He had been able to find her in the Maaqul Desert. Being taken from him right in their home city prodded all her instinctual fears of separation. And she had no hope of hiding it from him.

Nothing blocks Grace Union,he reminded her. His mind magic blanketed her thoughts.

Her heart began to slow, and she breathed.

Don’t be afraid, he said. Lyros and I have a plan.

Lio, no—

He ignored her protests, although he didn’t pull very far from their Grace Union. She couldn’t help being grateful for his nearness.

She turned and paced past Mak again. “Are prisoners allowed veil spells?”

“Yes.” Mak’s magic wrapped around them. “The Stand isn’t supposed to use magic to make us incriminate ourselves. That includes stripping our veils.”

“I know how hard all of this is for you,” she said in the hush of his spell.

“I accepted the possibility, when I asked Nike to teach me, but… Hespera’s Mercy. This is all wrong. No one should be locked in here but me.”

Cassia sank down onto the bench and put her arms around him. “I would have gotten myself arrested alone if there had been any way to convince Aunt Lyta I really had found all the weapons.”

“There’s too much evidence in the forge that they were crafted there.” Mak hugged her close. “You had to implicate me to take suspicion off Nike. I’m glad you did.”

“We saved her. That’s what matters.”

“But all you should be doing right now is celebrating. I never should have dragged you and Lio into this.”

“We accepted the possibility, too. Admittedly, I didn’t expect us to get caught five minutes afterward.”

“I never dreamed Nike’s wards and veils wouldn’t hide your spells!”

“I should have known. Lustra magic is opposed to blood magic. Nike probably didn’t account for anti-haimatic magic like mine.”

“But your Lustra magic is in Union with your blood magic. No wonder you didn’t suspect anything would go wrong.”

“Regardless, it was my spell that got us caught.”

Stop blaming yourself, Lio demanded.

Cassia held on to comforting visions in her mind, even if Lio didn’t believe them. Are you talking to Papa about my defense?

He sent her a mental image of their smiling family sitting around the Ritual circle with mince pies and coffee. Everything is fine here. Nothing to worry about at all.

You made that up.

Two can play this game.

“Under Hesperine law,” Cassia asked Mak, “what is the sentence for our crimes?”

He blew out a breath. “You always do ask the hard questions first. I wish I could tell you. But no one has ever been put on trial for this before. There’s no precedent. Our punishment would be at the discretion of the magistrates, unless the Queens stepped in to issue a verdict themselves…which they might, considering it’s their ban on weapons.”

“Do you think they would imprison us with Phaedros?”

“I hope not. We didn’t actually use the weapons on anyone.” He swallowed. “Perhaps exile Abroad, instead of with the polar bears. I think I’d prefer that over the alternative…house arrest in a silk-cushioned cell, knowing the whole city is right outside the door pitying us and our bloodlines.”

She stared at the blank wall and made herself think through what lay ahead. “Conjugal visits?”

“Right. No one wants Lio and Lyros to die of Craving while their blood supplies serve out the sentence.”

The people who loved them would be forced to put them on trial to uphold Hespera’s tenets. Their families would be dragged through the legal process, surely a lengthy one, which would bring only grief and scandal. And their Graces would suffer the most.

All while the Collector got closer and closer to that door and whatever fate would befall the world if he opened it.

Cassia had knocked herself off the board. She had effectively removed herself from the game, and every life lost as a result would weigh on her conscience forever.

“What are our chances of escaping?” she asked.

Mak’s shoulder slumped. “Considering Phaedros—an elder firstblood—hasn’t managed it in sixteen hundred years, our odds aren’t good.”

Cassia contemplated the floor under their feet. “I wonder if your mother’s wards can truly block Lustra magic…”

“Even if we could break out, the Blood Shackles will prevent us from stepping, levitating, or crossing the border. There’s only one way we can escape.”

“If Lio and Lyros rescue us.” She gritted her teeth.

“And get themselves branded criminals in the process.”

The blessing of Grace they had been celebrating earlier that night had already become a chain around Lio’s neck.

“I won’t do that to him,” Cassia said. “I will keep my promise to put him first. I have to stay and face trial.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mak agreed. “I owe it to Lyros to make this up to him however I can.”

“At least they’ll still be considered innocent. They can keep their lives here.”

“Yes.”

Silence fell between them. What kind of lives would those be, carrying the shame of their Graces’ crimes?

Lio caught the soundof paws racing across the snow. He froze, tightening his veil spells alongside Lyros. But it was no use.

Knight headed straight for them, his nose to the ground. A cloaked figure forged a path behind him, leaving a trail of melted snow. He halted at the edge of their veils and wagged his tail.

“Good dog,” came Solia’s voice from within the hood. She lifted a hand toward the sky, and fire flickered in her palm.

That was when Lio noticed the dark silhouette crisscrossing overhead. Tendo dove down to land next to Solia.

Solia waved in Lio and Lyros’s direction. “We know you’re there.”

“Open up,” Tendo demanded.

“We signaled Nodora’s ship, too,” Solia warned. “Our reinforcements are already on the way.”

Lio stood within arm’s reach of them across the invisible layer of spells. “I don’t want to involve them.”

Lyros dragged his hands through his hair. “I know. If we implicate them, the consequences—”

He didn’t have time to finish before their Trial sisters levitated over the cliff and landed on the edge.

Nodora’s magic probed their veils. “We’re here to help. We’re your Trial circle. We take care of each other, even when one of us does something colossally stupid.”

“Especially then,” Kia agreed.

Xandra put her hands on her hips. “This is no time for idiotic, noble notions of keeping us out of this to protect us.”

Solia’s aura burned with outrage. “My sister has been arrested. Don’t even think about trying to rescue her without me.”

“Face it,” said Tendo. “You need us. Especially me. After all, I’m the one who saved your soft hides the last time Cassia was a wanted criminal.”

Lio and Lyros looked at each other.

“If any of them had been arrested,” said Lio, “you and I would beat down their doors to help, even if it got all of us exiled under the midnight sun.”

Lyros shook his head at Lio. “When did you become the person encouraging us all into a life of crime, instead of being the first one to confess our mischief to the elders?”

“The first time someone threatened a hair on my Grace’s head.”

“I know the feeling. But it goes against my grain as a Steward to make everyone else complicit in our crimes, and Mak would agree.”

“They’re making this choice. As much as I want to protect them, I have no right to tell them they can’t take action to protect Mak and Cassia.”

Lyros sighed. “You’re right. It’s a gift that they’re willing to take this risk, and we shouldn’t dishonor that.”

Lio nodded. He and Lyros lowered their veils.

“It’s about time!” Solia huffed.

Knight leapt to Lio’s side. He hugged the dog’s shaggy neck, looking down to meet his earnest eyes. “It’s a good thing you’re the only people in Orthros with a liegehound who can track us through our veils.”

“I can make sure no one else finds us.” Nodora beckoned them toward the cliff. “Hurry. My ship is waiting below.”

It was an excellent plan. The ocean was rife with its own natural magical forces that few could control. It’s powerful arcane currents would help disguise their spells and auras, especially with help from Nodora’s water magic.

They stepped down to her ship, gathering under an awning bolted to the deck where there were warmth spells for the mortals. Nodora blew a few notes on her flute. The waves stirred around them, and her floating residence eased into motion. The large, graceful vessel sped away from the lights of Selas and out onto the dark Sea of Komne.

Lio reached for Cassia through their Union to see how she was feeling. There was a resigned confidence in her, and he hated it. He would not let her be the martyr tonight.

You’re one to talk, she said. You’ve attempting to martyr yourself for me on numerous occasions.

That was different.

How so, pray tell?

That was me. Given the chance, I will always march to the gallows in your place.

Don’t you dare.

You know I cannot see reason on this, my Grace.

Lio looked from their Trial sisters to Solia and Tendo. “Lyros and I are planning to break Cassia and Mak out of Stand custody and go errant, no matter the consequences.”

Lyros gave a solemn nod. “Our elders are doing what they must for the integrity of this land they founded. We’ll do what we must to protect our Graces.”

“We have a higher duty, as well.” Lio wasn’t sure if he was justifying this decision to their friends or himself. “The Collector won’t wait for Orthros’s magistrates to reach a verdict. We must get to Tenebra and stop him from opening that door. But you all have duties to your kingdoms and your bloodlines, as well.”

“Please,” Lyros said, “if you have any hesitations about this plan, leave now. We don’t want to hurt any of you.”

Solia crossed her arms. “If you weren’t planning to break Cassia and Mak out, I would do it myself.”

Tendo narrowed his eyes at her. “Fortunately for you, I’ve infiltrated the Empress’s secret prisons. I doubt the silkfoot version of high security will pose a challenge.”

She looked away. “The Ashes are covering for us. Hoyefe is casting illusions at the celebration to give us all alibis while Karege helps Tuura and Kella smuggle out your packs and horses.”

“I’m your escape transport,” said Nodora.

Kia gestured at herself. “You’ll need my methodological deconstruction abilities to get Mak and Cassia out of their Blood Shackles.”

Lyros’s eyes widened at her. “You can break Blood Shackles?”

“I can dismantle any spell, in theory, as long as I understand its structure. I’m afraid you and Mak will have to reveal some of the Stand’s magical secrets if you want me to free him and Cassia.”

Lyros grimaced. “To put this mathematically, that could dramatically increase your chances of getting arrested.”

She lifted her chin. “I would consider it an honor.”

Lyros gave her a sad smile. “Trust you to flout the laws for your principles without hesitation.”

“When laws don’t match our principles, the laws need to change.” Kia touched his arm. “If that gets me exiled and imprisoned under the midnight sun with Phaedros, well, that just means I’ll get to debate his latest treatise with him in person.”

Lyros shook his head, putting his arms around her and Nodora’s shoulders.

“We won’t let anyone else get arrested tonight,” Lio said firmly. Especially not the Blood Errant. “Who knows about the arrest so far?”

“Lyta has a council with my mothers in half an hour,” Xandra replied. “That will be your chance to rescue Mak and Cassia while they’re not guarded.”

“That doesn’t give us much time,” Lio said. “Who else?”

“Argyros and Lyta have informed no one but your parents and Solia,” Xandra explained. “Then Solia recruited the rest of us to help. Your families are keeping all of this very quiet for now. They haven’t even stopped the avowal celebration.”

Lio grimaced. “How did my father react?”

“He was so quiet,” Xandra said. “Dangerously so. Then he went looking for you.”

Lio muttered another curse. “What about Nike and Rudhira?”

Xandra shook her head. “Rudhira is in Tenebra, and Nike has been on patrol at the other end of the ward this entire time. I think your families are putting off breaking the news to them.”

“We have to keep Nike distracted,” Lio said. “Mak and Cassia made us promise we wouldn’t let her do anything self-sacrificing.”

Xandra’s brow furrowed. “Is she more involved in this than you’re letting on?”

Lio exchanged another glance with Lyros. Their friends only knew the version of the story Cassia and Mak had told Aunt Lyta.

“They have a right to know the truth,” Lyros decided.

Lio nodded. “I agree. Nike needs their protection, too.”

And so did his uncle. He had never thought of Uncle Argyros as a vulnerable person. And yet, in this moment, he was. They held his heart in their hands.

“Neither Nike nor Cassia ever found adamas weapons in an ancient ruin,” Lio revealed. “Nike forged the Blood Errant’s weapons and taught Mak how to make ours.”

As soon as he and Lyros explained the true version of events, a flame sprang to life at Solia’s temple. “Your elders welcomed Cassia with open arms, only to arrest her for something as natural as picking up a dagger!”

“I’m sorry, Solia,” Lio replied. “You know I never meant for this to happen.”

“I don’t blame you.” There was approval in her voice. “I’d be angrier if you tried to come between her and her blade.”

Lio smiled. “I know better than that.”

Xandra’s aura flashed hotter. “It’s not fair. The Blood Errant have never been punished like this. They’ll be furious about Mak and Cassia’s arrest. We should send word to Rudhira right away. He can advocate for them and talk Nike out of doing anything rash.”

“No, Xandra,” Lio said. “We can’t do that to your family. Imagine what it would mean for the Queens—for all of Orthros—to know Rudhira has been disobeying their commands.”

“At least stop hiding from your father, then!”

“I don’t want him implicated, either. This will be hard enough for Zoe without our parents getting dragged into it.”

“How about Alkaios and Nephalea?” Nodora suggested. “They’re among the few Nike would listen to, and they know all her secrets.”

Lyros shook his head. “Not them, either. They’ve just established their new lives here in Orthros. Mak would never want to ruin that.”

“Neither would Cassia,” Lio agreed, “not after everything they’ve done for her.”

Lyros’s expression grew bleak. “They’ll be a comfort to Mak’s parents now.”

A look of determination came to Xandra’s face. “Then I will protect Nike.”

Kia opened her mouth to protest.

Xandra held up a hand. “Now isn’t the time to shelter me like when we were children. I am a royal Hesperine, and I will see to this myself.”

“What are you going to do?” Nodora asked her with concern.

Xandra’s eyes narrowed. “Only one thing could possibly keep Nike from coming to rescue Mak and Cassia. An imminent threat to Orthros.”

“Goddess,” Lyros said, “we must pray there’s no attack on the border while the Stand is falling apart like this.”

“There won’t be,” Xandra said. “Just the appearance of one. I’ll cast a few perfectly safe fire spells near the ward to make Nike think there’s a rogue war mage in the mountains. And if an actual attack happens while I’m distracting her, I can turn around and fling real fireballs at the enemy. Orthros has never been safer.”

“Xandra…” Lio shook his head. She didn’t need him to tell her how many ways this could go horribly wrong. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. My Trial circle and my family are at stake. It’s my turn to protect all of you. And if a Hesperine royal must be implicated, Orthros can bear it much easier if it’s the wayward Eighth Princess rather than our beloved First Prince.”

“May the Goddess’s Eyes light your path,” they all bade her.

“Her fire is about to light up the mountains.” Xandra waved at them with flames dancing at her fingertips, then disappeared.

What’s happening? Cassia’s aura throbbed with worry.

Lio tamped down on his own worries and sent reassurance to her.

I see right through your sweetness and light, she replied. I know you’re on the warpath. Don’t do anything that will land you and Lyros in Blood Shackles.

We have no intention of getting arrested,Lio replied truthfully.

Give Mak and me more time to decide what to do before you and Lyros try anything rash.

This is nonnegotiable, he informed her. We’re coming to rescue you.