Blood Feast: A Fantasy Romance

Fugitives

The cold calm overthe Sea of Komne gave way to gusts of wind that still tasted of salt, and Cassia set Hesperine foot in Tenebra for the first time.

At first she didn’t recognize the ragged moor and steep coastline, where waves crashed against the rocks. The moonlight was so bright, the smells so vivid. Could this really be the gray world she had lived in before?

Tenebra would never feel the same again. Her Grace’s presence filled even this desolate night.

“Where are we?” Lio asked.

“Hadria,” Cassia said.

Solia’s cloak tangled around her in the wind. “This is the safest place I could think of to bring you. On Lord Hadrian’s orders, no one will persecute Hesperines in this domain, and it’s too fortified for Lord Lucis to attack…yet.”

“This is a good plan,” Lyros said. “Thank you. We’re far from the siege, here.”

“And from Rudhira’s forces,” Mak muttered.

Solia scowled. “Steer clear of Castra Hadria, the main fortress. There’s a Charger there providing protection and communications.”

Knight was suddenly alert, his nostrils flaring, but his hackles didn’t rise. The aromas of blood magic and indigo warmed the night, and Karege’s veils dropped to reveal him and Kella waiting with four horses. Knight wagged his tail at Tilili.

“I knew if you could escape the Maaqul, you could get out of this, too.” Karege’s grin turned to a frown. “But where is Tendo?”

Kella held out her hand. “You owe me twenty silver. I told you he wouldn”t come.”

“And I told you she would ask him,” Karege returned. “Didn’t you, Sunburn?”

Solia crossed her arms. “Yes, I wasted my breath asking him.”

Karege crossed his arms at Kella. “You owe me snake blood. Make sure Tilili catches one alive. No Hesperine wants snake jerky.”

Cassia found a smile for Standstill and Noon Watch. “The Ashes have our gratitude. Tell Hoyefe that for us when you see him.”

“Don’t get sentimental on us now, Shadow,” Kella said. “I’m sure Lonesome and I will cross paths with you in Tenebra many times before this war is over.”

“After I step Kella and Solia to Castra Patria,” Karege explained, “I’m heading back to Ukocha’s village with Tuura. You’ve been fugitives there before! Come find Peanut and me if you need to disappear.”

Solia rested her hands on Cassia’s arms. “I must get back to the siege now. I wish I could offer you refuge in my fortress.”

Cassia grimaced. “If Rudhira catches sight of us, he’ll be honor bound to arrest us and take us back to the Queens.”

Solia muttered a curse. “I’ve half a mind to toss him and his entire Charge out on their ears.”

“That’s out of the question!” Cassia protested. “The Charge’s support is essential to you in the war. The four of us can’t give you that kind of support.”

“We have to focus on what we set out to do all along,” Lio said. “Find the truth about the door, wherever that may take us.”

Solia embraced Cassia one more time. “I don’t want to leave your side, Pup.”

“I know.” Cassia squeezed her eyes shut. “When I see you again, bring me a seed for the garden, just like always.”

“I will. I promise I’ll find something worth growing under all the flames at Castra Patria.” Solia pulled back. “Remember, even if you must avoid contact with the Charge, you are not fugitives under my law. You are still the Queen of Tenebra’s sister. I will make it clear to all my allies that whenever the Black Roses call upon them, they are to support you without question.”

Cassia nodded. “Thank you.”

Solia gave Knight a pat before going to stand beside Karege.

“May Ayur’s blood guide your hunt,” Kella said, invoking the Azarqi goddess of the moons.

Then Karege’s magic flared in the darkness. Cassia, Lio, Mak, and Lyros were suddenly very alone on the windy Tenebran moors.

Mak stalked over to Bear and General, his and Lyros’s matched pair of black warhorses, who were also their familiars. He loaded a saddlebag onto his mount in worrisome silence.

Lyros went to help him with their packs. “We need to determine our initial plan. The problem we must solve first is how we’ll cope with daylight.”

Lio fished out his astrolabe before lifting his pack onto his horse. Moonflower, white as his namesake, was not a familiar, but the gentle giant was still an Orthros Warmblood—powerful, intelligent, and all but immortal.

Cassia tallied the horses among their weapons, including her little speckled mare. Freckles might be the smallest, but she was also fast and mean. She switched her cinnamon-colored tail, looking like she wanted to bite someone, her permanent expression. Cassia found it comforting.

Lio made a couple of adjustments to the astrolabe, peering at the instrument. “With Winter Solstice almost upon us, this part of the kingdom gets only seven Tenebran hours of full daylight. Cassia will Slumber an hour or so beyond dusk and dawn, so we should have about three hours of twilight and twelve hours of night to find refuge.”

Cassia fastened her satchel to Freckles’ light fabric saddle, then lifted her larger pack onto her mount. Her belongings felt so easy to lift now. As a new Hesperine, she might sleep longer than the others, but she would make her new strength felt in her waking hours.

“We can’t rely on Hesperine Sanctuaries,” Lyros said. “No doubt Orthros will send out search parties, and those are the first places they’ll look.”

“I’m not so sure they will come looking. I could have sworn…” Lio hesitated. “I think Uncle Argyros knew we were there. And let us escape.”

Mak went still, staring at Lio. “He what?”

As Lio described what he’d witnessed in the disenchantment chambers, images of Argyros and Lyta flashed in their Grace Union for Cassia to see. “I believe he and your mother wanted us to get away. So it’s possible Rudhira will also make a point not to find us.”

Mak rubbed the back of his head, his aura a tangle of emotion. “My parents…impossible.”

“Not impossible.” Lyros took Mak’s hand. “But we cannot assume Rudhira will share their intention to let us escape.”

“I’m afraid that’s true,” Cassia said. “What if Rudhira would rather solve this with us safely under house arrest, instead of errant in Tenebra without the Charge’s support? He’ll want to find us, if only because he’s protective.”

Lio winced. “Or because we are also breaking Charge Law by going errant without his approval.”

“Marvelous,” Mak said. “So all the secret Hesperine Sanctuaries the Blood Errant told us about are exactly where we shouldn’t go.”

“We may not need Hesperine Sanctuaries.” Lio looked at Cassia. “Not when we have the Lustra.”

She held up her hands, shaking her head. “My magic has caused us nothing but trouble. We shouldn’t rely on it for anything.”

“If we can find more Lustra passages,” Lio said, “they will be the perfect solution to our dilemma.”

“The Charge has access to them now,” Cassia reminded him.

“To the tunnels at Castra Patria, yes,” Lio replied, “but we have no evidence those connect with passages in different locations. Even if they did, the Lustra opens for whom you wish. I’m sure it would just as quickly lock someone out for you.”

“And what if I spawn a forest of black roses by accident that lead the Charge and who knows who else right to us?”

Lio approached her. Closer. She had to tilt her head back to look at him. His dark blue gaze caught her like an anchor. She felt so far, far adrift. She wanted to stand in his shadow all night, soaking up the comfort of his presence. Comfort she didn’t deserve.

He rested his hand on her pendant. “There’s no need to conjure any roses. Simply use the pendant as you always have. It will be a small spell, unlikely to draw attention.”

“We don’t know what my pendant does now. You should use yours.”

He hesitated, then pulled his hand back. “Very well. We’ll try mine. For now.”

“Where should we start looking?” Lyros pulled out his map.

Lio studied it with him. “Hadria is one of the oldest domains in Tenebra. There should be a number of structures here that date from the Mage King’s time. Any suggestions, Cassia?”

Cassia pointed to a section of land that curved outward from the coastline. “We’re here on the Horn of Tenebra. There’s a lighthouse out on the tip of it. The legends say the Mage King lit the signal fire himself when the lords of Hadria swore fealty to him.”

“Perfect,” Lio said. “Let’s see if the Changing Queen left her mark on it as well.”

“Shall we ride instead of stepping?” Cassia asked. “I think we can reach it in a couple of hours on Orthros Warmbloods.”

“Good idea,” Lyros said. “You two can look for entrances to the passageways as we go. They may be spread out like the ones at Patria.”

Cassia wished she could levitate onto Freckles like a proper Hesperine. Even so, mounting had never been this easy. As a mortal, it had taken so much practice to ride the Hesperine way, using her knees to guide her horse without reins. Now she felt connected to her horse through the Blood Union.

Freckles swung her head around and sniffed Cassia’s dagger. She put her ears back, snorted, then proceeded to ignore Rosethorn.

“Not intimidated by liegehounds or dangerous artifacts, are you?” Cassia patted the mare’s neck.

Freckles had a lively presence, but when Cassia tried to sense Knight’s emotions, all she felt was solid silence. The contrast sent a pang of regret through her. Liegehounds’ immunity to Hesperine magic meant she couldn’t commune with her oldest friend.

As they galloped across the moors, the others let her take the lead, although she would rather have shrunk to the back of the group in silence, as Mak was doing. But given her familiarity with Hadria, she was the best guide they had.

They halted at intervals for Lio to apply blood to his medallion. No light spawned to guide them to a Lustra door. Perhaps this search would prove as disastrous as everything else Cassia had attempted.

Twilight had given way to night by the time they reached the bluff where the lighthouse stood. They approached under veils, cautious of the mortal auras within. Lord Hadrian’s men might report their presence to Castra Hadria without ill intent.

The circular tower, built of heavy gray stone and Hadrian stubbornness, seemed immune to time and the waves fighting to wear down the sharp rocks below. Cassia halted Freckles at the foot of the bluff and squinted up at the firelight glaring from the top of the lighthouse. The ancient structure’s presence had always given her gooseflesh, and now her arcane senses told her why.

“It’s shining with magic in a literal sense,” she realized.

Mak let out a low whistle. “There’s something very strange about that fire spell.”

Lio stared up at it with an intrigued frown. “Cassia, do fire mages come here periodically to renew the enchantment?”

She shook her head. “Lord Hadrian would never let an Aithourian war mage touch his lighthouse.”

Lio’s brows rose. “Are we to believe this is the Mage King’s original spell? What could possibly sustain it this many centuries after his death?”

“We have a different arcane mystery to solve,” Lyros said. “Did his queen leave any portals here?”

“Hmm.” Lio tore his gaze from the flame and bit his hand, making another libation on his pendant.

Nothing happened.

Cassia’s heart sank. Her brilliant idea had not helped them at all. “There’s nothing here.”

“Nothing that I can detect.” Lio guided Moonflower closer to her. “Perhaps you have to let me in before the portals will accept me.”

Freckles shifted testily under Cassia, and she realized she was holding the horse’s mane too tight. She forced her hands to relax. “It would be unwise for me to attempt any magic.”

“I can veil your casting. I’m prepared this time.”

“I’m not sure I can concentrate. I’m rather thirsty.”

Lio’s gaze darkened. “That’s easily remedied.”

Her face flushed. After the ordeals of the night and the magic she had expended, she didn’t dare take a bite of him here and now. Her Craving would demand more than a sip.

Lyros cleared his throat. “Perhaps after we find a Lustra portal to offer us shelter.”

Sunbind the amusement in Lio’s aura.

“Try a drop of your blood on your pendant,” he instructed in the tone of her magic teacher.

The muscles between her shoulder blades, where she used to sweat as a mortal, now tensed painfully. There had to be a better way than her setting off her chaotic magic again.

“It was my beast magic that revealed the portals to us at Patria,” she reasoned. “I can’t change my eyes now. Who’s to say the passages will even open for my plant magic?”

Lio’s remorse saturated their Grace Union, and Cassia immediately wished she could take back her words. She should have known better than to mention her lost magic. She hadn’t meant to prod his regrets about not helping her claim all her power before Gifting her.

“This is why I will never give up on your other affinities,” he said too calmly. “But for now, we need you to use your plant magic to the fullest. The Lustra has shown itself willing to adapt to the changes in your power. Try.”

He was right. They were out of options. It could take hours they didn’t have to find a different historical location, step there, and start their search from the beginning.

Cassia’s Craving would catch up to them long before dawn did. Her magic and her hunger were both burdens that only made matters worse for the four of them.

If there was a portal here, she had to find it for them, and she’d best do it before her Craving made it even more difficult to control her power.

She dismounted and planted her feet on the ground. Lifting her palm toward her fangs, she realized her hand was shaking.

Lio’s aura eased up behind her, and his hands came to rest on her shoulders. “Just like we’ve done before.”

Why did she feel as if casting spells would never be the same again?

She drew the smallest amount of blood from her hand and touched her pendant.

Magic shot up from the soil and exploded through her veins. Her senses split and spread, reaching out far. So far. As if her roots ran through all of Tenebra, and she could hold an entire kingdom in her mind’s eye.

The Lustra called out to her. It knew she had returned.

Who else would know, after this arcane declaration?

We have to make it stop,she cried into their Grace Union.

I can help, but only if you’re willing to let me.

Do whatever you can.

Lio swept into her mind, fast and deep, as he had when casting the mind ward. She sagged back into his arms, his body the only solid form in a world roiling with magic.

Let me help.He murmured through her every thought.

She was afraid to let go. So afraid to stop fighting the magic.

Let go.

She surrendered, her mental defenses falling for him in one gentle rush. His power encircled her, fortifying the mind ward, and the chaos went quiet.

There was nothing but the two of them, here in the Sanctuary of her thoughts.

She felt his touch on her Will, the gentlest guide. She followed where his magic led. Together, they took hold of the wild tendrils of her spell and pulled them all back to her. The magic sent a tremor through her as it shot back into the ground.

She opened her eyes. The flame at the top of the lighthouse had risen to a bonfire. She heard the shouts of men on the other side of the wards Mak and Lyros had conjured around her and Lio.

“Let’s not wait for them to demand an explanation. This way.” Lyros pointed.

Black roses ripped out of a crack in the bedrock under the lighthouse. The vines took hold of the stone and tore it aside to reveal a broad portal.

They all plunged inside, guiding Knight and the horses. With a rumble of stone and snapping of vines, the portal sealed behind them.