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“Aunt Kona is always concerned about people.” Zoe looked down, then at Cassia. “Last time I was at House Annassa playing with the royal children, I got scared. Aunt Kona used her light spells to make an illusion of a cave above us all, right over the Queens’ Terrace!”
“That was very kind of her,” Cassia conceded. “She told me how much she loves children.”
“Aunt Kona wants to make sure Rudhira is safe,” Komnena said.
“I would turn into a gargoyle and protect Lio if he was in danger,” Zoe announced.
A smile relieved Lio’s features for the first time in hours. “Then I am very safe.”
“Well, let us see if this still works.” Apollon pricked his thumb on his fang and let four drops of blood fall upon the stone.
The substance inside the stone whirled and pulsed faster. The stone’s light grew brighter. Cassia held her breath and counted the beats in the stone. One, two, three…four.
She heard a sword whip out of a scabbard behind her. She and Lio spun around.
The First Prince stood there in full chain mail, brandishing a two-hander as tall as Cassia. Ioustinianos’s unsheathed fangs were as threatening as his sword. His hair and clothes dripped a puddle onto the floor and filled the workshop with the unmistakable smell of Tenebran rain.
Apollon came around the table. “Forgive me for startling you.”
The prince opened his mouth, spotted Zoe, then apparently refrained from whatever curse he had in mind to say. “I came ready to introduce Chrysanthos or Skleros to my blade.”
Apollon laughed. “I am sure they would find it educational to meet Thorn in person.”
Zoe, jumping down from the stool, did not let her father get far out of arm’s reach. Clinging to him, she peered around him to stare wide-eyed at the enormous weapon.
The prince lowered his sword and knelt down, resting the blade flat on the floor before Zoe. “I would never bring this sword into Orthros unless I thought the people I love were in danger. The Queens’ laws against weapons are very important. Let’s not mention this to anyone, all right?”
Zoe nodded, then stepped over the sword and into her Ritual father’s arms. How rare to see her initiate an embrace. Ioustinianos was so beloved that even shy Zoe took her chance to hug him when he was here. The smell of fresh-cut lumber filled the air, and the rainwater disappeared from the prince, Zoe, and the floor. The red light shining on his face illumined his smile.
Cassia looked for the source of the light and saw a stone just like Apollon’s embedded in the hilt of the prince’s sword.
“I retired my hammer in Tenebra,” Apollon explained, “but I made sure I brought my union stone safely to Orthros with me.”
The prince released Zoe and stood, retrieving his sword. He gazed for an instant at his union stone, then shook his head.
“I know,” said Apollon. “You wonder what Nike makes of it in this moment, that the stone in her shield is aglow for the first time in so long.”
The prince levitated his sword into the scabbard on his back. “Would that she had heeded that call before now. You know how many times I tried it.”
“Would that we knew where in the world Methu’s swords are, at this very moment, shining with the light of his blood magic.”
“We’ll never know what became of them, or even if they still exist.”
Komnena chose that moment to welcome the prince with a hug. He embraced each of Lio’s family in turn, politely ignoring Knight’s pleas for his attention.
When the prince came to Cassia, he took her hand. “What happened here?”
Before she could answer, her pricks and scratches healed before her eyes.
“I ran afoul of some mighty thorns in the royal rose garden.” Cassia glanced at Zoe. “Your sister was kind enough to give me a tour of her greenhouse tonight. She speaks very fondly of you.”
“I would love to know what the two of you talked about.” The prince hid his dark expression behind a smile before turning to Zoe. “Does my invitation to this council extend to coffee around the Ritual circle and bedtime stories?”
Zoe’s face lit up, and she looked hopefully at her parents.
“Do you need to ask?” Komnena stroked Zoe’s hair and smiled at the prince.
Apollon laughed. “We will keep you as long as you can bear to be away from the Charge.”
