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“Of course she can work such magic on her own minions,” said Master Gorgos.
“One of her own kind destroyed by their greatest weakness,” Lord Severin returned. “Magefire. If she can save a Hesperine from Anthrian magic, healing a mortal must be a trivial task for her.”
Master Gorgos scowled. “She snatched the blood goddess’s spawn from the reach of Anthros’s justice. The god of war is angry.”
“Master Gorgos,” said Pakhne, “have you forgotten Kyria’s own power helped save Alkaios? I shall not listen to any healing of the Semna’s be called displeasing to Anthros.”
Ariadne wrapped a warm woolen mantle closer around their mentor, who sat dozing off the great magic she had worked.
Master Gorgos looked on sadly. “How well I know my sister mages’ tender hearts, which urge them to bestow Mother Kyria’s mercy on the undeserving.”
“You can’t teach anything to a dead Hesperine,” Ariadne said. “If you want him to hear of the goddess’s forgiveness, you have to save his life first.”
“I believe Kyria sent us this opportunity,” said Pakhne. “When have we ever had such a chance to demonstrate our goddess’s power to Hesperines? We have planted a seed that will grow into great good.”
Master Gorgos sighed. “The Semna exhausted herself for a lost cause. That Hesperine was already doomed to the pyre the moment he sprouted fangs.”
Cassia rose to her feet. “Who could look upon Alkaios tonight without feeling compassion for his suffering? Who could see a fellow creature in that much pain and dare suggest he deserves it?”
“You are a true daughter of Kyria, moved to pity by the goddess,” Master Gorgos replied. “I am a mage of Anthros, charged with dispensing godly justice.”
Cassia stood as still as she could, so he would not see her shaking with anger. “What justice could there be in such torture?”
“A Hesperine’s punishment at the hands of war mages is not a fit sight for females. Do sit down, Basilis, and rest yourself. This is why Anthros entrusts such difficult tasks to the strong wills of men.”
Cassia did not sit down. “You forget how many burn victims the healers of Kyria treat in the temple.”
“Lady Cassia has worked in our infirmary,” Ariadne said. “She is the last woman you should accuse of having a weak stomach.”
“We have faced death together, haven’t we?” Cassia replied. “All of us here have faced death.”
Lord Severin sighed. “I once lost a dozen guards in a few moments to heart hunters’ fire arrows. A rival warband’s feud with my father’s hunters brought them too close to the keep. Men and Hesperines burn just the same.”
Lord Gaius took another swallow of his mead. “We lost the Siege of Tenth Coin to fire arrows and boiling oil.”
Master Gorgos delivered his tidy answer without batting an eye. “There is no comparison between men who fall honorably in battle in Anthros’s name and the wicked who meet with divine judgment.”
Benedict’s leather journal snapped shut upon his notes. Cassia glanced at him. He had not looked so forlorn since the Autumn Greeting.
One of the lords spoke up, a young, brazen, and scheming rival of Lord Adrogan’s who was also out for whatever he could gain from this venture. “Hear the Master out. Everything that happened tonight was too convenient. What are the odds an innocent Hesperine was harmed by war mages and brought to safety here at the precise moment when the Almighty Healer Queen was trying to win our trust?”
Of course a man like him would suspect that. A chorus of ayes arose from both the unscrupulous and the devout.
Lord Adrogan’s rival raised his voice over the troubled murmurs. “It was all conniving, not coincidence, if you ask me.”
“Never forget they are Hesperines,” came Chrysanthos’s voice from the doorway. “They are capable of anything.”
Cassia turned to see the Dexion and his apprentice enter the hall under the rose window. They had collected Eudias on their way through the gallery, it seemed, for he now lurked in the doorway.
“Honored Master,” she said, “what a surprise. How unusual for you to join us.”
“I could not shirk my duties as the embassy’s spiritual guide.” He circled the table and stood opposite Cassia. “Tonight’s events might cause confusion. Even lead men astray.”
Tychon imposed himself next to the Dexion, and Master Gorgos gave them room.
“Master,” Tychon asked Chrysanthos, “what insight can you give us?”
Cassia readied herself to undo whatever damage the mage was about to deal. With the official negotiations commencing tomorrow, she was not about to let Chrysanthos have the last word tonight. She could not allow him to knock the Summit off course at this critical moment.
