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He flushed. “Well, now you know why I am in agony that I did not realize sooner. What else would a Gift Collector be doing for anyone, but…”
“…collecting Hesperines. The Dexion may have boasted before the Firstblood Circle, but I would stake my life Skleros has been doing his dirty work for him.”
Eudias nodded. “I daresay the Gift Collector seized the Hesperine hostages for the Aithourian Circle.”
“The question now remains, where did he deliver them?”
“There’s something else.” He took a step forward. “Master Skleros has not set foot in Cordium for over a year. His bounties are piling up uncollected. Before the Equinox Summit, Dalos had to arrange to meet with him in Namenti for—for—in preparation for our arrival at Solorum.” Eudias looked away.
That must have been when Skleros had performed the essential displacement on Dalos, which had been a harrowing experience for Eudias. An invaluable informant on essential displacement stood before her. She found herself as unwilling to press him about what he had suffered as Dalos’s channel as to use a woman and child against the Dexion. “I was given to understand that this autumn, Master Skleros joined the Dexion at Solorum directly from Corona, with the sanction of the Inner Eyes in his hand.”
“Oh, that scroll he brought? No, no, the Dexion wrote it. He sent me to deliver it on the road. I put it in Master Skleros’s hand myself, so he could enter Solorum with it, as if he’d had it all along.” Sweat broke out on Eudias’s brow anew. “I didn’t know what was in it—I—the other necromancers, the ones Corona really did send…”
Cassia recalled the sight of their lifeless bodies, and her chest tightened. She did her best to feign ignorance. “The Order sent Cordian necromancers to join the embassy?”
“You see, you didn’t even know. It’s as if they never existed. A whole hex of them. I didn’t know I was sentencing them to—to—”
“I know life under a tyrant,” Cassia said. “You witness deeds. You even commit deeds. You tell yourself you had no choice, while you wonder how you could have done better. It is important to realize you suffered, too.”
“I’m not a weakling, as everyone accuses me.” Eudias’s voice rose.
“Of course not. Everyone here has seen you face their abuses with strength and courage. We survived, Eudias. Gratitude makes us strong.”
Eudias swallowed hard. “I’m going to make it right. A rescue for a life, yes? Seven isn’t enough, but it’s a start.”
“I understand. Let us go save their lives.”
LOYALTIES
Mak crossed his armsat the Dexion’s door. “The wards will last till well past our return. As soon as we’re back from the border, we’ll relieve you.”
“Mak, I’ll be fine.” Lio posted himself between Chrysanthos’s and Skleros’s respective guest rooms.
Lyros, his aura flaring with power, paused in front of the Gift Collector’s chambers. “The wards will admit only you. The blood shackles Grace-Mother cast on each mage will prevent them from trying anything if you need to go inside—and you shouldn’t. Give them no opportunities to lay traps for you.”
“Unless there’s fire or blood,” Mak instructed, “all contact with the mages should wait until the Stand is in Selas again.”
“What about screams?” Lio asked.
“Eh, you can ignore those.” Lyros waved a hand at Tychon’s door. “It’s probably the apprentice crying for his master.”
Mak laughed darkly. “All right, we shouldn’t wait any longer. If we’re late for the Libation of Renewal, I dare say Mother will delay our mastery for a century.”
“Go, Stewards of the ward,” Lio said. “This is the most important night of the year for the Stand and Orthros’s safety. I will not allow the Summit to interfere.”
Lyros strolled over and halted before him. Mak stood shoulder to shoulder with his Grace.
“Don’t worry,” Lio told them. “Aunt Lyta has taken every precaution. It’s perfectly safe for the entire Stand and all the elder firstbloods to devote undivided attention to the Queens’ spell. If the Guardian of Orthros is satisfied the mages aren’t a danger, you can attend to the Renewal without concern.”
“We’re not concerned about the mages,” Mak replied.
“Lio,” Lyros said, “don’t have a chat with the Dexion. Don’t offer the Torch to the Dexion.”
Mak leaned closer to Lio. “Don’t raid the Dexion’s mind for information on the hostages.”
Lyros’s eyes gleamed. “If you feel tempted, remember the powerful motivation to stay safe who stood next to you at your Gift Night celebration.”
Lio gripped each of their shoulders. “You have no cause for worry.”
