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“The transgressions be upon your head, you traitor to Anthros! Your blatant sacrilege against the god of war’s virtues will cost you his Hall!”
“Well, Ambassador, I see you have made a convert of Master Gorgos, here. The resolve of Cordian mages is considerably greater, I’m afraid. You may skip the sordid tales of child murder and tell me what you want.”
“No, I think you will be interested in this.” Lio leaned against the edge of the table, crossing his arms. “You may have received word the Eriphites disappeared from Tenebra around the same time as the Hesperine embassy returned home.”
Chrysanthos straightened in his chair. “We are sharing secrets, indeed, heretic. Are you confessing before the Dexion that Eriphites begged you for Sanctuary and came to Orthros with the aid of the Hesperine embassy?”
“No,” Lio answered. “The adult Eriphites were long gone by the time Dalos arrived in Tenebra. All that remained of a once-thriving cult were twenty-four children between the ages of two and ten. We Solaced them so Dalos wouldn’t burn them to death.”
“Is this an attempt to twist my thoughts against my own circle?” Chrysanthos demanded.
The horror in his aura told Lio he had succeeded, although the Dexion might never admit it. “I am only trying to impress upon you that there are those who sympathize with your motivations for putting an end to Dalos’s cruelty.”
“Unfortunately,” said Cassia, “I don’t think the Synthikos is one of them.”
“Is that a threat?” Chrysanthos asked.
“To be sure,” Cassia purred.
“Imagine.” Lio laughed. “Hesperines reporting a transgression to the inquisitors.”
Chrysanthos lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “As if they will credit it.”
“Indeed,” Cassia said, “they would hardly take the ambassador’s word for it. They may, however, credit sworn testimony by Dalos’s former apprentice, a member in good standing of the Aithourian Circle; an Anthrian master of Solorum and future royal mage; the Prisma of the oldest Temple of Kyria north of Cordium; and any number of Tenebran nobles who were present at the Equinox Summit. If all these people come forward and instigate an inquiry in Corona, it could cause you some trouble.”
“Be my guest.” Chrysanthos bowed again. “The Synthikos will not believe a word of it.”
“You have him wrapped so securely around your finger?” Lio lifted his brows. “Impressive. Whether or not he believes it, however, the news all over Cordium will surely create an unwelcome scandal for your order. It’s difficult being the paragon of virtue for the entire world, isn’t it? When you transgress, those who are supposed to follow your example question your moral authority. Those who wish to preserve that authority have little choice but to make an example out of you.”
“What happens to a Dexion in disgrace?” Cassia asked. “A slap on the wrist while the inquisitors investigate? A luxurious carriage for your ride to your trial? An opulent place of exile, I am sure, when the Synthikos realizes he was deceived as to your worthiness. When Dalos’s illustrious family sends an assassin to avenge him, I’m sure they will use a bejeweled dagger.”
“The Synthikos knows I would never betray one of our own,” Chrysanthos maintained.
“How convinced is he as to Skleros’s good character?” Lio inquired.
“Now this is almost as bold as stealing the Akron’s Torch, Bloodborn.” Chrysanthos’s mouth twisted. “A Hesperine trying to frame two high-ranking Order mages for crimes they didn’t commit. Do you really expect to succeed? Do you think your little threats here in Selas will ever have a hearing in Corona? What do you really think you can do against the spell my circle holds over the world?”
“Is the necromancer you hired to tamper with Dalos’s magic really worth defending?” Cassia asked.
Chrysanthos hesitated. “Your invented conspiracy only grows more fantastical.”
But he had hesitated.
Lio touched his medallion, gliding through the dark behind the mage again. “We are prepared to make you a compelling offer. You will use your influence with Master Skleros to discover where he delivered the Hesperine hostages, then reveal their location to us.”
“In return,” Cassia said, “we will turn a blind eye to the assassination Skleros committed for you on Tenebran soil.”
Chrysanthos laughed again. “I thought you were going to try to make me believe Skleros told you about this alleged plot.”
“He didn’t have to,” Lio said. “We felt what happened to Dalos at the Equinox Summit.”
Chrysanthos’s jaw clenched. “Did you enjoy your duel with my…erstwhile colleague? Did it make you feel powerful to kill a mage of my circle, Ambassador?”
“Like every Hesperine there, I vicariously experienced Dalos’s death with him. I assure you, none of us relished it.”
“There are plenty of mages who thrive on the experience of death.”
“Like you?”
