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“You have made your case for an expedition to Cordium, but we cannot take that course of action except as a last resort.”
“Bamaayo,”he began.
She shook her head.
“I have taken into consideration it could be a trap,” he said, “but even if my riding into Cordium is precisely what the Aithourian Circle intends, I must do it nonetheless. I must go, now, and I must not return until I have found them and liberated them.”
Kassandra smiled. “The Blood Errant are the only ones who have ever successfully rescued heretics slated for execution in Corona. You may yet repeat your greatest deed.”
Ioustin looked into the eyes of their Ritual mother, their oracle. Lio wondered if she had just now voiced her opinion—or given Ioustin the second prophecy of the night.
“But not tonight,” said Annassa Alea. “Envoys, we will rely on you.”
Basir and Kumeta gave the heart bow.
“Find out where the hostages are,” Queen Soteira bade them. “Then we will know where to send their rescuers.”
“Yes, Annassa,” Kumeta replied. “Our envoys will act with the greatest speed and discretion—and the least danger.”
Ioustin took a step nearer his mothers. “If the envoysandthe Charge are searching, we could find the hostages in half the time. Kalos is already making progress searching for Nephalea.”
“Leave Kalos on her trail,” Annassa Soteira agreed, “but the rest of your people must continue their current endeavors.”
Annassa Alea’s tone was urgent. “There are still Hesperines errant besides the hostages who did not heed our Last Call. The Charge must reach them and convince them to return before it is too late.”
That imperative, spoken by a Queen, struck Lio with dread. He looked from Konstantina to their mothers. Were they nearer the Departure than ever before?
Annassa Soteira continued, “Once the envoys have located the hostages, then the Charge can liberate them from the mages’ custody. That undertaking must be flawlessly planned to the last detail. That is why we need you to remain in Orthros, Son, to discuss the rescue effort with your mother and me.”
Some tension left Ioustin’s posture. “Of course,Bamaayo.As soon as this circle concludes, if you wish, I will lay out each point for your approval, before I return to the field to lead the Charge’s search.”
Queen Alea leaned forward. “Are not your Field Masters the most experienced, powerful, and trustworthy of our Hesperines errant?”
“Of course, Mother.” An unspoken protest hung at the end of his words.
“They may lead the search.”
“You need to be here,” said Annassa Soteira.
Annassa Alea nodded. “Until the envoys return with answers. It will take at least that long to plan for anything you might encounter when you go to rescue the hostages.”
With those few reasonable words, the Queens ensured the protection of Ioustin’s life and his privacy. No one would question why they wanted him at their sides at a time like this. No one need know he had come so close to death tonight. While Orthros thought he and the Queens coordinated a rescue effort, he would, Lio had no doubt, find Annassa Soteira and Konstantina coordinating his time with the mind healers.
The Queens had spoken, and no matter his anguish at being bound behind the ward, Ioustin could say no more. Silence reigned on the terrace.
Lio could imagine how his Ritual father felt, after having spent half a year trapped in Orthros while Cassia was on the other side of the border.
When every path had closed before Lio, he had tried to make a new way. He had tried the Summit.
Now that path was crumbling beneath them all.
THE THORNS OF HESPERA’S ROSE
Show Mercy to those who suffer,
give Solace to the lost,
guard the sanctity of each person’s Will,
