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“Hespera’s Mercy. Dialogue has completely broken down between Orthros’s two foremost diplomats. Why would I bestow the thorns upon you, unless I regarded your previous achievements as worthy of the white rose?”
“I thought you believed I lost control of my power in Martyr’s Pass and killed hundreds of mortals on accident.”
“It did not matter to me whether you had or hadn’t. But it mattered so much to you. Losing control of your magic is your worst fear. Your heart was breaking at the thought that you might have done such a thing.”
Lio swallowed. “You did understand.”
“I was trying to tell you what I learned from my own failure during the War, what Lyta teaches me again and again with her forgiveness and love. Even if you make the gravest mistake you can imagine, it will be all right.”
Lio put his head in his hands. “Uncle, I am failing tonight.”
“Itwillbe all right, just as it was in the pass.”
“I am at a loss. Please, if it is not too much to ask, you would have my gratitude if you would be generous with your advice once again.”
“This time, let there be no doubt I have every confidence in you. You will find your way through. You have done so in the face of every obstacle so far.”
Lio released his grasp on the veil that held his despair in check. “I need your help.”
The throbbing injury in their Union began to ease at last.
Mak had said parents needed their children. This must be part of what he meant. Elders needed to feel needed.
“There is no one else I can turn to,” Lio said in all honesty. “I can trust no one but you with the truth. Only you will understand this burden and the demands of our era that have placed it upon me.”
“Is it the Departure that weighs on you so?”
“Even more than that. Can I tell you this in the strictest confidence?”
There, at last, Lio sensed it. The bond of blood and wisdom between them, a current of heart and mind in the Union. It opened, strong as ever.
“Of course you can,” Uncle Argyros said.
Lio lifted his head and looked at his uncle. “Cassia intends to make herself Queen of Tenebra.”
What he hadn’t predicted about this admission was how much it would humiliate him. He was losing his Grace. No failure had ever been so painful. No confession to his mentor had ever been so excruciating.
There came neither shock nor censure. The warmth of his uncle’s love and concern enveloped him. How could Lio have forgotten this was what Uncle Argyros was really made of?
“How can I help?” Uncle Argyros asked.
“Having observed Tenebra’s politics and history, do you think she will succeed?”
“Success is not guaranteed in such a dangerous endeavor, but her plan is certainly possible, even probable, and undoubtedly brilliant. In the current situation, I would predict her as the victor.”
“This is the same conclusion I have reached. No insurmountable obstacles offer a basis for argument against her plan. As for the long-term impact of her reign, we would be heartless to deny her people such a just and skilled queen, and we would be fools to prevent a Hesperine sympathizer from taking the throne of Tenebra.”
“She would be their finest monarch since the Mage King and the Changing Queen and an even greater champion of the Oath. She would work tirelessly to heal Tenebra and their relations with us in the face of Cordian aggression. In spite of the obstacles before her, I have no doubt she would succeed in enacting her policies by influencing the Council…and the king she selects as her figurehead.”
Lio couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Uncle Argyros said it for him. “She has positioned Flavian expertly.”
“How am I to bear this?”
“Are you to bear it?”
“My fears for her safety and happiness have fallen on deaf ears.”
