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Solia shot Kella an outraged elder-sister look, and Cassia covered a laugh with her hand. Kella gave Cassia a conspiratorial grin.
“I certainly find such things too much of a distraction now.” Solia unrolled their map with unnecessary force.
Lio’s eyes gleamed with amusement in the spell light he conjured. They all gathered closer to study the map.
The keep stood in the center, surrounded by the camp and, beyond that, the wider circle of Flavian’s guard perimeter. But to Cassia’s alarm, much of the domain of Patria lay beyond the checkpoints. That region was marked with symbols indicating what kind of game could be hunted there, but she also saw farms, villages, and a few lesser castles.
Cassia looked at Lio. “And you sensed no hint at all of a magic source during your spell casting last night?”
He shook his head. “If it’s inside the perimeter, it is not something I can detect. We must see if your senses reveal it to us.”
Solia shook her head. “I’m sorry Thalia didn’t tell me more about where the letting site might be. She didn’t even disclose how she got her information.”
“That suggests her source was not for a ten-year-old’s ears,” said Kella.
“As was often the case,” Solia agreed. “She only told me that when it was time, we would bring Cassia to Patria, that there was a ‘safe place’ here where we could let her magic manifest.”
Lyros said, “It will take many nights to cover this much territory without exhausting Cassia.”
“I am not that poor a horsewoman.” She gestured to the Imperial trousers and Charge-issue riding boots hidden under her cloak. “I even changed into the proper attire.”
“You’ll be an excellent rider in no time,” Lyros hastened to assure her, “but sensing for the letting site will take magical effort on your part, which can be tiring. We’ll divide the domain into strategic searchable areas, and as we cover each one, we can then step past those to new areas to save time.”
Lio did not look pleased. “Let us hope we find the letting site inside the safety of the perimeter.”
“If we don’t,” Mak said, “we’ll be prepared for any threats we meet out there.”
Cassia found Mak’s confidence reassuring. But she could tell Lio did not. Hamon’s death had left him feeling utterly unprepared.
But it was time to go. As everyone else mounted up, Lio held Cassia’s stirrup for her.
She raised a brow. “You don’t plan to levitate me into the saddle this time?”
“I am told Ambassador Cassia prefers not to be toted around like a breakable treasure. Besides, I would prefer not to earn the disapproval of the Victory Star and the Guardian of Orthros. Nike and Aunt Lyta want you to be an independent horsewoman.”
“It’s Freckles’ disapproval we might need to worry about the most.” Cassia’s mare was giving Lio an unimpressed look.
“Hmm, yes,” he replied. “She’s not at all in awe of us Hesperines, is she?”
“If you’ll put up with me,” Cassia told Freckles, “we’ll have a nice, long ride somewhere interesting you’ve never been before.”
Freckles’s ears twitched forward, and she stood still. With everyone making helpful suggestions, Cassia managed to mount without embarrassing herself, settling her gardening satchel across her saddle. She paused to appreciate Lio’s Hesperine healing properties, which had left her able to sit in a saddle without discomfort, even after he had thoroughly ravished her against a wall.
With Lyros in the lead, they set off at a walk across the courtyard. Knight trotted alongside Freckles, and she did not deign to notice him. Before they reached the gate, a Hesperine step slipped them out of the keep. The guards on the walls above appeared startled, but waved them on. At least Flavian’s permission to perform patrols gave them an excuse for this venture.
Solia wrapped her scarf around her head, leaving only her eyes visible. A sheen like the Golden Shield’s armor spread across her face. “I’d rather no one recognize me and halt our progress to bow and scrape.”
“I’m glad we don’t need veil spells,” Cassia murmured. “I have enough difficulty telling spells apart as it is.”
Lio nodded. “The less magical interference right now, the better. As we ride, open your senses as we’ve been practicing.”
“Will you guide me through the exercise again?” She knew Lio needed to feel that he was taking action to help her.
His words in Divine were soothing, the cadence almost mesmerizing. “Feel the Blood Moon’s light upon your head.”
She glanced up at the waning half moon, the Goddess’s heavy-lidded red eye.
“Envision its current flowing into you,” he said. “Feel its warmth in your brow.”
