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Mak crossed his arms. “She didn’t give me permission to tell you where she is. Do I need to toss you in the dirt to remind you to respect her choice?”
At that, the fight drained out of Lio. “She doesn’t want me to know?”
Goddess help him, his Grace could still outmaneuver him. It was a brilliant move, and it hurt more than Solia’s magefire ever would.
He had insisted Cassia was not responsible for mediating between him and Solia. So she had given him what he asked for. He was on his own with his Grace-sister tonight.
What had he expected? That she would cheer him on as he charged into battle against her sister?
What had she expected him to do? Back down from Solia’s challenge and give up any hope of earning her respect?
“You didn’t exactly talk things through with her,” Mak reminded him. “But if she’s feeling generous, she might not leave you in suspense much longer.”
Two powerful auras stepped into their midst. Nike appeared on one side of Lio. “A sparring match for your third labor? I’m impressed. Kassandra sent me to bear witness on her behalf.”
But it was the ferociously powerful, familiar aura that dawned on Lio’s other side that left him nearly speechless. “Father? You—in Tenebra!”
His father pulled him in for a hard embrace. “Only for tonight, within the safety of the Sanctuary, so I can return undamaged to your mother and Zoe.”
“I can scarcely believe you’ve set foot outside of Orthros.”
“It’s the first time since I took your mother home.” His father pulled back and looked around him. “My son is errant at the Summit Sanctuary and about to spar with a fire mage! I couldn’t miss this.”
“Mother also insisted you come check on me, didn’t she?”
“It was a unanimous request from her, Zoe, and Cassia.”
Relief made Lio want to lie down in the grass right there. “Cassia went home?”
“She’s with Zoe in the greenhouse as we speak.”
An arctic breeze, tempered by Mak’s wards, drifted through the framework of Cassia’s greenhouse. Nearby, the goats were climbing on Knight, who tolerated them with remarkable benevolence. With her spade in her hand and soil running through her fingers, Cassia felt a measure of peace.
But she was still weary to the bone.
“How much new dirt should we put in?” Zoe asked, kneeling next to her.
“Let’s start with enough to lift the plant to the level we want it to be inside the pot.”
Across from them, Komnena held open the canvas sack they had filled with their potting mix. “How far below the rim of the pot should it be?”
“About two fingers.” Cassia put one scoop in the pretty glass container.
Lio had crafted it for her. Had the fight begun? Was he safe? How far would her sister go to prove her point?
Cassia shoved those thoughts out of her mind and offered her spade to Zoe next.
Zoe’s face lit up. “I get to use your spade?”
Cassia savored the suckling’s happiness. “Of course, Zoe flower. It will give your betony extra magic.”
“I can’t believe it’s already big enough to put in a new pot!” Zoe said.
The betony plant, which Zoe usually kept by her bed to ward off nightmares, was indeed bursting out of its third pot. Cassia now knew its remarkable growth must be due to her magic.
Zoe handed the spade to her mother next, and Komnena added her share of soil. “At this rate, I shall become a competent gardener.”
It soothed Cassia’s spirit to share this with her Grace-mother and Grace-sister. Komnena’s mortal past trying to survive on her barren farm had left her with unimaginable grief and a hatred for trying to grow anything. Until now, when Cassia had turned gardening into a joy the three of them could share.
