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“Evidence is more easily at hand,” said Queen Soteira. “Let us fetch Lio so I can gain a sense of this magical channeling that seems to be occurring between him and Cassia.”
“We can’t,” Cassia protested. “Not right now.”
“You are ill,” Queen Soteira said in gentle warning. “I do not advise waiting.”
“No,” Komnena agreed, “Lio will be beside himself to get to you once he hears you’re ill.”
Cassia shook her head as much as she dared. “We mustn’t distract him from the match.”
“This is the perfect excuse to put a stop to his and Solia’s foolishness,” Komnena said.
Cassia groaned. Why were her Grace and her sister two of the most stubborn people in all of Akanthia? “I’m furious at both of them for going through with this debacle. But I will not let my need for Lio cost him one of the labors—and my sister’s blessing. Solia would take my illness as justification for her anger.”
Queen Soteira’s lips pressed together in disapproval. “I will agree to this only because Lio’s labors have Kassandra’s endorsement. Our Oracle has reasons for everything she does. I will place a rejuvenating spell on you to protect your body from damage temporarily. But the moment their sparring match ends, we must bring Lio to you.”
“Damage?” Cassia forced herself to ask.
“When a mage is without magic, it harms them on every level—body, mind, and soul. Until we know more, I can only treat your symptoms. But we must soon remedy the cause—the need for magic. Your magic.”
“Will it get worse?” Cassia asked.
Queen Soteira placed a reassuring hand on her brow. “The longer you are without your power, yes.”
Cassia didn’t have to ask how dire it would become. She had already seen what had befallen Pakhne.
THE LION'S SON
From the center of the fighting ring, Rudhira beckoned to Lio and his father. “Hesperines errant of the Charge, for the first time in ninety years, the Lion of Orthros is among us in mortal lands.”
Lio’s father chuckled. “Come, let us give the Goddess’s forces a tale to tell around the Ritual circle on discouraging nights.”
Lio and his father strode out into the arena to the cheers of the Charge. Lio prayed he wasn’t about to humiliate himself and his father’s legacy by getting burnt to a crisp by his own Grace-sister.
His father raised a hand to the crowd. “The first sparring match in the Summit Sanctuary took place on this very ground sixteen hundred years ago. Between the Guardian of Orthros and myself, in fact. Thank you for welcoming a moldering elder among you!”
This met with laughs and scoffs. As if anyone could mistake Apollon for a stuffy elder.
“Our bloodline was proud the night my Firstgift chose to become a diplomat. He devotes his eternity to preserving the peace we fought so hard for all those centuries ago.” Father grinned. “But you’ll find he fights hard, as well.”
He held out his wrist, and Lio’s doubts melted away. His father was right. Lio knew when to negotiate and when to fight. He had learned that lesson in the most powerful courts in Akanthia and the depths of the Maaqul desert.
Before the Charge, Lio accepted the Ritual Drink from his father. Their cheers pounded in his ears. Their Union through the Goddess’s blood pounded in his veins. His father’s ancient power, the magic that had made Lio immortal, roared through him and restored his strength.
His father lifted their joined hands above their heads, then departed the ring to cheer him on alongside the Stewards.
Rudhira gestured for Solia to enter the ring. “As our challenger, we are honored to welcome Solia, known as Sunburn, once a gold roster mercenary in the Ashes and always a Victor of Souls.”
He said nothing about her royal Tenebran heritage. Tonight, it was her history as a warrior that mattered. The Charge gave her a loud welcome with a round of applause. She strode out to face Lio, her bespelled scarf draped around her shoulders as usual. It was so disorienting not to sense her emotions.
“Are you certain you wish to spend a labor on this?” he asked her. “There isn’t much I can learn from you. I’ve sparred with a fire mage before.”
“If you mean Xandra, you’ll find I don’t fight as gently as a Hesperine.”
Lio laughed. “No, I defeated the Dexion of the Aithourian Circle in Hippolyta’s Gymnasium.”
Surprise flashed in her gaze, but then her eyes narrowed. “But neither of you used magic, I take it, for that is seldom permitted in Hippolyta’s matches.”
“I didn’t need magic to make him lose. And in a match at full power, the same strategy will work on you.”
