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But he knew they were both thinking of a night long ago when she had offered him her blood as an act of revenge against the king.
“I’m not Cassia Basilis anymore.” It sounded as if she were trying to convince herself as much as him. “I’m doing my best to find Hesperine solutions for Tenebran problems. But you know how hard it is.”
“Yes. I’m not an innocent Initiate Ambassador any longer. Perhaps I should not be so fastidious about the calculations we must make. But it will never be all right with me for our love to become a currency in political bargains.”
“That is not what I did tonight.” She scrambled to her feet. “Remember what I told you the night you first drank from me. You are sacred.”
She pressed a hand to her mouth, turned, and fled, leaving him to his Slumber.
90
Days Until
AUTUMN EQUINOX
9 Anthros’s Sword, 1597 OT
ABSOLUTION
Lio sat next to Cassia and watched the lords fill the great hall. The rising tensions in the room were nothing to him, when there was tension between him and his Grace.
He wished he hadn’t said anything. It would have been easier to quietly endure his own hurt than endure the hurt in her aura.
But surely silence would only make wounds fester. Keeping their Oath was always the right thing to do, wasn’t it?
When Lord Deverran and Lady Nivalis entered, Lio braced himself for her hurt as well. But while he felt her attention on him, her fury had settled into the heavy sadness of acceptance. She took a chair behind their section while her husband approached a seat in the front row near Solia and Sabina.
Lord Deverran raised his Council Shield and hung it on the high back of the chair. Murmurs stirred throughout the great hall.
Mak leaned Lio’s way. “That means he’s decided which contender to support, right?”
Lio nodded. “Now that one lord has declared, the others will face pressure to make a decision. Once every lord hangs his shield, the vote will take place.”
“Does sitting on our side mean he’s voting with us?”
“Not always. Some lords keep their choice secret until the vote. But in this case, I believe Lady Nivalis’s husband and father have just made it clear we can rely on them for their support.” Lio nodded toward Lord Galanthian, who was now hanging his shield on the chair beside Deverran’s.
Mak gave Lio a significant look. “So there is no doubt Pakhne’s family supports us. Will you stop berating yourself now?”
“I’ll try.”
This was undeniably a victory. But Cassia’s emotions stirred into alarm. Lio followed her gaze to the doors of the great hall.
Lord Tyran was here. Lio recognized the lithe, black-haired lord from the Equinox Summit. But he needn’t have relied on his eyes to know an enemy had entered the room. The man carried an aura of cruelty that tainted everything around him, shadowing the frightened, but brave woman trapped on his arm.
“What is he doing here?” Cassia hissed. “I warned Flavian to keep him out of this.”
Solia leaned toward Cassia, appearing nonchalant with her elbow on the arm of her chair, but her tone was wary. “Lord Tyran was always popular and charming on the outside, and a ruffian underneath. I take it he hasn’t changed?”
“Flavian never should have invited him,” Cassia said. “I thought he knew better after everything Tyran has done.”
Lio asked, “The woman with him—is that his betrothed, Lady Valentia?”
“Yes,” Cassia answered. “We can be grateful she’s here. She’s skilled at mitigating his crimes. Solia, she is the lady of the Segetian faction you should invite to your weaving room.”
Solia nodded in agreement as Lord Tyran headed toward them with Lady Valentia. There was something predatory in the way the man moved, which roused all of Lio’s protective instincts.
“Your Highness.” Lord Tyran offered Solia an elegant bow. “Allow me to welcome you home on behalf of all your oldest companions. I have such fond memories of our youth.”
