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Ignoring her assurances, Lio took her hand and sent a pulse of his magic into her, better than a swig of spirits. All Solia did was stand near, and the air around them heated.
Lyros spread their map across his saddle. “We need to keep you in good shape for the search. I won’t have any of my troops falling behind.”
Cassia was grateful for their care, but she hated needing it. She dreaded the reminders that she was ill…and that her lack of magic affected her more with each passing night. The negotiations were dragging on while her strength was draining away.
Mak drew his horse close to Lyros’s to look at the map with him. “We’re covering a lot of ground tonight.”
That gave Cassia strength. Freezing her arse off in the saddle for another hour was actually helping save her life.
Lio looked to the horizon, the cool air lifting a lock of his dark hair from his furrowed brow. “We’re getting close to the eastern boundary of the thelemantic ward.”
Lyros pointed at the cluster of cottages below them. “This is Mederi Village, the last settlement inside our protections. Unless we find something here, we’ll have to start searching outside the ward tomorrow night.”
Lio frowned, Moonflower pawing the ground. “Perhaps we should bring Kella and Hoyefe with us then.”
“He wouldn’t be pleased to leave his spying—or Severin,” Cassia said.
Solia nodded. “We need Hoyefe to keep searching for the king’s informant. And we need Kella and Tilili in the keep to tear any enemies apart in case of danger to our allies.”
“Don’t worry,” Mak told Lio. “Lyros and I know how to keep everyone safe. And the rest of you aren’t half bad in a fight either.”
Solia huffed, peering into the distance. “What lies beyond the fields?”
Lyros consulted his map again. “Looks like heavy woods. The king’s hunting grounds.”
“That’s right,” Solia said. “I think he has a hunting estate somewhere east of Mederi Village. What is it called, Cassia? Paradum?”
The name snapped Cassia’s drifting thoughts back to attention.
“I don’t see that on the map,” said Lyros.
“It wouldn’t be marked,” Solia said, “for the king’s safety. It was intended as a place he could get away from the capital and relax.”
“Relax by slaughtering animals,” Mak muttered. “How often does he go there?”
“Not often, as I recall,” Solia replied. “He certainly wouldn’t risk it now, while the Council is in session.”
“Cassia, what’s wrong?” Lio asked.
She rubbed her eyes. She truly wasn’t at her best. “How could I have forgotten Paradum is at Patria? I’ve been there.”
Lio rested a hand on her back. “Perhaps you didn’t want to remember. I sense your memories of the place aren’t particularly pleasant.”
“Some of them are. Agata, the cook, was very kind, and I spent a lovely season working in her kitchen garden. Those were the finest peas I ever grew.”
She had never gotten to taste them. She had watched her beautiful plants die outside her window while she was ill.
Lio was right. She had most likely shoved Paradum to the back of her mind. Times when her life had been in danger were the last thing she wanted to dwell on right now, when…
But Lio must have seen it in her thoughts, for he asked, “Paradum is where you caught that fever?”
“What fever?” Solia demanded.
Lio glanced between her and Cassia in surprise. “I’m sorry. I thought you two would have talked about it already.”
“It was a long time ago,” Cassia said, but now she knew there was no avoiding an explanation. “When I was fourteen. While the king had me staying at Paradum, there was a terrible epidemic. Very few people on the estate recovered from the fever. I was one of the lucky ones.”
Cassia swallowed. She still missed Agata. Lio touched her mind, sharing in her sadness.
