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“Well?” Cassia demanded. “What do you say to my offer?”
“Once I have no further use for our betrothal, I won’t care if you marry your liegehound. Dance the Greeting with whomever you please. I won’t stand in your way.”
“It’s not enough to refrain from protesting,” Cassia insisted. “I want you to acknowledge that the promise is valid.”
“I suppose you would want influential Tenebrans to nod and smile to help silence the tongues protesting foreign consorts. Fine. I will support whatever match you make. I intend to be king by then, so I can afford to be generous.”
“I want your word.”
“You have it—if you will give me your word that you won’t drag my reputation through the dung heap with forged letters. And I still expect you to finish the Progress with me today, without making a scene or letting your sister take your place. For now, we are still betrothed.”
“That is an unfair demand. You know I’ve been ill.”
“Ha. That’s as convenient a part of your reputation as your Kyrian virtue. Do you really think I’m fooled every time you duck out of court events to ‘rest’? I have an idea how those papers went missing from my solar.”
“This is not a pretense.” Cassia hated to admit her weakness in front of him, but if she fainted off her horse, he would find out in any case. “I’ve been very ill since we returned to Tenebra, and I cannot promise you I’ll last all day.”
“You’re a very good liar, Cassia. I want you right here next to me until sundown. Not back in the keep sabotaging my bid for the throne. You finish the Progress with me, or our deal is off. Do you want me to support your future betrothal or not?”
Cassia swallowed hard. Could she do this?
Yes. She had survived days of Craving in the Maaqul. She could endure one afternoon of riding with Flavian. It would be worth it when he was forced to bless her Greeting dance with Lio.
“We have an agreement,” Cassia said.
She would get through this day through sheer force of Will.
The mortals were lucky they had set the dinner tables with pewter and not glass, or Lio would have shattered every dish in the great hall. He drew a deep, slow breath, willing his magic to stay under his skin. He was a heartbeat away from scaring the humans gathered here, waiting with the Hesperine delegation for the return of the Progress.
Cassia was ill, and he was expected to wait.
Mak put a hand on Lio’s shoulder and pushed him down into his seat. “Don’t do it. Do not step into the middle of the Progress and pluck her off her horse.”
“I can feel how sick she is.” Her need for his magic was like a knife in his chest. “She never should have been away from me this long. Why didn’t someone bring her back early?”
“This day clearly has not gone according to plan,” Lyros said, “but you must not charge in blind. We should wait and see what the situation is.”
“The situation is that Cassia needs me.” Lio’s magic strained toward her, seeking their connection, but she wasn’t near enough for the channeling to open.
Lyros shook his head. “If she’s been working on some kind of strategy today, she won’t want you to intervene. You might undo whatever she’s accomplished. Solia would have brought Cassia back if she were in danger.”
Lio swallowed, his tongue dry from Cassia’s Craving. “Not if she’s hiding it from everyone.”
“They’re almost here,” Mak reassured him. “Just wait a moment longer.”
The lords at the opposite table were giving Lio uneasy looks. With an effort, he veiled his fangs.
The doors of the great hall opened, and the Progress strolled in with as much ceremony mortals could muster after a long day in the saddle. Solia and her companions appeared tired and concerned, but did not seem to share Lio’s panic. All of them faded from his awareness as his senses fixed on Cassia.
He could feel her holding herself together by a thread. The channeling snapped into place, and his hands closed over the arms of his chair as he held back the torrent of his power. She stumbled, clutching the arm of the man at her side.
Flavian.
That was who the lords and ladies were gossiping about. As they took their seats, they whispered about Cassia’s ride as his lady. It was Flavian who had kept her apart from Lio all day.
Flavian took her toward the table at the foot of the dais. He expected her to remain next to him for the duration of the feast. And Lio was expected to sit here, banished to a side table with the rest of the Hesperine delegation. He wouldn’t even be able to sustain Cassia with a subtle brush of the hand under the table.
She would not make it through this.
