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The hint of amusement in Lord Deverran’s gaze suggested he was not convinced by Lio’s modest assessment of himself. Indeed, Cassia doubted Flavian would pose much of a challenge to Lio, after he had survived his contests with the Dexion, the Maaqul Desert, and Solia.
But the court could have done so much damage to their cause, if not for this small army of supporters. They filled the vacant seats beside Cassia and Lio.
Only Miranda was left standing before her. “Perita needed to stay with the babe. So I’m here.”
Cassia’s hands knotted in her lap. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I did,” Miranda said. “Heretics and apostates ought to stand together.”
Cassia swallowed, try to compose herself amid a swell of gratitude. “We will stand with you. Always.”
“I see that now.” All Miranda gave Cassia was a nod, but that simple gesture, those few words…they felt like forgiveness.
“Thank you,” Cassia said, her throat tight.
Miranda curtsied to her and Lio, then took her seat behind Sabina.
“Well,” Lio said, “we have all the allies that matter, don’t we?”
“Yes,” said Cassia.
To her surprise, it was Ben who approached next. Dare she hope the show of support from Genie and the Kyrians had opened his mind?
He bowed to Solia. “Your Highness, may I speak with your sister for a moment? We will remain within sight, of course.”
Solia drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair with obvious displeasure. “Anything you wish to say to her, you may say in front of me.”
“It is of vital importance that I discuss this with her privately.” Ben cast a hard glance at Lio.
Lio looked back with the steady gaze of someone who had nothing to apologize for. Ben’s tone had Cassia bristling, but this could be an opportunity to reason with him—or find out what he was plotting.
“Perhaps this private conversation would be amenable to everyone if Lady Eugenia accompanies me?” Cassia suggested.
“I would be happy to,” Genie spoke up.
“Thank you, Lady Eugenia,” Solia approved.
When Lio didn’t protest, Cassia knew he understood her intent and trusted her judgment, no matter how much he was bristling at Ben. She rose and linked arms with Genie, and they accompanied Ben to an empty portion of the stands on Solia and the Ashes’ other side.
Ben and Genie exchanged a charged look, as if she were warning or challenging him. Cassia stood between them, unsure whether she was flanked by allies or adversaries.
“Cassia…” Ben began.
The use of her name broke through her carefully mustered emotional defenses, and she realized just how much this conversation had the power to hurt her, after all.
“We have never shamed each other for what we didn’t choose,” he said. “My father’s treason. Your father’s dishonor toward your mother. Tell me you didn’t choose this, and I will silence every tongue that insults you.”
Cassia drew back. “What are you saying?”
“I know you are under no enchantments—the Semna has reassured me of that many times. But does the ambassador hold something else over you? Did he carry you away against your will last night?”
Oh, it did hurt. But her anger was far more powerful than her pain. “You’d rather I suffer coercion than lose my Tenebran morals, is that it? You would rather imagine he forced me than accept I might choose him?”
“I know your capacity for sacrifice. If his conversion is sincere, then he should choose to repent with or without your hand in marriage. You shouldn’t have to become his wife to save his soul. It isn’t right for anyone to demand that of you.”
“It’s not a sacrifice,” Cassia tried to explain. “You of all people should understand impossible love.”
He recoiled. “You love him? More than my lord and his family? More than your Kyrian sisters?”
