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He followed Cassia and Lio through the corridors like someone in a dream. Occasionally he reached out to run his hand over the ivy. At a fork in the passage, he knelt, his nostrils flaring, and Cassia could feel his Hesperine senses calling out to the Lustra.
When they came to the copse of trees, Kalos halted on the threshold, staring at the moonflowers. A half smile crossed his face. “Looks like Hespera and the Lustra negotiated and reached amenable terms.”
“That is our hope,” Lio said.
“This is the farthest chamber we’ve reached,” Cassia explained.
Kalos took the lead, and they ventured into the copse to search the area. Here, the masonry of the castra gave way to the natural stone walls of a cave. They had examined every nook and cranny of the walls, then Kalos and Lio levitated her to check the upper ledges and ceiling. They found no portal that would admit her.
They regrouped in the ring of trees, and Cassia cursed. “This feels just like the chamber with the red ivy. I can sense magical potential, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
“You say this chamber opened when your life was in danger?” Kalos asked.
“Yes.” Lio’s fangs flashed at the mention of that night.
“Beast magic responds to survival,” Kalos reminded them. “Perhaps that’s the affinity you need here.”
“Excellent theory,” Lio said.
“But how do I use whatever latent bit of beast magic I have?” Cassia asked.
“Try holding the pendant and focusing again.” Kalos beckoned to Lio. “Give her some of your magic.”
She cupped the ivy pendant in her palms and fixed her arcane senses on the complicated magic inside it. Lio rested his hands on her shoulders, and his rich well of power opened to her.
“What do you feel?” Kalos prompted. “Physically, I mean?”
“Pressure behind my eyes,” Cassia replied.
“Focus on that,” Kalos instructed. “Try to draw the magic there.”
She Willed her power to build behind her eyes. As she drew on Lio’s magic, the sense of fullness in her brow strengthened. Her vision blurred. She blinked hard.
“What do you feel now?” Lio asked.
“It’s the strangest sensation in my eyes…as if they’re…” She gasped. “Changing.”
The room came into focus. She could see each delicate vein of the leaves and every curving petal of the moonflowers.
Lio looked into her face. “Goddess bless. Hawk eyes!”
Cassia clung to the pendant. “I shape-changed my eyes?”
Lio gave her an astonished smile. “This appears to have the same results as when Tendo shifts his eyes to his eagle form. He would be impressed.”
She couldn’t help laughing in wonder. “Thank you, Kalos.”
He shrugged. “You did the hard work.”
“You gave me the knowledge. But I don’t know how long I can maintain this.” She glanced quickly around the room, trying to see what the magic wanted to show her.
A glimmer caught her eye, guiding her to the back wall of the cave. There on the stone, traced in silver light, was an intricate design of intertwining lines and knots in the shape of a hawk.
“Hold on to my shoulders.” She stepped forward.
The rune faded, leaving behind an open doorway. They forged ahead, deeper into the Changing Queen’s realm.
They had taken a few steps into the passageway when her eyes began to ache, and her vision blurred again. She reached toward the wall for support. Her hand met Lio’s chest instead, and he held her up as her knees buckled.
