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“Well, Sister Commander,” Kassandra mused, “it has been a long while since anyone has called me by that name. I take it you have studied my sister’s time as Empress.”
Solia glanced at Lio. “I have recently been reminded that her reign has particular relevance for the present day.”
“And how fares my niece-by-many-greats who presently rules the Empire?”
“Her Imperial Majesty sends their most admiring regards.”
With a rush of gratitude, Cassia realized what Kassandra was doing. Solia was much more comfortable with Imperial royals than Hesperine elders.
Lio’s slow smile told her he was thinking the same. He gave Kassandra a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much for being here tonight, Ritual mother.”
“It is good to see you, my little bloodborn,” she said, although he towered over her and everyone else in Orthros, typical of the few who were born Hesperines instead of transformed after birth. She held him to her for a long moment, perhaps thinking of her lost bloodborn son. “My visions of your time in the Maaqul were enough to concern even me, and I have seen everything.”
Cassia embraced her, suddenly enfolded in the scent of Imperial spices and a magical aura so powerful that she almost gasped. “I hope you approve of our decisions on our journey.”
“You did marvelously well.” A mischievous smile banished the sadness in Kassandra’s eyes. “I won all my bets with Ziara and Huru.”
“You know the privateers who saved my life?” Solia’s formality wavered at the mention of her friends.
Kassandra chuckled. “I manage Orthros’s trading fleet. The queen of privateers and her first mate are two of my most respected colleagues and, I confess, two of my favorite women to gamble with. Such a charming couple.”
Solia gave her head a shake. “Akanthia seems smaller and smaller.”
“Orthros is the gateway to the entire world, my dear,” Kassandra replied.
The words, coming from the Oracle, rang with significance for Cassia.
The gate in our time. That was how Cassia thought of Orthros since escaping Btana Ayal, the ruins where a shattered portal marked humankind’s tragic attempt to unite the Imperial and Tenebran sides of the world. There had been no Hesperines then. Orthros could succeed where Btana Ayal had failed.
Solia put her hands behind her back. “I appreciate more and more why Cassia recommended I pay Orthros a visit. It would be an honor to hear your wisdom on the Hesperines’ position between Tenebra and the Empire.”
Kassandra said, “You will hear plenty of my opinions when you meet with my Ritual sisters, the Queens.”
“Do you know when that will be, Elder Firstblood?”
“Tonight, we are gathered for more personal reasons, are we not? Come, sit with me.”
At Kassandra’s invitation, Solia joined Cassia’s Hesperine family in the Ritual circle.
All the tension drained out of Cassia. They had made it.
Lio put a steadying arm around her, and she couldn’t deny she needed it. “Do you need to lie down?”
She shook her head. “Everything I need is right here within reach. At last.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her hair. “You also need to lie down.”
She was rather too exhausted and happy to resist. He coaxed her to recline at the low table. She found herself in a cozy pile of floor cushions, two sucklings, a pair of goats, and one liegehound, with her Grace and her sister nearby. Kassandra had somehow gotten Lio and Solia to sit next to each other between her and Komnena.
“Will you tell us a story about the Empire?” Zoe asked.
The secrets of the desert no longer seemed so enormous, here in the bright spell lights of home, with the voices of her family all around her. And she knew what Zoe’s bedtime story would be tonight. “Let me tell you about the first time I used magic.”
“You used magic?” Zoe squealed.
Bosko’s eyes lit with excitement. “You found out what your affinity is?”
Cassia looked around at the expectant faces of loved ones ready to be happy for her. That made it all feel more like delivering good news to her family, rather than spilling the heavy magical secrets of the ages.
