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Lio let out a sigh of relief. “That means I can help Cassia if she ever struggles to return to human form.”
Cassia slid her feet under Knight’s fur and leaned against Lio, less tense than she had been in several nights. “Thank you, Nike. You just allayed one of our greatest fears.”
“We now know that Cassia’s beast magic will not pose a threat during her Gifting.” Lio looked to Solia, waiting for her to acknowledge that this was a milestone toward his completion of the first labor.
“There are still two more affinities to account for before she can make a decision,” was her only reply.
“But this is a great breakthrough,” Cassia said. “What else do you think we can learn about my magic from the battle, Nike?”
Nike gestured to her neck. “The changer had an amulet imbued with Lustra magic.”
Solia had been sneaking glances at Aunt Lyta’s demonstration, but now her gaze sharpened on Nike. “Like the ivy pendant passed down to Cassia by Thalia?”
“Yes and no,” Nike answered. “The magical signature I sensed on Cassia’s pendant was much stronger.”
“Well,” Solia said, “Cassia’s pendant is an artifact of the Changing Queen’s. I would expect it to be far more powerful.”
“What happened to the amulet?” Lio could think of at least twelve different probing spells to try on it to assess the nature of its power.
“I destroyed it,” his father said from beside him.
Lio tried not to groan aloud. “Father, you, ah…destroyed an extraordinarily rare artifact of one of the most poorly understood forms of magic?”
“My stone magic was sufficient to reduce it to dust,” he said without remorse. “Sorry to break your scholarly heart, Son, but we couldn’t risk it holding some evil power over the man’s wife.”
Lio rubbed his beard. “Well, I can hardly argue with that.”
“I can tell you about its magical signature, though,” Nike said. “Cassia’s pendant feels…purer. As if the lynx changer’s magic was corrupt.”
“Fascinating!” Kia’s quill scratched behind Lio’s head where she sat in the second row. “That suggests that Lustra magic in recent centuries has been abused, or perhaps simply weakened because the Orders suppress it, which leads to the loss of Lustra mages’ teachings and traditions. How thrilling to imagine that Cassia could access undiluted magic through the pendant.”
Cassia said nothing. Neither did Solia. The pendant was also a symbol of the Queen of Tenebra. It did not escape Lio that Cassia had not worn the artifact since Solia had tried to force her to take the throne.
Nike observed Lio and the tense sisters. “When the changer talked about his wife, he called her his ‘mate.’ He believed they had an unbreakable bond stronger than marriage. I sensed no magical connection between them, so whatever he was referring to, those two did not have it. But I do wonder if there might still have been credence to his ravings.”
“What do you mean?” Cassia asked Nike. “Do you think Lustra mages experience some kind of Union akin to Grace?”
“It is not outside the realm of possibility.” Nike crossed her arms. “It would be interesting to discover how a Lustra mate bond might strengthen a Grace bond, don’t you think?”
Something possessive and female uncurled from Cassia, and Lio liked the feeling of it in their Union very, very much.
“But there’s something else you should know,” Nike said. “The cats he controlled were able to deal damage to my wards with their claws. Not unlike liegehounds.”
“Cup and thorns,” Lio swore.
Kia’s quill halted mid-scrawl. “Are you suggesting Lustra magic might be one of the anti-haimatic magics?”
“Someone define that for me, please,” Cassia said.
“Affinities that oppose blood magic,” Xandra explained ruefully. “Like fire magic.”
Outrage flashed in Cassia’s eyes. “You’re saying my affinity could be a Hesperine weakness?”
“Don’t worry, Cassia.” Xandra reached forward to pat her shoulder. “If that’s the case, you’ll manage, just as I do.”
“The expert Rudhira is bringing with him is the one to ask about that,” Nike said. “But I can tell you there was no love lost between the lynx changer and Hesperines, and I didn’t get the impression he had learned his prejudice from the Mage Orders.”
Cassia glanced at Lio’s father. “Could that explain why there are no Hesperine Lustra mages?”
