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Queen Alea spoke for them. “Solia, Princess and aspiring Queen, do not imagine that the Hesperines have forgotten our ideals. We have held out for centuries, offering a Sanctuary of freedom even when all hope was lost. We cherish your vision of a future that many have believed impossible. For this reason, we will send the foremost defenders of our ideals with you to Tenebra: our diplomats.”
Lio and Cassia’s gazes met. Their Grace Union was still a soft, elusive strain, but they had talked for hours the night before. Words spoken aloud, openly and honestly, had made them of one mind.
They knew what they must do. Even when all hope was lost.
“Annassa, if I may.” Cassia turned to Kassandra.
The Oracle offered her a long, rolled bundle of fabric. Lio sensed his Grace steeling herself and realized what Kassandra must have brought with her.
Cassia took it slowly. “You were right. The white rose is not a choice, if it is the only one offered.”
“You’ve done well,” Kassandra approved.
Cassia took the bundle to her sister and, holding in both hands, unfurled it before the would-be queen.
The historical banner did not bear King Lucis’s coat-of-arms, a sword pointed downward in obedience under the Mage Orders’ fire. This was the Mage King’s emblem from over a millennium ago, a blade and fire spell held high under the shining rays of the sun.
“How is this possible?” Solia stared at the worn, but still brilliant banner and touched a burn hole in the fabric. “This isn’t merely a banner…it is the banner.” Her voice thickened. “The one Thalia gave me. The one Iris and I guarded in secret and took with us to Castra Roborra, where the lords betrayed us.”
“Yours?” Cassia said. “I knew it was a banner from the Mage King’s time, but yours? My mother’s?”
“It is one of the three artifacts your family has preserved in secret for generations.”
“The other is the Changing Queen’s pendant?” Cassia asked.
“Yes,” Solia answered, “and the third is their flesh and blood—you.”
“Well, I’m glad they passed it down to me so I can give it to the rightful queen.”
“I cannot say that I am worthy of it. I took it all the way to the Empire with me, to protect it.” She glanced away. “But I am ashamed to tell you that there came a time when I…did not keep it.”
Lio mourned that distant moment in Solia’s life, when she had perhaps been willing to rebel against her destiny. He was glad she had tried to throw this burden away. He wished it had never returned to haunt them all.
“I found it,” was the only explanation the Oracle offered.
“I didn’t want to keep it, either,” said Cassia, “but now I know I must offer it to you, along with something else. My wisdom, such as it is. You need an adviser, someone who can give you insight into current affairs in Tenebra. I know I can never replace Iris, but in her honor, I will do my best.”
Solia shut her eyes for a moment. Then she accepted the banner from Cassia and pulled her sister into her arms. “I need you at my side.”
Lio drew a deep breath, bracing himself for what would come next.
Queen Alea beckoned to Uncle Argyros. “It is time to finish our discussion regarding the Ambassador for Tenebran Affairs.”
Lio and Cassia’s mentor came to stand with them. He put a hand on each of their shoulders. “I will tell you both what I told Lio before your departure for the Empire. I will always be proud of you, whether or not you accept what I am about to offer you.”
Lio swallowed. “Thank you, Uncle.”
“We needed to hear that,” Cassia said.
“Before I was the Queens’ Master Ambassador,” Uncle Argyros told them, “before we had a queendom called Orthros with a diplomatic service, I was simply the mind mage who offered my skills when our people negotiated with the Mage King for our survival. In that sense, I was Ambassador for Tenebran Affairs before I was anything else. And when you, Nephew, became my first and only student to take an interest in the broken kingdom we left behind, I imagined for the first time that I might have a successor.”
“No one will ever fill your shoes,” Lio said.
“I wouldn’t wish for you to,” his uncle said with a gleam in his eye. “Your own shoes are quite suitable for the role and will carry you in directions I would never think of. And how much better that you do not walk this path alone.”
“No,” Cassia said, “and he never will.”
“Two new experts on Tenebran affairs have risen in our sky,” Uncle Argyros said. “As much as I grieve to place such a weight of responsibility upon you, I have never felt more reassured that our relations with Tenebra are in good hands. If you will have it, I will pass this title on to you two with my whole heart.”
