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Rudhira’s gray eyes softened. “You are so young, and yet none of you are unprepared for what you will face. Even so, when I give you advice, I expect you to listen. Understood?”
“Yes, Ritual father,” Cassia said, as the others murmured their assent.
“Good,” Rudhira replied. “The first thing you must be prepared for is the sun. With only three days until the Summer Solstice, you’re in for long Dawn Slumbers, I’m afraid. In the part of Tenebra where we’re headed, the day lasts for seventeen mortal hours. There is no nightfall, only seven hours of twilight. Prepare to be sluggish at all times.”
Cassia’s heart sank. She must do without Lio for seventeen hours a day.
“We’ve trained for high sunlight conditions,” Mak assured the prince.
“And we know training is no substitute for experience,” Lyros added.
“Solia and the Ashes will be with Cassia while we sleep,” Lio said, in the tone of someone announcing his own prison sentence.
Rudhira paced in front of them. “You know the royal family of Orthros seldom issues commands. We strive to earn your love, rather than demand your obedience. But in life or death situations in hostile territory, there is not always time for gentle guidance. If I ask you to do something, you must not hesitate. Even if I ask you to abandon your quest and return home immediately.”
“Of course, My Prince,” Mak and Lyros told him without hesitation.
Rudhira paused before Cassia, looking at her with the steely eyes of a mind healer. She felt he could see into her soul, to the wild, possessive creature inside her that would rather die than come home without her magic. It was a proud beast that knew she deserved her power and would fight for what was rightfully hers.
Rudhira held her gaze with his ancient eyes. His aura of command stirred something in Cassia’s blood, although she was not yet bound to Orthros’s royal family by the Gift. Her heart knew. She was a traitor to mortal kings, but her immortal prince would have her loyalty for eternity.
“Yes, My Prince,” she told him.
He gave a solemn nod, then subjected Lio to his scrutiny. The swell of magic in the air, theramancy and thelemancy, sent a frisson over Cassia’s skin.
Rudhira said, “Your father has dragged me out of situations when he was wiser than I. Do not resist and make the same mistake I have in the past.”
Lio was silent for an instant longer, then, “I find myself unable to promise I will obey, if it means leaving Cassia’s side.”
“Do you not trust me to refrain from making unjust requests?” Rudhira asked.
Lio’s jaw relaxed. “Of course, Ritual father.”
“Then you must promise to heed me, and to let the Charge do our duty—which includes helping you protect Cassia.”
Lio bowed his head. “You have my word, My Prince.”
Rudhira turned to the Ashes.
Karege spoke up. “Have no doubt, My Prince. I may like my sharp knives and shiny gold, but I have never forgotten I am a Hesperine.”
“Carrying a blade does not make you forget,” Rudhira said. “I know I can rely on you. As for the mortal veterans of the Ashes, the Charge looks forward to having such esteemed warriors of the gold roster among us. May our battles prosper Orthros’s alliance with the Empire, First Blade Kella.”
Kella gave him a salute with her silver filigreed fortune blade. “It will be an honor to fight with the Charge. Braving Tenebra is an adventure worthy of the Ashes.”
Finally Rudhira stood before Solia. “Princess, I cannot command you. But I urge you to trust that Orthros has your best interests at heart, and to take my counsel into consideration.”
“I can promise to consider it,” she said, which was hardly a promise at all.
Rudhira’s brow raised slightly. “I may be a prince who will never become a king, but I do have considerable experience as a royal and a warrior. I suggest that you make use of all valuable assets at your disposal, including my advice.”
Considerable was one way to describe sixteen hundred years of life.
“I appreciate how fortunate I am to have your support,” Solia replied, “but I am sure you understand that mortal interests must be my first concern, and mortal advisers may be somewhat closer to the problems facing my subjects.”
“As your mortal adviser,” Cassia broke in, “I think you will find Hesperines errant more invested in human concerns than other humans. They are kinder to your subjects than your subjects are to one another. Or so I found them to be, the night they saved my life.”
Solia paused, surely thinking of Iris’s death. “I never disputed that.”
