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Master Gorgos was aghast. “This is exactly the kind of perversion the vows of celibacy were established to prevent.”
“Actually they were to appease the Cordian princes, who feared the consequences of hereditary inheritance of high positions in the Orders. Consider that the result is dilution of magic in all mortal bloodlines over time.” Chrysanthos put on one of his mocking smiles, and for the first time, Cassia realized he was mocking himself. “I was bred for the benefit of humanity.”
“War mages fornicating to breed their own apprentices!” Master Gorgos exclaimed.
“Producing an apprentice for the Synthikos is quite the distinction among the princesses of Corona, you know. Mother will never cease to congratulate herself for being one of only two women to secure the honor.”
“How she must revile the Tauri princess who is the other,” Cassia guessed. “It was prudent for you and Dalos to pay lip service to your families’ feud, while you grew up together as brothers under the tutelage of your father.”
“Is that your nephew’s destiny?” Lio asked.
“I resent your implication he is a tool to be used,” Chrysanthos shot back. “But what would a Hesperine know about protecting a child from schemes?”
Trust Lio to respond only with a diplomatic answer. “Your loyalty to your brother and the loved ones he left behind does you great credit.”
Chrysanthos rose to his feet, looking down upon Lio. “This changes nothing, Ambassador. Our circle’s war upon Hesperines errant was my brother’s life’s work, and I will go to my grave striving to finish it. I will see you burn on the Akron’s Altar, followed by every other member of the Hesperine embassy who faced Dalos that day. I will not fail him twice.”
Lio remained in his chair. “I know my words mean nothing to you. But we have real reason to believe the essential displacement Skleros performed on Dalos had an adverse effect on your brother’s magic. It is no deception that the Gift Collector is to blame for Dalos’s death.”
“Those are the only words that have ever come out of your mouth that have a shred of worth. I credit them only because they confirm my own concerns about my brother. The warning sign confronted me the day I arrived at Solorum—the remains of a shrine of Hespera.”
Lio did not look at Cassia. She resisted the irrational urge to straighten her gloves. She had to remind herself they had allowed Chrysanthos to believe she was out to depose her father. They had given him no reason to suspect her of being a Hesperite.
“My brother was supposed to have full access to his power,” Chrysanthos said. “I have confirmed Skleros’s assertions in that regard during my own experience with essential displacement. And yet Dalos spent fortnights at Solorum without even mentioning that shrine of Hespera to me in his letters. I can only conclude that he, the greatest Aithourian mage of our generation, was unable to even sense it was there.”
Lio’s face was so impassive, Cassia was sure he had veiled himself again.
“I, on the other hand,” Chrysanthos told him, “detected the stench of your goddess’s refuse the moment I set foot on the grounds. Needless to say, I cleaned up after her.”
Cassia came to Lio’s side. “Tonight, we cannot afford feuds. Skleros is the worst criminal among us. We will never succeed in discovering his grand design against us unless we act together.”
Lio got to his feet, standing almost close enough to touch her, with an eye on the Dexion. “You have done everything in your power to cost me what is most precious. I dueled your brother. I will do my best to forget that for one night, if you will.”
“You still expect me to get information out of Skleros about your hostages?” Chrysanthos asked.
“He still believes you are his ally,” Cassia said. “You could simply ask him where they are, and he would tell you.”
Chrysanthos all but rolled his eyes at Cassia. “He would be suspicious about any change in our plans. He has a vested interest in the hostage situation proceeding precisely as he and my circle agreed. He has dedicated most of his career to inciting war between Hesperines and the Orders on Tenebran soil so his prey will go errant in greater numbers.”
Lio responded before Cassia had a chance. “It sounds as if he and your brother had the same life goal. Why would he betray Dalos? You want to know. You want to confront him about your brother’s death. But as soon as you do, he will know he has lost your favor. The moment you leave Orthros, he will slip from your grasp and return to the shadows whence he came, and you will be left empty-handed, thirsting for revenge.”
“You doubt my ability, as the Dexion, to reach anyone, anywhere?”
“What use is fire against a shadow? Can you shine a light spell into Hypnos’s realm? You cannot deny Skleros will prove a challenge, even for you. But tonight, here he is, a fish in a barrel of Hesperine magic.”
Cassia knew what Lio was about to propose. Unless she tried to stop him, her mind mage would challenge his true nemesis. If she did not speak now, Lio would duel a Gift Collector.
“But as the Dexion,” Cassia tried, “you surely have influence over Skleros. You ensure the Inner Eyes do not interfere in his activities. If you threaten to revoke your protection and leave him at the mercy of his superiors, he will tell you anything you want to know.”
“I’m afraid the ambassador’s assessment is correct,” Chrysanthos replied. “My threats will mean nothing to Skleros. I have been influential in keeping the robes from trying his patience, to be sure. But if he wishes to avoid their discipline, he can do so without my help.”
With each beat of her heart, Alkaios and Nephalea suffered a heartbeat longer. Nike was apart from her family a heartbeat longer. Five other bloodlines’ loved ones were a heartbeat closer to the Akron’s Altar.
Cassia tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. “You have worked with him these many years. Surely you know his secrets.”
“I’m a pyromagus, not a mind mage.”
Lio met Cassia’s gaze. “Will Tenebra’s representative hear a new recommendation from Orthros’s ambassador?”
