by Vela Roth
Every one of the firstbloods greeted her personally, and none hesitated to welcome her as an ally of Orthros, despite the mortals within earshot. The Cordian mages must be tripping over Hesperine veils with every step they took.
Cassia expected to feel exhausted halfway through, but she didn’t. Their welcome seemed to fill her up with something warm and sustaining.
But an instinct, honed hard and deeply rooted, kept her on vigil. Every moment she looked over her shoulder at the mages, as if they were her task, and there was not a room full of firstbloods who could crush them with a thought.
She watched Chrysanthos chat with Hippolyta as if he were a reasonable being and she were not the Hesperine who had defeated Aithouros. Cassia and Lio stood just near enough that the mage’s words reached her ears, and she knew none of the Hesperines would have trouble hearing him.
“Have you heard from your daughter Pherenike recently?” the mage asked.
Hippolyta might be a warrior, but she had also been at every Equinox Summit with her Grace. “How thoughtful of you to ask,” was all she said.
“I hear she has not returned to Orthros for some time. You must be beside yourself with worry, especially now that she does not have the rest of the Blood Errant to watch her back. Her warding magic and thelemancy are quite the dangerous combination. The sort that makes enemies. I wonder what could have befallen her.”
Lio must be agonizing over the same question as Cassia. She was not certain whether Chrysanthos’s words were merely a low blow or an implication that he knew what had happened to Nike.
Hippolyta sized up Chrysanthos with her gaze. Cassia and Lio watched without staring, waiting to see how the Guardian would respond. Would she take the opportunity to press Chrysanthos? Or would she forfeit it and refuse to let him bait her?
“You would do well to wonder,” Hippolyta replied at last. “The Hesperines you don’t see are often the ones who should most concern you.”
“Hm. I will bear that in mind.”
Cassia wished Lio’s aunt would send Chrysanthos the way of Aithouros on the spot. But all Hippolyta could do, all any of them could do, was talk.
“This is truly a singular occasion, Ambassador,” she commented to Lio.
“Indeed. One that puts all the forbearance of your people and mine to the test. But that is the very effort to which we have committed ourselves. I consider it a triumph for us all to stand together in this room at all.”
He did well to remind her. “Spoken like a true diplomat.”
“As true as the Goddess makes them.” Argyros came to join them.
Cassia smiled at Lio’s uncle. “And trained by the most eminent diplomat Orthros has ever known, I understand.”
“When you are as old as I am, your reputation becomes a creature of its own, which may or may not be relied upon. In any case, if you would be so kind as to surrender your escort for a moment, there is a task with which I need the Ambassador’s assistance.”
“Certainly, Elder Firstblood.”
“If you’ll excuse me.” Lio didn’t look puzzled, but he didn’t look in good spirits, either.
Cassia observed them until she lost sight of them in the crowd. She had seen their rapport at the Summit table in Tenebra, and it made a stark contrast to the chill beneath the surface of their courteous exchange tonight. She knew how close Lio was to his uncle. What could possibly have caused tension between them? Whatever was the matter, she could imagine how Lio must take it to heart. She must find a way to help.
“I don’t know how you do it, Your Ladyship.”
“What’s that, Benedict?”
“You always find something pleasant to say. You even manage to come up with compliments about their foreign ways. Tenebra is fortunate to have you as our representative.” He eyed the mages. “Your kind nature is the heart of our embassy.”
“I appreciate you saying that. But I would be dishonest if I did not confess that I carry my prejudices just as close as everyone else.” She tried not to glare at Skleros, who lurked at the edges of the crowd, watching. Cassia wanted to gouge his eyes out with his own blades.
“Don’t we all.” Benedict cast another nervous glance at Lio’s window.
Cassia loved how Rose House was built of pale granite with touches of red and black, an elegant frame for the extravagant stained glass. “Benedict, if you will be so kind as to release my arm, I am going to have a closer look at the rose window.”
“Do you think it wise, Your Ladyship?” he whispered. “Even your hound is bewitched by these Hesperines.”
“I sincerely doubt some pretty glass is as dangerous as Hippolyta.”
“It is a heretical symbol, Your Ladyship. We cannot know what strange power is in it.”
“If that is the case, then you should direct your protectiveness at the ambassador’s handkerchiefs. I happened to notice he has a pocket full of them embroidered with Hespera’s Rose.”
“Are you certain they’re handkerchiefs and not charms, Your Ladyship?”
She towed Benedict along with her toward the window. As they passed the sideboards, she eyed the forbidden refreshments with a sigh and noticed Perita and Callen doing the same. The cheeses and fruits, pastries and breads looked delicious, and Cassia’s parched tongue made the pitchers of juices and scented water nearly impossible to resist. It seemed her arrival in Orthros had inspired her long-lost appetite to come back to her at last, and with a vengeance. But she had no chance to sneak a bite. Only upon nearing the window did she manage to extricate herself from Benedict’s arm for a moment, when he was busy signing yet another holy glyph.
She stood under Lio’s artwork and turned her face toward the blood-colored light. Perhaps there was a spell in it. The stained Harbor Light felt more wonderful upon her than any sunshine.
With the light shining in her eyes, it was a moment before Cassia noticed the Hesperine sitting under the window. The lady perched on the pedestal of one of the hall’s tall columns, but she was so short, her bare feet dangled. She looked red-haired and red-robed until Cassia took a step forward out of the window’s glow. The Hesperine’s hair and robes were in fact as white as the Light Moon. She had a round, pleasant face and a kind smile.
“I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced,” said Cassia.
“No, but I think we know each other well already.”
Cassia recognized the gentle, ancient face before her, and her knees trembled.
Queen Alea put a finger to her lips. “I would like to ask a favor of you. Play along with my little ruse and do not courtesy.”
Cassia glanced around her. Benedict was speaking quietly with Callen, and Perita held onto her husband’s arm, looking fretful and tired. All the mages and free lords had their backs to this side of the room. Knight kept watch upon the firstbloods all over the hall, oblivious to the Ritual firstblood who sat before Cassia.
“Forgive me, Annassa. How could I not recognize you?”
“My statue in the harbor is not an accurate likeness. It is too tall. People were shorter in the last epoch. Alas, if we have already finished growing, the Gift does not increase our stature.”
“I beg to differ, Annassa. Your monument is not tall enough to capture your presence. But I should have known your face.”
Or perhaps the clue upon her hair. She wore one dark, textured braid round and round her head like a crown.
“I’ll give you a hint. Argyros is not the only one who gave Lio lessons in weaving veils.” Queen Alea chuckled. “I sense your surprise. It is as I suspected, and Lio was too modest to boast to you that I am his mentor in light magery.”
“No, he did not tell me.”
“He has such a sweet nature. Never flaunting his status and power. Magic like his is as much a burden as a gift. I could not resist taking him under my wing on Anastasios’s behalf. It brought back fond memories of our time training apprentices at Hagia Boreia. He would be delighted with all the students I have taught since.”
“
I know how honored Lio must feel to be one of them.”
“Few Hesperines in Orthros feel more gratitude than he. He would do well to lay some of it down and lighten his load. But we keep giving him so much of it in return, perhaps we have contributed to the weight.”
Cassia did not know what to make of that, and yet she felt she ought to. “I feel honored that you have revealed yourself to me, Annassa.”
“I’ve been looking forward to speaking with you. But I shall remain a mystery to the other Tenebrans for a little while yet, so I may get to know them before they know me. I have not laid eyes on mages of Anthros and Hypnos in over sixteen hundred years.”
“I cannot but count that a blessing, Annassa.”
“So too do I.”
Then why bring them here now? How did it serve the Queens’ purposes? What strategies and consequences, conclusions and predictions went on in the ancient minds of this ruler and her Grace? What was it like to have such power? To wield it together as equals, with love to guide its use?
Queen Alea hopped down from her perch. “Will you walk with me?”
“Of course, Annassa.”
Neither Hesperines nor mortals noticed as Queen Alea hooked her arm in Cassia’s and led her away from the gathering. Knight followed Cassia as he always did, as if they were taking a walk, just the two of them.
“No one courtesies in Orthros, you know,” Queen Alea said conversationally. “The children bow to Soteira and me with their hands on their hearts because it makes them feel good. It was sweet of them to start the tradition of the heart bow, but all we ever ask of them is their nearness.”
“Lio has spoken of how close you are to all your people.”
“Our doors are always open to those who need us. Although we must rely on our Hesperines errant to help those in greatest need to reach us.”
“I can attest to that, Annassa.”
“My son will have more to say to you on that subject anon. I will only express how thankful we are to those who have delivered you.”
Queen Alea took Cassia through an open doorway, out of the main hall and into a courtyard bright with spell lights. They strolled between beds full of thriving roses. This variety was as pristine white as the magic orbs. Cassia gulped deep breaths of the roses’ miraculous fragrance. It felt colder in here, but she did not miss her cloak. Cassia realized crystal clear panes separated her from the stars.
“The whole courtyard is glassed in,” she exclaimed. “To keep the roses warm?”
“Yes. Lio and Apollon collaborated with the geomagi to make the courtyard hospitable for mortals and flora alike. You will see many such structures in Selas.”
Splashes echoed from a fountain in the center of the courtyard. Even it was carved in the shape of rose vines. Queen Alea took a seat on a wrought iron bench there and gestured at the one across from her. Cassia sank down onto it as if she expected to find pins on the seat. It felt wrong to sit in the Queen’s presence. Knight sat down on Cassia’s feet without a thought.
“I think it safe to bring Knight in on our secret now.” Queen Alea held out her hand to him. She was holding a bite of cheese.
He looked at her for the first time. Cassia held her breath.
His ears perked up, and he got to his feet. He sniffed Queen Alea’s hand, then accepted the treat, snuffling and slobbering on her fingers. Cassia knotted her hands in her lap and watched in dismay.
Queen Alea smiled and gave Knight a thorough ear rubbing. He lay down between her and Cassia, wagging his tail furiously against the hem of Queen Alea’s white robes.
Cassia could scarcely fathom the vision before her. “Annassa, if I may ask…”
“Yes?”
“You were there. When Hesperines were made. You helped make them.”
“We all help make ourselves.”
“But you are one of the eight Ritual firstbloods, the very first Hesperines.”
Queen Alea smiled. “Would you like me to tell you about it?”
“I do not mean to pry into your people’s secrets.”
“It is not a secret, dear one. Every suckling in Orthros has a book on it.”
In Orthros, power hung on the vine like the roses that surrounded Cassia. “How did you do it, Annassa?”
“We don’t know.”
Cassia shook her head. “How can that be?”
“We, the leaders of the four main temples of our cult, convened in the depths of the night to devote our combined powers to an unprecedented blood Ritual. We prayed to Hespera and plied every spell we knew. We pushed our power beyond our limits and tested knowledge we had never dared put into practice. Healers, warders, light mages and thelemancers, we all shed our blood for our Goddess and each other. Something happened to us that we still do not fully understand.”
“You became Hesperines.”
“The Ritual remade us into new creatures. We had beseeched Hespera to grant us power that would enable us to answer her calling, and her Gift was marvelous. The healing we needed to save lives was in our own veins. We could veil ourselves and others to hide them from harm. Our newly heightened senses gave us revelations as never before. We now lived in a state of Union with others that taught us compassion through visceral empathy. Blood magic was no longer merely our practice, but our very nature.”
“It must have been wonderful.”
“It was an exhilarating and terrifying time of discovery. Our new bodies were an expression of our creed in every detail, although not without consequences. We could use our blood to serve humans, but we depended on their blood for our survival. Drawing our magic from the Goddess of Night, we were helpless during Anthros’s hours of sunlight. This kept us humble and tempered our power. Even so, any power so great rests uneasily in the world.”
“The Orders of Anthros and Hypnos became angry with you.”
“Tensions that had been abrading broke loose at last. Those tensions were what inspired our Ritual in the first place. We would not realize until later we lived in the death throes of the Great Temple Epoch. What we did know was that our world was changing in dangerous ways. Conflict was on the rise between cults and peoples in ways that threatened everyone. Loyalty to one’s own twisted into hatred of all others. Those who hated most strongly were amassing unprecedented power as no one had believed possible.”
“The Cult of Anthros was starting to take over,” Cassia guessed.
Queen Alea nodded. “That would be the end result of those complex events. What we understood at the time was that people were suffering, and if we were to stand against wrong, we too must go to greater lengths than ever before. We had to act.”
“The mages of Hespera, the goddess of Sanctuary and Mercy, would take to heart the plight of all those who suffered.”
“The victims of the era’s troubles were in our nurseries and sickbeds. Children left parentless by the Tenebran feuds. Common people devastated by epidemics that mages could have prevented if they had not hoarded power for the elite. Refugees from the cult of Demergos, such as Lio’s father, who chose to serve Hespera after their cult fell to the mages of Anthros.”
“Lio’s father was a mage of Demergos first? The way folk talk about Anthros’s brother, it sounds as if the god of war killed him much longer ago than that.”
“The death of a god shakes the world and makes myth. Alas that Demergos’s is recounted by the mages of Anthros, who call tragedy justice. They led a devastating campaign to dismantle, absorb and defeat the only male cult that could have stood against them. We could not have imagined the even greater cataclysm that would destroy our own cult.”
“But Hespera survived. You gained the Gift to protect you against Anthros.”
“So the children’s books say. We elders must still wonder if our discovery of immortality was our salvation or the catalyst of our destruction.”
“The other cults must have coveted your power.”
“When Anastasios succeeded in Gifting Apollon, our joy was great. Hespera’s bles
sing was not for us alone. But we faced difficult choices about who should share in the Gift. Although we strove to navigate those decisions with fairness and compassion, we still wonder if we could have prevented conflict. Many of our fellow worshipers of Hespera came to feel betrayed, and other cults saw our caution as hoarding power.
“You see, we kept our discovery secret at first so we could fully understand the consequences of the Gift before we dared subject large numbers to the transformation. After Anastasios’s discovery, each Ritual firstblood was to choose only one trusted student to join Apollon in receiving the Gift. They became the elder firstbloods.
“I was still deliberating over my choice when we ran out of time. The cult of Anthros struck. Our power was not enough to save our temples, our villages, our entire way of life as we knew it. But it was enough to make a new way of life here.”
“Oh, but it is a beautiful way of life, Annassa. Orthros is even more wondrous than I imagined.”
“I must confess I feel the same way. I am happy to say I have never left since the night we arrived nearly sixteen hundred years ago.”
“I do not wonder at that, Annassa. Who would want to be anywhere else?”
Queen Alea smiled as if she knew something Cassia didn’t. “I am an unlikely Queen. It is Soteira who has wisdom and experience of the wide world. I, in my mortal time, was happy to stay all the years of my life inside the walls of my temple. When we found refuge in Orthros at last, I never wanted to let this land out of my sight. It is a balm to me that I am bound here and must never leave.”
“Do you mean to say you cannot travel outside of Orthros?”
“If I set foot beyond the ward, it will break. It is the nature of such workings.”
Queen Alea could take one step too far, and the enduring fortifications of Orthros could shatter as easily as the glass over their heads? The thought sent a chill down Cassia’s spine. “I had no idea.”
