18. Cassandra

CHAPTER 18

Cassandra

" S o, they're interrogating her right now?" Jocelyn asked from where she sat on the loveseat next to Lyric, across from me in one of many lounge rooms in the king's residence.

"They are," I said, wondering what type of restraint Talon was able to show while interrogating my mother.

Thankfully all of his brothers were with him and would stop him for ruining their chance at getting information. They'd get it out of her. My mother's survival instincts ran deep, and she would give up any information it took to keep herself alive.

"Damn," Lyric said, shaking her head. "That must be hard knowing it's your mother?—"

"It's not," I cut off the queen. "I hate her. If I could kill her myself, I would. But I know that she has valuable information."

"Probably loads of it that will keep our mates on missions for the foreseeable future."

I swallowed hard, guilt and worry eating me from the inside out. Annika, Olivia's niece, sat in a high wingback chair just across from me and the other females, looking at me with a sort of compassion that I hadn't seen in a long time.

I absentmindedly stroked the mating mark that I knew resided beneath the fabric of my loose-fitting cotton pants. "Do you think he'll forgive me?" I asked the question that had been haunting me since Talon left my side. Since he went with his brothers and left things so unsettled between us.

I had no idea if he believed me. If he understood why I'd said and did what I had. And I hated feeling so unsure.

"He's your mate," Annika said, her voice almost whimsical as she said the word mate . "He has to forgive you. Every mate forgives every mistake, right?" she asked, looking at Jocelyn and Lyric. "That's how it is in all the wonderful stories about mating."

Jocelyn and Lyric chuckled darkly.

"Oh, honey," Jocelyn said. "Having a mate isn't exactly like all the stories."

My shoulders dropped, the worry intensifying.

"It's a partnership," Lyric added, looking at me. "It's not about him forgiving you simply because you're his mate. You guys have to communicate. You have to be on the same page. Fate may have bonded you together, but your compassion for each other is what's going to make this work."

I nodded at my queen, silently sending every ounce of gratitude I could her way. I'd told her about the information I'd given Edward in order to make him believe I was on his side, and she'd forgiven me instantly, as was her nature. And I'm sure the only reason why Alek hadn't slaughtered me is because I had killed the one person I'd told.

We settled into a comfortable silence, each of us sipping a soothing herbal tea that the queen had made as we waited. And when the door creaked open, my heart leaped into my throat with the hopes that it was Talon.

It wasn't.

Aurora looked miles better than she had when she'd first been brought to the king's residence. The poor innocent girl had been forcefully turned by Samuel, Saint's twin brother. He'd inflicted an insurmountable amount of psychological torture to her in the process, but she'd somehow found the strength to leave her chambers, which was an act of courage that was admirable.

"Sorry," she said after scanning the room. "I'm looking for the vampire who takes away the nightmares," she said, her voice a little listless and her eyes a little wandering. That madness clung to her even now, despite the progress she'd made.

Hatred for Samuel intensified in my gut.

"They're carrying out a mission," I said. "But you're welcome to stay with us?—"

"No," she cut me off. She then nodded at us and disappeared from the room.

"Does anyone else think it's a bad idea to let that sweet little innocent thing chase after the actual nightmare? Because I don't know about you, but I feel like there's a red tinge to the rim of his irises," Jocelyn said, referring to Saint.

"He's the only one who's been able to help her," Lyric said, shrugging. "And while Saint may be walking that line, he's been walking it for a very long time. We can't distrust him until he gives us a reason to."

Jocelyn nodded as her mate Benedict came into the room with a sense of urgency that made her sit up straight.

"We need you," he said, and she was instantly at his side.

"What's happened," I asked, standing, ready to go wherever he said to go.

"Just Jocelyn," he said apologetically. "The hunters have gotten information from your mother," he continued.

He was no doubt giving me a courtesy as the information likely wasn't a need to know for me.

"We need to go. She's given us the location of one of the Sons of Honor safe houses."

Jocelyn looked over her shoulder at the queen, giving her an assuring wink before she followed Benedict out of the room.

I stood there, mouth gaping, my entire body freezing at the knowledge that Talon was going out on a mission so soon after nearly being killed.

"He'll be all right," Lyric assured me, urging me to sit back down.

"How can you know that?"

Lyric seemed to think on that for a moment before shrugging. "They have to be," she said. "Our mates. They have to be okay or else we'll drive ourselves mad with worry."

She wasn't wrong, but I couldn't sit and sip herbal tea while knowing my mate was out there putting himself in danger and quite possibly getting killed before we could even have our chance. Before he knew how much he meant to me. And I hated myself for not telling him sooner.

"Would it be all right with you if I spoke to my brother?" I asked the queen.

"Of course," she said. "He has a room only two hallways down from yours."

"Thank you," I said, bowing slightly before exiting the room.

I found Warrick sitting at his desk studying some ancient tome, Shadow at his feet. She stretched to all fours when she spotted me, crossing the room to brush her heavy body against my legs. It was incredible, stroking her fur and feeling our bond versus the one I'd had when Talon was imitating her.

Warrick abandoned his book when he saw me, wrapping his arms around me in a warm embrace.

"I heard what happened," he said. "I'm so glad you're all right."

I returned his hug, then released him. I couldn't help but notice the resemblance to Edward, but was relieved that he was not an identical twin. I couldn't imagine having to look into the eyes of someone who looked that similar to somebody who had almost killed my mate.

Warrick was slightly bigger than Edward too and had my mother's eyes instead of our father's.

"It looks like they've been treating you well," I said, not wanting to talk about what happened on the island.

Warrick didn't press either, instead nodding at his chambers. "They're allowing me to train as an assassin," he said. "I have the right bloodline to do it, and the skills."

"That's good," I said. "That's really good."

"What do you think they're going to do to our mother?" he asked after I'd remained silent for a little while.

"She has centuries of information," I said. "They'll keep her alive, but I think we need to be prepared for our mother to be in prison for a very, very long time."

Warrick flashed me a mischievous smile, cocking his eyebrow may. "You think we could convince one of the guards to let us into her cell? I'm sure we could get a hold of some Night Thistle paint to decorate it with."

I smiled for the first time in twenty-four hours. "You always were my favorite brother."