Chapter 35

35

Ella

"I would never hurt you," Cassius said, the words almost exploding from his lungs, like he'd taken a blow to his chest.

For a fleeting second, I thought I saw anguish flash across his face, but it made no sense.

I waded through the icy water, just beyond his reach. "It's not me I'm worried about. It's the rest of my people. Will you extend them the same courtesy?" He said nothing, so I turned to face him. "You'll stop Bianca from beating me—but what about the others?"

"You're different," he whispered. "I?—"

Anger flashed in my chest. "I thought you were different," I said, unable to hide the bitterness from my voice. "But of course you aren't. We're nothing but cattle."

Cassius looked like I'd driven a stake through his heart. I tried to keep my expression even, but my thoughts were racing. Was that guilt? Regret? A flicker of conscience?

"There are some things I cannot change." He stalked forward over the river stones. "Even when I'm king."

Did that mean he wanted to change things? Could he possibly believe humans deserved better? It was more than I'd hoped for, but not enough. Wanting it didn't matter, not if he did nothing with his power.

" There are things I cannot change is the favorite excuse of all men who enjoy power. It's the oath of cowards."

The prince growled, and with lightning speed, he'd pinned my arms to my sides. He glared down at me, a bonfire of emotion in his eyes. "I'd be more careful with what you say, little mouse."

I knew I was playing a dangerous game, but I couldn't shake Siggy's words. A whisperer speaks for those who can't —and unlike any other human, I seemed to have gained the ear of the prince . "What if I can't? What if I have things to say that you need to hear?"

"When you question my authority and push back against me…" His broad chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes darkening. "It makes me want to do things to you."

The prince held me firmly, his grip unyielding but not painful. The moonlight brushed his cheekbones, accentuating the strong contours of his face. He was breathtaking and terrifying, and his body practically vibrated with fury. That should have been a warning, but for some reason, it only made me want to push him further.

"Do things to me?" I glared up at him, challenging him. "Will you be teaching me a lesson now?"

Cassius's pupils dilated as longing and something far more dangerous burned in his eyes. "What do you want me to say?" His rough voice grazed over my skin, leaving heat in its wake. "That I don't know if I want to bed you or exile you for treason?"

The admission stole the breath from my lips.

I should hate him. Despise him. But though he was a monster, the thought of him taking me sent desire racing through my core. There was an attraction between us that I couldn't explain or deny.

"Does it matter what I say? Doesn't a prince do what he wants?"

I was tempting him, pushing him, trying to see how far he would go—looking for proof that he was a monster like all the others, not the man he appeared to be.

"No," he ground out with difficulty. His eyes burned with need, held back by iron will.

A surge of fear and something close to excitement caught my breath, and the yearning at my center became almost unbearable. I met his eyes. "Well, he should."

The prince froze.

Then, in a swift movement, he pulled me forward, and his lips crashed against mine. Heat enveloped me, along with the intoxicating scent of his skin, his soap, his desire.

By principle, I wanted to protest, but instead, I met his hungry kisses with equal ferocity.

One of his hands clutched the back of my head, while the other circled my waist, catching me as I slipped on a river stone and pulling me against his hardness. My anger from earlier morphed into molten heat, and I melted into him, my soft curves meeting the strong contours of his body like we were meant to fit together.

I'd never been with a man before, yet somehow, my body knew exactly how to respond to his touch. I trembled with need, but…but this was wrong.

I tore my mouth free and sucked in a breath. "Cassius."

His kisses traced along my neck, leaving a delicious trail of gooseflesh in their wake. I felt alive, vibrating with energy and delirious desire. Gods, I wanted him so badly it hurt, but I couldn't. I didn't dare. He was to become king of the Bloodvale, and I was part of the resistance, sworn to help overthrow him and his kind. We had no future. It was madness.

"Cassius, stop."

The prince broke off the kiss, concern in his eyes. "What is it?"

My heart raced, desire still a liquid fire in my veins. "We can't do this. I…I can't do this with you."

Frustration flickered, and the passion I'd seen in his face vanished, replaced by a mask of cold stone. He stepped back. "I will do nothing against your will, no matter how much I want it."

I stared at him. He was different than the other immortals. They were self-absorbed vipers who served only themselves, but Cassius had honor and a sense of duty. I saw it in the way he talked about his duty to the crown and the respect that he showed me. Why couldn't he impart the same respect and courtesy to the rest of the kingdom?

He slipped away from me, his posture stiff and formal. "I apologize if I was too forward or took liberties you did not want."

"I do want you to take them," I said around the lump that had formed in my throat. "I mean, I did, but…" For once, I was at a loss for words. "We should get back to the castle."

He measured me for a beat, his expression unreadable. "Of course."

I looked away, disappointment searing a hole through me as I donned my socks and boots. Gods, I wanted him.

Cassius's gaze burned into me as I picked my way back to shore. When I looked up, one of the water-rounded boulders I'd stepped on rolled under my weight, and I tilted sideways. His arms were suddenly around me, lifting me like I weighed nothing as he carried me to the waiting horses. His eyes fell to my lips for a heartbeat before he gently set me down beside Chastity. "I don't understand you."

A vein of hope threaded through me. "How so?"

"You make me feel things I haven't felt in a long time. I've trained myself mercilessly to control my emotions, but around you…" His jaw clenched. "It is as difficult as anything I've had to do."

A fist tightened around my heart. "I've been told that I have a way of provoking people."

The ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. " Provoking would be an understatement. You're like a tiny cinder that sets the forest ablaze."

Downplaying the warmth that spread through me at his words, I swung up into Chastity's saddle. "That might be the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me. I hope I don't trouble you too much."

He mounted Tenebris in a fluid motion, then glanced over at me with a glint in his eyes. "You trouble me immensely, but for reasons you wouldn't understand."

I wanted to press him on what those reasons were, but he was already heading into the forest.

An hour later, we were back at the stables. Relief washed over me when he left the horses to my care. I watched him walk away, once again tall and cold and completely iron. There was more to him beneath that frosty exterior. I knew that now for certain.

My head and heart were still spinning over everything that had happened. The words we'd had. The passionate kiss we'd shared.

Fates, I'd accused him of being a bad ruler.

I brushed Tenebris's coat more vigorously than necessary.

Did I even know what I wanted anymore? I was a spy. He was my enemy. A vampire. A bloodsucker. But the term felt wrong on him now. He was different, and the thought conjured fear and something even more treacherous in my heart—hope.

If he could care about what happened to me or what I wanted, perhaps he could see the value in my people.

Siggy had said, When a whisperer asks, the world will rise up and respond .

Maybe the world wouldn't listen, but might he?

It was preposterous. A desperate fabrication to justify my growing feelings for him. A delusion. He'd said he couldn't change things. I should take him at his word.

Cloak pulled around me, I wove among the servants bustling through the castle. There was a storm of activity—everyone frantically polishing windows, scrubbing the floors, setting out flowers to get ready for the ball. It was only five days away.

The reality of my situation crashed down on me. I couldn't let myself get close to Cassius. Whatever had happened between us, in a matter of days, the prince would choose a bride.

What would that make me? His mistress? A dalliance? The other woman?

I frowned. He'd probably put me out of his mind. He certainly wouldn't listen. That was a fool's dream.

I couldn't lose sight of my true purpose. I had to find the mages, if they existed at all. If anyone had the power to change things, it would be them. With their strength, my people might finally have a fighting chance.