13. Chapter 13

Two days had passed since I had given in to Cassius, and I hadn't seen him once. He had to be avoiding me, or at least that's what my brain had convinced me of.

Unfortunately, I had bigger things to worry about. Like who the hell was pounding on my door so violently? My first thoughts were of Cassius, but I dismissed that. He would've probably barged in here. I got up from my bed and dressed quickly as the relentless pounding continued. When I ripped open my door, the Princess stood there, frightened.

"Prin–"

"Somethings wrong," she spoke frantically.

"What do you mean?" I asked, following her frantic steps towards the main doors of the castle.

"Cassius went on a mission for Father. Something about scouting Kizar and Cerithia, but he hasn't returned yet."

"Well, maybe he just decided to stay," I suggested.

"No." She turned to me with wide eyes and paled skin. "You don't understand. One of the men rode back on Cassius's horse, talking about an attack. We don't know if the rest are alive or dead."

Desperation bloomed in my chest. Cassius couldn't be dead. He was fine. He had shadow magic, for fuck's sake.

My eyes closed tightly as something tried to claw its way out of the depths of my mind, but as usual, it failed to reveal itself. The urgency to go to him consumed me. Nothing else mattered at this moment except finding him.

"Where's your father?"

"He's outside." She continued to walk but paused and turned to me. "The guard that came back died from his wounds. If anyone can save Cassius, it's you."

I wanted to question why she was so confident that I could save him or would even want to, but my mind kept wandering to Cassius and visions of him hurt or dead plagued me. The dark magic inside of me was expanding with the overwhelming feelings. I barely knew this man, so why did I care so much?

When we stepped out of the castle doors, the castle grounds were being overrun by Crimson guards. Guardsmen were lining up armed with weapons and the king frantically spoke to Lavtan. My eyes scanned the line of guards for their Captain out of habit, but I stopped myself when I realized how ridiculous that was.

Lavtan and the king turned to us both at the same time. Relief was clear on the king's face when he saw his daughter but then it turned to worry.

"Father?" she asked.

The king was clearly trying to remain as calm as possible in the face of crisis, but he couldn't quite conceal his frantic emotions when he realized what his daughter had done. "Verenna, you told Thea?"

"She is our best chance of getting Cassius back," Verenna implored.

"No," Lavtan argued. "This is none of her business." All the clanking and movements from the guards stopped at Lavtan's words. His eyes narrowed on me. Rage warred inside of me at his statement, but I didn't let it consume me like I normally would have.

"Lavtan, we both know that is far from the truth." The king towered his nearly six-foot three frame over Lavtan, who was shorter than me. While the king may not have been happy with his words, they held some truth. It wasn't my business, but still, no one would stop me. Stepping forward, I reached for a weapon from a guard, but Lavtan grabbed my arm.

"What are you doing?" Lavtan scoffed. "You have the trials to worry about."

I ripped my arm from Lavtan's grip and turned to the king. "Will I miss a trial if I go and help?"

The king"s eyes filled with a blend of thankfulness and pride. Cassius needed help and I could be the difference between him being saved or killed.

If he wasn't already dead. My heart sank at the thought of him being gone, and the feeling of dread consumed me no matter how much I tried to stop it. I could feel my eyes shifting color under the overwhelming feelings I was having.

I barely knew the man, and I knew it was ridiculous, but I would not take no for an answer even if it came from the king. I had to go to Cassius.

"I will suspend the trials until you both are back." Pausing for a long moment, he spoke again. "Thank you, Thea. You didn't have to offer, but I'm so thankful you did."

"Here." One of the men handed me the reins of a black horse, and I recognized it as Cassius'. "His name is Onyx."

"Do what you must to bring him back, Thea," the king implored, tucking the Princess to his side.

I nodded and followed the group of men on horseback heading into the forest. My heart pounded with worry and panic. There was no denying the pull I had to Cassius from the moment I saw him, and he definitely acted the same at times. Maybe it was because he had been in my dreams for years that caused me to have an unhealthy attachment to him.

He was kind of my friend. A friend that devoured me like I was dinner, but a friend, nonetheless. I could be worried about a friend without it being more than that.

There were at least thirty guardsmen in our group. Not trusting them, I rode towards the front so I could keep a lookout for anything, calling on the habits I had built up in Exile to keep me safe. The bow and arrows I grabbed made me confident that I could take out any possible threats. My only concern was how Cassius and the rest of the men were.

We had been riding through the forest for quite some time when the leader slowed down. The forest ahead of us was so thick that the sunshine hardly penetrated the treetops. No animals could be heard, the temperature dropped, and the eerie feeling felt inescapable. Thank the Gods I had thought to grab my cloak when Verenna came to me. My body shivered with the temperature drop and I pulled my cloak tightly around me.

The horses could only make it through the trees in a singular line because the trail was small and overgrown with vines and plants.

My eyes scanned around us in the dark. There wasn"t much to see through the thick trees. I wondered how much longer we would have to ride when suddenly the lead guardsman halted. He turned to us to say something but an arrow splitting his throat silenced whatever he was going to say.

The men instantly broke into battle formation at the attack. Jumping off the horse I disappeared into the thick woods.

As I took cover, men of different colored uniforms emerged from the woods and launched their attack on the Crimson guards. I couldn't stay here and help them. I needed to find Cassius.

Dark blue flames caught my attention. The Wisp waited for me to come towards her before she moved. We snuck far around them battling and walked deeper into the forest where they had come from. It wasn't long before we came to the clearing where more uniformed men were stationed. The light from a small lantern allowed me to see at least six of them, but I figured there could be more.

A tall man with dark skin stood off to the side laughing with another man. I tried to see what they found so funny, but the man was so big that he blocked my view. Silently, I crept in the darkness of the woods.

Once I skirted in the shadows towards the man, I saw them. Cassius and three others were tied up on the ground, alive thankfully. They sat in a circle with their backs together, their hands and ankles bound. The bonds looked like a barbed metal which I had not seen before, but likely powerful because Cassius wasn't wielding his shadows. The Wisp floated near him, her color now black with anger. I couldn't tell if they were alright, but there was blood on the white rags tied to their mouths.

"We need to be ready. The fighting has died down and they might be coming for them," one of the guards standing opposite the meadow whispered.

"Let them come. They can't cross the barrier we have," the man with dark skin boasted.

He had a protection barrier around them. Shit.

I hoped that the same thing that allowed me to cross the boundary from Exile would allow me to pass through this one, too. I guess I was about to find out. I waited for a moment when they were distracted before making my move.

"Are you sure it will hold?" one of the men questioned.

"Of course. Besides we have the King's Captain of the Guard, and we can negotiate a great deal for him. Or we can kill him," he chuckled. "I haven't quite decided what sounds better."

My eyes shifted to Cassius and the guards. They all moved slightly, and a sigh of relief left me. Cassius"s eyes looked around, stopping where I stood. Could he see me? He stared blankly, but he gave me no indication that he saw me.

The men stomping through the woods had me pausing to watch what these grey-uniformed guards would do. Most of the group I came with stood at the edge of the barrier with weapons drawn. I watched them step forward only to be stopped by an invisible shield. The men inside the barrier laughed.

"Pathetic," one of them muttered.

"Let's keep them waiting a little longer, shall we?"

This was my moment. To my great relief, crossing didn't hurt like I thought it would. Cassius's eyes immediately found mine and he shook his head no, but it was too late. I was here and I wasn't leaving without him.

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here. How did you get through?" the man in control of the barrier asked.

"Give me the Crimson guards, and I'll let you all go."

"A woman?" The man sounded surprised. "I think you'll tell me how you crossed the barrier. Then I'll kill you quickly."

"Give them to me, now." Adrenaline pumped so fast through me that my body trembled. When they laughed, my darkness whispered into my mind to kill them. It had hoped they wanted to fight.

"Drop the bow on the ground."

I allowed the bow to hit the ground, a plan quickly forming in my mind.

"Grab her," the man demanded.

"It's just a woman. She isn't a threat so why are we wasting our time?" someone argued. The man shot him a hard look that silenced him.

A man about my height and slightly bigger than me approached. When he reached for me, I lunged, kicking the back of his knees and pulling his dagger out of the sheath on his hip. I pressed the blade hard into his throat.

"I'll kill him," I threatened. "Last chance to give me the men."

The man in charge looked at me and then the man in front of me before laughing hysterically. His blue eyes found mine.

"Then kill him. You will still have five others to overtake."

Smiling, I slid the blade through the man"s throat and shoved him to the ground. The men gasped in surprise. It only took a moment before they recovered their wits, and the second one charged with his sword, but I had anticipated it. Grabbing the dead man's sword, I blocked the high attack and kicked the man backward. The next man came and grabbed me from behind.

I used my body weight as leverage and pushed backward, making us both tumble to the ground. His body cushioned my fall. Rolling off him, I stabbed him with the sword. I heard the next man coming and grabbing my bow and arrow. When I turned, he had thrown a dagger, and it sank deep into my thigh. Adrenaline pumped through me so hard that I didn't feel the wound at first. I let my string go and my arrow buried itself into the eye of the dagger thrower. Three down and three to go.

I watched to see who would be next. The tall man stood back and watched me with curious eyes. The next man was more cautious as I lifted my bow. Only he wasn't my intended target for this one.

Shifting my bow at the last second, I shot at the man in charge. He moved out of the way, but the arrow had lodged itself in his arm. One of the men tackled me to the ground. My bow snapped in half as it fell from my hands. He punched me several times in the face before grabbing the dagger in my thigh and twisting it. A loud painful scream ripped through my throat.

It was the pain that brought forth my fire magic without permission. Focusing on the man holding me down I focused on his chest. He stopped immediately and tried breathing, but my fire had already started burning him from the inside out. I smiled as he gazed at me. Pushing him off me with little effort, I stood.

"Your magic works inside the barrier?" The tall man"s body tensed at the realization.

Glaring at him, I took a step forward. My vision pulsed with a red haze as my magic hummed through me. I lifted my hands and saw small black flames moving across my skin. He smiled back at me before glancing at the men tied up. Looking back at me he gave me a satisfied smug smile.

"Why would a woman who is not a member of the king's guard show up here to fight?" He paced slowly back and forth in thought. "Perhaps one of the prisoners is important to you?"

I made sure not to look at Cassius and kept my face as emotionless as possible. When I didn't give anything away, he chuckled.

"Which one are you here for?"

My flames burned higher in my hands and the man watched me like I was the most impressive thing he had ever seen.

"Answer me or I'll kill them all with one look."

I wondered if the man had the ability to kill them all before I could protect them. My eyes glanced at Cassius who was staring at me with something I couldn't read. He was struggling against his ropes, but it wasn't helping him be freed.

"Ah, the Captain then?"

The man turned his focus to Cassius, who immediately began screaming. His muffled yells were all I needed to shoot fire in the man's direction. He dodged it easily, but it was only a distraction to shield Cassius. My darkness surged forward as it searched around me for magic I could pull from. It pulsed violently telling me to take and kill. I had only done this a few times. I could feel the barrier magic and pulled it into me focusing on Cassius. The shield I had made surrounded him and the other guards sitting next to him on the ground, but no one else would know what I had done.

"All this trouble for the King's Captain. He must be good in the sack, huh?"

He was trying to get a rise out of me, but it wouldn't work. There was nothing more that could make me feel angrier or more possessive of Cassius. He glanced at him, readying to launch his next unseen attack.

Only this time nothing happened, and he looked around, bewildered. My lips formed a sneer when he finally turned his attention back to me.

"How did you do that?"

My stance widened as I grabbed the dagger from my thigh, ripping it out quickly, and flicked it at the only other man in here. It landed in his heart before anyone could process what was happening. When he dropped to the floor dead the tall man gawked at me.

"More men will come," he threatened.

"Then I'll kill them too." I was out of weapons, but he didn't need to know that.

"All for one man?" he scoffed. "That's a weakness. That is something that will get you killed."

My eyes shifted to Cassius, who watched me with pleading eyes. He was my weakness, and it made no sense, but it didn't make it any less true.

"Stupid girl. Would he have done the same for you?" Would he? I doubted it. My mind faltered for a moment and that was all the opening he needed to knock me back with his magic. I landed on the ground with a grunt. There was no time to process the pain because the man had me by the hair lifting me with little effort.

I jabbed my fingers into his eyes and he dropped me immediately. I kicked him with all the force I could muster and made him tumble back, but he caught himself before falling over completely. He charged at me and tackled us to the ground. He was strong, but I was definitely faster. I wiggled my way out of the hold he tried to put me in. My legs wrapped around his neck as he leaned over me, holding him where he was. I punched and punched at him. He grabbed my thigh wound and squeezed it.

"Fuck!" My thighs loosened their hold on him. He grabbed me by the neck and slammed me into the ground over and over.

"You used my magic to shield them," he muttered. "How did you do that?"

Turning my head to the side, I revealed my elite magic mark. His eyes found mine.

"That is more than elite magic." His hand squeezed my neck tighter, and I couldn't breathe. My legs thrashed around, trying to desperately get away. Cassius was trying to yell through his gag somewhere behind the man.

The man stared at me, and a look of understanding passed over his features. "My Gods, it's you. You're the woman from the prophets telling."

Confusion filled me as his eyes reflected terror. His hands squeezed harder making my eyes flutter closed.

"I must rid our realm of your evil."

When I opened my eyes my fire magic exploded without permission. The man on top of me was burning. He released me and rolled in the dirt, attempting to douse the flames. I knew his screams would haunt me, but I pulled myself up on shaky legs and glared down at him. He had stopped rolling around, giving in to his inevitable fate.

The smell of burnt clothing and skin made my stomach churn. As soon as his eyes turned vacant the barrier keeping the king's guard out vanished and the men immediately rushed to free the guards. I hurried over to Cassius and fell to my knees. I struggled to get the metal barbs off of him without ripping his skin more. Once he had a hand free, he ripped the gag from his mouth.

"What the fuck were thinking? He could have killed you!"

"That's a weird way to say thank you, but you're welcome." Puffy breaths escaped me. Cassius pulled me to him in a tight hug and I clung to him as he stood with me, lifting me effortlessly. My vision was foggy at best. Using so much magic had drained me.

"I got you, Little Viper," he whispered.

"There's men coming towards us!" one of the guards yelled.

"I need you to stay awake, Thea. We might need your magic to get us out of here." He lifted me up onto his horse before climbing on. He turned me, so I was facing him in the saddle, straddling his lap. Our faces were mere inches apart. His arms slipped around me so he could grab the reins. I slipped my arms around him to hang on.

"We need you to watch behind us and use your magic to repel the enemy if they get too close."

I nodded, and we took off on horseback. I watched over Cassius's shoulder, and before long, men dressed in gray uniforms burst through the tree line on horses. Cassius's arms wrapped around me tighter as he urged the horse to go faster. A flame appeared in my hand when I saw them ready their arrows. As soon as they launched them at us, I used everything I could muster to send a shield of fire behind us. Most of the arrows incinerated in the fire, but a few snuck through. One of them headed straight for us but I reacted first. Quickly, I pushed Cassius backward, so he was out of the line with the arrow"s attack. The arrow shot into my shoulder instead of his back.

"Fuck!" I screamed. Blood poured from the wound.

He sat back up on the horse and urged it to go faster and faster. My breath caught as I ripped the arrow from my shoulder. The men in grey uniforms stopped as the forest thinned out, almost like they weren't allowed to follow us onto the Crimson Kingdom's territory. The wound hurt with every bump we hit.

"Damn it, Thea. Why did you do that?" he snapped.

"It would have killed you!"

His face was angry as he pulled me into his chest and held me tightly for the rest of the ride. I buried my face into the crook of his neck and allowed the exhaustion to take over.

Sybil's healing magic couldn't be found inside my chest. But I had nothing to pull from. Pain radiated through my entire body. Flashes of bright orange light followed us, and I knew it was a Wisp, but not the one that was always with me. Then I noticed several others following closely. Maybe I had lost too much blood and was dying? Why could I see these colorful flames that floated around and no one else could? The castle bell chimed as we arrived, indicating our arrival.

All of the contestants and the royal family were outside the castle when we got back, staring in awe when we rode in. Breathing in Cassius's familiar rain and forest scent helped distract me from the pain.

"Heal yourself," Cassius demanded.

"I can't I used all my magic up," I whispered. "Why are you so angry with me?" Tears pricked my eyes at how he acted towards me. I risked everything for him.

He didn't answer. When the horse stopped, he handed me down to Nev and Haden. Cassius turned to the king who was approaching quickly.

"Cassius, we"re so relieved you"re alright." He held out his arms like he wanted a hug. Cassius stood still and said nothing. The king's smile faltered when he saw me. I was beaten to hell and bleeding profusely from my shoulder.

"Cassius…" The king started, but Cassius didn't let him finish. Shadow tendrils twisted and crept along the ground in his anger. His eyes turned completely black with rage.

"How fucking dare you." Even at a whisper, his voice held so much authority and rage that I shrank away from it. "Out of everyone you could have sent, you sent her?"

"She volunteered," the king said beseechingly.

"Then you should have told her no. What part of ‘I don't want anything to do with her' do you not understand? Keep her away from me. That is all I asked of you. You could have sent anyone else in her place and it would have been a better choice."

I felt everyone's stares, and could sense their pity and embarrassment, as I stood there, bleeding on the castle grounds. I felt stupid and pathetic. I risked my life for him because an uncontrollable need to save him fueled me. Because I care about a man I barely know, but I thought he felt the same. Obviously, I was wrong.

The words spoken by the tall man earlier rang in my ears. Would he have done the same for you? No, I guess he wouldn't have. Embarrassment painted my cheeks. I must look so pathetic and weak in front of all of them.

"Cassius!" the king snapped. I'm sure others didn't speak to him in this manner, so there was no way he could allow Cassius to. His eyes shifted back to me, and Cassius's black eyes followed. I stood still, not sure what to say or do. Gods, he must be so uncomfortable, and he would have every right to. Just because he flirted and touched me didn't mean anything. The feelings of never doing anything right crept up. Cassius didn't speak. He looked more pissed off when he caught my eye. He sneered towards me before he climbed on Onyx and left.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I walked away. Again, he humiliated me in front of everyone. I had only just made it inside the door of the castle before Nev lifted me and carried me the rest of the way. Crying was the last thing I wanted to do. Especially in front of Cassius. I would not appear weaker than I already did. Nev sat me on the bed as Haden came into my room with warm water and rags.

As soon as Nev looked at me, I lost my battle to keep my tears at bay. Sobs wracked through me. Nev frowned and squeezed my hand tightly in reassurance.

"What a fucking prick," Haden scoffed. "Look at you. You did this to help him, and he threw a tantrum about it."

"Can you heal yourself?" Nev asked.

"No. I used too much magic. I'll have to try tomorrow."

He nodded but didn't leave. His hands grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and ripped it from where the arrow had entered.

"We need to get this cleaned up and then you can rest."

"I need to shower," I said, sitting up.

"While you do that, Haden and I will find some salve to help it from bleeding."

The hot water stung my wounds as I leaned my head against the side of the shower and closed my eyes tightly. How could he say all those things in front of everyone? My heart ached at the thought that he had requested for me not to be near him.

I wondered what I could have possibly done to make him hate me so much. He was the one always seeking me out and starting conversations with me. I numbly watched the dirt and blood circle the drain. When my legs started shaking with exhaustion I got out and dried off. Glancing at myself in the mirror, all I could focus on were the bruises and cuts covering my face. My body was already starting to form deep purple bruises. I looked away from my reflection, feeling completely disgusted with myself.

I pulled on an oversized shirt and crawled into bed. A moment later Nev and Haden walked in with a small container of paste Nev sat on the edge of the bed without a word and applied it with a surprising amount of gentleness. Nev finished with a bandage and wrap. I dressed the wound on my thigh without looking up at their worried eyes.

"Thank you," I said to both.

They gave me sheepish smiles full of pity as they left. I stood and locked my door, barricading it as best as I could. Then I laid down, facing the window and stared out at the stars, wishing I didn't have to ever see Cassius again.