22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I reached Cerithia’s castle a few days later. I steadied myself before I stepped through the gate, knowing that someone would be waiting for me. This couldn’t be put off forever. Cassius’ words tortured me. His face had haunted me the entire trip back to this gods-forsaken place.

My clothes were torn and soaked with sweat, and I felt like I could pass out from exhaustion. My bed sounded like heaven if I could get there undetected.

When I stepped through the gate, no one came for me. My chest filled with anxious tension. I would not get away with this. I had been gone for days. I walked into the castle and was met with an eerie silence. I scanned my surroundings looking for anything out of place, but there was nothing. No one lurked around corners or in the dark. There were no guards standing in the hallways.

I hurried down the stairs to my room. Once there, I shut the door and locked it. A deep breath escaped me, and with it my fear. Only for it to return two-fold.

“You’ve been gone an awfully long time, darling.” Jesper was lying in my bed when I turned.

“Jesper,” I acknowledged him but said nothing else.

His blue eyes cascaded over my filthy clothes, then over my sweaty face. Did he know where I had gone or who I had seen? How could he know? Something in the way he was so calm let me know that he knew. A shiver of fear ran up my spine.

“Where were you?”

“I had to see Exile for myself. I had to see they weren’t there or see if I could find their bodies,” I muttered as fear swirled in my stomach. He stood up and took a small step toward me. I backed up until I was pressed into the door. My dagger was in my boot, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to it before Jesper got to me.

“You didn’t believe me,” he frowned.

“I couldn’t believe it unless I saw it. They were my family for the last seven years.”

He nodded slowly as he looked over at me. Jesper’s eyes paused on my wrists to make sure my barbs were still in place.

“You shouldn’t have left, but I understand your curiosity.”

My eyes looked at him. He was being too agreeable. Why wasn’t he beating me into oblivion? This was almost worse. He was toying with me. Jesper reached out and swiped the sweaty hair from my forehead. I shook at the small touch. My breath came out shaky, giving away my worry.

“I gave you a chance to tell me, yet you weren’t completely honest,” he tisked.

“I—” The back of his hand cut off my words. His hand wrapped around my throat and slammed me back so roughly that I thought he would crack my skull open on the wooden door. I held onto his forearm, trying to release some of the pressure from my throat. I even reached towards his face and scratched deep grooves into his flesh, but it did nothing to stop him. Jesper’s handsome face had contorted into a hideous monster filled with jealousy and rage. My fingers scratched and clawed at him more in hopes he would drop me. Nothing I did seemed to faze him, though. My fire magic surged forward, but couldn’t break free of the magic barbs. Fear laced every fiber of my body as I thrashed around, desperate to run straight back to Crimson if I needed to.

“Crimson,” he hissed. “You went to see him. Even after all the punishment from last time.” He tossed me into my two-drawer dresser, and it shattered under my body. I cried out as the pain shot through me. Something sharp stabbed into my leg, blood spewing from the wound as my adrenaline pumped through me.

“It wasn’t like that!” I yelled, but his fists rained down on me without mercy.

“I don’t care!”

He pulled something from his pocket, and when I saw it was rope, I tried to crawl away. But he gripped my ankle and pulled me back. He tied my hands easily to the bedpost above my head as I sat on the floor.

Then he pulled out his knife.

I screamed for him to not do it, but that only made him smile. Terror ran through me and seized any ability I had to fight. I closed my eyes tightly and screamed to both the heavens above and hell below to save me.

Cassius, please come for me. I begged silently. Cassius, please save me—take me away from the pain. Jesper’s knife carved into the inside of my thigh, and then he moved to the inside of my forearm. He took his time again, and when he was done, I was barely conscious. I closed my eyes and drifted into darkness, but I was awakened by a bucket of hot water.

I bellowed out in pain as the heat scorched my cuts. Then another bucket hit them, and I couldn’t even cry anymore. As I lay on the floor, I wondered if this would be my end. Sometime later, he stopped and left the room after saying something that I could not comprehend in my state. I stared at the cracked ceiling of my room, and my confused mind started counting the nails before darkness beckoned me into it.

★★?★★

My Cerithia uniform was dirty and torn from fighting someone in the Crimson army. His sword technique was impeccable, and I was having a hard time deflecting the blows. We were ambushed in the woods by Crimson’s guard. My eyes had immediately scanned the red uniforms, looking for his black one. I hadn’t seen it.

We had been battling for nearly an hour. The sun had retreated behind the mountains, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Our numbers were dwindling, but so were theirs. I grabbed the dagger from my boot when his last blow knocked me to the ground. I turned quickly and sank my blade into his chest. His dark eyes stared at me, and his red hair whipped in the breeze as he fell to the forest floor.

Fuck.

I stood and turned, stopping when I saw that Cassius stood directly behind me, holding my viper-handled dagger only inches from my heart. Shit. I had thrown it at someone earlier and had not yet had the chance to retrieve it.

“Point,” he whispered, before he handed me my dagger. “I do believe that is five points, so I win.”

“I never agreed to five points being the winning number,” I growled. “You ambushed us.”

“No, this is not my guard,” he sighed. “Illusion magic,” he whispered as I looked back out and saw the dead men wearing gray uniforms. Kizar guards. Why had they attacked us? I turned back to Cassius, who had a mischievous glint to his smile.

“You owe me a surprise.” His eyes twinkled with delight.

“I owe you fucking nothing,” I scoffed. I started turning to leave to help the few men left fighting. He grabbed my hand and turned me back.

“I love it when you pretend to hate me, little viper; it only makes this more fun for me.”

“Who said I was pretending?” I retorted.

He threw his handsome face toward the darkened sky and laughed loudly. My mind held onto that sound so I could never forget it. Cassius’ laughter was my new favorite noise.

“I look forward to my prize.” His pretty golden eyes gleamed.

“Well, you’ll be waiting forever. The hot spring was as far as you’ll ever get with me.”

He frowned for only a moment.

“You don’t have to keep running from this, princess.” He smiled when I pointed my dagger at him. “I think you enjoy this as much as I do.”

“You are my enemy,” I reminded him and myself. My heart was racing so rapidly in my chest that I worried he could hear it.

“An enemy that you kissed twice.” His eyes gleamed brightly. He reminded me every time we saw each other. Which seemed to happen often these days, like he was following me. Then he started this stupid game of how many times we could have killed each other. I did like this game, but I wouldn’t admit it. I had panicked in the hot spring when he touched me, and I liked it too much, so I got out and ran before anything could happen. But I would be lying if I said that kiss, and the way his body felt against me didn’t haunt my mind.

“Then I left because it was a mistake,” I lied.

His eyes looked over my face, then smiled, like he knew I was a damn liar. He leaned forward.

“Something that feels that fucking good isn’t a mistake, little viper. It’s a divine intervention written in the stars above.”

His words made me blush, even though he had been flirting with me for months. Cassius’ eyes softened as he looked at me. His fingers came up and gently brushed my wild curls from my face.

“Blushing for me, Thea?”

I looked over my shoulder at my men. They had finished off the Kizar guards and were doing a walk-through. They didn’t seem to see me behind the tree yet, but they would quickly. When I turned back to Cassius, he had moved closer. His chest was nearly flush with mine, but I could only focus on how handsome he was when he looked at me like that, like he really did care about me. My body swayed toward him ever so slightly, like it was begging for his touch without my permission.

“I look forward to whatever my surprise will be.”

“You’ll be waiting forever.”

“I’d wait forever if you made me,” he said, his voice soft, as if it were a true promise he was making.

I turned and walked away from him before I did something stupid, like kiss him again. I looked over my shoulder as he watched me walk away before turning and disappearing into the trees behind him. I stared at the spot and felt that stupid heart of mine wish he had stayed.

★★?★★

I ignored the feeling in my chest every time I thought about him for three days. It only made the feeling worse, though. It was like Cassius was calling to something deep inside me that I couldn’t even see—something only he could. No form of distraction had worked. Even touching myself felt lackluster. Cassius was the only one who could satisfy this need I had.

I owed him a prize; it made me smile. I stared at myself in the reflection of the water. That is why I was doing this, I told myself.

A prize for almost killing me the most. It didn’t mean anything. I could convince myself of this lie. I stared through the trees and watched his guard’s camp. He hadn’t been that far from my camp, so it took me no time to find it. It was like he wanted me to be able to find him. I had watched him disappear into a large black tent and not emerge again. That had been an hour ago. I had been trying to talk myself out of this since then. I was nervous, so much so that my palms were sweaty.

I should be cold with the little clothing I had on under my button-up cloak. I had left my hair down but slipped the oversized hood on. His men were on patrol, but they disappeared from sight, and I knew it was now or never. I hurried from the tree line and straight into his tent. I stared at the large bed he had there. He was sleeping on his back with no shirt, and my eyes instantly drifted over his tattooed skin.

My heart pounded in anticipation as I moved slightly closer to the bed. I could stab him right now, which would be a million points because I had infiltrated his tent. I shook my head and took one more step forward, but suddenly he sprang from the bed and jumped at me. He gripped me and pinned me to the bed with a dagger to my throat.

“Ok, I’ll leave.” I tried to tease him, but he let go of me instantly and stood up.

“Little viper?” He looked around like he wasn’t sure if this was real life or a dream. “You snuck into my tent.” His voice held a note of awe in it, which made me smile.

“I could have killed you four times over. I should get double the points for that.” The nervousness I was feeling made my voice waver slightly. Cassius’ eyes drifted over me, and I felt my body tremble at his gaze.

Realization set in his eyes, making them glow in the darkness of his tent.

“Is this my prize?”

I swallowed hard and nodded, too scared to say anything. I had never seduced a man. Not like this. I had gotten a few kisses, yes. Nothing more, ever. I stood up as he sat on the edge of his bed, watching me. Slowly, I unbuttoned my cloak. On the last button, I took a deep breath as his golden eyes swirled with blackness. Here goes nothing. I let it fall open.

A loud hum of approval filled the tent when he saw my lack of clothing. I slid the cloak off and let it pool at my feet. Cassius’ eyes never left me. He watched every movement like he needed it to breathe.

I took a small step forward. He still hadn’t said anything, and I had never done this. Did I misread this? Maybe he didn’t actually want me in this way. Maybe it was just harmless flirting for him. Heat covered my cheeks as doubt crept in, making my chest tight with worry.

“I should go,” I whispered and grabbed my cloak.

“I don’t think so, my love,” he ground through clenched teeth as he picked me up and hauled me to the bed. I yelped and dropped my cloak.

He sat on the edge with me straddling his lap. I could feel how much he liked this when his hard length pressed against me. His hands ran over my bare back and hips. I didn’t know what men thought was attractive. Every part of me was filled out and curved. I had been worried that he wouldn’t like what he saw, but his eyes drifted over me and turned black. His big hands squeezed the flesh of my ass as he pulled me tightly against him.

“Kiss me,” he demanded.

I did so without hesitation. My lips parted for his tongue as it pushed into mine. My hands ran over the stubble on his chin before running through his dark, chaotic hair. He hummed in approval when my hips moved at their own pace, tearing his mouth from mine so he could kiss down my neck. His stubble scraped against my sensitive skin, leaving red marks.

I sighed heavily into the silent tent when his tongue ran over my nipple before sucking it into his hot mouth. His teeth and tongue teased it so perfectly before moving to the other.

“Cassius,” I said with a plea.

“Does my little viper like this?” he purred as his hands grabbed my breasts and he brought his mouth back down to tease them. My hips rolled faster against him, and he finally grabbed me, pausing my movements.

“Gods above, give me a minute,” he groaned. “You’re killing me.”

My cheeks flushed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

His face snapped up to mine with an odd look.

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, it feels too good, and I need a minute to collect myself,” he reassured me softly, but his eyes bounced between mine.

“Oh.” I felt my cheeks redden even more. Gods, I was going to mess this up.

Something flicked over his face as he turned us over and laid me on my back. His mouth found mine as his hand slid down my body. He didn’t bother pulling off my underwear. He shredded them with little effort. My hips bucked up when his fingers slid over me.

“So wet for me already," he said, eyes gleaming.

I swallowed hard as his fingers teased me softly before sinking deep into me.

“Fuck,” I moaned into the air.

“You look so pretty like this, my love.”

His fingers moved slowly, his thumb rubbing me so perfectly that I could feel a weird sensation building up inside of me. It felt like I was climbing and climbing, just waiting for the right moment to free fall from high above. I realized I was making whimpering noises and shut my mouth. His fingers stopped as soon as I did, though. My eyes flew open and I glared at him.

“Don’t you dare hide those noises from me, Thea. Those are mine, and I want to hear every fucking one of them fall from that pretty mouth of yours.”

I nodded, and his fingers moved again, making me moan with pleasure.

“Good girl,” he hummed in approval at my noises. At this point, I didn’t even care if anyone else heard me. The climbing sensation kept on rising until an orgasm tore through me at his praise. I called out his name as his fingers slowed down their movements to prolong my waves of pleasure. My arms crushed him against me as my hips rolled into his fingers to ride out my orgasm for as long as I could.

“Fucking beautiful,” he growled as his lips crushed mine. He removed his fingers and crawled over me, then nestled between my thighs, giving me soft kisses for a moment until I was able to open my eyes again. His handsome face looked at me like I hung the moon and stars.

“Are you sure about this?” he whispered softly, stroking me in reassurance.

“More than anything.” Nothing had ever felt so right in my life. Everything about Cassius made me feel safe.

He lined his hips with mine and kissed me hard.

“It’s going to hurt at first.”

He knew I had never done this before. And when I thought he would slowly sink into me, he did the opposite. Cassius thrust his hips so quickly that I cried into his neck as he shredded through my virginity. He didn’t move as I adjusted to him. His lips pressed soft kisses on my neck, my lips, my jaw. He was distracting me from the sharp pain I was feeling.

He stayed still for a minute, then slowly lifted himself up on his hands, looking down at me with lust in his eyes. He then gave me a soft kiss before laying all his weight on me. I moved my hips, testing out how it would feel now. The pain had faded and, in its wake, left nothing but pleasure when I rocked my hips against his. Cassius took the hint when I started moving, and his pace increased into strong strokes. How had I never had the urge to see what sex was all about? No wonder everyone was so preoccupied with it.

“Fuck,” he whispered so softly that I nearly missed it.

His rough hand grabbed my thigh and adjusted it so I was wrapped around his hips. His fingers squeezed my flesh so tightly that I hoped it left bruises.

“Cassius,” I pleaded, but I wasn’t sure what for. I needed more, I needed less, and I needed to be somehow closer to him. His fingers grabbed my jaw tightly and forced me to look up at him. His eyes were black as night, beautiful and haunting.

“When you cum, don’t you dare hold back. I’ve dreamt about hearing your moans for years, Thea. I want to hear them all. I want to hear what I do to you.”

My eyes closed tightly as his words soaked deep into my bones and clawed out of me through waves of pleasure. A deep groan left my throat as soon as I felt the start of my orgasm racing through my veins. My hands fisted the blankets below me as if they would help me not fall into bliss.

“Yes,” Cassius ground out as unintelligible noises fell from me. His hips picked up tempo as they slammed into me. His breathing became shallow and short. I was a whimpering mess below him as his own release roared through him.

He collapsed on top of me and held me tightly. Wetness pooled in my eyes, and I wasn’t sure why. I wasn’t sad. I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and happiness. Cassius rolled off me, and I turned my face away from him so he wouldn’t see the emotions I was having for no reason.

“My love?” He questioned me as I turned my head. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

I stared at the cloak on the ground. Well, I guess this is the part when I get up and leave. I slid off the bed and grabbed the cloak, slipping it on.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked, almost in panic.

“Leaving.” I looked over my shoulder at him. “We both got what we needed.”

Anger covered his face.

“You think that I was chasing you just to fuck you and send you away less than a minute later?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Is that all you wanted from me?”

I had turned so I could face him. The harsh lines of his face softened when he saw the worry all over my face. I didn’t know how to do any of this. Everyone always tossed me aside after they got what they needed or wanted from me. I wouldn’t blame him if he did the same thing. He stood up quickly and grabbed my face so he could give me a deep kiss.

His hands slid the cloak off my shoulders, and he lifted me effortlessly off the ground before setting me under the blanket on his bed. He crawled in next to me, rubbing his hands over my hips and thighs.

“Now that I know how fucking good we are together, little viper, I don’t think I can ever let you go.” He gave me a lazy smile.

“It couldn’t have been that great for you. I don’t have any experience.” I looked over his features to see if a flicker of agreement would pass over them, but nothing did. Cassius’ fingers stopped rubbing my naked skin.

“You have no idea how feral it makes me to know that I’m the only one that’s done this with you, the only one who knows what you sound like when you cum, the only one who knows what you feel like. Nothing ever has or ever will compare to how good you feel. No one could ever hold a candle to you, Thea.” He stared into my eyes. “Tonight was better than anything I could have ever imagined, and I have imagined all the things I’ve wanted to do to you for years.”

I knew he meant it.

“I have not even looked in the direction of another woman since I first laid eyes on you, and I don’t plan to ever look anywhere else but right here.”