29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

S tartled awake, I quickly opened my eyes. Something felt... off, and my senses were alert, but when I glanced around the dark room, it was empty. Sitting up slowly, I felt an overwhelming sense of urgency. At first, I thought it was the bond, but it wasn’t. There was something clinging in the air around me that I had never experienced before.

“Cassius?” I called out, thinking he was close by, but he didn’t appear. Glancing around, I couldn’t help the feeling of being watched. I stood and walked to the living room, but Cassius wasn’t there.

A movement in the tree line outside caught my attention. My body went rigid when I saw her, Della. She stood in the bright glow of her mist, which reminded me of the stars twinkling in the night sky. Her dark hair flowed around her, and she wore a black, dainty crown on top of her head. Her golden skin popped against the darkness of her dress, and even from this distance, I could see her smiling directly at me.

How could she see me so clearly? Then, like a whisper in the wind, I heard her feminine voice calling out to me in my mind.

Come. We need to talk.

I waited for my instincts to tell me not to follow her into the woods, but they didn’t. Instead, they told me to go. Still, I hesitated. However, when I saw Wisp with her, I knew I wouldn’t be harmed. So, I slipped on my clothing and boots before racing out the door. Quickly, I made my way out of the castle and to the woods. Della stood there smiling at me as I came to a quick stop.

“Thea.”

My brows furrowed as I stared at her.

“Where have you been?”

She shrugged her shoulders as her smile widened.

“Around.” Her evasive answer did nothing to clear up my confusion. Her pretty star-colored eyes shifted to my left, and I turned to see dozens of wisps near me.

“You can see them too?” I asked, confused.

“Of course. I gifted them to you.” Her voice was gentle, but I could feel her power pulsing from her. My head snapped to her.

“Wisp was a gift?” I spoke slowly, trying to understand her.

“Yes.” She tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to understand something about me. Her star-colored eyes drifted over me before shifting her attention to Wisp.

“Am I dead? Did I die in my sleep or something? Maybe this is a dream.”

“No, neither of those are true.” She stepped toward me. “I came because you keep calling to me in your mind. You are troubled.”

“Of course I’m troubled. You damned gods cursed my soul, and now I’m living half a shitty life because of it!” She didn’t shrink away from my anger or hurt. Instead, Della nodded in agreement, like it was true. “This isn’t fair. Why must I be punished? Why must I be the one to suffer? And why would the Goddess of Life come running to me if I called to her? What makes me so damn significant to you and the other gods? Don’t you all have better things to do with your time?”

This time her pretty face fell, and she frowned deeply.

“I came because I must. After Cassius killed you, he begged for you back. He even offered his own soul for yours. I had never seen a man so utterly...broken. My brother did not care about his pain and suffering, but I did. And his dismissal of your situation was my fault. I felt somehow responsible. So, I offered something that I had only ever offered once before: part of my soul. I come when you call because you are a part of me, Thea Valeska. Instead of taking your soul as I should have, I gave you part of mine so you could keep living.”

My mind was reeling at the information.

“It was all part of the deal, though. I would not take your soul, but to keep the balance after what I had done and break the curse that was incurred, Cassius had to prove that you truly loved him, that you would choose him without remembering who he was, and that you would choose him again—even after learning what he did to you. My brother is a sick and cruel god. He made it so that not only are your memories wiped away every time you die, he also ensured that each time you come back, you do not get as many of them back.”

Her anger was not directed toward me, but it was palpable. I could also feel her sadness like it was my own.

“Your magic is something incredible. Part of it, you were born with—a power none of us could ever fathom—but the other part of your power is from me. You used it to save Leer’s wife. You used it to save the sick King Sybrien. You use it to save others from death. It was not Sybil’s healing magic that saved them, as you thought. That magic is not strong enough to do what you did. It was my power of life that you used.”

I gave them life back because I had part of a goddess’ soul inside of me. My mind was trying to process everything Della was saying, but it was too much. I couldn’t even form a question to ask.

Her eyes shifted to Wisp, then shifted to the rest of them.

“They’re your guardians,” Della confessed.

My eyes followed hers to look at the wisps all changing to vibrant blues, which told me they were happy to protect me, a fact that made me smile. The wisp that always followed me turned dark green when I looked over her.

“These souls chose to stay here and offer you protection instead of moving on to the next life. They want to see you break the curse and regain your memories.”

“Why would they do that?” I asked.

“The wisps are souls of elite magic fae that have died.”

I froze at her declaration.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“I won’t tell you. That is not my secret to share,” she frowned. The faint glow from my skin made me lift my arms up to see the tattooed swirls glowing brightly on my skin.

“The wisp you formed the closest bond with is your soul.”

My eyes shifted to Wisp, my wisp. The one that was always lurking and helping me. The one who seemed to like Cassius more than myself. As I watched her green flames, I could see myself within the glow. My wispy form smiled at me. Cassius’ words crashed around me. Of course I see her. She is attached to my soul. My soul was following its other half, Cassius.

Emotions clogged my throat as I tried to breathe. A sense of sadness washed over me, but also a sense of love.

“Why would they stay behind for me? Why not go into the next life?” I asked.

“Because they care for you and want to see you break the curse. They will move on when you can.”

“But I finished the trials.”

She scoffed. Who would have known that having a goddess scoff at you could be so embarrassing? My cheeks burned brightly.

“Those trials are not the way to break your curse. The bloodstone will break your curse! You know this.” She tossed her arms in the air to exaggerate her point.

“But I touched it, and nothing happened.”

“The trials were to give you a reason to want to get the bloodstone, but you must give it to Cassius to break the curse.”

Irritation filled me at this stupid revelation. I had to hand Cassius a stupid fucking rock to break a curse he caused in the first place.

“So… My memories rely on handing a damn rock to Cassius. Am I understanding that correctly?”

The goddess tried to suppress her smile.

“Yes.”

“Why?” I sighed. “Why can’t I just tell him I love him or something?”

She shook her head.

“You don’t understand. That bloodstone was your mother’s bloodstone. She was a blood witch—a very powerful blood witch. She was a queen before your father had her killed. That bloodstone holds power, but only for you. Gifting something so special to someone will give them some of your power too. Although no one knows that, that is why it’s important that you give it to Cassius when and if you decide to forgive him. It is a truly high honor. It will show that you chose to love him even after he killed you.”

“My mother caused all of this,” I hissed angrily.

“Yes, but she saved you by doing it, Thea. Your father would have killed you if she hadn’t barbed your magic inside. He is your enemy, not your mother, not Cassius.”

Suddenly, Della groaned in pain and fell to her knees. I hurried over to her but stopped when she held her hand up. She looked at me, blood dripping from her nose as she gasped for breath.

“Are you alright?”

“I said too much about the curse,” she wheezed. “It will pass.”

I watched her as she seemed to be in severe pain, but she waved me away when I tried to help her again. After a few minutes, she took a full breath.

Della’s words swarmed through my mind as I helped her stand back up. She wiped the blood from her nose. We stood in silence for a long moment. There was one detail of her story that kept sticking out to me, and I thought maybe she hadn’t realized her mistake.

“You called me Thea Valeska earlier.” I looked up at her, confused. I had expected her to apologize and correct the name to Thea Alzara, but she gave me a sly smirk.

“Did I?”

“Yes…did you mean Thea Alzara?”

The wisps turned dark green, and the goddess looked at them as if she were communicating without speaking.

“No, I didn’t mean Thea Alzara.”

Her eyebrows furrowed as her eyes traced down to the crown tattoo on my wrist.

“But that’s Cassius’ surname.” My mind suddenly flashed to Cassius and I standing on a cliffside with a priestess, but the memory was gone just as quickly as it appeared.

“Did he not tell you?” Her confusion made me let out a staggered breath. “I assumed he did.”

“I have not let him tell me anything. I am too scared of losing him to find out the truth,” I sighed, defeated.

Her eyes moved back down to my communication bond.

“Your marriage bond is visible again.”

I lifted my arm and looked over the bond before meeting her eyes again.

“Cassius said this was just for communicating while we were apart,” I whispered.

“Cassius is a very clever man,” she laughed. “It is not a communication bond. It’s a marriage bond. He has one too, but he hides it. It’s a red crown—your crown. Just like that is his crown.”

I felt dizzy as I lowered myself to the ground and sat, trying to understand everything. This was too much. I couldn’t wrap my head around the information she was telling me. Cassius and I were married.

“I’m married to a man who murdered me.”

The wisps and goddess all froze at my statement.

“You have to understand, Thea, that what happened between you and Cassius was something we had never had to address as gods before.”

“Him killing me?” I glared at her. “I’ve killed before and have never had the gods come down and curse my soul, or at least I don’t remember them doing that.”

“We did not curse your soul because you were killed; it was because of who killed you. You need to talk to Cassius so he can tell you what happened.”

“Why do I get the feeling that everyone is on his side? Everyone seems to think he did nothing wrong.”

“Well, when he tells you, you get to decide if you feel like everyone is justified for feeling that way or if you think we have all lost our minds,” Della sighed.

I opened my mouth to argue with her but shut it. She had practically agreed that they were all on his side about this. Della came and sat next to me on the cold ground. We faced the castle and sat in silence. My mind should have been racing with all of the things she told me, but there was nothing. I should have been freaking out, and maybe I would later, but right now it was peaceful inside my mind until one question drifted into my thoughts.

“You said you gave someone else a piece of your soul. Who was it?”

Della’s eyes filled with sadness. I could feel it around her like a thick cloud.

“I should have known you two would find each other,” she sighed.

“Cassius and I?”

“No, my other death-marked soul.” She frowned as she stared at the castle. “His powers developed like yours, but not as strong. It was probably your blood witch lineage that made you so powerful after you received part of my soul.”

“The other death-marked soul lives here.” I glanced from her to the castle.

“Yes. I’m sorry for everything that happened to you.” She glanced at me. “My brother would have never been so cruel to you the day Cassius killed you if I hadn’t broken him, if I hadn’t betrayed him. It’s my fault all of this happened the way it did. I killed the woman my brother loved to save the man I loved, and he cannot forgive me. I do not blame him either, but it is why he thought Cassius should be punished so harshly.”

“It’s alright.” I frowned because she looked so... devastated.

“It’s not.” She looked away from me. “But if it’s any consolation, I will be punished for all my existence to have the man I love hate me. Because I betrayed him too. I am his villain.”

Della stood quickly.

“I don’t want that.” I frowned. I knew the feeling of having the man you love hate you, or at least pretend to. “Who is it?”

“I’m not going to tell you. I have to go. Talk with Cassius; make this right.”

As I stood, she vanished into thin air. I turned and glanced everywhere, but she was gone. Wisp—I meant myself—floated around me.

“I’m headed inside.” I paused and frowned. A noise in the trees made me freeze. Ducking low to the ground, I looked to see who was coming. Kace walked through a moment later by himself before sneaking back into the castle. Odd.

Wisp twirled around me in her pretty dark green shade. Then she and the others all disappeared into the woods, and I headed inside. I stood in the castle foyer and glanced around, wishing my memories would appear. A noise down the hallway had me hiding in the dark corner. Haden walked by a moment later with Cassius. They were in a deep conversation about something as they passed without noticing me.

My eyes watched Cassius as he passed. Suddenly, he stopped and turned toward me.

“Is there a reason you’re hiding, my love?”

Haden smiled brightly as I stepped out of the shadows and stared at Cassius. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water. My eyes drifted to his forearm, where he should have a marriage bond from me. Heat started in my chest and filled my cheeks.

“Blushing?” He smiled brightly. “Want to share your thoughts?”

My mouth snapped shut, and I hurried past him. When I got to the safety of our room, I let out a long breath. I needed sleep, then I would know what to do with all the information I found out.