31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“ W hat do you mean?” I snapped at him. “I don’t understand... you're Cassius Valeska? You’re the fucking Prince of Crimson?”

His handsome face fell at how angry I was. How could I have been so stupid? Not only was I sleeping with the enemy, but I was also sleeping with the fucking prince who hated my family. Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach at how much of a traitor this made me.

“Was this some plan? Make the daughter of your enemy fall in love with you!”

Cassius smirked slightly.

“You love me?”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Gods above, just strike me down with a bolt of lightning now.

“No,” I lied.

Cassius’ eyes shined brightly.

“I love you too, Thea.”

My heart beat so frantically at his words. He was the first fae to ever say that to me, and I couldn’t tell if he meant it or was just using me.

“I don’t believe you.” I frowned and looked away. “You should go, and this...” I gestured between us. “Is over.”

“My love, please don’t do this. I know I should have told you who I was, but I didn’t want you to react this way. Our families may hate each other, but we love each other. You can’t deny that.”

“And what happens now? You betray your family and come live in Cerithia with me? Or you probably want me to betray my family and move to Crimson with you! This isn’t ever going to work.”

His face fell.

“Please,” he whispered. “I waited years for you. Since I first saw you, I’ve thought of nothing but you. Don’t push me away. I love you.”

He shouldn’t love me. He had no future with me. Not only because he was my enemy, but because I wouldn’t be around much longer. Death was coming for me, and I knew it. I should have never gotten involved with him when I knew my future was short. This wasn’t fair to him. Guilt settled in my chest.

“I can’t do this.” I turned my face away from his so he wouldn’t see my tears. His sadness filled the air around us.

“Alright,” he muttered. “I’ll see you on the battlefield.”

I waited until his footsteps were gone before I let the sob escape me. Why did my fate have to be so cruel? My head was dizzy, and my body was sore. I wasn’t sure I could keep doing this.

★★?★★

My father’s eyes narrowed on me. “What the fuck are you doing here? Why aren’t you leading my men into war?”

My body swayed slightly.

“I can’t anymore.” I frowned. As my father, he should have noticed how pale my skin was and how dull my green eyes had become. Did he notice how much weight I had lost?

“Your sickness?” he sighed. I nodded yes. “That stupid whore-witch did this to spite me!”

I flinched at the nasty names he called my mother, even though I had only ever heard him call her such.

“Binds your magic within you so I can’t use all of it.” His green eyes looked at me with hatred, because my mother had ensured that my power was beyond his reach. But now, it was slowly killing me. Too much magic had formed inside, stuck, and it was taking from my body. It was taking from my soul.

“If I could kill her again, I would,” he spat out at me. I stumbled backward at his words, and he realized his mistake. “I-I mean…”

“You killed my mother?” I whispered. My eyes widened at this declaration. “You said Crimson killed her.”

“They did…” he stuttered, but I already saw past his lie.

He killed my mother.

“Oh, who fucking cares, Thea? She was a blood witch—the worst of her kind. She promised me an unstoppable heir, then bound your magic inside of you so that you don’t become too powerful. Only she didn’t tell me that until she was taking her last breath, she had to redo the binding spell as you gained more power. You should hate her; she cursed you to die young!”

“I blame you! Why did you kill her? If you hadn’t, she could have saved me.” My fire magic was burning hot under my flesh.

“Because she tried to set your magic free one night. But I saw you for what you were—a monster. Someone who would take over the kingdoms with all that power you had. I didn’t want your magic free; I wanted it at my disposal. Once I knew what she was going to do, I knew I had to stop her.”

I shook my head violently. What else has he been lying to me about? I couldn’t believe this man was my father. He was a fucking cruel beast.

His eyes watched me closely. I’m sure he was looking for whatever reaction he could find. Was he planning on killing me too, now that I knew what he had done? My eyes glanced at the queen as she walked in, her cold eyes staring at me.

“What’s going on?”

“I told Thea about Bayla.”

Gwyn’s face soured at the mention of my mother, which pissed me off.

“You told her what the witch did to her; why she’s sick?”

He nodded yes, and she narrowed her eyes on me. A cruel smile took over her face. My heartbeat rang in my ears. I was too weak to deal with this.

“I’m glad you're here, Thea. I wanted to speak to your father about the fact that you’ve been sleeping with Cassius Valeska.”

My face paled at her declaration. How did she know? Time slowed, and I was hyperaware of everything happening around me. The fire crackled and filled the room with a slight smell of ash. The way the queen smiled wickedly in her stunning blue dress. The way my father’s handsome face contorted to someone who looked capable of murdering his own child. The tension sucked the air from my lungs.

“I didn’t know that was him.” There was no point in lying about it. I was sure my father was planning on killing me already.

“Not only are you a disgusting elitist, but now a traitor to Cerithia?” My father stomped towards me and slapped me so hard that I fell into the wall.

“I didn’t know it was him, and when I found out, I stopped.”

“A whore, just like your mother,” the queen spit at me. “We really should just get rid of her like we did with the other elite magic fae. I’ve been telling you for years that she is just a burden, a problem that never does anything right.”

My father nodded his head in agreement. I should have told Cassius. I should have told him I was sick. I should have gone to Crimson with him. My fire burned even hotter at the regret I felt. He would never know what happened or why I dismissed him so easily.

“What do you mean, the elite magic fae? What did you do to them?”

“We killed every single one you found.” Gwyn smiled at me, and I saw just how truly evil these two were.

“How could you!” I yelled at them so violently that the floor shook below us.

“It needed to be done, Thea. They were dangerous and unpredictable!” He stepped toward me but stopped when I grabbed my dagger and held it up like I would throw it at him.

“You lied to me. You said elite fae were going to be used in our army. You did not tell me you were going to slaughter them all!” Tears spilled from my eyes, but they were tears of fury.

“Calm the fuck down, Thea,” he demanded. My only reaction was to throw my dagger at him. It grazed his thigh and embedded itself into the wall next to him.

“All this time, you had me believing I was fighting for the right side. You told me Crimson was going to kill them all.”

My father’s face contorted with disgust.

“I have elite magic!” I yelled, like he didn’t already know. “Cassius was right; you are the monster.”

“You are a monster!” he yelled.

“Well, if you’re going to kill me, I should let you know that I’m in love with Cassius too.” I smiled just to piss them off. My father came at me, his hands wrapping around my throat to strangle me. We fell to the hard wooden floor, and pain radiated through my already fragile body. I just smiled at him before using the energy I had left to let my fire burst out of me. My father and the queen rolled on the floor, their robes on fire.

“Thea!” they called for me. “Save us!” But I just turned and left the throne room, shutting the big wooden door behind me. My eyes stared at the wooden crest on the door as their screaming became louder and flames glowed red under the door. Guards rushed past me, and I hurried away. My feet stumbled as I found my way to the stables. Kaida neighed at me as I climbed on top of her.

“Go.” I urged her forward, and she took off in a dead sprint. We didn’t stop until she couldn’t go anymore. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? I had nowhere to go. My horse ran through the dark, seeming to know where to go, even though I had no idea. She continued to run even when I tried to slow her down. It was as if she knew Cerithia was our prison, and we were finally breaking free.

The weight of everything lifted slightly off me the further from Cerithia we got. I had never belonged there, but this was the first time I felt free from it. It was the first time I tried to escape from my father. My horse finally slowed down at a creek, which told me I was in Crimson lands. Tears sprang to my eyes as my father’s confession of killing my mother and elite magic fae came back to me.

My ears perked up when I heard footsteps. Before I could grab my dagger, Crimson guards came from the woods with their weapons drawn.

“Captain,” one of them said to me.

“Leave me be, or I will not hesitate to kill you,” I warned, but I knew that I couldn’t fight them off. My body swayed with exhaustion. There was no way to use my magic to save myself. A moment later, Cassius emerged from the woods on his black horse. Relief nearly floored me when I saw him, but his unforgiving black eyes made me step away from him.

“Good work, Kace. Cuff the prisoner,” he said. Prisoner?

The guards did as he asked, and I was too weak to fight them. Cassius’ shadows swarmed around me before settling me on his horse in front of him.

“What a turn of events. You belong to Crimson now, little viper. And I don’t think I will ever let you go,” he whispered against my ear.

Then he took off toward Crimson Castle.

★★?★★

I gasped for air as I sat up in our bed. The memories swirled inside my head. My eyes glanced out the window and saw how dark it was. I hadn’t realized I had fallen asleep.

My chest tightened with uneasiness. My father murdered my mother. Grief and anger swarmed inside of me, waging a war of sadness. I needed Cassius. I slipped out of bed and headed out to find him. He wasn’t on the couch like he had been. My first thought was to go to the room he stayed in during the trials.

The castle was kind of creepy at night, when no noises could be heard and no lights were shining. When I got to the door, I crept inside. It smelled like him the moment I stepped over the threshold. My nerves calmed down as I searched for his bedroom. The small hallway only had two doors, and one of them was opened wide enough that I could see Cassius sleeping on his back with no shirt. His arm draped over his handsome face.

I swallowed hard as I snuck in. My eyes drifted over all his tattoos but paused on the ‘T’ over his heart. Then I saw the marks under it. Six slashes, as if he were keeping track of something—maybe how many times I died.

I shook my thoughts away and slipped under the covers with him. His deep breathing stopped before he lifted his head up to meet my stare.

“My love?”

“Can I sleep in here?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.” He frowned.

His response devastated me, so I stood up to leave. A moment later, Cassius lifted me off my feet and put me back in his bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I had flashbacks, and I didn’t like them.” We lay on our sides facing one another, and I traced the tally marks on his chest.

“Of me?”

“Mostly my father and the queen, but you were there for another one,” I sighed. “When you told me who you were.”

He seemed confused at first, but then he smiled softly.

“When you told me you loved me,” he chuckled.

“I didn’t quite say that.” I rolled my eyes. I scooted closer to him, and he wrapped me up in his arms. I leaned into his chest and kissed his neck.

“My love, I was serious about not sleeping with you until you talk with me.” I sighed heavily. It just felt good to be close to him. “Why won’t you talk to me? Don’t you want to know why I killed you?”

I pulled back so I could see his face.

“Yes, I want to know, but I’m scared.” Tears filled my eyes. “I know I should hate you for killing me, but I don’t. That scares me, but it scares me more to think that I do not belong with you.”

He brushed the hair from my face, then traced a finger down my cheek.

“Do you think I would do something so cruel to you without a reason?” He stopped his movements and stared at me. Our legs tangled together under the blankets.

“No,” I answered truthfully. “Or maybe I’m just very gullible.”

“Promise me, you’ll talk to me tomorrow. I want to take you somewhere, but I must know that you are staying in Crimson first.”

I nodded in agreement.

“I’ve missed sleeping in bed with you,” he whispered, and I felt the sadness from the bond.

“How could you visit my dreams when I was in Exile?”

His eyes shined brightly as he pulled me to him tightly. He buried his face in my neck and breathed in.

“Tomorrow. I’ll tell you everything.”

I nodded and felt my eyes drifting back to sleep now that I was safe with Cassius.