16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Thea

T he next day, Jesper appeared at my bedroom door as soon as I left it to go to training. His blue eyes stared at me in a way I didn’t like.

“What?” I didn’t hide my dislike for him.

He cocked his head to the side as if he were trying to see something. The sun shone brightly from the window behind me, making Jesper’s eyes appear purple as he flinched away from the light. He smelled like liquor.

“You remember something.” He accused me. I didn’t even flinch at his accusation because he was drunk and a moron. I stepped around him, but he grabbed me and smiled at me.

“Tell me your secrets, and I’ll tell you mine. We would be so good together, Thea.”

Gross.

“You’re drunk.”

Tell me what he’s thinking.

I may be drunk, but I’m not stupid. I can see how much you hate it here. My mother warned me that you were going to be a problem. I just didn’t think you’d be this big of a pain in the ass.

“What secrets do you have that I could possibly care about?” I asked, hoping he would think about them and reveal them.

We want the same thing: your father dead.

“I’ll share when you start being honest with me.”

Mother said that you know about Cassius, but I can’t confront you without blowing my own plans and secrets.

I stilled at his thought. Jesper’s parents were dead. So, was he referring to something from a long time ago?

“I have nothing to tell you.”

“You should have chosen me over Cassius. We are more alike than you know.”

“My father needs me, so piss off.”

“You could’ve learned to love me,” he whispered. When my eyes met his, I could see that he truly thought that. His eyes filled with something close to guilt or regret, but I didn’t feel bad for him. I opened my mouth to respond but shut it when I felt him. Cassius was spying somewhere close to us. I could feel his possessiveness, and I could only imagine it was because of what Jesper had said. A moment later, I couldn’t feel Cassius anymore. I shook Jesper’s grip from me and left.

★★?★★

My father had wanted me so that he could send me away for the meeting of the kingdoms. I accepted eagerly. A few days into our mission, we were closer to the castle of Crimson than we had ever been before. We hadn’t run into a soul. We hadn’t even seen an animal. That should have been my first clue that something was wrong, but we kept pushing through Crimson lands like no one knew.

Guards were stationed outside the castle as we sat in the shadows and watched. We did that for the first night, but something just seemed weird. The guards never switched duty, and they kept glancing into the trees like they were expecting someone. Us, maybe.

Even with my instincts telling me that they knew we were here, I didn’t warn my men. Gods, I wanted to be fucking caught so I could see Cassius.

“Hello.” I turned to see Haden looking at us. The two large fae were with him. “Don’t reach for any weapons, or we will kill you.”

He spoke directly to the guards but didn’t seem to be talking toward me. The other fae smiled at me the same friendly way Haden had. The same way they did in my memory. They held their weapons to our backs as they led us to the castle. It was far prettier up close. The black stone that it was made from was stunning with the stained-glass windows.

It was like a portrait, and the gardens were vast, with hundreds of flowers of all shades of red. We stopped when the doors to the castle opened. The king greeted us with his tall crown and pretty red and black robes. He was tall and handsome for an older fae, and he was staring daggers into me.

“Captain Thea of the Cerithian Armies, what a surprise.”

He didn’t sound very surprised. I glared at him, and it only seemed to make him smile.

“Take them to the dungeon and make sure they are comfortable.” The king demanded of Haden and the others. “Thea will be placed in the jail room.”

“Yes, sir.” Haden bowed.

Once inside, my men were taken to the right, and I was taken in the opposite direction. My eyes took in the castle and how different it looked from what I pictured.

“Where’s Cassius?” I demanded.

Haden gave me a smug smile before stopping at a wooden door and ushering me in it. I tried to leave, but they locked me in. When I turned, there was a small bed with dark green bedding and a large window. I went to the window to see a beautiful view of the gardens and fountains. The drop wasn’t far down. I could leave if I wanted to, so why didn’t I?

The door opened a moment later, and Haden stood inside.

“I could burn you to a crisp,” I threatened.

“Easy.” He held up his hands. “You won’t do that.” Haden was so sure of himself. I held up my hands and formed a ball of fire, but Haden just flicked his wrist, shooting frost out. It froze my ball of fire and made it fall to the floor, shattering. I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know what to say. I was impressed.

“No need for magic right now. You should rest.”

“You think I’m going to sleep while you watch me creep?” His smile widened at my insult. “Or in Crimson?”

“It wouldn’t be your first time staying the night.” He winked at me. “Cassius isn’t available, and he trusts me to look out for you, not that anyone here wants to hurt you.”

“Well, I don’t trust you.”

He frowned slightly at me but shrugged and pretended to do something. I rolled my eyes as I looked around the room. My legs were tired, so I sat on the bed. My eyes wandered around the room before I remembered my men.

“Are my men still alive?”

“Of course, and well fed. ”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Where is Cassius? Can’t the shadow boy just appear in places?”

Haden started laughing so loudly that I smiled at the comforting sound. Haden’s big smile got bigger when he saw I was smiling too.

“He’s going to love the nickname.”

I knew without a doubt that Cassius would not like that nickname. After hours went by, I started snooping through the drawers of the desk. I paused on the book of family crests. Something about it made me set it on the bed. At least it would help me pass the time. My eyes were growing heavy, but I fought with everything I had not to fall asleep, but then I heard Haden snoring. He had sat on the floor with his back leaned against the door.

Seriously? He didn’t think I would hurt him. Oddly enough, I didn’t have any desire to. I nibbled my lip as I ripped a page out of the book and crumpled it. I tossed it at Haden, and it hit him in the face, startling him awake.

He glared at me.

“Why’d you do that? Cassius has been running us ragged; I’m exhausted.”

My heart pounded.

“I want to ask you about Della.”

Haden stood up quickly, his eyes wide with uncertainty. His hand rubbed the back of his neck before looking at me.

“What about her?” he frowned.

“She came to visit me, and I didn’t believe that she was a goddess or my friend. She said you would tell me that she was real.”

Haden had stopped moving and stared at me with a look of longing in his eyes that made me sad to see.

“She’s telling the truth.” He nodded. “Did...” he stopped for a moment. A war seemed to be going on in his mind. “Did she say anything else?”

“She said you hate her. She told me how you wake up each day and curse her existence. You hope that she is unhappy and miserable.” I frowned. “She said you haven’t missed a day since your sister died.”

Haden’s eyes filled with tears, but he turned away from me quickly.

“I didn’t realize she heard my curse.” His voice was cold, but it seemed forced. “Now that I know that, I’ll make sure to remind her how much I wish I never met her.”

He turned to me, his eyes filled with hatred, but lurking under that was a deep sadness.

“Did you love her?”

The question made Haden’s anger dissipate instantly .

“Yes.” He nodded. Gods, why didn’t she just tell him they were mates? “I didn’t think I could feel more passionate about anything as I did when I loved her, but I was wrong. It turns out my hatred for her far surpasses any love I ever had for her.”

“Gods, that seems harsh.” I frowned.

“What is harsh is watching the woman I love rip my sister’s soul from her body, killing her, even after I begged her to save her. The day she killed Remiah is the day she killed me too.”

His hands balled into fists as he looked at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, regretting bringing this up. Especially seeing how much Della still loved him and how much he hated her. I couldn’t imagine hating Cassius for any reason. He could have killed my father, and I would probably thank him. Fuck, he killed me, and I’d still get on my knees and crawl to him if he asked me to.

“I need to go for a walk,” he said angrily. “Leer and Zade are standing guard outside the door if you need anything.” He stormed out of the room. I stared at the wall, feeling like an asshole for bringing it up.