18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Thea

D ella stared at me, her mouth hanging open, at a loss for words. My heart raced as I watched her reaction. Was this good or bad? My breath caught as she shut her mouth and lightly cleared her throat. I was on my way back to Cerithia when I begged Della to find me.

“My apologies. I lost my composure,” she whispered. Her star-like eyes seemed to glow more brightly. “And how did you come to this conclusion so quickly?”

Her eyes were giving away her excitement.

“I know I am Cassius’ wife.”

She opened her mouth before shutting it again, at a loss for words.

“And his fated mate. I know he killed me, but he did it to save me. I know I am a blood witch. I found the blood witch coven. ”

“For fuck’s sake, Thea, when the hell did you learn all of this?” Della looked around like someone else would pop out and fill in the gaps. I chuckled softly.

“The witches told me that he was Prince Cassius, and they said he was my mate. They told me a lot, and everything kind of just fell into place.”

“How did the witches tell you? There is magic that forbids it.” Her eyes narrowed on me skeptically.

“They’ve been kept behind a ward.”

Her mouth opened, then shut, then opened again. Della began pacing back and forth in front of me, her pretty black dress trailing behind her. Why was she always so fancy?

“This is great news, Thea.” Her words instantly calmed my nerves. Cassius was the right choice.

“I just need my bloodstone, and I will break the curse and fulfill the prophecy. But I searched for it before and couldn't find it anywhere."

“Well, part of the curse is that your father must have in his possession in the castle. So, it’s somewhere in the castle. Have you tried using your darkness to feel its power?”

“Yes, every day since I found out about the stone, but it doesn’t feel it anywhere. I’ve looked so much that I do not know where else it could be.”

Della frowned.

“That’s odd.”

“I thought so too. Is it possible that he got rid of it?”

This was so frustrating. For the first time in a while, I felt like I had clarity about what I wanted and needed to do. I wanted Cassius, and nothing was going to stop me... well, except this damn bloodstone missing.

“No. He physically cannot get rid of it. The only one who can take it from the castle is you; that is part of the curse.”

Mentally, I began thinking of all the places I might have missed, but I knew I checked every room in the damn place.

Della was silent, making me turn my attention to her. Her hands were clenched tightly by her sides, and her eyes were bright white as she looked up at the sky, and her whole body trembled.

“Della?” I hurried over to her, but there was some type of shield around her, so I couldn’t touch her. “Della!” I called out to her, worried she was dying or something, but then suddenly she blinked, and her normal eyes were in place.

“Fuck,” she muttered like she hadn’t just been possessed.

“What the hell is happening?” I demanded .

“Brim needs to see us.” She looked at me frantically. Brim? Della didn’t give me a chance to ask any questions. Her starlight mist shot around us, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I fell to the forest floor on my hands and knees when her mist left.

“Sorry,” she grunted as she tried to help me up. I threw up, and she let go of me.

“For fuck’s sake,” I moaned in agony.

“I forget that moving at the speed of light makes others nauseous, but we don’t have time to waste. Get your ass up.”

My eyes snapped up to her with a glare. She was being bossy as fuck. But my glare disappeared when she looked terrified.

“Brim wouldn’t call upon us unless it was bad news.”

I stood on shaky legs and glanced around. We were still in Cerithia. The castle was behind me a short distance. When I looked ahead, a shambled shack that was rotting away was in front of us. Della immediately walked into the shed, and I followed without questioning anything because her face terrified me.

As soon as we were both over the threshold, the rotting wood faded into pretty walls covered in art and shelves of trinkets. Something about the space was familiar and calming. The stone fireplace was oversized for the space, but the fire burning in it caught my attention. I turned to Della but looked back to the fireplace when I heard a male voice.

“Thea, you look far better than the last time I saw you.” His eyes were friendly as he stared at me from a rocking chair that had been empty a moment ago. "Sit,” he gestured to the other chairs across from him. Della and I sat down quickly.

“You came quickly.” He looked at Della.

“You said it wasn’t good,” her voice trembled. Her eyes met mine, and she must have seen how confused I was. “This is Brim; he’s a seer. He was a friend of your mother, and he was the one who told your prophecy.”

I nodded and glanced back at him. His unkempt hair was long and crazy-looking, but he seemed just as friendly as he did the first time.

“I remember you from my vision.” I nodded.

“Vision?” Della looked from me to Brim. “You had a vision.”

“Yes.”

Brim gave me a sad look before looking away. Della was looking confused and pissed off.

“You’ve made a decision about your curse,” he said confidently. How did he know? “I had the vision this time. You’ve learned who the man with golden eyes was, and it set into motion our visions.”

His eyes darted away from me, and it made my insides burn with anxiety. Brim seemed to be trying to find the words he needed to tell me.

“For fuck’s sake, just spit it out,” I snapped. “Sorry,” I sighed when it came out harsher than I meant it to. Did he have the same vision I did?

“Cassius is still going to die because he knows you are breaking your curse.” He looked me in the eyes as he said the words. Della and I didn’t move as his words soaked into us. Cassius was still going to die. Die. Die. Die.

I had tried to not think about this fucking image of him kneeling in the dirt before dying. If I thought about it, I couldn’t function. Die. Die. Die.

The word wouldn’t stop ricocheting around my mind. Flashes of Cassius hurting and lying dead in front of me played in my mind, but I couldn’t move. If I did, I might explode.

Della stood up quickly. “No, I will not allow it.” Della’s power pulsed around us as my mind froze. As Brim’s words sank into me, my chest felt like it was going to cave in. My magic swarmed from me in a colorful storm. Darkness, shadows, light, fire, and other magic I didn’t recognize swarmed around us in a frenzy as my eyes turned red.

Della and Brim didn’t move as they watched my magic create an angry cloud above us on the ceiling, cracking and popping with power. It was fucking furious, which was odd because I felt like I might be dying. My breathing was shallow, and my heart physically ached to the point of pain. My limbs were numb, and my throat closed in on itself. But this anguish in my chest seized my lungs as tears fell from my eyes silently.

“Thea?” Brim called to me, but it felt like he was much farther away than he actually was. My vision tunneled as I watched the flames moving in slow motion in the fireplace. There was a hole in my chest, and the more I thought of Cassius dying, the bigger the hole was getting, threatening to swallow me entirely.

I would never allow that to happen. He would not die.

“No,” I finally spoke after what felt like an hour but was less than a minute. My voice sounded foreign—nothing like me at all. I still couldn’t physically move. “I can stop it.”

“Yes, so far the vision has not changed. He still dies.” He frowned. “The vision came to me as soon as you decided to break your curse and give him the stone.” Brim looked truly sorry. I wondered how much he knew Cassius and I to hold such pity in his eyes. “I summoned you to see if your vision matched mine. Every decision you make could change his fate for the better. But if I’m being honest, I am seeing the vision multiple times a day, which is not a good sign.”

My eyes moved to Della as she frowned. Her power zipped around her too, but my power was overpowering and suffocating in the small cabin. Della’s eyes were solid white, and I could feel her anger.

“If breaking my curse kills Cassius, then I will gladly not do it.”

“You must,” Della frowned at me. “If you don't, then Exile is stuck, and the prophecy will not be fulfilled. Do you know what your father does if he isn't stopped?” She stepped forward. “He slaughters every fae that isn’t from Kizar or Cerithia. Children. Women. Innocent. Crimson. Cassius. They will all die. You have to break your curse so that the prophecy happens. Cassius will die that way too.”

My mind was too filled with my darkness talking quickly about saving Cassius. I couldn’t fucking think. Thank the stars that Della came with me because she took control of the conversation.

“So, he will die if she breaks the curse? How the fuck is that happening?” Her eyes narrowed on Brim. “I want the details of your vision. How does he die? Why? ”

Della was fucking furious.

“Ardella…”

“No, tell me. You said it's a vision, not a prophecy, so it can be changed.”

“You know I’m not supposed to say too much.” Brim glanced at her.

“I am your god, and I am demanding that you tell me every detail you know!” Her power expanded around us, and I knew that Brim would not deny her again.

Brim nodded.

“Give me a moment,” he said. “Visions are not always clear. Prophecies give clear details, and visions are like small snippets of information that make up just a sliver of what you need.”

My heart was racing. I didn’t want to hear how he would die, but I had seen it play out in my mind hundreds of times. Part of the reason I wanted Cassius to stay away was because I saw an image of him dead each time he stood in front of me. All I could think of was never seeing his smile again, never feeling him, never hearing his voice, never having a life together.

“He dies trying to save Thea. He goes into the next life, or rather waits for Thea so they can go together.” Brim stood and paced in front of us. “Thea breaks her curse and goes to fulfill her prophecy, but there is some trouble; that part of the vision is unclear. Something about him breaking free of restraints. It was almost as if he had been taken by Luren and Jesper, but Thea was already fulfilling her prophecy. Perhaps him being taken is what triggered her to see the prophecy out. Because he is in danger.

“But he tries to help Thea when she is injured and..." Brim swallowed hard. “Luren has a fae with magic that captures him so he can’t move, and Luren beheads him.”

Hearing my father’s name was the final straw. I stood quickly and furiously, my fists clenched tightly.

“I’ll go slice my father’s head off right now if that will stop this from happening.”

“You must break your curse before you go and kill the kings. You need your bloodstone to fuel your powers. Without it, you will not be able to fulfill the prophecy. You will be overpowered and will die.” Della frowned. “How can we stop this, Brim?”

I would die with him. I would not exist without him. But I would burn this whole fucking realm down with me when I went. No one would escape my wrath. I wouldn’t be able to hold my darkness in or control it.

“Cassius feels like he must save her because he knows she broke her curse and worries that she will die, and he will lose her forever. She gets wounded, and it triggers his mate bond to act, and he can’t stop it because he knows she will not go to Exile this time.”

“Okay, so I won’t tell him.” I looked at both of them. “I won’t tell him, so he doesn’t try to help.”

“He’s still going to try and help.” Della looked at me, and I knew she was right.

“No, actually Thea’s right. If she doesn’t tell him, he might not intervene. He intervenes because he knows she will die for good, and that is the thought that makes him react. But maybe if that thought never goes through his mind, then he won’t.”

“I won’t tell him.” How the fuck was I going to break this fucking curse without him knowing? “When did this happen? If I know, then I can use my magic to make sure he can’t interfere with me and the prophecy. I couldn’t tell when it happened in my vision.”

Della looked at Brim expectantly.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, defeated. “It gave me no indication of anything particular happening, so I can't pinpoint the day.”

Fucking wonderful. I gripped my forehead tightly. My crown tattoo on my arm burned so much that I couldn’t help the painful sob that escaped me.

“If Cassius dies, the whole realm dies,” I promised, my eyes pulsing violently between red and black. I was losing control of myself.

“You have enough details that we can make sure it doesn’t happen.” Della nodded, trying to sound hopeful, but we both knew that there was a chance. A chance that Cassius dies.

Brim frowned at me, and I could feel his sadness for me. This tiny man cared for me even though I didn’t know him. He stepped forward and gripped my hand in his.

“I believe in you, Thea, my dear. But you need to make sure you don’t tell Cassius, no matter how much you want to. Because this will be far more difficult than you can imagine. Your bond will demand that you tell him.”

I squeezed his hand back.

“Losing Cassius is not an option,” I said truthfully. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought about it.

Della was still next to me.

“They are getting ready for the meeting of the kingdoms. Thank you, Brim; if you learn anything more, summon me.”

Her starlight took us back to the forest outside of the castle so quickly that I felt dizzy. The sun was up now.

“Thea?” she asked, concerned.

“I can’t lose him. ”

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a vision of him dying?” She was angry.

“Because I didn’t know it was him until he showed me his golden eyes. He just told me a day ago, and I immediately ran from him so I could figure out how to save him.”

Della frowned.

“It’s fine. We have enough details that we can protect him.”

Tears rolled down my face.

“Della, what if I can’t save him? You will have to kill me because I will destroy the realm.” I stood up and stared at her. “Promise me, if he dies, you take me too.”

“Thea…”

“Promise me! My vision shows me destroying everything around me when my bond breaks.”

“I promise.” Her eyes filled with tears.

I nodded as I headed to the meeting.