19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Cassius

M y body hummed with anticipation as I looked around the room. Thea wasn’t at the meeting. Where the fuck was she? The meeting had been going on for twenty damn minutes, getting nowhere. Jesper smiled at me like he knew I was looking for her.

“If you’re looking for Thea, just know that she will not be attending. We made sure of that.” Jesper sneered and interrupted whoever was talking. Everyone fell silent as I stepped toward him.

“If she gives us any indication that she remembers you, I will cut her fucking head off in front of you.” He smiled when my shadows burst out of me.

“Let me be very fucking clear to you and Luren. If you harm Thea in any way, you better pray to the stars, the heavens, and the gods to save yourself from my wrath. I will storm your kingdoms and gut anyone who is important to you. If Thea dies, no one else deserves to breathe. I will eradicate your bloodlines from our realm, and I’ll make both of you watch me do it. Then I will bargain with the gods to bring your souls back so I can fucking kill you over and over again.”

Jesper stepped forward and glared. But I could see him thinking of whatever he could to piss me off. After my last encounter with Thea, he would be smart to shut the fuck up, but Jesper had always been stupid. He was being brave today as he stopped only a few feet in front of me before whispering.

“I think I’ll fuck her before I kill her.”

I lost it.

Jesper’s eyes widened when I reared my fist back and punched him square in the face. I didn’t stop. I grabbed his hand and snapped his fingers, one at a time, making him yell. He punched me, cutting my eyebrow.

“How can you touch her if you don’t have any fucking hands?” I called out as I grabbed my daggers. Jesper’s eyes widened because he knew I wasn’t bluffing. “Say goodbye to your hands, and then I think I’ll cut out your tongue so I do not have to hear you say stupid shit ever again.”

I moved for him as the door slammed open, and Thea walked in looking disheveled and exhausted. Gods, did she not use magic to come back? She walked all the way home. She stopped when she saw Jesper and I in the middle of the room, clearly having just fought. I punched Jesper and grabbed him by the collar, so he was looking at me.

“You’re lucky she showed up because I would have made good on my word. Maybe I still will when you least expect it. Touch her, and I will fucking end you.” I shoved him, and he stumbled away like a coward.

“Thea, you’re back?” Her father snapped. “I thought you were going to be gone a few more days.”

“We realized Crimson was gone.” She lied as she came and stood next to him. Her eyes drifted around the room and paused on King Sybrien, and I wondered if he seemed familiar to her. My breath caught when she looked at me. I could feel her heartbreak from here. She hated that I was the man that visited her dreams and that destroyed me.Her grief was consuming our bond.

Jesper stepped up to her and whispered something that made her eyes flash red in anger. She whispered back, and his whole body tensed. He glared at me and didn’t try to hide it, but I couldn’t glare back at him. I was too busy wishing my wife would look at me and I wouldn’t see fear in her eyes.

“We are here to talk about a peace treaty so that our realm can finally have some damn peace.” The king of Akecia spoke. “Crimson is willing to negotiate with Cerithia and Kizar for peace.”

“Why would we ever agree to a treaty when we can’t lose?” Luren’s voice echoed in the space.

Uh…to stop losing men and resources. I could feel Thea’s darkness around us in the room before she frowned, and it disappeared. What was she doing?

“Kizar and Cerithia stand together in this.” Jesper backed Luren. I stepped forward, desperate to have Thea.

“How about a proposal for an allegiance?” I spoke to Luren. “A marriage alliance. I want to wed Thea, and we can call peace.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind!” he yelled.

Thea’s cheeks heated at my proposal, not knowing we were already married. That we were bound in this life and each one that followed. Jesper sneered at me. His blue eyes looked almost purple from this angle. He always wanted Thea for himself, but he would never have her.

“Aren’t you tired of fighting and losing our men over this?” I asked. “Our kingdom does not want to keep killing our men for this war.” But I will if you don’t give her to me.

Thea’s face softened toward me when I looked at her. Then she flinched when our eyes met, as if she was seeing something she didn’t want to see .

“Absolutely not,” her father snapped. “What have you remembered that you didn’t tell us?” His eyes narrowed on her.

“Nothing.” She frowned.

“You can have Thea the day my body rots into the ground,” Luren growled.

“That can be arranged.” My black eyes shifted to him. My hands fisted at my sides as my chest rose and fell quickly. Fuck, I might actually kill her father right now.

“Father—” Her sentence was interrupted by his backhand.

“Stop arguing,” he hissed. My shadows swarmed around him with anger.

“You better watch yourself, Luren,” I warned as my shadows begged to snap his fucking neck, but I knew Thea deserved to kill him after everything he had done to her. So I settled with punching him using my shadows. Luren stumbled backward into his guards. Thea's lips twitched slightly as she tried to not smile.

"I should kill you for laying hands on me!" Luren yelled as blood poured from his nose.

"Then come down here and try," I taunted. Thea let out a painful noise and gripped her head as she reached out blindly to steady herself. Unfortunately, that meant she grabbed onto Jesper.

“Thea?” I asked.

She realized Jesper was what she had grabbed and yanked away from him with disgust.

“I don’t feel well,” she whispered.

“This discussion is over,” Luren declared. “My daughter will never belong to Crimson. She is a weapon of Cerithia. The prophecy still stands, and until it comes true, I will not let her out of my sight.”

Her confusion came through the bond. She didn’t know about the prophecy. I took a step toward her when she glanced at me, but Cerithia and Kizar guards stopped me. My guards stepped forward and tried to shove them away.

“King Luren, this has been going on for eight years. Don’t you think it is time to give up on her ever choosing you?” I didn’t know who said it, but it was a king.

“She always chooses me. Then she is tricked into going to Crimson by that delusional Prince Cassius!”

Fuck. Her eyes glanced at me as her father revealed I was the prince. I waited for the anger and betrayal to flood those pretty eyes, but it didn’t come. Did she already figure that out about me? Thea blinked slowly before looking at her father and forcing herself to be confused.

“I’m sure the marriage proposal is just some twisted way to use me against you,” she spoke so coldly. “I will gladly fight this war for you and Kizar if that is what you wish.” Fuck, those words made my stomach roll with disgust and betrayal. My crown tattoo burned with such violence that I had to bite my lip to keep the painful sob in.

Her skin burned with bright swirls of orange and red, making her father step back away from her. Everyone visibly took a step away from her but me. Jesper stepped forward and made her look him in the face.

“You will kill the Crimson bloodline to break your curse?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Crimson is my enemy. I am a princess of Cerithia, a soldier of my kingdom, and my loyalties lie with Cerithia and my father.”

“Thea…” I began to beg. “This is no trick. I just want peace, and I want you.”

Her red eyes found mine.

“You probably want her so you can kill her again,” Luren announced. “You are the whole reason she is cursed in the first place.”

No. Time slowed as I watched her reaction. I should have fucking told her myself. It should never have come from Luren.

“What is he talking about?” She glanced around, refusing to look at me .

I turned around to look at my father and the guards in attendance. I turned back to her and took a shaky breath.

“You are cursed because I killed you eight years ago,” I said so calmly. “I cursed your soul, and you’ve been trying to break the curse ever since. I plunged that viper dagger into your heart, and the gods cursed us for it. But I did it to save you.”

Thea didn’t give any sort of reaction to this either. Shit, she was in shock. I didn’t dare to look away from her. Her darkness burst from her and swarmed around her in a frenzy. I was losing her. My jaw clenched tightly to keep my emotions in check.

“Then I guess I will return the favor and plunge the dagger into your heart next.” Her father smiled at me, knowing that he had the upper hand.

My body deflated at her words.

“Thea, don’t do this,” I pleaded. “Choose Crimson, and I will explain everything to you. There is more to the story than this.”

“Choose Crimson? I don’t know you or Crimson. Why would you ever be that stupid to think I would fall for this weird act you have going on?”

Tears blurred my vision. She fucking hates me.

“My love,” I whispered in anguish. The term of endearment made her face fall for a brief moment .

“Don’t ever call me that disgusting name again. You are the last male I would ever be with.”

It was like a punch to the stomach to hear those words from her. My marriage bond burned with heartbreak, but I blocked it from her. I was trying not to confuse her more. So, I took her venomous words and watched her walk away.

“Cassius,” she spoke loudly to me, making my heart jump like she would take back her words. “I’ll see you on the battlefield.”

My shoulders slumped when she turned and walked away without a glance back. My body wanted to follow her. My heart didn’t understand why I wasn’t running for her. She belongs to me, with me.

“Cassius…” my father spoke softly.

“Let’s go,” I demanded without saying goodbye to the other kingdoms. They would understand. My shadows swarmed around us, and we were all standing back in Crimson a moment later. I knew I should have just walked away, but I looked at my father, then Haden, Leer, and Zade. Pity was evident, but I didn’t want their pity.

“Son.”

“Please, just don’t,” I muttered as I clenched my fists tightly. “It was different this time. She looked at me differently when we sparred. She loves me.” I didn’t know who I was trying to convince—me or them. We fucking slept together; she couldn’t stay away from me for long. It was different this time.

“She will come around. Give her time to process that you killed her,” my father pleaded. But my mind was a dangerous thing. It had already conjured up losing her again. Images of Thea dying plagued me immediately. I would lose her again. I wouldn’t survive it this time. It would swallow me whole.

“She hates me.” She left me when she found out that I was the man from her dreams. Thea walked away.

“No, she doesn’t.” Haden stepped forward so I could focus on him. “She loves you. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that she doesn’t. Even today she didn’t look like she hated you, and she found out you killed her. Maybe she is up to something.”

“She’s slipping through my fingers,” I snapped back. “It’s turning into all the times before.”

“Cassius, she hasn’t looked at you like she hates you once. For fuck’s sake, she kissed you more than once." Haden lowered his voice. “She slept with you. She practically gave herself to you on a silver platter when she came for her scouting trip. You can see it in her eyes that she misses you even if she doesn't understand why. She loves you.”

But I showed her my golden eyes, and she didn’t change her hurt expression. Did she notice it was me in her dreams? She had to, and I saw the disappointment in her eyes when she realized it was me.

“Lust and love are two different things. Now she knows who I am and what I did. She might choose to have nothing to do with me ever again.”

“We don’t know that. You are going to drive yourself crazy by thinking the worst.” Haden frowned.

I knew she loved me, deep inside her soul, but she couldn’t remember.

Just then, Thea’s soul appeared in front of me. I could see the silhouette of her in the soft green glow. Her eyes were staring at me like she wished she could hug me, but she couldn’t. She flashed a series of colors, and I wasn’t sure if she had done that besides when Thea had been in trouble. Wisp was warning me about Thea.

Immediately my shadows swarmed around me, and when they lifted, I realized that I was hiding in the corner of her father’s throne room behind the drapes. There were perks to being at war with Cerithia. I could now cross freely into their lands.

I froze when I saw Thea walk into the room. She looked irritated, but she was trying to look as if she wasn’t bothered .

“I’m going to town today,” she declared to her father.

“What for?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I haven’t been since I returned. I want to explore our kingdom, and I’m bored. You won’t let me go fight.”

I smiled softly at her eagerness to come fight me in a battle. He nodded like it made sense. Her hands fisted tightly at her sides when her father turned away from her. What was she up to?

“That’s fine. Do not leave the city and be back before dark. We will meet in the next few days to talk about a strategy for war.”

“Alright. I’ll see you at dinner.”

She turned and immediately headed out of the castle. I used my shadow magic to go into the forest that surrounded Cerithia. I watched her walk cautiously through the streets. The city was bustling with fae, and some of them avoided Thea as soon as they saw her, choosing to cross the street or duck into the shops. I’d fucking kill every fae who treated her like she was a monster.

Her pretty green eyes glanced around before she frowned and looked down. The fae whispered and pointed at her, but Thea seemed to be trying to ignore them.

“What are you doing, my love?” I whispered to myself as I followed silently in the woods. Thea stopped and glanced around as if she could sense me close by. Gods, she looked so lost and confused. I just wanted to go tell her that I love her, but I didn’t know how she would react to seeing me. So, I continued to watch her as she lingered in the streets of Cerithia, seemingly trying to find something.

Thea’s soul appeared in front of me, flashing between green and orange. I didn’t know what that meant. She didn’t usually use those color combinations. She flew from me and drew my attention to a small cleft in between two trees. Small flashes of light seemed to be coming from within the space. I cautiously walked over and peered inside, only to find a small child who was using elite magic. He was a brave boy to use elite magic in this kingdom. It was obvious he was hiding from the prying eyes of the other fae by practicing in the woods.

I paused for a moment and watched him turn from a small child into a grown man. Illusion magic. A moment later, he turned into a boy again. Thea’s soul was still flashing colors at me, and I took a step forward. She burned a dark green, which I knew meant I was doing what she wanted from me.

The boy froze when he saw me approaching. I doubted he knew who I was, but I approached cautiously.

“I’m sorry I was using magic; please don’t tell the king.” His soft voice trembled .

I kneeled so I could talk to him quietly. It made me sick that a boy this young was scared of his king.

“That was very impressive.” I smiled. His dark eyes moved over my face as if he were trying to sense any danger that lurked. I would never hurt a child, but I did want his help.

“Mother said I shouldn’t use it because the king will be very angry with me,” he whispered. His clothing was ripped and torn. His golden skin was covered in dirt. What kind of king lets his fae live in squalor like this? Especially children.

“I’ll make you a deal. If you help me by using your magic, then I won’t tell anyone that you used it.”

He hesitated, and his stomach growled. I frowned.

“And I’ll pay you so that you can get some food.” I smiled.

“What do I have to do?”

“Can you make me look like a different male? Maybe an older one with dark eyes and white hair?”

“Why ya want to be different?” He raised an eyebrow toward me.

I glanced over my shoulder at Thea walking toward the edge of the woods. Shit. She could sense me close by.

“Because I want to talk to a girl and see if she likes me, but I don’t want her to know it’s me. ”

The boy studied my face for a long moment before smiling at me and looking over my shoulder toward Thea. She was getting closer.

“That girl?” he giggled.

“Yes. Will you help?”

He glanced over my face and smiled softly.

“I already changed you, but I have to be close, or it stops working.”

“That’s fi–.”

“What are you doing?” Thea’s voice was like a warm hug. I turned toward her, and her eyes glanced over my face. Fuck, I hope this kid really did what he said he would.

"My... grandson and I were looking for wildflowers.” The lie came off my tongue without thought.

She glanced at the boy as if he would protest before she relaxed, putting her dagger away.

“I’m sorry. I’ll let you be.” She turned, and I panicked.

“Thea, wait.”

Her shoulders tensed as she slowly turned toward me. She rested her hand on her dagger as if I would attack her. My heart broke at the thought of her thinking she was in constant danger. Her eyes glanced from me to my left, where I knew her soul floated. I couldn’t help the smirk on my face as she asked Wisp if I was a threat.

Whatever she picked up from Wisp made her relax. My body tensed as her eyes glanced over me slowly, as if she thought she might recognize me.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I’m Atticus,” I whispered. I looked around us to make sure no one else followed her. My marriage bond burned with the lie. “Sybil’s husband.”

“You’re Sybil’s husband? I’m sorry, I don’t remember.” She took an eager step toward me.

“It’s alright, I know. I had hoped you would wander into town so I could try and speak with you. You and I are not allowed to talk, so if we are caught, I will be killed.”

“Why would—wait, you know information about me?” My chest squeezed at how hopeful her eyes were. She just wanted answers.

“Yes.” I nodded. The boy shuffled away from me a little bit so that he could look at a bug crawling up the oak tree.

“Should we go somewhere else to talk?” She looked around, her eyes trying to see if there was any danger. I felt exposed out here, like they would find us, but we had no choice.

“We need to stay here. I’ll tell you what I know, and then we’ll go our separate ways like we never talked.” I kneeled to the ground behind a tree and smiled when Thea immediately came over to me and kneeled next to me. “You know of your curse?”

“Yes, Cassius killed me and cursed me, but nothing more.” My need to tell her that I did it to save her almost slipped out. I bit my cheek to collect myself. I needed to remember that I wasn’t Cassius right now.

“The prophet?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“My father mentioned a prophecy in passing, but I know nothing about it.”

“A prophet came forward about eight years ago and told of a woman with great power, magic beyond anything the realm had ever seen. They spoke of how she would kill kings and crumble kingdoms. It was you he spoke of, and ever since, your father and that little shit from Kizar have been trying to keep you here to use for war. They want everything, Thea. They want control of the realm and will try to use you to kill the rest of the kings.”

“That’s what this war is about?”

I nodded.

“Well, that is why Cerithia and Kizar are at war. Cassius is just trying to bring you home to Crimson.”

Her eyes widened at my comment. Fuck, she was beautiful. My eyes traced over her slowly before looking away. Stars above, I can’t check her out when I am Atticus.

“I know Cassius wants me home,” she sighed .

My brows furrowed.

“Then why are you here?”

Her big green eyes stared at me.

“I have a few things I need to do before I can leave.”

She is up to something. What could she be doing that she needed to be here for it?

“Do you need help? I’m sure Cassius would come to help you. You don’t remember, but you two love each other very much.”

The look she gave me made my stomach churn. Luren was such a fucking dick. How could he look at her anguish and not care about her happiness? Finding her happiness was my biggest goal in life.

“I can’t risk Cassius. He needs to stay away from me.”

“But…” I was at a loss for words. “If you’re in danger, he can help you.” Why didn’t she want me to help her? Sadness pumped into me. Did she not trust me?

“You don’t trust Cassius.”

“What? No, I trust Cassius. If I could go to Crimson now, I would.” She paused and took a long breath before looking at me. “I knew my father was a fucking liar the moment I was in his presence for longer than a minute.” Her eyes widened as she looked over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, I forgot your grandson was here. The moment I saw Cassius on the battlefield, everything felt... right. ”

I wanted to ask her why she ran from me. Why did she look so devastated when she saw my golden eyes? But there was something in her eyes that made me feel panicked. She looked devastated and heartbroken.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked away from me and shook her head like she was trying to get rid of an unwanted thought. When her pretty green eyes looked at me, I lost my ability to breathe. She was crying.

“I’m scared of Cassius dying.”

The tone of her voice made my heart squeeze. Why would she say that? I had no response to her words. Maybe her father had a plan to kill me or something.

“I will break the curse and bring Sybil home to you. I promise.” She gave a fake smile, and it made me feel like shit because I didn’t know where Atticus even was these days. After Sybil got trapped in Exile, he lost his mind in grief. I didn’t blame him.

I reached forward and squeezed her hand in mine out of habit, but she just gave me a small smile in return.

“You need to stay safe and trust no one in Cerithia. Your father will tell you anything to make you choose him, but he is the wrong choice.”

Her brows furrowed at my words .

“Sybil said I needed to choose right this time.” She frowned. “I didn’t know what she meant, but then she said blue is bad and red is good. Do you think she meant that as the kingdom colors?”

Fucking Sybil, what a magnificent woman. She couldn’t tell Thea outright who to pick, but she still told her something that would be a hint.

“Yes, I believe that is exactly what she meant.” I smiled.

“Thank you, Atticus.” She hesitated. “Do you know Jesper?”

Jealousy instantly made my face redden.

“Yes…”

“Is his mother dead?”

What an odd fucking question.

“Umm, yes. She died when he was a baby.”

Her brows crinkled in confusion, letting me know that my answer was not what she expected.

I didn’t want to leave her yet, but I knew I needed to. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “Do you still hate Cassius for killing you?”

Her green eyes widened with a look of longing.

“I’ve never hated Cassius.” Thea’s lips pulled into a frown. “I have to save him.”

Before I could ask her what that meant, she looked panicked .

“Guards are coming.” She stood up, making me drop her hand, and I headed into the woods. I spotted the Cerithian guards making their way toward her. Shit. Quickly, I ducked behind a tree as the little boy followed. I glanced around and saw Thea pulling flowers up, pretending like she hadn’t even noticed the guards; she jumped as if she were surprised.

“Fuck!” She yelled, overly dramatic.

“Sorry, Captain.” They bowed. “We were trying to see where you went.”

They eyed the bouquet of flowers in her hand. My magic simmered. If they tried to hurt her, I would gladly skin them alive.

“What? Is picking flowers forbidden or something? I thought they’d look nice in my sterile room.”

They said nothing to her. “Nice to know my father sent you to spy on me,” she muttered, and I laughed silently at her bad attitude. A moment later she disappeared with them, glancing back to see if they were gone.

When they were out of sight, I breathed heavily.

“Did you tell her you love her or what?” The boy pursed his lips at me.

“No, but I think that worked.”

He held his hand out and gave me a sassy look.

“Pay up.”

“Strictly business, got it.” Laughing, I put his payment into his hand and watched his eyes widen at how much I gave him. “You should go home, and don’t use your magic where others can see it again.”

He nodded and took off like I would take his money right back. Thea’s soul floated close by, and I smiled at her.

“Good idea, little viper.” She twirled around me as if she wanted to hug me but couldn’t. “Let’s hope you listen to Atticus.”

“I have to say, you always were a clever one, Cassius. Truly, I am impressed.”

I turned quickly with my dagger drawn before rolling my eyes when Della stood close by. I hated it when she snuck up on me like that.

“I want this shit to be over.”

“Me too.” She frowned.

I used my shadows to move back to Crimson. When they disappeared, I was standing in the hallway where I was earlier. My eyes narrowed on Della when I realized she was following me.

“What do you want?” I asked suspiciously.

She wrung her hands nervously in front of her. The gesture was not something I had seen from her before.

“Can I ask you something about Haden?” she whispered. I should tell her no. Haden had shared what she did to him, and he was devastated about it. I couldn’t blame him. She killed his sister. But when her star-colored eyes met mine, I saw my own devastation and the longing I had for Thea reflected in hers for Haden.

“I can’t promise you I’ll have an answer.”

She hesitated before glancing down to the floor.

“Do you think he’s happy?”

She glanced up at me, and I froze at her question because I had expected something else.

“I think so,” I answered. She nodded and frowned. “Sometimes I think he pretends to be.”

Tears filled her eyes as she swallowed hard.

“Thank you for giving him purpose and friendship. He was so sad before, and now I see him smiling, and that’s because of you. I just wanted to thank you for making him smile again.” Della tried to hold her tears in, but they fell silently down her cheeks.

“Della…”

“He hates me, doesn’t he?”

Her eyes looked at me, pleading with me to tell her that he didn’t. There was a small sliver of hope in them, and it gutted me for her.

“Yes,” I said with a frown. “Can you blame him?”

She shook her head and cried out loud, and for some reason, I felt bad for her because she clearly cared for him .

“What would you do to save Thea?” She asked as she met my eyes.

“Anything,” I answered without a thought. “You know that.”

“Including killing someone she cherished? Even if she begged you to save them instead of her, would you have done it?”

“I would never choose anyone over Thea.”

“And I would never choose anyone over Haden. I do not regret taking his sister’s soul instead of his, but I do regret hurting him so deeply.”

I still didn’t understand how Della and Haden came to be acquainted with one another. But it was clear that she loved him, and he didn’t want to love her. Something about her statement made me wonder if she meant they were mates. Haden didn’t say that—unless she kept it a secret.

“When you came and told me about Kace, you told me you made a bargain with your brother for him to leave Thea and I alone. What was the bargain?”

Della’s sad eyes looked at me for a long moment.

“I had to give him something in exchange for him to leave you be.”

I could see on her face that whatever she had given devastated her. I hadn’t realized she had given something for us. But what could have been important enough that Mikel thought it was worthy of leaving me the fuck alone?

“Della, what did you give him?”

She shook her head and frowned. The tears were streaming down her face in a constant stream.

“My star,” she whispered. When I stared at her confused, she continued. “When a god or goddess is brought into existence, we are gifted a piece of the star we come from. It is sacred, and we only get one. We hold onto it until we find..." She trailed off and stared at me with a tortured expression. “Until we find who it belongs to.”

“Your mate.”

She nodded as she swallowed hard.

“He’s your mate.”

She nodded again.

“You didn’t tell him.”

“How could I? I killed his sister because he was meant to die, and I would never choose anyone over him. I would’ve killed my own brother to save Haden, but he wouldn’t listen to me. Telling him that he is my fated mate would make him hate me more. He does not want to love me.”

I agreed with her. He would be pissed to know he was tied to the woman he hated and loved at the same time.

“So, if you don’t have your star...”

“I can’t solidify the mating bond with Haden. It’s a perfect punishment because Haden’s sister, Remiah, was Mikel’s soulmate.”

This bit of information made me understand Mikel’s asshole behavior toward me, but it still was unforgivable.

“Do you think he could ever forgive me? Maybe with time...”

Stars above, I wanted to lie to her to make her feel better, but I couldn’t.

“No.”

My one word made her stop talking and sob loudly into her hands.

“I used to pray for Haden’s forgiveness every morning I woke up, but now I pray that the stars will break our mating bond so that he can be happy. I just want him to be happy, and I know that I won’t ever be the one to do that for him. But it’s so hard to let go.”

Her shoulders shook with every shaky breath, and her body trembled in her grief. A noise coming down the hall had me panicking. Haden was walking toward us, but he wasn’t alone. Some woman with blonde hair and dark eyes was clinging to him. Fuck. He had never shown an interest in anyone. Now it made sense; he had a mate, so he wouldn’t want anyone besides them. Haden slowed down when he saw I was talking to Della. Then he frowned when he realized she was sobbing.

Della heard his heavy steps coming toward us and looked up. Gods, I felt like shit when her eyes drifted from Haden to the woman hanging off him. I thought I saw true devastation in her eyes earlier, but now I could feel her heartbreak surrounding us. I didn’t think she took a breath as her eyes took in the sight of Haden standing close by with the woman.

I knew what that felt like. When Thea kissed Jesper last time, I was fucked up for days over it.

Haden glanced at her but masked his concern with hatred. Della stared at the woman, but the woman hardly glanced at her. She was too focused on touching Haden’s arm and hugging him to her. Della just stared at the woman without saying anything. Sadness and jealousy were clear on her face.

“What’s going on?” Haden asked me, completely ignoring Della.

“Nothing.” I shook my head.

“Is Thea alright?” He frowned with genuine worry.

“Yes, she’s alright.”

Haden’s jaw clenched tightly as he turned his focus to Della .

“Why are you here? No one wants to see you; you’ve done enough damage to last four lifetimes,” he hissed. Shit, I don’t know if I had ever seen Haden so angry.

“Haden...” she whispered so softly. She took a step forward like she couldn’t help herself. Haden took a step away from her, and she flinched as if the movement burned her. Thea had done that to me before, and it broke me. “If you let me explain, then maybe—”

“Maybe what? I would forgive you?" This made him step toward her furious. “That will never happen. I can’t wait for Thea to break her curse so that you no longer have a reason to annoy us with your existence. I meant what I said that day; I never wanted to see you again.”

The woman that came with Haden glanced from him to her, then to me, like I knew what the fuck was going on. She took his anger, but fuck, I wanted to protect her. Della’s tears glowed like starlight down her cheeks as she watched Haden reach back and grab the woman’s hand while staring her in the eyes. Gods, he wanted to hurt her, and he was succeeding. Della was the one to look away from him. She turned her back to us as she tried to hold her sobs in.

“I’ll stay away,” she whispered as she turned once more, her eyes focusing on their hands clenched together. She didn’t look up at him .

“Thank you, Cassius.” She frowned at me. “I guess you were right.”

Then she was gone. I glanced at Haden, whose chest rose and fell in short breaths as he stared at where she was.

“Haden?” the woman spoke.

“Leave,” he demanded as he let go of her hand. She went to protest, but he turned to her. “Now, this was never going anywhere anyway.”

“Asshole,” she hissed but left.

Haden’s frosty eyes met mine, and I glared right back at him.

“What did she want?” His voice gave away the sadness he was hiding.

“She wanted to know if you were happy.” Haden’s anger melted away instantly. “And she asked if you hated her.”

“I can’t forgive her.” He sounded like he was convincing himself.

“Della asked if I were in her place if I would have saved Thea, even if she begged me to save someone else.”

Haden frowned at me.

“I would never choose anyone over Thea, and she said she would never choose anyone over you,” I sighed heavily as Haden seemed to stop breathing at my words.

“It’s different.” He clenched his jaw before turning away from me and leaving toward his room. He stopped when I called out to him.

“If you and Della switched roles, would you have let her die or saved her brother if she asked?”

I don’t know why I was involving myself. Part of me felt indebted to Della because she gave Thea and I a chance at happiness. The other part wanted Haden to stop lying to himself. He still loved her, and it was as if he couldn’t help it. They were mates, and Della had a bravery that I could never possess. She was willing to give him up and spend her eternity alone if it would make him happy. Haden opened his mouth before closing it.

I was the one to turn and walk away from him.