21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Thea

I t had been three days since I saved Petra and Sybrien. My father had not said anything to me, so I didn’t think he would suspect that I killed his men. But every day that passed, the more paranoid I became. Did they know that my magic let me travel in mere seconds? They would’ve killed me by now if they did.

I focused on the men fighting but could not stop thinking about my father and how atrocious I found him to be.

“Thea.” I froze when Jesper spoke from behind me. My face remained blank as I turned to look at him. “Your father needs you.”

“Alright.” I nodded before turning back to the men. “You’re excused for the day!”

They stopped combat immediately to salute me. I followed Jesper as we silently moved toward the castle .

“You’ve been training the men extra in the last few days.” He looked at me oddly.

“We're expecting war. Isn’t that what you do when you need your soldiers to be the best—train them?”

Jesper didn’t say anything as we stepped into the throne room. My father dominated the space with his height and fancy robes. He was glaring at me as he stood at the map of Elloryon. Fuck. What did he know?

“Thanks for coming,” he sighed and looked away from me. I relaxed as soon as he looked concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“King Sybrien and his wife are still alive.” He watched me closely, like he expected some sort of reaction. I gave away nothing. “Our men never got to them and didn’t come back like they should have yesterday.”

“Well, maybe something happened, and they had to put it off for a few days.” I offered, knowing I had murdered both of them. Flashes of my darkness punching a hole through the man made me smile to myself.

“No, these were some of our best men. They would have been in and out. Something happened when they got there.”

Jesper’s eyes were staring intently at the side of my face, but I refused to look at him. I pretended to be thinking about something, but all I could picture was the guard I burnt to a crisp.

“Alright, then attack Falgon or Crimson before word gets out. If our men were killed by Akecia guards, then he will likely warn the other kingdoms, right? Move in before he gets the chance.”

Jesper’s gaze finally turned to my father, and I saw him give him a surprised look. They hadn’t expected me to plan another attack, which was good for me.

My eyes glanced around his throne room. I had ripped it apart the other day searching for my bloodstone so I could break my curse, but I didn’t find it. It had to be in this room. My father was always here, and it was always guarded. My darkness crept from me undetected and searched the area for its power again, but I frowned when it felt nothing.

“We have men scouting the borders of Falgon and Crimson now. We should know by the morning which kingdom is our next move. Akecia locked down their border, so they are not an option.”

“Alright, well, let me know what you need from me when the scouts return.”

“We will.” My father smiled at me like he was proud.

Prick.

Turning, I headed for the door but stopped when my father spoke again.

“I’m so glad to have you back home, Thea.”

I wanted to vomit, but I turned back and smiled.

“Me too.”

Swallowing back the bitterness I felt saying it, I headed for my room.

★★?★★

I kept my eyes shut, but I heard something moving around in my room. I had laid in bed for hours after my talk with Jesper and Luren and had only just relaxed when the noise caught my attention. Where had I left my dagger; was it on my nightstand or in my boot by the bed? Whoever moved around was almost completely silent. I thought maybe it was Della, but she would have made herself known.

My eyes flashed open when I felt something touch my face. I sat up quickly. The only thing that I was met with was complete darkness. I could feel someone watching me, even if I couldn’t see them. Standing, I grabbed my dagger and headed for the door to see if the guards were there. I opened the door to both of them.

“Is something wrong, Captain?”

I shook my head .

“Sorry, I think I was having a weird dream.” I lied and shut the door, locking it. When I turned around to scout the room, I was ambushed. The man’s hand clamped around my mouth as he ripped the dagger from me and set it down quietly. I was about to scream, but the scent of rain and forest surrounded me.

Cassius.

He pressed me against the wall with his body before I saw his glowing golden eyes.

“It’s just me, my love.”

He slowly removed his hand from my mouth before dragging me toward the window, where the moonlight shone brightly enough to see his face.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped. I hadn’t seen him since my father told me that he killed me. Honestly, it was probably for the best because I was trying to plan my prophecy. But I also needed to break my curse and couldn’t find the damn bloodstone.

“I wanted to see you, but more importantly..." He stepped forward, trapping me between him and the wall once again. His eyes stared into mine intently. “I want to know why you saved Sy and Petra.”

Gods, I couldn’t concentrate when he was touching me this much. His hands caged me to the wall, but that didn’t stop him from leaning his body flush against mine .

“I don’t know why I did it.”

He leaned down so he could look into my eyes. What was he looking for?

“Did you break your curse?” He whispered like he was scared I’d say no.

“Of course not.” I breathed. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you saved our friends. Because you told him to warn me and Falgon about the assassins. You’re betraying your father and Jesper.”

“I don’t want to be a monster.” I glared. “I will not let my family take all of Elloryon for greed.”

Something in his eyes changed as he listened to me.

“You have never been a monster.” He leaned close to me. “I had hoped you somehow broke your curse and remembered me, us. I was hoping to take you home with me tonight.”

His lips pressed into my neck softly. I sighed as his stubble rubbed my skin as he kissed down my neck.

“I think you deserve a reward for being a good girl,” he whispered as he leaned forward to press his lips into mine.

No thoughts came to me. Cassius smiled against my lips before pulling away from me.

“You won’t be needing all of this.” He waved his hands over my clothing. I immediately discarded my camisole, making him chuckle softly. I should probably resist him a little bit, but I couldn’t. There was something about this man that made me lose my fucking mind. Cassius hooked his thumbs into my underwear and slowly sank to his knees as he dragged them down my legs. His mouth leaving a trail of soft bites and licks down my stomach.

He tossed them to the side before lifting my leg and devouring me. Fuck. His tongue swirled around me as he plunged two fingers into me at the same time. My fingers dug into his hair as I tried everything in my power to not make any noise. He was fucking relentless. I did my best to hold out, but it was useless. The man knew how to use his mouth for more than flirting. It didn’t take long for me to cum. Cassius smiled as he sat back.

“Fuck, Thea. I barely touched you.”

“Get up,” I demanded.

“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled and stood in front of me.

“Take it off.” I waved to his clothes. Cassius smiled at me as he slipped from his boots. Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his muscled body. My eyes immediately dropped to the crown tattoo before looking over the red viper going up his arm. I could feel him looking at me as I watched him undress.

“We’ve fucked in a lot of places, Thea, but we’ve never done it in our enemy’s home. ”

My eyes glanced up at him. Gods, he looked like I was his prey.

“What would they do if they walked in here and saw you bent over the bed moaning my name?”

“Kill me,” I answered his rhetorical question. His lips twitched slightly.

“Are you really worried about anyone catching us?”

He stepped forward and traced the ‘C’ tattooed over my heart. I shook my head no as my eyes found the ‘T’ above his heart. Cassius and Thea. It had a viper coiled tightly around it. Little viper. His finger lowered, circling my breasts. Goosebumps gave away what his light touch did to me. Cassius stepped forward, his hand tangling in my hair so he could drag my mouth up to his.

Cassius was not gentle. His mouth dominated mine, his tongue dancing with mine as his other hand slid down to find me wet.

“You always were ready for me, Thea,” he sighed. I leaned forward and kissed his neck. My mind was flashing with an image of him dying. I flinched, but he let out a soft moan and leaned back so I had better access, making the image disappear. My hand wrapped around his hard length, and I smiled when he flexed his hips.

“Seems you are always ready for me too.” I smiled before kissing over where I could feel his heart beating. Cassius stilled at the touch before yanking me back up to his mouth. Cassius pulled away from me, spinning me so I was facing the bed, and pushed me down, so I was on all fours. His hands rubbed over my naked back before grabbing handfuls of my ass.

I could hear my heavy breathing in the room, but nothing else as Cassius slid into me quickly.

I moaned before he yanked me up, so my back was flesh with his chest. His hand wrapped around my jaw as his mouth brushed my ear.

“Be quiet,” he demanded.

“That is going to be impossible,” I sighed as he thrust up into me again. Cassius sighed heavily into my ear as he picked up his pace. My eyes squeezed shut, trying my hardest to be quiet. My head shook back and forth as his hips pounded into me. There was no way I was going to cum quietly. His tattooed hand covered my mouth.

“Fuck, I need to hear you,” he groaned as his shadows swarmed around us. My skin prickled when the cool air hit me. I opened my eyes to see we were in a meadow, the bed gone.

“Cassius,” I moaned. “Don’t stop.”

“That’s it, Thea. Tell me what you want.” He shoved me back down on all fours, his hands grabbing my hips tightly and slamming me back against him. His fingers flexed so tightly into my flesh that I knew it would bruise.

“Oh fuck.”

“You’re about to cum, aren’t you?” he ground out. I moved my hips back to meet his thrusts. “Such a greedy fucking girl. Always wanting more.”

I moaned into the dark night.

“Cassius, please,” I begged.

Cassius’ thrusts became more erratic behind me, his breathing heavy and uncontrolled. Without warning, he flipped me, so I was on my back under him.

“I want to see you,” he muttered. His eyes, black as night, stared at me hauntingly. His shadows swarmed around him. He looked like he did the first time I fought him on the battlefield. My mouth opened, but nothing came out as my orgasm teetered on the edge of release.

“I love seeing you like this. You look at me like I am all you need.” He slammed into me.

“You are all I need,” I moaned.

Cassius lost it. He slammed into me as his orgasm overtook him. He thrust into me deeply, making my own orgasm follow. I held him to me as he softly groaned into my neck. He kissed me as his shadows swarmed around us. A moment later, we were lying in my bed in Cerithia. Cassius frowned slightly as he stood up .

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I should go,” he whispered as he looked for his clothing.

“You could stay.”

He stilled and stared at me. I asked my magic to tell me what he was thinking. Cassius’ voice flittered into my mind instantly.

She wants me to stay. How could I say no to her, but why does she want me around?

“Do you want me to?” His eyes searched mine for something. Gods, she’s looking at me like she did before her curse. I’ve missed sleeping with her next to me.

“Yes.”

He let his clothes fall from his hands instantly as he crawled into bed and pulled me next to him. I could feel his heart racing under my hand and glanced up at him. He was nervous.

“I killed you,” he whispered. Why did I remind her?

“I know.”

But gods, I really didn’t fucking care.

“You should be upset with me.” Please don’t hate me.

“I know.” I frowned as I traced my finger down his chest and over his tattoos. Cassius turned so he was facing me. My breath caught when his eyes met mine. He looked pained and tortured as he watched me.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” he confessed. “I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and have you hate me again because of what I did.” I did it to save you. I love you and would do anything to bring you back home.

My hand ran over his face.

“Let’s have tonight. I don’t want to think of anything but the way it feels when you are close to me.”

Cassius leaned forward and kissed me.

“Cassius…” I looked deep into his eyes. “I could never hate you.”

Thank the fucking stars. I just want you back home.