23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Cassius

I groaned when I opened my swollen eyes. Kneeling on a hard floor overnight was starting to hurt. I tugged on the chains that had my arms stretched out to the sides. I could escape this easily. Della appeared in front of me again.

“I’m starting to think your plan isn’t working.” She glared at me. “I told you that Thea is busy.”

She gave me a pointed look and huffed.

“It’ll work. I passed out, so she didn’t sense I was in danger through the bond.”

Della began pacing back and forth like she was worried too. I laughed quietly, making Della stop and stare at me.

“What?” I asked.

“I can’t believe this is your plan. Who in their right mind would willingly be taken as a prisoner, and to Kizar no less? Jesper’s guards are a bunch of morons.” Della was not impressed.

“A man who is desperate for Thea to recognize the depths of her feelings for him,” I said smugly. I hadn’t seen her in too long, and Della said she was too busy to come see me. Della hadn't filled me in on how Thea was doing, so I knew they were up to something. But why would Della keep things from me now? She wanted Thea to break her curse, but why couldn't I be involved?

“Thea needs to focus on what she is doing. I told you to give her time.” Della gave me a disapproving look.

“I did.” I watched her closely. “It’s been well over a week. She hasn’t come for me; she hasn’t let me in her dreams; she hardly communicates through the bond. I’m going fucking crazy.”

“So, this is your plan? She’ll feel you through the bond and come rescue you, making her realize that you are more important than anyone else.”

“Yes.” Della looked off to me. Why wouldn’t she look me in the eyes? “Do you know something?”

“Of course not,” she spoke quickly. "Thea knows her depth of feelings for you, which is why she is staying away."

Before I could ask her about why she was lying, the wooden door opened and a dozen Kizar guards walked in. I watched them circle around me, weapons drawn. They had whipped me last night until I passed out. My back was sore and uncomfortable, but Thea would fix me when she came.

“Who are you talking to in here?” Their captain narrowed his eyes on me.

I glanced at Della, who stood next to him unbeknownst.

“Myself.”

The captain stepped forward and kneeled in front of my face, his dark eyes piercing into my own. I had sent an image of being beaten to Thea, but she still hadn’t shown up. It hadn’t been that long, but I would prefer not to get my ass kicked again.

“You are mad, aren’t you?” The guard spoke. “Our king always said you weren’t right in the head. A madman he called you.”

I leaned forward and headbutted him, his nose breaking. They had no idea how fucking crazy I could get. The captain stood and punched me as hard as he could. Fuck. Instead of showing him the agony I was feeling, I laughed.

“You’ll pay for that,” he hissed. “Give me the whip,” he barked at the guards without looking away from me. Della suddenly stood straight up and smiled at me. All the guards froze when the lights flickered violently. Thea.

The guards in the room didn’t feel the shift in the air. They didn’t realize that Thea’s power commanded all the energy around her. That she made the realm bend and mold to her for her use. Her power demanded attention so everyone would see how fucking perfect she was. The guard in front of me unraveled the whip and drew his arm back as if he would whip my chest. But he paused.

Screaming was coming from outside the door now, and the guards quickly turned their attention to it with their weapons drawn. It sounded like a fucking massacre out there. I could hear bones breaking and men begging for their lives.

“What the fuck is that?” One of the guards cried out into the room.

I chuckled, making them look at me.

“That would be my wife.” I smiled. “And she sounds very angry.”

“Wife?” One of the guards looked around as if the other guards knew who I was talking about. His curiosity ended when the wooden door splintered and exploded. Thea, in all her glory, stepped into the room. Fuck, she was beautiful, but something about seeing her like this, completely lost in her darkness, seized any ability to breathe. My eyes dragged over her. Her eyes were dark red, and the swirls on her arms glowed so brightly. She wasn’t just pissed; she was enraged. Her darkness swirled around her like my shadows did but seemed darker and more intimidating than mine ever could be.

Her eyes flickered around until she saw me, and I swear the ground shook in her fury. My wife was about to lose her shit.

“Thea?” The captain said with a tremble in his voice.

“What are you doing to Cassius?” Her voice was laced with anger, which only made her more menacing. Gods, I fucking loved this woman.

“He’s a prisoner.”

She nodded before glancing away from me for the first time. She glanced around the room, assessing how many guards there were. Her eyes lingered on the whip in the captain’s hands. With a flick of her wrist, she evaporated every guard in the room with her fire magic, except him. Fuck, I was mad, because this was not the time to be turned on.

She took a step toward him, and he cowered down. When she glanced at me, I smiled at her. I felt it in our bond—her longing to help me. It stole my breath.

“You whipped him?” she tisked. Before he could blink, she moved behind him and kicked his legs out from under him. He cried out in pain when he hit the ground. Thea wasted no time pinning him to the floor with her darkness before dragging him directly in front of me .

He was pleading with her, but she was too lost in vengeance to hear him. Her eyes locked onto mine, and she gave me a wicked smile as she pulled out her viper-handled dagger, cutting the man’s hands from him.

“You fucking traitor!” he yelled at her.

She stood up and glared down at him, and I worried that it would make her second-guess what she was doing. But she kicked him in the face.

“If I had more time, I would skin you alive,” she snapped. “But I want some time with Cassius before I leave. I’ve missed him.” My stomach clenched tightly with anticipation. Her fire magic glowed as she lifted her hands and focused on the man before his body went up in flames. Thea stood and watched him until he took his last breath.

“My love,” I spoke to help her pull out of her darkness.

Thea shook her head and stared at me for a moment before hurrying over. She unchained me and instantly helped me out of the room. There was chaos happening everywhere. Thea pulled me into a random dark room. She gently pushed me down to sit. What the fuck kind of chair was I sitting on? I turned to see I was in fact seated on Jesper’s throne. It was hideous, silver with ugly gray stones. Her darkness was circling all around us, so no one could enter the room.

"Cassius.” Her voice was frantic. “Fuck, what did they do to you?”

Her hands were running over the wounds on my bare chest.

“I should have drawn out their deaths.” Her eyes flashed black again, and I was mesmerized by her. Worry and anger zapped through the bond. She was becoming erratic.

“It’s alright.” I grabbed her hands and slowed down her movements. “You disappeared. I’ve missed you.”

She was kneeling between my legs where I sat. Her eyes faded back to dark green as she looked at me. A moment later, her healing magic seeped from her and closed all my wounds, but we didn’t break eye contact.

Thea’s lips parted as she let out a shaky breath. Desire pumped into our bond, and it was crippling.

“You had me in our enemy’s castle; now I think I should have you on our other enemy’s throne,” she whispered.

Fuck.

Her eyes swirled with black as she pulled her hands from mine and ran them over my thighs and up to the waistband of my trousers. She smiled at me when I leaned back and lifted my hips so she could yank them down. Her eyes never left mine as she gripped my hard cock, moving her hand down its length. I moaned at the sight of her .

“My love,” I sighed when she leaned forward and ran her tongue up the length of me. My hands gripped the arms of Jesper’s throne as she pulled me into her mouth. I didn’t dare close my eyes. The sight of my wife on her knees while I sat on a throne that didn’t belong to me was enough to make me cum. My hips surged forward, making her take me deeper. Her plump lips wrapped around my cock were a sight to behold. Thea opened her eyes and glanced at me through her dark lashes.

“Fuck, your lips were made to be around me.”

Thea moaned at my words, and she used her hand to move down my length in tandem with her mouth extremely slowly. She was teasing me. I tried to lift my hips to get more friction, but she pulled away slightly. I gripped her hair in my hands and pulled her off me, so she was staring me in the eyes.

“You don’t want to play this game, my love. I will have you begging for release in less than a minute.”

“That sounds like heaven,” she breathed.

Gods, this woman was perfect.

She smiled at me as I leaned forward and took her mouth with mine, my tongue dominating hers. Thea was a whimpering mess when I pulled away. Then I shoved her mouth back down to my cock .

“Open,” I demanded. She listened, and I filled her mouth, but I was losing control of myself. I pulled out quickly, then slowly glided back into her throat, making her gag. Thea moaned around me, making my sanity snap. My hips surged forward at their own pace. She took it eagerly.

“Look at you, so eager to please me,” I ground out. My words only fueled her enthusiasm as she whimpered around me. Her hands reached forward and scratched my bare skin on my stomach. “Fuck, you’re such a good girl,” I praised her. Her fingers dug into my flesh, and I knew it would bruise. “Do you want me to cum in your mouth or inside of you?”

I yanked her back so she could answer.

“In me,” she begged.

I forced her to stand so I could reach forward and yank her trousers down. Thea took control as soon as she was naked from the waist down. She straddled my hips as she grabbed the back of the throne and sank onto me quickly. I had to hold her hips so she couldn’t move. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I was not going to last long.

Thea gripped my hair and pulled my face back so she could kiss me. When she pulled back, her hands yanked her tunic up and over her head, so she was naked.

“I need your mouth on my skin,” she demanded, and she yanked me against her breasts. She slowly slid up my length as my hands grabbed her breasts, sucking and teasing her.

“Oh fuck,” she moaned into the silent room.

My arm wrapped around her back and pulled her closer to me. Her fingers ran through my hair and pulled on it as she rolled her hips into me.

“Fuck,” I muttered when I stared into her black eyes. Her soft pleas were echoing in the space. “If I could only hear one noise for the rest of my life, it would be this.”

“Cassius…” She was close. “You feel so good.”

I leaned my head back against the throne and watched her face as she fought her orgasm. She never wanted this to end. She never got enough of us. Her mouth parted as she stared down at me, her hips moving at an unbearable pace.

“Cum for me, Thea,” I begged. “I need you to cum.”

She leaned down and took my mouth with hers as she clenched around me. Thank the stars. I moaned into her mouth as I buried myself deep inside of her and came. Neither of us moved. Our labored breathing filled the silence around us. Thea pulled back, and I always worried she would regret this, but she gave me a heart-stopping smile.

“Every time I see Jesper, I’ll picture fucking you on his throne. Fuck, we should have done this in Cerithia too.”

I smiled at her. I loved her so fucking much. Thea’s eyes cascaded over my face before she hesitated.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

I froze. Not because of her words, but because I know I didn’t say that out loud. Thea watched the confusion mask my expression. Then she smirked at me.

“I didn’t say that out loud.”

She stood and started getting dressed so nonchalantly. She smiled at me when I pulled up my trousers and stared at her.

“No, you didn’t say it out loud, but I still heard it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can read minds.” She shrugged like she was talking about the fucking weather.

“Since when?”

“I don’t know. It happened when I first escaped Exile. I heard Jesper’s thoughts. At first, I thought I was losing my mind, but then I realized I could turn it off and on.”

I was at a loss for words. Thea smiled at me innocently.

“I need to get back before my father knows I’m missing. I’m sorry it took so long to get to you; I was in a meeting.”

She stepped forward hesitantly before hugging me. Her lips pressed into the skin above my heart. When she pulled away, I grabbed her wrist.

“Come home with me. ”

She smiled brightly at me. Gods, did she break her curse? She looked at me like she used to before she forgot. There was no way she broke it; she didn’t give me the stone.

“I didn’t break the curse,” she answered my thoughts. “I’m working on it.”

Emotions clogged my throat.

“You’re really going to do it this time, aren’t you?”

“I hope so, but I have to figure out where my bloodstone is first.” She frowned at me. “My father hid it, so I’m trying to find it.”

“I can help find it.” I offered, but she frowned at me.

“I need you to stay away, Cassius.” Tears filled her pretty eyes. Why would she say that? “Once the curse is broken, I have to fulfill the prophecy. You will be in the way if you try to help.”

“But I want to make sure you succeed.”

“I know, but promise me you won’t interfere.” She was serious as she stared at me. Something was bothering her. “Promise me, Cassius. What is the point of all of this if I lose you at the end anyway?”

I didn’t want to promise her.

Her face softened as she stepped forward again. Thea’s fingers traced my face softly.

“You need to trust me.”

Her words made me flinch.

“I trust you more than anyone.” I frowned. “But what if you die again and I could have prevented it? I will die with you.”

“You can’t always protect me, Cassius. This is one of those times that I’m asking you to let me do this on my own. I’m telling you I need to do this without worrying about you.”

“I just love you so much,” I whisper. “My biggest fear is seeing you die again.”

“And my biggest fear is forgetting you again or losing you because you want to save me. You have saved me countless times before, my love. Let me save us this time.”

I didn’t know if I could promise that I could stay out of it. She was everything to me.

“Then at least try,” she answered me.

“I don’t know how much I like this mind-reading,” I confessed, which made her chuckle softly.

“I like it quite a lot.”

“I will do my best to stay out of your way,” I said. But I knew that I would have a very hard time not helping her. Especially if she broke her curse. If she died, then that would be it, and I would follow her into the next life because I refused to live in a realm where she did not exist with me .

Thea’s eyes softened, letting me know she was reading my mind.

“Cassius…”

“I mean it. You own me, mind, body, and soul. In this life and in every life that follows. I cannot exist where you do not. You are my entire existence.”

Thea leaned forward and kissed me possessively.

“I love you,” she whispered. “I will remember you soon.”

She disappeared before I could respond.