24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Thea

“ Y ou want me to pretend to like Cassius and then stab him?” I glanced around at my father and the guards. This was the most stupid plan I had ever heard. “He won’t ever fall for that. We're enemies.” Tell me what he is thinking, I told my magic.

“Cassius is fond of you. He will fall for it.” My father waved his hand as if to dismiss me. Don’t be fucking difficult, or I’ll start this curse over again. “Once you’ve gotten into the castle, you will use your magic and destroy it—with the royal family inside.” And finally, get rid of Cassius forever.

“How am I supposed to convince him not to kill me and that I like him?” I acted appalled, but my stomach was clenched with anticipation. As soon as I glanced at Jesper, images of Cassius fucking me on Jesper’s throne made me feel dizzy with longing. I knew he was pushing those images into my mind through the bond.

“You’re clever; you’ll figure it out.” My father pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Because he fucking loves you, and I will use that weakness against him.

“This is a terrible idea.” Jesper stood. “Cassius could fill her head with lies!” I glanced at Jesper and focused on his thoughts.

“For once, I agree with Jesper,” I said.

Luren has lost his fucking mind if he thinks that Cassius won’t convince Thea to be with him. She fucking can’t stay away from him. Thea will never choose us; we should just kill her each year and stop trying to convince her to be on our side.

“She knows that he killed her, and she won’t fall for his manipulation. Right, Thea?” I glanced at my father and focused on his thoughts. If you do, we will just kill you again.

“Of course, but I’m more worried that this is an obvious plan, and he’ll slit my throat open or something.”

My father and Jesper seemed to contemplate this plan again. It was sick to sit here and think that they were manipulating me. They knew Cassius was important to me, yet they used it as a weapon. Did my family and kingdom hate me that much ?

“Let Jesper and I discuss. I’ll come find you when we know a better plan.” My father dismissed me. Quickly I left the room, but I did not leave without hearing what they had to say. I waited at the door.

“What do you think?” My father asked Jesper.

It was silent for a long moment before I heard someone walking around.

“Well, she thought it was a bad idea, so she must not remember him,” Jesper sighed. “But Thea is also clever; she could be putting on a whole show. Someone killed all the guards in my castle.”

Shit.

My mind raced with what I would do if they knew I was protecting Cassius.

“It was probably Cassius. Thea can’t get to Kizar, kill all of your men stationed there, and be back in a short time. The guards said she didn’t leave her room. Besides, you saw Cassius at the meeting. She devastated him; that was no act.” My father laughed. I just smiled to myself because my father had no idea how much I had seen Cassius since that meeting. I needed to find the bloodstone. “We’ve never been in a position where she does not choose Cassius. It seems the gods are in favor of us. ”

Rage simmered under my skin. They think this is funny. My life is just a joke that they can use as they see fit. It was sick.

“What happens when she kills the family and realizes we lied?” Jesper questioned the king.

“We will worry about that when the time comes. Besides, it will be easy to blame it on Cassius or his family. Maybe a different curse that cannot ever be broken.”

“Alright.” Jesper breathed heavily. “But she can’t pretend to like Cassius. If she spends any time with him, then she’s going to start remembering him. Maybe we should lock her up until we can get the Crimson family prisoner. Then she can kill them.”

“If we lock her up, then she will know what is going on. Besides, we don’t know all the magic she has inside of her or what she’s collected. She could escape. We need to just keep pushing the war off.”

I didn’t even know what kind of magic I had. I was severely at a disadvantage here. Half the stuff they talked about went right over my head. One thing for certain was that I did not belong here. My heart pounded as I turned and left. I went to my room even though all I wanted to do was run far away from here.

Cassius was not going to stay out of my way. He would try, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself. So, I needed to break the curse without him knowing. By the time he realized I remembered it, it would be after I fulfilled the prophecy.

Cassius was much safer without me telling him anything. I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling of my ugly, white, sterile room. The weight of everything settled on my chest, making it difficult to breathe or concentrate. My father was going to keep me prisoner here by any means necessary. All the lies and deceit were enough to make my darkness swarm around me.

I would need to use my magic to trick my father into telling me where my bloodstone was. I had no idea what magic I had, and I had no idea how I could figure it out. Maybe tomorrow I will try to use some. My darkness would help. At the thought, my darkness hummed in approval. This was ending very soon; I missed my husband.

★★?★★

It had been two days since my meeting with my father, and I hadn’t seen him once. In fact, he was purposely avoiding me. So today I snuck out of the castle in the night and deep into the dark woods. My magic stirred frantically in my chest as if it knew I would be using it today. My body hummed in wild anticipation.

When I was far enough away, I glanced around the small clearing. I’m sure there were monsters out there that wanted to eat me alive. I flicked my wrist, and fire illuminated the space. Alright, now what did I do? Shit, my fire magic had exploded out of me without warning before. Maybe my other magic would too? I stood in the middle of the clearing, waiting for something to happen. “Gods, I feel stupid,” I muttered to myself.

Breaking sticks alerted me that I wasn’t alone. My gaze darted around the dark woods. At first, I couldn’t see anything, but then dozens of creatures burst through the tree line.

“Fuck.”

Their ear-piercing screeches let me know that they were not friendly. Their small bodies were camouflaged into the tall brown weeds of the field, making it impossible to see them. A painful scream tore through me as one jumped on my arm and tore it open. Power like nothing I felt before rippled from me as I fell onto the ground.

Blood gushed from my wound, and I held my hand to it tightly to heal it like I did with Cassius. When I glanced up, I realized the creatures had not attacked me again. Then I realized why. There was some sort of invisible boundary around me that they couldn’t get through.

Had I done that? Wisp’s green flame caught my attention as she floated outside of the boundary. The small creatures seemed to see her as she flickered away from me, taking them with her. When she reappeared a minute later, she was alone and twirling around me. I released my boundary magic and glanced around.

“I’m not sure how to summon magic when I don’t know what kinds I have," I sighed. Wisp continued to float around, but her color switched to purple. What did that mean? My darkness was urging me to be released. At first, I refused to let it out because I wanted to focus on my magic, but she was persistent.

After struggling with my darkness for a few minutes, she refused to be locked up and burst from me. Her inky tendrils swirled around me until she gripped me tightly, seeping into my bones and clawing her way through my body. I was frozen, helpless, as my darkness took over me. Trees swayed at the force of her. She forced my mouth open and made me swallow every drop of her. When she was done, I fell to the forest floor.

My breathing was labored as I looked around, slightly confused. All of a sudden my darkness burst from me again, but this time she forced my magic out of me too. I was not in control of my body as it summoned my fire, making it swarm around me. Cassius’ shadows entwined with it, making the flames burn black. Then a ball of light formed in my hand. My darkness forced me to grab it and stretch it before forcing me through it. When I stepped out, I felt dizzy, but I had moved across the small clearing in a matter of seconds.

My hands raised without my permission, and I felt them pulsing. Suddenly my dagger and other metal objects rose into the air before dropping. My body whipped around and shot frost out, freezing a little creature that was sneaking back toward me. Like Haden’s magic.

My body pulsed violently as my darkness drained all of my energy into showing me the next magic.

I watched as the forest turned into a lake. I glanced around as my magic slowly seeped over every surface, changing it right before my eyes. Illusion magic. Fuck. My darkness tried to show me something else, but I collapsed on the forest floor, drained of energy. Wisp was flashing between dark and light purple.

“Wisp, I don’t know what purple means.”

“It means you’re taking a step in the right direction.” Della appeared next to me. “You’re trying your magic.”

“Well, my darkness didn’t give me much of an option.” I groaned as I stood on weak legs. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Della smiled.

“I was helping Cassius.” Her eyes traced over me. “He said you told him you loved him.”

“I do love him,” I sighed.

“I know you do.” She frowned. It made me feel bad because somehow I knew she was thinking of Haden. I got the sense she wanted to talk about him.

“Not that it matters now, but Haden said you were real.” I glanced at her. She nodded sadly. “He was really angry.”

Della glanced into the stars and sighed heavily. Her mind seemed to be remembering something that was painful for her. Her eyes squeezed tightly before she zoned out on the ground.

“As gods, we wait an eternity to meet our mates. We never know when it will happen, just that it will. I dreamed of my mate for as long as I could remember. I had this idea in my mind about the kind of life we would have. Those thoughts only tripled when I met Haden. He was so much better than I could have dreamed up for myself. Strong, funny, handsome, selfless, and kind. But I managed to ruin it in months. All my dreams went out the window the night Haden told me he hated me, that he wished he never met me.” She swallowed hard. “I have nothing to look forward to anymore. Our existence as gods means nothing until we meet our other half. They give us a new purpose, a reason to want to wake up in the mornings, but now I have absolutely nothing.”

“Della… ”

“This is going to sound terrible.” She paused as she turned to meet my face. “A part of me hates you and Cassius.”

Her words should anger me, but I knew what she meant.

“How much you two love each other makes jealousy bloom deep in my chest. He killed you, and you have forgiven him. There have been so many mistakes made between the two of you, but your love has never wavered. Haden did not think I was worthy of forgiveness. He did not love me like I loved him.”

“But maybe he can forgive you in time.” I wanted that to be true. The thought of Della alone for the rest of her existence hurt my soul to think about.

She laughed humorlessly.

“Do you know what he said the last time he saw me?” Her jaw tensed. “He cannot wait until you break your curse so that I do not have to be around anymore. And it made me realize that part of me dreads you breaking your curse because he is right. I will no longer have a reason to be around, let alone near him. You must think I’m awful for thinking like this.”

“No, I don’t.” I stepped toward her and turned her, so she was looking at me. I grabbed her and hugged her. “You will have a reason to be around. You are my friend, and that will not end because my curse does. ”

Della was crying silently as she held onto me. Her heart was beating rapidly as she pulled back.

“I came to tell you that your bloodstone cannot leave your father’s castle unless you take it. So, wherever it is, it is here. Let's find it. I want to help. I’m surprised that your darkness can’t feel its power.” Della seemed to be thinking of something when her face broke into a smile. “Use your illusion magic. Turn into Gwyn or someone and ask your father about it; even if he refuses to tell you, he will likely think about it, and you can hear it with your mind reading.”

“Can I make myself someone else?”

"Yes,” she chewed on her bottom lip. “I’ve seen someone do it recently. Try it.” My eyes narrowed on her because she seemed suspicious.

“I thought your tongue was tied with magic.”

“It is, but I haven’t actually told you anything that you didn’t already know. Besides, I’m looking forward to watching you fulfill your prophecy.” A wicked smile took over her face.

A noise in the woods had both of us freezing in our spots. A moment later, Cerithian guards emerged from the tree line. They drew their weapons at me; Della was standing next to me, but I knew they couldn’t see her.

“Don’t move.”

“What are you guys doing?” I demanded an answer.

“You need to come back to the castle.”

I glanced at Della; something was wrong. She followed me as the guards refused to lower their weapons. I didn’t bother demanding any more answers. Something felt... off with them. Della followed me silently through the woods. If something happened to me, she would tell Cassius. I was confident in that.

When we entered the castle, I expected to go into the throne room, but instead, the small group of guards led me upstairs to my room. They shoved me inside and closed the door.

“What the fuck!” I yelled when I jiggled the doorknob to find I was locked in there. A noise behind me had me quieting down. Della was next to me, not saying anything, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

“What the fuck?” Della finally muttered. "Bayla?"

I turned toward the noise and froze. She was smiling at me with her red eyes and hair that matched mine; in fact, everything about her matched me. This was the woman I saw in my room before. Della referred to her as Bayla… the woman who sent the brown-eyed man to protect me. She was standing by my bedroom window. Bayla’s arms opened as if she expected me to go and hug her .

“Thea, darling, come hug me.” She smiled. My back hit the door behind me as I tried to get away from her. Why did she look like me? And why did I not feel safe with her? "Thea, come hug your mother," she said, irritated.

“My mother is dead.” I glanced around to find understanding but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Well, besides my dead mother trying to hug me.

Her face fell, but she stepped toward me. I grabbed my dagger and held it toward her. Something in her eyes shifted.

“I’ve come back to help you break your curse. I had not moved on to the next life yet; I didn’t want to until you regained your memories.”

Della hadn’t moved at all. I wasn’t sure if she was even breathing at this point.

“Why did my father’s guards bring me here to see you?”

My heart was pounding in my ears. This wasn’t my mother. It couldn’t be her. As much as I wanted it to be, it was impossible. My father had her killed.

“He wants you to break your curse, so he called upon my spirit to help guide you.”

Okay, lying sack of shit.

“I need to kill the Crimson bloodline. I don’t know how you can help with that. ”

She took a small step forward as if it would be undetected.

“Please give me a hug.” She frowned.

“No thanks.” I stepped backward, and the image of my mother was clearly irritated. “This is not possible. My mother moved on years ago.”

Della looked at me with a look I didn’t like.

“It’s not impossible,” Della whispered. “Killian waited for your mother when she died, but when their souls met, they... disappeared.”

“What do you mean, disappeared?” I hissed, not caring if this woman heard me.

Della began fidgeting, which she did when she was nervous.

“Your mother is a stubborn woman, and so is Killian. They refused to go on to the next life, and their souls vanished. I could never track her or him down. I’m assuming your mother wouldn’t move on until she knew you broke your curse.”

I looked at the woman who was claiming to be my mother.

“Della’s right, I didn’t move on.” The woman smiled. “I’m worried that Cassius is tricking you again. Have you spoken to him?”

“No, of course not.”

She took another step toward me. Why did she want to be closer to me? Fuck, I realized my magic was not stirring in my chest. My darkness was not there either. Something about this thing was keeping me from using my magic, or maybe I used all my damn energy trying to see what magic I had.

“I’m pretty disappointed you won’t hug your mother.” She pouted. “Let me at least see how beautiful you grew up to be.”

She moved toward me quickly. I darted from her touch and held out my dagger.

“Who the fuck are you, and how did you block my magic?”

“I’m your mother.”

“No, you aren’t. My mother would never help my father. He murdered her. So, I’ll ask you again, bitch, who are you?”

Her face contorted into a wicked smile as she advanced on me again.

“She’s a vatori!” Della yelled at me. “She can see your memories and thoughts by touching you. One small touch and she can see everything stored in your mind.”

Fucking wonderful.

“So, who hired you? Gwyn, Jesper, or my father?” I glared .

“None of them.” She smiled. I glanced at Della, confused. “Are you looking at your little friend, Ardella, over there? I can see you, goddess.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Della snarled.

“Well, that’s not very ladylike for a goddess.” The woman smiled.

“Answer me now!” Della spoke with so much authority that I felt myself shrink down from her wrath. The woman just stared blankly at her.

“You can call me Val.” Her focus returned to me. “I just want a peek inside that memory of yours, Thea. If you do that, then I will let you go.”

“Fuck you.”

“Well, that’s also not very ladylike for a goddess either.”

Goddess.

I looked at Della, who stared at me.

“You’re a goddess, but you chose to stay in Elloryon and be with Cassius. You’ll remember when you break the curse.”

I nodded like I hadn’t been told I was a goddess.

“Who hired you?” I asked Val.

She ran at me, but I couldn’t even fight her without her getting what she wanted from me. I stumbled into the wall, smacking my face into my side table. Val smiled at me as she stalked toward me; just as she was about to touch me, Della tackled her ass to the ground.

I looked behind her when I saw movement by the door. Cassius and Haden stood in the corner of the room. He must have felt something through the bond. Della’s pained sob filled the air. Haden’s face contorted into fury when he saw Val had Della by the throat. Val smiled as she focused on Della as she lifted her off the ground and slammed her into the floor. She dropped her and stood over her.

“My, my, Ardella, what a sad and pathetic life you lead.”

Val’s eyes flickered to Haden and Cassius. Cassius looked at me for answers.

“She’s a vatori; she can see every thought and memory by touching you.” I groaned as pain radiated down my face.

Val smiled when her eyes landed on Haden.

"Look, Ardella, it’s the man who takes up most of your thoughts,” Val sneered. “The one you broke. The man who curses your very existence each morning he wakes up. The one you wish to the stars would love you back.”

Haden glanced at Della, who was in pain on the floor.

“Ardella!” Haden called out. “Are you alright?”

She didn’t say anything as a painful sob tore from her. Haden glanced at Val when she circled back for Della. He ran at her .

“Haden, don’t!” I called out. Val immediately turned and let Haden’s fist connect with her face, but he immediately withered in pain as she latched onto him. He fell to his knees as pain took over his face. Val’s smile widened as she let go of Haden and shoved him on the floor next to Della.

“Man, you two are quite the couple. A woman who loves a man more than the realm itself, and the man hates her just as much. A woman who wants forgiveness and a man who can’t stand the sight of her. The mere thought of her makes him disgusted.”

Della cried out loud, but it was no longer because of pain. It was knowing Haden’s thoughts of her. Val looked at Della and smiled.

“Should I tell him your biggest secret?”

Oh fuck. I couldn’t let her do that. Haden couldn’t find out that he was Della’s mate like this. Before I could offer myself up on a platter, Cassius stepped forward and glared at the woman.

Val’s attention immediately turned to Cassius, and she whistled as she admired him. My jealousy didn’t like her looking at what was mine.

“You’re as handsome as she said you’d be.”

She?

Cassius glanced at me before his eyes darted to our friends lying on the ground. Did he know that Della and Haden were mates? Why would he offer himself? Val didn’t grab him, though; her focus turned to me.

“I’ll keep her secret for your thoughts and memories.”

“Deal.” I stood and let Val walk toward me. She reached out and touched me; I could feel the burning sensation coursing through me. It felt like the shadow boundary had. It was quick and intense, making me fall to my knees. Val released me, and her eyes glowed with excitement.

“You’ve been a very busy girl, Thea.” She smiled and turned to Cassius. “It seems your little friend here is also keeping secrets from you.”

Cassius’ face fell when he looked at me. This bitch.

“Are you keeping secrets from her too?”

Yes, he was, but I already knew of them. Val circled Cassius without touching him. Her eyes flickered at me, and she smiled when she saw me ready to fight.

“She told me to leave you alone; don’t hurt Cassius,” Val mocked the woman’s voice. “She just wants Thea out of the way.”

Cassius’ body went rigid. His eyes refused to look at me as he stared at the floor. Val smiled even bigger.

“Thea dies, and you get so lonely during those times. She wants you to know that she can warm your bed. She is willing to marry you, bear children, and not forget you. She can offer you a full life.” Val purred to Cassius. He didn’t ask her who she was talking about. He knew. Cassius knew who hired Val.

“Cassius?” I asked.

His golden eyes found mine, but they didn’t reveal anything to me.

“You can tell her I’m not interested, just like I wasn’t interested the dozens of other times she approached me.” His voice was even, but his eyes were burning with rage.

“You were promised to her, and you backed out.”

“Promised for what?” I snapped, my jealousy knowing exactly what he had promised to her for.

“Cassius was supposed to marry another woman before you came along. He even agreed to it.”

I felt it, my darkness stirring in my chest angrily. Jealousy and hatred toward a woman I didn’t even know made me sick.

“My parents agreed, and I didn’t even know you yet.” Cassius frowned at whatever he saw on my face. “Making Thea jealous is only going to work against you,” he snapped at Val.

Val’s smile vanished when she looked at me. My darkness had seeped from me.

“Your magic isn’t supposed to work in the room.”

My red eyes flickered at my husband as he smiled.

Val started to speak, but I walked forward and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her along with me. Her magic no longer crippled me because she had seen my thoughts and memories.

“Who sent you here and why?”

“Flora,” Cassius answered for her. “Falgon Princess.”

The name sounded familiar in the sense that I hated it.

Haden stood and tried to help Della, but she refused his hand and went as far away from him as possible. He frowned at her back.

“Perfect,” I snarled, and my darkness wrapped around me and Val. When it moved away, we were standing in Falgon's castle. The guards all raised their weapons at me as the royal family sat down for dinner. Cassius appeared next to me a moment later.

“Cassius?” Valor asked, confused. I used my metal magic to rip all the swords from the guard’s hands, and when I squeezed my fist tightly, all of the weapons twisted and mangled on the floor.

“Tell your father what you did, you stupid bitch,” I demanded of who I assumed was Flora.

Flora looked at Val and paled.

“Flora?” Her father glared daggers at her. “What did you do? ”

“She’s lying.”

Cassius stepped forward, and I saw the way she fawned over him. Her eyes shone like he was about to confess that he loved her. Stars, she was fucking psychotic. My dagger slammed into Val’s chest, making her yell in pain as she bled out at my feet, but my eyes never left Flora.

"Flora, tell your father now, or I will let Thea kill you,” he demanded.

Valor glanced at me, and I could feel his fear pumping through him. He didn’t look surprised that Flora had done something.

“He was promised to me, and I thought if Thea was out of the way, then he could see we were meant to be together!” Flora yelled.

Valor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily.

“Not this shit again. He doesn’t like you, Flora. That deal was made when you were babies.”

As I stared at Flora, something about her was not normal. My anger lessened as I watched her. Cassius glanced at me before explaining to Valor and his wife exactly what Flora did.

“Flora!” her mother gasped. “What were you planning on doing with that information?”

“Give it to her father,” she sneered at me.

I stepped forward, and Flora’s body shrank in its confidence. My head cocked to the side when I saw a small red mark on her skin, and red veins crept from it, seeping into her blood. It wasn’t a sickness like I thought it would be. But some sort of magic.

“Flora,” I whispered as her eyes found mine. When she looked at me, I could feel something evil lurking within her. Something foreign. “Where did you get that wound?” I pointed to it, and Cassius glanced with a frown.

“I don’t see anything,” he spoke.

“Flora, who were you around recently?” I demanded an answer. Her eyes shifted red, and she snarled at me like a rabid animal.

“Flora, sweetheart?” Her father came at her, but I refused to let him touch her.

When I glanced back at her, she looked possessed. Her eyes were red, but her smile was chilling. I glanced around and saw Cassius, and everyone was frozen to their spots.

“You little bitch,” she ground out, but her voice was different, chilling. She had been poisoned, or something else was in control of her. “You’re going to go to Ravenstone Coven; bring the bloodstone, or I will gut Cassius.”

“I don’t know where my bloodstone is.”

“Find it,” she hissed. “It’s in your father’s throne room.”

“Who are you?” I asked .

She didn't respond. Then Flora fell to the floor. Her parents rushed her, not realizing they had been frozen. Cassius glanced at me.

“She was poisoned; she didn’t do this.” My healing magic surged forward and pumped through her body. “She’ll be okay, but she will need lots of rest.”

Then I used my magic to go to Cerithia. When I entered my room, Della was silently crying as Haden glared at her.

“You won't ever see me again,” Della said to Haden without looking at him.

“Fine by me,” he hissed.

I felt like shit to ignore their conversation, but this couldn’t wait.

“Della I need you.” I interrupted them. Cassius appeared a moment later.

“Thea, what’s going on?” He frowned.

“You and Haden need to leave now," I spoke with fake irritation, hoping he would think I was angry with him and he’d leave.

“Are you upset about Flora?” he asked.

I turned with a glare.

“Get it through your head that I don’t want you here. Leave!” I whispered harshly. “And take your friend with you.” I glanced at Haden.

Cassius’ eyes bounced between mine before frowning and taking Haden and himself away in his shadows. Damn it. My bond burned at how cruel I was to Cassius, but he needed to stay away.

“What’s wrong?” Della looked at me.

I explained to her the wound and Flora’s odd behavior. Della’s face fell the moment I described the wound and what I felt from it. How they demanded my bloodstone.

“Thea, whoever did that was a blood witch. That is the mark of a blood possession.”

What… no, they wouldn’t do that to me.

“Are you sure?” I frowned, but somehow I already felt like I knew this. When Flora’s eyes shone bright red, I knew it was a blood witch.

“I’m positive.”

“Fuck.” I used my magic to take Della and I to my father’s throne room. We tore through the room, but the stone couldn’t be found.

Fear gripped me because the woman had threatened Cassius. I was not risking him for anything, and when I found out who was responsible for this, I would gut her. My chest began to tighten. I couldn’t breathe. My legs shook as I leaned against the desk.

“Thea? ”

“I can’t lose Cassius. Where the fuck is this bloodstone?”

Della moved toward me and forced my face so she could look into my eyes.

“I’m going to teach you how to do blood possession.” She smiled.