27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Cassius

I had been in these damn woods for two days watching Thea and her men. Why were they out here? Luren had requested a meeting with me and my father for tomorrow, but Thea had been here for two or three days. The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I sensed her close to me. We hadn’t seen each other in too long. She had been avoiding me since the incident with Flora. Della hadn’t come around either. Wisp was missing.

Did she know that I had been out here every day and night watching her? I knew something happened when she saw Flora; something had scared her, and she acted mad at me. But why was she not visiting me anymore? I was worried. Something was going on, and she wasn’t telling me. Did her father say or do something?

I saw her walk out of her tent and glance around the woods. It sent my chest into a frenzy. I wanted her to stop hiding from me. She walked the perimeter of her camp, stopping to glance into the woods where I was standing. She had to know I was here. I was never good at hiding from Thea. She was always able to see me.

She disappeared behind a tent, and I didn’t see her emerge. I sent urgency through our bond, hoping that she wouldn’t ignore it and come find me. My eyes lingered where she disappeared, but I didn’t see her again. Damn it. I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed heavily.

“It’s rude to stare,” Thea’s voice came from behind me.

I turned and saw she had her dagger out. But gods above, the moment Thea’s eyes met mine, I felt like I was home. Like my heart and mind found what we had been missing for years.

“Little viper, how did you know I was here?” My eyes dragged over her. Gods, something about her seemed different.

“That’s not important. What is important is that I found you.” She gave me a glare that was not full of anger. I felt relieved; she wasn’t upset with me.

Fuck, I had missed her so damn much. I took a step forward, not worried that she was holding a dagger at me. Her cheeks heated immediately when our eyes connected. Something lurked in their depths. Something familiar and comforting. Something that I hadn’t seen for years. My heart raced as I stared at her.

“Blushing for me, my love?”

“Fight me,” she demanded. “If you win, I’ll let you go.”

“And if I lose?” I smiled.

“I’ll decide what I’ll do with you.”

Something about her words made my eyes flash black, and lust pumped through me. I charged at her, not giving her any time to think. My daggers were quick and unforgiving. She matched my every move unintentionally. I watched her readjust her stance and smile.

“You’ve been practicing.”

“No, I was taking it easy on you before.” She shook her head.

I laughed softly. She was flirting with me.

“Little viper, I knew you were letting me win so I’d kiss you.” Her eyes shined playfully. “If I win, I want another kiss too.”

“You won’t win.”

It didn’t matter who won. We both knew what the other wanted for a prize. Thea kicked up her strikes. She was determined to win, and I would let her. Our daggers locked in an ‘X’ in front of us, pulling our bodies close. My eyes dropped to her mouth, but before I could kiss her, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. Shit. It caught me off guard enough that she pulled back and kicked my chest, making me tumble away from her.

Gods, she was looking at me with no confusion or concern. Her guard was completely down. I paused for a moment. Thea looked at me like she did before she was cursed. Her big green eyes glanced over me as I stood staring at her.

“Couldn’t wait to kiss me? You missed me that much, Thea?” I smiled.

“I was just distracting you.” Her lie made my smile widen. I could feel her lust in our marriage bond. She was barely keeping herself in check.

I nodded as I rushed her again. This advance caught her off guard. One misstep and she was lying flat on her back with me on top of her, holding my dagger to her throat.

“Dead,” I smiled triumphantly.

“Fuck,” she breathed because this was too much. Our emotions barreled down the bonds, making both of us freeze. There was no mistaking how we were both feeling.

Her eyes traced over my face like she missed me. It was too much to watch. Thea’s fire magic exploded out of her without permission and swarmed around us, making a shield from anyone who might come near us. I stared at her as she lifted her hands to pull me to her mouth. Then she kissed me like a starved woman. A deep moan escaped me as I deepened the kiss. Thea’s body molded to mine as I adjusted my body, so I was settled between her legs. My tongue dominated hers as she pushed her hips into mine. A moan left her, and I pressed harder against her, desperate to hear those noises she made for me.

“Cassius,” she breathed as I pulled away from her mouth. My hand gripped her throat firmly so she couldn’t move as my mouth crushed into hers again. Thea’s hands ran through my hair as my hips rolled into hers.

Gods, I couldn’t stop this. I needed her. My hands reached between us, and I undid my trousers as she pulled back and yanked her own trousers down. She only got one of her legs freed before she gave up on it. I sank into her with one hard thrust.

“Fuck,” we muttered together.

She rolled her hips up to mine, and it was all the motivation I needed to take control. Her mouth seared mine with a consuming kiss before she pulled back. I rested on his hands so I could watch her face and sear this moment into my memory forever.

“Cassius, please.”

“Tell me what you need, Thea; use your words,” I demanded with a circle of my hips, and the motion made her eyes flutter shut and moan loudly into a mix of shadows and fire mist around us .

“Gods, I fucking love those noises you make for me,” I groaned.

This was too much, but I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to savor it and stay here with her forever.

“More, my love. I want to hear how much you like fucking me.”

“Cassius,” she moaned, but I cut off her sentence with another kiss.

“You’re mine,” I declared. "I can't wait for the day you remember. You feel how fucking perfect we are for each other, don't you? How much we belong together.” My words made longing and lust pump through our bonds. “You can keep pretending like it doesn't consume you too,” I whispered as my hips pounded into her without slowing. My hand came up and gripped her jaw tightly, so she was looking at me. My thumb rubbed over her red lips roughly, and she opened her mouth and bit my thumb. My moan was possessive, as I lost all ability to draw this out.

“One day you'll remember how hopelessly in love with you I am. How each breath I take is for you. How you possess me every waking moment."

I sent images of me on my knees in front of her down the bond, and she gripped my hips tighter with her legs. I swallowed down her moans, but then she pulled away.

"Wait... stop," she said frantically .

I immediately stilled and stared at her. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty.

"Shit." She shoved me off of her. "My father is here."

Thea was fixing her clothing but refusing to look at me. I swallowed hard as her grief hit me again.

“Little viper.”

When she finally turned slightly towards me, I had already fixed my clothing. She looked terrified, but not of me. It’s like she couldn’t look at me because she was being reminded of something she didn’t want to. I felt it through the bond, grief. But not just missing me grief. This was an all-consuming, devastating sense of losing me. It took my breath away.

“Cassius,” she finally answered back.

“What’s wrong?” I took a step toward her, but she held up her hand to stop me.

She shook her head as tears fell silently. "I can't tell you."

“You can tell me anything." I tried again.

"I love you." She frowned as if it were the last time we'd see each other.

Before I could respond, she summoned my shadows and wrapped them around her. When they disappeared, she was gone. I wasn’t letting this go. I walked close to her camp, determined to go into her tent to confront her, but a commotion startled me as I rounded the corner. Fucking great.

“What are you doing here?” Thea glared at her father and Jesper.

She didn’t know that they had called a meeting with Crimson. Why would they lie to her about it? They looked so out of place in her base camp. Their clothes were clean and pristine. Thea was covered in dirt and leaves from me.

“Why are you so filthy?” Jesper asked.

Thea ignored him, and I saw him clench his jaw at her blatant disrespect.

“We came to see how it was going.” Her father glanced around as if he expected to see me sitting in camp with her.

“Why? You could get hurt out here.” She didn’t sound worried. Thea was pissed off.

Jesper scoffed and narrowed his eyes at her.

“You’d probably like that,” he snapped.

“You didn’t come out here for that, so what the hell do you want?” she demanded.

Jesper sneered toward her before Luren glared him down.

“Has Cassius made an appearance?” Luren asked.

“Of course not.”

“Why were you in the woods when we got here?” Jesper stepped forward, and my shadows readied to fuck him up if she tried to hurt her.

“Scouting.” She crossed her arms. Glancing over Jesper’s shoulder, she stared straight at me. She gave me a small frown.

“It’s what you do in a war, Jesper. You go into the woods and look for danger,” she spoke to him like he was an idiot.

“Did you see anyone that shouldn’t be here?” Luren's question made me smile. She glanced at me and gave me a small smile.

“Yes,” she sighed. My heart raced thinking she was about to tell them about me. They both perked up. “Both of you. There is no reason for you two to be here. So, what is going on?”

I sighed, relieved.

“We got word that Cassius was planning on attacking you and killing you. We thought we would check.”

These bastards.

“You two thought you would protect me from Cassius?” She laughed. “You are just a distraction to me and my men. I will not spare men to protect you while you lurk around.”

"Well, too fucking bad. We were staying to make sure you’re doing what you should be.” Her father glared .

“Be my guest. Don’t cry to me if we get attacked and you get wounded.”

They ignored her and walked to the carriages they came in. My eyes were focused on Thea. I couldn’t feel her through the bond again. I didn’t want to leave her by herself with these two. Especially since they didn’t tell her we were meeting tomorrow.

I sat down and watched her father and Jesper demand their tents be set up on either side of hers. Did they think that was going to keep me from sneaking in there? Luren glanced around disgusted when his robes got mud on them. For fuck’s sake. It took the men hours to move the tents that were originally next to Thea’s and set up Jesper and Luren’s. What a waste of energy and time.

Thea kept her mouth shut and watched, uninterested. Thea yawned after eating dinner and stood.

“Going to bed already?” Jesper raised his brow at her.

“Yes, I’ve been up since first light, and we never know what tomorrow will bring.”

“I’m a very light sleeper,” Jesper warned. “I will hear if you sneak out, and my guards are stationed outside all night.”

“Congratulations,” she scoffed and went into her tent.

I used my shadows to head to Crimson to warn my father that Luren and Jesper didn’t tell Thea about the meeting. Something was odd about all of this. But just as soon as I went to leave, I felt it—Thea’s desire.

My eyes turned back toward her tent. I should leave. But then images of me kissing her and touching her barreled through the bond. I lost any ability to withstand her. My shadows brought me to the foot of her bed.

“Fuck,” she whispered as she touched herself.

I knew the moment she sensed me in the tent with her. Her eyes opened, and she went to move her fingers away, but I used my shadows to stop her.

“Don’t stop, my love,” I whispered. “I want to watch.”

Her eyes widened before she circled her fingers around her clit. My breathing was rough as my eyes bounced between her eyes and her hand. Fuck. I undid my trousers and slid them off before tossing my tunic to the side. I kneeled between her legs without touching her.

My hand stroked down my hard length as I watched. Her eyes stared into mine as I moved quicker. Gods, I needed more.

“Tell me what you think about when you touch yourself,” I demanded.

“You,” she breathed without hesitation.

I smiled .

“I picture all the ways I want you to touch me,” she moaned softly when my hand rested on her thigh. “Your mouth devouring me, demanding I cum against it.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. She always knew what to say to make me lose any semblance of control.

“How good your cock feels filling me and how you know exactly what I need. But mostly I think of all the filthy things you say to me. That’s my favorite.”

Thea smiled brightly as I let out a long sigh, trying to control my need for her.

“You want to know what I’m thinking about?” I asked.

She nodded.

“How good you play with yourself. I like watching you get off thinking about me. I like that I’m going to fuck you until you cum on my tongue and cock tonight with your father and Jesper acting like their presence will keep me from you.”

She gasped as my hand ran down her thigh close to where she was playing with herself.

“You’re going to be a good girl and not be loud,” I demanded. “Jesper will never get to hear your pleasure. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” I leaned down without warning and licked up her pussy with an appreciative moan. She fisted my hair in her hands and held me there as she rolled her hips into my mouth. Thea’s fingers gripped me so tightly, like she worried I would stop, but I wouldn’t until she fell apart. I sucked her into my mouth, and she let out the prettiest noise of pleasure.

One of her hands disappeared, and when I looked up, I saw she held it over her mouth. I smiled against her as I shoved her hand away and clamped my shadows around her mouth. She whimpered as I wrapped my arms around her thighs and tugged her roughly against my mouth. She was close, but she was trying to hold out on me.

“Cum on my tongue and I’ll fill your needy pussy with what you really want,” I promised before sucking her back into my mouth. Thea’s body shuddered as she called out behind my shadows as quietly as she could. Her breathing was choppy at best.

I moved quickly and slid into her without warning. Her pretty green eyes stared at me as her mouth hung open with pleasure.

“You know what I think about when I touch myself?” I asked.

Oh fuck, I was going to last two seconds.

“Your eyes,” I breathed out. “You look at me as you take everything I give you, and I can see that you still want more. Your greedy eyes demand that I give you all of me. ”

Thea pulled me down to kiss me. My tongue dominated hers as my hand came up and squeezed her throat.

When I pulled back, I could hardly see through the black haze of my eyes shifting.

“You were made for me. Everything about you is perfect.”

“Cassius…”

“Fuck, I love hearing you say my name,” I moaned as my hand squeezed tighter and I pounded into her relentlessly.

“Please.” She wasn’t going to last much longer. When she looked up at me, I nearly came.

“Those eyes right there. Don’t you dare look away from me.”

“You feel so fucking good, Cassius.”

Her eyes were fluttering closed as an orgasm built.

“Eyes on me, Thea, now.”

“Fuck.”

“You aren’t going to be a good girl and keep quiet, are you?” I slowed my thrusts. My shadows burst around us. “There you go, my love; call out to the heavens all you want. No one but me will hear you.”

“Cassius,” she called out as her orgasm slammed into her. I didn’t let up. My hips surged forward as she pulled me to her, rolling her hips to take all the pleasure from me that she could.

“Such a greedy fucking girl,” I ground out.

My hips rolled into hers. She was going to cum again with me. Her eyes flashed black, and I smiled down at her. Thea’s mouth fell open as small moans escaped her. Fuck, she needed to cum quickly because I was losing it.

“Cum with me.” I pulled back and reached down, rubbing her clit. “You can cum again, can’t you? That’s what you want, isn't it?”

“Yes,” she whimpered.

“So fucking beautiful,” I groaned as our orgasms erupted at the same time. I buried myself deep inside of her as she clenched around me and came.

Our heavy breathing filled the tent, but my shadows still blocked us from anyone hearing. I kissed her neck as I wrapped my hands around her.

“I really fucking love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too,” she admitted. I rested on my hands as I glanced down at her. Her eyes looked at me like they used to. Did she break her curse? I wasn’t sure how she would have.

“Say it again.” I watched her mouth.

“I love you, Cassius Valeska.”

My mouth pressed to hers before rolling off her and tugging her against me so I could live in this moment a little longer.

★★?★★

I wasn’t nervous the next morning because my father and I were meeting Jesper and Luren. I was worried that Thea seemed to have no idea that her father proposed a peace treaty with us. What was the point of it now after he had been so adamant against it? It was a trick, no doubt. But would he attack us now or wait until he thought we had our guards down?

My father glanced at me as we approached Luren and Jesper’s camp. Our men were waiting in the woods out of sight. Thea would never allow us to get hurt either. My nerves were on high alert when I didn’t see Thea standing with them. I glanced around the camp, hoping to see her, but I didn’t.

We stopped about 20 feet in front of Luren and Jesper, who had a ridiculous amount of guards behind them. Like I couldn’t kill all of them with my shadows within seconds. My eyes met Luren's, and all I thought of was Thea’s green eyes. Then I glanced at Jesper and smirked when the image of Thea and I on his throne hit me.

“What are you smiling about?” Jesper hissed.

“It’s a secret.” I smiled.

Jesper’s face reddened in his anger.

“We weren’t sure you’d come,” Luren spoke .

“If you’re offering peace, then of course we would come. We do not want war.” My father’s voice was clipped. He hated Luren long before Thea and I were ever born. The man had killed his father to take his throne. Besides that, he was a terrible leader. Letting his fae starve and die because he was greedy.

“We—” A loud noise stopped all of us. Luren sighed when he realized what it was. “Thea.” He acknowledged her as she walked up to us quickly. Her eyes were full of confusion when she saw me. Her body was tense as she glanced around us like she had no idea what she had just walked into. Her dagger was gripped in her hand, but I was confident it was to kill Jesper and her father if needed. Gods, she looked confused. What did she think was happening?

“What’s going on?”

“Prince Cassius and King Rylan came to discuss peace negotiations.”

Her eyes met mine.

Why would you offer peace now? What was he doing?

My eyes narrowed on her. Thea wasn’t talking, but I could hear her plain as day in my mind. I stared at her as she tensed even more.

Fuck. This is a trick, Cassius. Why are you here? You’re in danger by being here .

My body went still, and I couldn’t stop staring at my wife as her thoughts flitted through my mind. Her eyes flashed red.

“It’s alright, Thea; no need to be upset about it,” Luren spoke.

Fucking moron, I wasn’t upset about that. I hated that he acted as if he knew me.

“We will postpone our war for a year and try to reach a mutual agreement during that time,” Jesper proposed.

“Six months.” My father countered.

I couldn’t even pretend to care about their conversation. We knew this was a ploy. Thea looked up at me, and I saw her flinch. Suddenly an image of me being killed played in my mind. Cassius will die.

My heart beat wildly in my chest as more images of me dying played through her mind. I closed my eyes and groaned as the images came in flashes.

“Are you alright?” Jesper asked me.

“Yes.” I lied.

“Fine. We will agree to six months,” Luren sighed. “It will be nice to focus on the wedding this week instead of wondering if you’ll attack.”

Thea stilled at this. A flash of her in a dress fighting flittered through my mind. Then it showed me getting hurt and Thea trying to save me, but she was too late.

The fucking wedding. I need to tell Della I know when Cassius is supposed to die.

When she looked at me this time, she didn’t look away. I could feel an itch in my mind like she was trying to read my thoughts. But I don’t think she could by the frown on her face. I was supposed to die. How did she know this?

“Deal.” My father agreed. “We will pull back our troops immediately, and so will you.”

“Deal.” Luren stuck out his hand, and my father hesitated before shaking his hand back. Thea was staring at me, but I tried not to look at her. Jesper was watching me closely. I tried to read his mind but couldn’t. When we were about to leave, I looked at her again. Her hand gripped the dagger in her hand tightly.

I will slice off his fucking head right now if he hurts Cassius. I will burn the whole realm down if my husband is taken from me.

Husband.

I took a small step toward her out of instinct but stopped. I could feel her anger and devastation in our marriage bond. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears as she looked at me.

I need to go to Exile and tell them I broke my curse before the wedding.

Her words rang in my mind .

She broke her curse.

When? How? Why didn’t she tell me?

“Cassius?” My father pulled me out of my staring. I glanced at him. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” I glanced at them. “We’ll see you at the wedding.”

No, don’t come to the wedding. You’re going to die if you do.

My chest tightened with the sadness in her thoughts. But I wasted no time using my shadows and taking us all back to Crimson. As soon as my shadows disappeared, my father faced me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I need to talk with you, Haden, Leer, and Zade in the throne room.”

I didn’t wait to see if they were following me. I began walking as fast as I could. My mind was reeling. My hands ran through my hair as I paced around the room. The door shutting jarred me from my racing thoughts.

“For fuck’s sake, Cassius, what is wrong?” My father’s voice was laced with worry.

“Thea broke her curse.”

None of them reacted at first, too shocked to say or do anything. Then they smiled and let out sighs of relief. Haden was the one to notice I wasn’t happy .

“Why aren’t you smiling about this?” Haden asked, making all of them frown at me.

“She didn’t tell me.” I frowned. “When we were meeting Luren and Jesper, I heard her thoughts.”

“Her thoughts?” Leer asked.

I nodded.

“Thea can read minds. It’s a power she picked up somewhere. But when she gives me the stone, I get some of her powers. I guess I have the ability to read her mind, but I can’t seem to read others.”

"Okay, that’s a lot, but why wouldn’t she tell you?” Zade asked.

I swallowed hard, looking at my father.

“I think she’s protecting me. She’s having visions that I am going to die at the wedding.”

The room fell completely silent. I couldn’t hear anyone take a breath.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Haden asked angrily.

“She showed me images of me dying over and over again. She always tried to save me, but she couldn’t. Thea doesn’t want me to go to the wedding. So, I’m not going.”

Haden began pacing back and forth. He was pissed.

“She’s obviously keeping this secret because she thinks it will protect me. ”

“How long ago did she break her curse? And how did she do it without giving you the damn stone?” Haden questioned me like I knew the answers.

“I don’t know when. But she had to give me the stone at some point. It is the only way to break the curse. Maybe she used illusion magic to disguise it as something else. I have no fucking clue; it’s Thea. She is clever and smart. With her, anything is possible.”

A new sense of longing hit me. Thea could remember me, her, and us and couldn’t even celebrate it with me. Is this why she had been hiding? A war stormed inside of me. I was so damn proud of her, but now I knew if she died, I would lose her for good.

“Are you going to tell her that you know?” Leer asked.

“No.” I frowned. “Thea has gone to lengths to make sure I didn’t know, and I trust that she is doing it for our safety. Della knows too, which explains why she was being weird. They obviously think it’s the best course of action, and I’m not going to question my wife.”

“I can ask Ardella what is going on,” Haden offered.

“No. Let’s not tip them off that I know. Thea is stressed out about this.”

If Thea was worried I was going to die, then I would stay away from the wedding.