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Cassius chuckled. “The Assassin Lord will be pleased to hear it. What are you searching for?”

“A book I’ve been reading,” Scarlett said, moving to another shelf to see if it had been placed there. Maybe someone had taken it back to the library where she’d originally found it?

“Ah,” Cassius said knowingly, finishing off his bread and leaning back in his chair.

“Why do you say it like that?” Scarlett asked, pausing her searching to look over her shoulder at him.

“Well, I’m going to assume the book you’re searching for would interest a certain someone you’re not currently speaking to,” Cassius said, raising a brow at her.

“It would,” she agreed, her lips forming a thin line.

“In that case, you will not find it here. He took it with him two nights ago.”

“What?” Scarlett said incredulously. “Why?”

“I delivered your very articulate message as you requested,” Cassius said, spearing a piece of roasted chicken with a fork, “and it was not…well received. He left his own message for you upon leaving, and I quote, ‘Tell her when she’s done acting like a spoiled Lady, I expect to see her back in the training ring. Until then, I’m taking this book to fill my suddenly free time.’”

Scarlett seethed. “What a prick,” she muttered under her breath.

“He most certainly is,” Cassius said with a laugh. “Although it will be quite entertaining to see which of you gives in first,” he added thoughtfully. “You are both equally…”

“Patient?” Scarlett suggested, plopping into a chair to pout.

“I was going to say stubborn asses, but sure, patient,” Cassius said with a roll of his eyes.

Scarlett stuck out her tongue at him and took the fork from his hand to get her own bite of chicken. She ate a few bites of various items, then said, “Have you talked to him at all about his claim?”

She didn’t want to say it aloud. All the servants here reported everything they saw and heard to Lord Tyndell. If Sorin truly was Fae, it was information that could cause quite the stir around the manor.

Cassius seemed to squirm slightly. “No, but I haven’t seen him much. My assignments have been more intense as of late, and his promotion to general keeps him just as busy.”

“Hmm,” Scarlett mused, stabbing a piece of melon. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“What?”

“You’re keeping something from me. I’ve hardly seen you these past few months. When you are around, you avoid times like these, where we can talk.”

Cassius wouldn’t look her in the eye. “Lord Tyndell has kept me busy.”

“Cassius,” she said gently. “We’re one and the same, you and I. This thing we have only works because of that.”

“You know I can’t share details of my assignments, Scarlett,” he sighed. “Lord Tyndell has done just as much for me as he has for you. More so even. It would be a betrayal of his trust to disclose—”

“I understand, Cassius,” she interjected. “Just…don’t actively push me away.”

“You need to check on Tava,” Cassius replied after a moment of silence. “She hasn’t been the same. Ryker’s news has her a little shook up.”

The fake name grated on her ears, but she couldn’t tell Cassius his real name here for the same reason they couldn’t openly discuss him being Fae.

“And you?”

“It makes a lot of damn sense,” he said, shrugging. “I mean, he showed up out of nowhere two years ago.He’s very aloof about his past. His fighting skills are unparalleled.”

“What does he do for the king’s armies?” she asked, contemplating.

“Well, now he’s the general of the High Force. They’re elite soldiers he’s been training since Lord Tyndell recruited him. Other than that, no one knows anything about the High Force or what they are trained in,” Cassius answered.

“It seems the Lord and King like to keep many parts of their forces secret,” Scarlett said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.