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How did he know what to say? All the cruel interactions I had with my family came crashing around me. My stomach sank at the harshness Cerithia had shown me.Crimson’s whore. It made me hesitate and question if I could kill him. Everyone had been cruel to me. No one wanted me, but I didn’t want him to know that he was right that day in the clearing.Who could love a monstrosity like me?The answer was no one. Not even my own family.

“Yes,” I forced the lie out.

“Oh, my little liar, you will never convince me that Cerithia has been kind to you.” His eyes darkened.

“Shut up,” I demanded as my blade pushed more into his neck. Wisp twirled around us in a frenzy. Was she worried for me or Cassius? “Why are you in Falgon?”

“Because I cannot cross into Cerithia without dying or being invited because of the curse. This was the only way to get to you and tell you to come home with me. You killed the first Falgon guards we sent to get you. You disappeared from our bedroom before I got a chance to talk with you again.”

The Falgon guard who had muttered Cassius’ name to me as he died flashed through my mind. My body went rigid as I realized that it was Cassius who had sent the men for me.

“Why? So, you can trick me and kill me again?"

Heartache filled my already tight chest as I watched him closely. This small interaction was somehow making me feel something other than rage and devastation. I knew what he was saying was impossible to believe, but my darkness obsessed over each word he spoke. I didn’t know what to do. My lips parted as I tried desperately to slow my racing heart.

“I never tricked you,” he pleaded. “The only ones tricking you are your family and that little bastard, Jesper.”

“You killed me,” I hissed. “Cursed me.”

“I know,” he frowned, closing his eyes tightly, and laid his head back on the ground.

I pushed my dagger into his throat harder, making him shut the fuck up.

“I was not planning on killing you tonight, but I will enjoy it. I will be happier when I know that you do not exist in the same realm as me.” I leaned down closer to him, so our faces were inches apart. “And I will kill you in the name of Cerithia.” Cassius’ eyes bounced between mine as I leaned over him. Quickly, he pushed forward, kissing me by surprise. The motion caused my blade to nick the skin on his neck.

I pulled back, confused, and lifted my blade over my head so that I could plunge it into his heart. My breathing was too quick, and I thought I might faint. Even as I readied to stab him, he didn’t flinch. His hands squeezed my hips tightly, like he justwanted to feel me, as he watched me with a yearning in his golden eyes. The bond on my arm suddenly burned so violently that I thought I would drop my dagger. Leer’s words bounced around my mind.He looks like a man longing for a woman he can’t have.

“Any last words, Cassius?” I breathed out softly.

His hands moved from my hips to my thighs.

“I love you, Thea,” he whispered. “It was an honor to be yours, and I wish things had happened differently. Maybe our next life will not be so cruel to us.”

A lump formed in my throat as tears filled my eyes. I felt paralyzed by his confession. A tear rolled down my face as I stared at him.

“I will wait for you in the next life.” His hand brushed the stray curls from my face. Then he closed his eyes and waited for my blade to pierce his heart. The blood bond burned so painfully that I was losing the grip on my dagger. Doubt swarmed me, even though I knew this was likely another trick. Something about his words had given me mixed emotions. I had expected cruel words or a fight, but not a confession of love. My darkness was swarming inside of me again. It was frantic at what I was doing. It didn’t want me to do this.

My movements stopped because I couldn't do this. Gods, was I this starved for love that I was quick to believe Cassius' words, or did something deep inside of me remember him, not allowing me to hurt him. Before I could conclude my thoughts, Wisp decided for me that I would not be hurting Cassius. Her form suddenly shifted to yellow, causing me to look away from Cassius.

The sudden change in her mood made me pause. She seemed to be expanding so vastly that I was in awe. Then suddenly, Wisp rammed me so forcefully that I was knocked from Cassius. I lay there dazed for a moment, then groaned as I lifted myself up offthe ground slightly. When I glanced back at her, she had created a wall between Cassius and I. She was protecting him.

I glanced around but didn’t try to move toward him again. Relief filled me that I did not have to make the decision to kill him right now. He stood at the same time I did, but he just watched me without moving. He didn’t question why I was flown from him as he glanced at Wisp like he could see her. His eyes glanced around him, where she circled him. He could see her.

All this time, at the trials, he could see her. Gods, why did he act like he couldn’t?

“You see her,” I accused. His tortured eyes found mine.

“Of course I see her,” he whispered. I hadn’t expected him to be honest. “She is attached to my soul.”

What the actual fuck was going on? Wisp was mine. She protected me; she was supposed to be my friend. My jaw tightened as I refused to show my betrayal to them. Was she working with him this whole time?

“Come home with me,” he begged, but I shook my head. “You belong with me, Thea. Please, I just want you back in our home, in our room, in my arms, and with me.”

“I can't!” I yelled at him. There were still so many things that didn't make sense. She was loyal to Cassius, and her betrayal pumped hurt through me. Before I could see their reaction, I turned and ran toward Kizar’s border, hoping Cassius couldn’t cross there either.

Tears blurred my vision as I tried to understand what had just happened. I could hear them behind me, but I was almost to the safety of Kizar. Sobs racked through my body so violently that I wondered if the gods themselves could hear my pain.

“Little viper!” Cassius’ voice echoed through the forest. I shook away the comfort my darkness found in his voice. It was difficult to see in the dark as my eyes blurred with tears of anger and sadness.