Page 35 of A Game of Monsters (Realm of Fey #4)

Cassial was right, I had no choice but to comply.

He provided me with options of how this was going to end, each one leading to ruin. But if I didn’t do as he asked, the fey army would come and trample the innocent humans within hours. His Fallen wouldn’t stop them. We would become the demons he wished us to be.

If I accepted his offer, he’d use me as a puppet to destroy hundreds of lives.

With nothing but the wave of his gnarled fingers, Cassial had strung me up in the tent, arms and legs separated by chains, my back supported by a wooden beam. I fixed my stare on him, drinking in the not-so-subtle changes to his body. It was impossible not to see it now. How Duwar corrupted his body from the inside out, poisoning his already ruined soul.

Twin horns protruded from his skull. Where his skin had cracked in places, as though he was made from clay, he became the same monster I’d seen in Aldrick’s mirrors.

It was no wonder Cassial had worn Duncan’s skin as a glamour.

Perhaps those visions of Duwar I’d first seen in Aldrick’s mirrors had always been prophetic. Duwar was showing the world the possibility of what the power could become, if used again. Cassial, the demon-god. That was who stood before me now.

Perspective, I reminded myself. However, I felt as though the reflections I had seen had always been showing the future… one I could not stop.

Duwar was destroying Cassial’s body, as I had known it would. Except the truth was not as I had always believed. Cassial had been clever in his plans. He’d played the game of gods and shifted the board so he always would win. I thought he was a step ahead of us, but the truth was he simply adapted to the changing tide quicker than we could.

“All this for some land?” I asked, straining against my bindings. My words fumbled over my split lip, the frayed skin catching on my teeth. He likely put the slight lisp down to my split lip, and not the vial of poison still wedged between my back teeth. “Seems a little desperate, don’t you think? You could have just tried asking nicely.”

My sarcasm didn’t faze Cassial, he was far too gone in the belief that he had won to care.

“No, this has nothing to do with land,” Cassial said, standing far too still. “I am finishing the task the Creator set out to accomplish. As his Saviour, it is my duty to fix this world. To right the imbalance of power that was put into the hands of the fey. I do this to finally give that power to where it rightfully belonged. Long have the humans been lesser than your kind, small beings constantly at threat that the fey would one day decide to turn their sights on them and rule. And before you tell me I am wrong, even you know what Doran Oakstorm had planned. He wished to unleash a winter unlike any other across the world, devouring Durmain long enough for the fey to sweep in afterwards and lay claim. Power corrupts, it eats away at us, some slower than others. Even now, as Duwar floods my body, I sense this. I have come to ensure that this imbalance ends today. Humans have lived in fear that you would conquer–”

“Is that the power lying to you,” I hissed. “Or your own deranged sense of grandeur?”

“We both know the answer to that.” Cassial tilted his head, the cracks in his flesh stretching. “If you had not accepted your lineage, the human realm would have belonged to the fey seasons ago. Even you have seen the fey army that marches here and thought of the very same the first time you witnessed their might.”

In the dark of my mind I recognised Cassial’s accusation was right, but I wouldn’t dare admit it aloud. “I stopped it once, and I will stop it again.”

“Yes, you will. If you accept my offer.” Cassial smiled, rot spilling out between decaying teeth. “Robin, you never put a stop to a war, it was simply postponed. But I am finally giving you the power that could stop it, for good. You accept and we right this imbalance, or you refuse, and we sit back and watch the army attack.”

“They attack because of you ,” I said, blood leaking over split lips. “It has nothing to do with the need to rule or want for control. It’s to stop the maniac behind it. Even the Nephilim are against you.”

“Not all of them.”

Cassial paced before me, fingers catching over his chin. Every slight movement – every step, and the feathers continued to fall from his wings. The skeletal frame of bone could be seen in places. No doubt, in time, as Duwar corrupted him more, he would truly look no different to the vision of Duwar I’d first seen.

“Do you think it wise to continue this disagreement, Robin Icethorn? Every second spared is another that your army draws closer. I have given you the chance to save the humans, yet you still hesitate. Why?”

I had too many reasons to begin to fully explain. “You ask me to choose which side of myself you wish me to save. Human or fey.”

“Then you know we have come to a crossroads. You can see what Duwar is doing to me. I had plans, grand ideas of how this power could be used to get what I want–”

“A world without the fey.”

“Ah,” Cassial smiled, revealing the harsh points of monstrous teeth. “So, you do listen. Yes. A world without the fey. Do you know, when the Creator gave Altar life, it was out the kindness of his heart? Then Altar – selfish and proud – was not satisfised with his creation. So, he searched for it in the heart of the world, took the chaos and harnessed it. Made the realm’s first monsters, parading them as great protectors. When the Creator longed for that power to give to his creations just to ensure they could protect themselves, Altar decided that he was the one in control. He locked Duwar away, keeping it from the Creator’s grasp, and in doing so corrupted it. The humans were left powerless to defend themselves, whilst the fey bided their time to claim what was not theirs.”

“Or maybe Altar knew what the Creator would do with access to power.” I looked the Nephilim up and down. “Look in one of your mirrors, Cassial. You are the very thing Altar wished to prevent.”

“Hearsay and speculation,” Cassial snapped, his sickly grin unwavering. “All we know is Altar’s treatment of Duwar spoiled the power. Ruined it. He broke Duwar apart and left it to deteriorate in the dark for far too long.”

“Which is why you need me.”

In a blink, Cassial was inches before me. He was so fast, the feathers that were ripped from his wings hadn’t rested on the ground before his hands were wrapped around my throat. “I need you. Only a fey from Altar’s direct lineage can handle such power. Your bodies were built in the very image of Duwar. You can withstand it. I know you can, because Duwar taunts me. Either you accept it, or I will give this offer to Erix Oakstorm. And we both know, if your life is on the line, he will accept without this pathetic hesitation you show me.”

“He would never,” I said.

“Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?” Cassial asked. “Say Erix refuses too, then this is not over. If you both refuse, Duwar will go into Jordin Elmdew. Allow for that, and I will mould Jordin’s beliefs the older he gets, until he is pleased with the chance to truly destroy Wychwood.”

Cassial drew back, just as fast, leaving me gasping for air. He started slamming his knuckles into his temple. It was a surprise when he didn’t begin cracking his skull into a wooden beam, just to rid himself of the inner voice.

“Time is running out, Robin! Quick, quick now.”

“You are wrong about me,” I said, grasping at straws. “I’m half fey. My body is part human. I will not be compatible with Duwar completely; if I take it from you, I will only die in the end.”

“Which is exactly what I want,” Cassial shouted, eyes glowing a violent red. “You are only the first step in my plans. Once Duwar ravages your body apart, there will be another who is willing to free you from the punishment of Duwar. At least you can die knowing the fey will not perish. History will look kindlier on the humans if it is a fey who banishes his own kind. You see, it must be you.”

My heart sank deep into the pits of my stomach. “Erix will sooner die than help you.”

As would I.

“Yes, you are right. But with you still living, he would give anything to ensure it!” Cassial refused to look away from me, his smile widening more, making the skin across his cheeks crack. “Erix Oakstorm. The berserker. King Oakstorm, whether he accepts it or not. He will do anything to fulfil his promise of giving you a… how did you call it? A tomorrow.”

I swallowed the blood and bile, trying to steel my expression, but failing. Cassial knew he’d backed me into a corner. Because he was right. Erix would do anything to save me, he had proved that time and time again. I was being used to further Cassial’s campaign, knowing that Cassial had contingency plan over contingency plan. There was not a single part of his path he’d not meticulously planned.

“I know Duwar taunted you too.” Cassial began pacing again, wringing thick hands together, skin peeling back as soft as a butterfly’s wing. “I hear it. It gave you the chance to host it, to save Duncan and thus save the world from ruin. And you did not believe it. Of course, I take responsibility for spreading the lies about a demon-god. No doubt every word and plea from Duwar was wasted on you. You would never for a moment see it for anything but evil. And yet the end is the same: you must willingly accept Duwar. Or you watch me die, then watch everyone else outside this tent meet the same fate. That, Robin Icethorn, is something even you will not survive. No one will.”

Willingly. That was why Jordin Elmdew was not his option, because a child that young would never know what to consent to, or how. That was the beauty of youth. For now, it would save Jordin and give him a chance.

“You want me to save the humans?” I asked, urging Cassial closer to me.

“I want you to give balance to them,” Cassial corrected.

The closer he came, the better my chance to crack the vial and spit the poison over him, killing him right here. But the Fallen would use him as a martyr. Seraphine sacrificed her life to give me this chance, and it was for nothing. Killing Cassial was not an option, not yet at least. If he died, Duwar would be released into the realms and there would be no hope of returning it to its eternal resting place. First, I had to show the world who he truly was – to rip back the curtain of lies and show them who the true monsters were.

I was left with only one path I could take, and Cassial knew it.

“If I accept Duwar, what is to say I will not go against you the second I get the chance?”

“I have thought long and hard about this outcome.” Cassial came to a stop, coming oddly calm about his demeanour. “If you act against me, Duncan will be punished for as long as his new body can withstand. If you think my treatment of Rafaela was evil before, what will become of Duncan is far, far worse. You see, love is nothing but a weakness. A sin. It was what led to the Creator’s downfall. His love for Altar, his trust, resulted in both gods perishing. And you, Robin Icethorn, are a sinner. Your heart has been split in two. It would have been more of a challenge to manipulate you if I only had access to one. But Erix will come for you, and so will your allies. One by one, I will see that they suffer pain until that alone kills you. They will not die; I will make sure of it. Instead, they will spend their long lives suffering, knowing that it is in your name. So long that they will learn to hate you. Every time they think of you their bodies will burn and scald until they are begging to forget you. Trust me when I say that my capabilities are vast and never ending. I will show Erix and Duncan how to hate you.”

A growl built in my chest. No doubt, if the iron chains and cuff did not touch my skin, my power would have struck out.

I was helpless. Cassial knew that.

He used my life as leverage to everyone around me.

“There is something else I have done,” Cassial added, a smile tugging at his ruined mouth. “Although I will not reveal what yet. But just know, if you think about killing me, ruin will still befall this world.”

Every inch of my body prickled, skin itching with discomfort. “What have you done?”

Cassial smiled. “You will see, in time.”

I didn’t know what to think, but I believed there was a truth behind his threat. I couldn’t place why or what.

“Do you really believe that I wouldn’t forfeit Duncan’s life, if it means saving the world?” Hate crashed within me like storm-gathered seas. I tried my best to steel my expression, but clearly it was a wasted effort. “No one life is more important than the realms.”

Cassial could see right through my attempt to lie.

“Shall we test that theory, Robin?” He rolled his shoulders back, his posture reeking of his success. “Duwar has shown me what you were prepared to give up, just to save Duncan. Already, you’ve proved that the greater world and its occupants mean little to you. Having harboured Duwar for so long in secret, is only further proof of that. So, yes, I do trust that you will do as I ask, because you could not possibly live in a world in which Duncan or Erix no longer exist. Selfish, selfish Robin. You would give anything to have a… tomorrow with them. Am I right?”

He used that word against me for a second time, cutting deeper into my soul. My teeth shifted, the glass vial tinkling over the hard surface. Cassial wasn’t wrong. I was selfish, but that was not always a weakness. It could be my greatest strength too. He just didn’t see that yet.

I lifted my chin, trying not to show how Cassial’s use of words had affected me. Fixing my eyes on his, I refused to look away as I asked my final question. “When I accept Duwar into me, what am I do to with the power?”

Cassial smiled, the corners of his lips splitting up through his cheeks, more brimstone and fire hissing in the cracks. “Finally, you have come round to the concept.”

“Answer the question.”

“What I require of you is to strip the access to chaos that Duwar gave the fey. Starting with the army heading our way. Draw out every ounce of magic in their blood, and transfer it over, just as the Creator first desired, to the humans.” Cassial rubbed his hands together, his entire demeaner greedy.

“You do it.”

“And kill myself in the process?” Cassial laughed. “No, we both know that will not happen. It has to be you. If you do it, the fey will be spared. We will strip them of their control, send them back into Wychwood and seal them away forever. That way you can continue in life knowing those you love will live. But you must decide with haste. Time is running out. My offer only stands for as long as it takes for Erix to get here… then it will be presented to him once the ground is stained with innocent human blood.”

My answer was simple. “I will not accept until I see Duncan for myself.”

Cassial leaned in, washing the vile stench of decay over me. “Again, choosing Duncan over the lives you’ve sworn to protect, just as you tried to convince me otherwise. Further proof that I am right. If that is not confirmation enough of how selfish you are, Robin, I do not know what is.”

“That is my counteroffer,” I sneered, breath coming out ragged.

Cassial offered me a grin so wide, his crumbling face cracked like broken glass. “Would you like to know what the Asp said before I tore her head from her shoulders?”

I didn’t want to do it, but my eyes trailed over to the headless body to my side. Cassial had made sure I didn’t stop looking at it, as if the reminder of what could happen would make me act in his favour.

In truth, it was working. “I don’t care.”

“Oh, but you will.” Cassial was so close I felt the rotting flesh emanating from him. “The Asp said, ‘be selfish, Robin’. It was a message for you, proving to me that you would always be chasing after her. I knew, in that moment, you would come. Odd words to waste your final breath saying, but those were it. I could not help but believe she wanted you to hear them. You see, even she knew you were a selfish person. No doubt everyone who follows you does too. And I promised her I would tell you, before her pretty little head fell from those pretty little shoulders. Although by the point I finished agreeing, she could no longer hear me.”

Be selfish . Those were Seraphine’s last words. Robin . Meant for me.

Her last command.

I pinched my eyes closed, remembering what she had told me back on the ship to Irobel. “An Asp is trained to use their last words as a means to guide the next onwards … Not a breath is wasted, not a word is worthless.”

I drew back my disdain, knowing Cassial was right. I was selfish, and Seraphine knew it. But her reasons for saying it were not what Cassial hoped for.

This was what Seraphine wanted. Everything she’d done was to get me here, in this place, with this choice. I had to believe that she’d put herself in Althea’s position, knowing her imminent death would start the war we all tried to stop. Because she needed me to accept Duwar before acting.

I had to ensure her death was not wasted.

Be selfish, Robin.

I fixed my eyes on Cassial as a rush of calm came over me. With the sweep of my tongue, I pushed the vial back between my teeth, ready for another time. “I will do it.”

His eyes widened, red hot like the churning fires of the sun. “You will?”

“I willingly accept Duwar.” I made sure my voice had no room for anything but confidence. “You are right, it is the only way.”

“Then we begin–”

“No,” I answered. “First, you take me to him . Prove to me that you are a man of your word, and I will then do the same.”

Be selfish, Robin. My request to see Duncan was only further proving the point, which was exactly what I needed.

“Then the Asp was right,” Cassial said. “You truly are selfish, Robin Icethorn.”

Cassial’s impatience had little to do with the impending army. He too was selfish – using the humans as a shield proved that. His impatience was born from a place of knowing that everything he planned for rested on my cooperation.

“Shall we?” I asked, itching to get out of these chains. “As you said, time is not our ally.”

Cassial nodded, before waving a hand. He changed before my eyes. His skin rippled, his face morphing back into another. Cassial used Duwar to build an illusion around him, fixing Duncan’s face where his hand been.

At first, I thought he had been tricking me all along, until the chains shattered apart, and I slumped forwards.

Cassial wouldn’t allow himself to be seen by the world outside this tent. Because if they saw the truth of what he’d become, then his illusion that the fey were monsters would be ruined.

“I trust you will not do anything stupid, Robin?” Cassial asked as he took the leash connecting to my cuff and guided me toward the tent’s entrance. “Remember, I have preparations if you do.”

“Of course not,” I replied, “I know who is at risk.”

“Good boy,” Cassial praised, making me wish to tear my ears off my head.

As we stepped out into the glare of daylight, I winced, hiding my smile. A plan formed in the back of my mind, in a place Cassial couldn’t touch.

Cassial was just as desperate to survive Duwar’s corruption as I was to stop this war. I would use that to my benefit. But for that to work, I needed to give my signal. I had to hope that Erix would still not act until he saw it, army or no. When the time came, it would take Rafaela, and the full power of the Faithful to save the realms.

With every step toward my destiny, I could practically hear the ghost of Seraphine whisper in my ear . “Be selfish, Robin.”

“Always, Seraphine.” I thought. “As if I haven’t been all this time.”

Cassial had to believe I was hesitant. He had to believe I was unsure of how to act, when the truth was, I knew it was going to end like this. From the beginning. Cassial didn’t know it yet, but this was all working to my plan after all.