Page 54 of Brutal Crown

The evening goes by without a hitch.Almost.

As I step onto the terrace to clear my head, I see Lia walking down the hall with an empty tray. But she’s not alone, and she’s not aware that she’s not alone.

A man is following her. A familiar man.

Young, pale skin, hair slicked back, and movement too smooth to be harmless. He’s wearing a half-mask over his face, but beneath it, there’s something off. His eyes, a little too bright, fix on Lia as he follows her down the hall near the terrace.

Cassian De Luca.

He is the heir to the De Lucas, one of the founding families. He is notorious for his reputation of collecting women like infinity stones, but more than that, for his gift.

He is rumored to be a seer, a gift prominent in his family.

I trail behind him silently and carefully. I slip behind a wall, hidden near the archway, just as he catches up to her.

“Rosalia Ricci,” he calls out.

From my position, I see Lia freeze in her steps before turning slowly. I recognize the confusion on her face. It matches mine.

“You are as beautiful as they say,” he drawls in an all-knowing voice that grates my ears.

“I’m… sorry, I don’t?—”

He cuts her off. “You don’t know me, and I don’t expect you to. I just… couldn’t resist talking to you tonight.”

I grit my teeth. I want to step out and intervene, but a bigger part of me is curious to hear what he wants to say to her.

“You walk like someone with secrets,” he says softly. His voice is almost a whisper; I have to strain my ears to hear. “You have secrets, don’t you?”

Lia stiffens at his statement, and his lips spread into an eerie smile.

“It’s okay. They are safe with me.”

What the fuck is he insinuating? Does he?—

“I feel sorry for you. None of this is your fault. You carry someone else’s fate.”

My heart hammers against my chest. What does he mean by that?

Cassian’s head tilts. “The tides are already shifting,” he murmurs. “You’re a vessel not yet full for your purpose. The bloom before the blood.”

Lia’s expression hardens. “I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“I haven’t. I called you by your name, didn’t I? I know who you are,whatyou are. A daughter of fault, a fracture that cracks the wheel.”

With a huff, Lia moves to step around him, but then, he catches her wrist to stop her. Her tray clatters to the floor. The loud noise draws a few people’s attention toward the scene.

I see red. The moment I step forward, ready to intervene, Marco appears out of nowhere.

“Let go of her,” Marco says, his eyes locked on the man’s hand.

I ball my hands into fists, hating the tight position I’m in.

Cassian looks at him, but he doesn’t seem shocked or nervous at the way Marco is storming toward him. I step into view, and Cassian turns away from Marco to look at me.

His smile widens. Something dark and twisted curls up my spine.

“I was only offering insight,” he says, raising his hands in surrender as he looks between the two of us. We are flanked at his left and right sides. “It’s not my fault the truth unsettles.”