Page 65 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood (Tales So Wicked #2)

Cassius walks to her, takes her face in his hand, and dips his mouth until it’s hovering above hers. “Do lower your fucking voice, Cat. You nearly blew out my eardrums.” He follows his comment with a swift kiss.

“I want her dead,” she fumes.

“Well, we tried that, didn’t we?” He gives her chin a little shake before releasing her face. “You’re looking lovelier than ever, princess spit and all.”

The compliment seems to please her. Catreena flips her golden hair over one shoulder. “He must have liked this one. She was very young.”

“She must have been. I felt the interaction. My entire body tingled. I came straight here. Had no idea I’d find my princess with you.

” He lowers himself to where I’m perched on my knees.

Catreena’s invisible binds still hold. I turn my face when he tries to run his fingers down my cheek.

“Still not playing nice? How did you manage to get free?”

“I guess you underestimated me.” I offer him a bitchy smirk.

“Or you had help.” He smiles and it’s beyond unsettling.

“You know that little handmaiden of yours has been missing. She hasn’t been a priority before now.

The mirror values youth and beauty. Her burns make her unappealing.

Nevertheless, I think I’ll make it my personal mission to track her down.

She interfered with my plans when she cut you loose.

If she hadn’t, my fingerprints would be painting your skin and my seed dripping from between your splayed thighs.

I was so looking forward to breaking you again. ”

“Enough,” Catreena snaps. “That is not a necessary part of our plan. Let’s just kill her.”

“We can’t kill her.” Cassius’s voice booms and we both jump. “Use your fucking brain.”

“Then we feed her to the mirror. Surely she can’t resurrect after something like that. They’re still half alive when he consumes them. It’s the perfect solution.”

I turn to look at the monster. It’s vanished, crawled back into the mirror. There’s no chance in hell I’m getting fed to that thing.

“It’s already eaten,” Cassius argues.

“It’s always hungry! Why are you protecting her?” Catreena seethes.

“It has nothing to do with protection. She’ll stay alive to bear me an heir.”

She hisses an exhale through her teeth. “You’ll find any excuse to fuck her.”

“It’s not an excuse. It’s the smart thing to do.”

“Like you’ve ever been known for your smarts, Cassius.” Catreena scoffs.

It was the wrong thing to say. Cassius moves with incredible speed.

His fist buries in her hair, jerking her head back until she screams. He pulls back harder and she drops to her knees.

His voice is a menacing whisper, “All this attitude over a nobody princess. Are you that insecure? Worried I’ll start to favor the taste of her pussy over yours? ”

Her cheeks burn red. “Don’t be absurd. She’s dangerous. She has magic in her blood. What if she finds a way to use it against you?” Her tone softens. It’s the most vulnerability I’ve seen from the cold queen. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Cassius is quiet for a moment. He sighs, rolling his eyes. “You always get your way. Feed her to your demon if you wish, but not before I get to have my fun.”

“You’ve already had her!”

Cassius tuts. “You’ve always been such a jealous little thing. That was different. I was still playing Prince Cassius. Though, my true nature did spill through for a few moments.” His smile is icy. “If you’re going to deprive me of breeding her, you at least owe me one last bit of fun.”

“No.”

“So bossy.” Cassius runs the hand not buried in her hair down the front of her gown, pressing between her thighs. “Give me an hour. I’ll hunt her down, take her the way I want. She’ll be all too eager to be devoured by your demon when I’m through with her.”

He presses his fingers deeper into the fabric. A small whimper escapes Catreena. Her jaw tightens. “Fine. You have one hour. Bring me her heart. Then give her pretty face to my monster. If you fail, my monster runs free. If that happens, you’d better make sure your pretty face is nowhere in sight.”

“Oh, Cat. I knew you’d come around. Not that it was ever really your choice.” His laugh deepens Catreena’s sneer.

“Blood.” She claws at the hands still yanking her hair. “Give it her blood.”

Cassius drops her, sighing. “You don’t trust me.”

She scrambles to her feet, straightening her crown along the way. “You’re obsessed with her. I’m ensuring she ends up in the mirror. Getting her out of the way was always the plan.”

A death at the jaws of the mirror monster means eternal hell.

I should be begging for Cassius to keep me alive.

Surely a life in his hands would be better than that eternal damnation.

Beg, Lenore. Beg him to spare you. Catreena said he was obsessed.

Play pet for him and when the time is right, slit his throat.

My lips are glued shut. I can’t muster the words. Is it stubbornness or fear? The way Cassius looks at me next makes my skin crawl. I realize in that moment that there’s something just as dark and tainted in him. A demon. He still wears the skin of a man but he’s not human, not anymore.

He holds out his palm. “The blade?”

Catreena’s face alights. She procures a knife from thin air. The metal is black, with flecks of silver throughout. I’ve never seen a material like it. It looks similar to the frame of the mirror.

The invisible binds on me release. I’m on my feet and sprinting for the door in an instant. Cassius plucks me from the ground midstride.

“So eager. The chase will begin shortly.” He drags me toward the mirror. My fear spikes higher with every step. The air around the mirror is freezing cold. The scent of death fills my nostrils.

Cassius forcibly extends my arm, baring my wrist to the ceiling. I bite back my cry as the blade slices through my skin. Blood pours from the wound.

Cassius presses my arm to the mirror. I fight him so hard my shoulder feels like it dislocates. The surface of the mirror is not hard like I was expecting. It’s soft, pliant. A ripple runs across the face. Fresh panic fills me. I don’t want that thing to come out.

I scream when something grabs my wrist, pressing down around the cut. My arm sinks into the mirror, disappearing beneath the glass. With one rough jerk, Cassius pulls my arm free.

“Not yet.” He moves us away from it. “One hour. Then you can hunt.”

Another ripple forms across the surface. Was that a reply? An acknowledgment? Cassius drags me along with him as he moves to the door. Flinging it open, he grins. “You have thirty seconds. Then I’m coming for you.”

Catreena huffs. “She won’t even make it out of your sight in thirty seconds. You’re not even trying.”

“Don’t spoil my fun,” he grumbles. “I want her to try. I didn’t say I wanted her to get far. I’ll take her right here in the hallway if I can. Want to watch?” He smirks at Catreena whose face is red with fury.

“Watch you sully yourself with that undead trash? No thank you.” She lifts her chin and disappears into the bathroom.

“She’s pissed now, but when I fuck her brains out tonight, she’ll forgive me.

She always does. Having my cock inside her after I’ve defiled a princess always feels better for both of us.

Devil only knows why.” Cassius looks away from the direction Catreena has gone, his stare settling on me. “Thirty seconds.”

Running for my life is not something I’ve trained for. Frolicking through the meadow, dancing in the rain, sure. Running? Absolutely not. I’m at a complete disadvantage. Thirty seconds . What a joke. I’ll have to be smarter, not faster.

The one advantage I have over Cassius? I know this castle inside and out.

This is my home. Which is how I know there’s a small panel beneath the oak table against the wall in the center of the hallway.

I’ve never known its purpose. The square is too small for most adults to fit through.

It was perfect as a child. Maybe it was for the castle’s rat dogs to sneak in and out of.

I’ve never been more grateful to be improperly dressed. A hoop skirt would make it impossible to fit inside. In my nightgown, I might just be able to squeeze through. More important than that? Someone as broad and muscular as Cassius will never fit.

Running in a straight line, I wait until the last moment to dart to the left.

If I give away my advantage too soon, Cassius may come for me early.

He strikes me as a man who only plays games he knows he can win.

I have no doubt that at the first sign of any real chance of escape, he’ll cut me off at the knees.

Using my bare foot, I kick the panel inward.

Trepidation locks my muscles. The space is smaller than I remember.

Ducking under, I squeeze myself through the opening.

I have to reach one arm, sliding my head and first shoulder through, before I can fit my other shoulder inside.

My waist glides through, but my hips jam between the four small walls. “Dammit, Lenore. Too many tea cakes.”

“Don’t you dare!” Cassius’s voice roars behind me.

Reaching forward in the darkness, I grip onto a floorboard, using it to haul myself inward.

The places where I splintered the wood when I kicked in the panel are sharp enough to poke through my clothes and tear into my hips.

The pain is a motivator. It’s nothing compared to the agony I’m sure to endure at the hands of Cassius or the mirror.

My feet kick out wildly behind me, fighting for purchase. I’m sweating. The soles of my feet slip and slide. The floor shakes. Cassius is close. Clawing, kicking, pushing, a final desperate surge of adrenaline sends me sprawling out on the other side of the hole.

Tucking my feet in, I crab crawl backward. Cassius’s furious face drops into the opening. “You think you can hide from me? I’ll tear this castle apart, bring down every wall until I find you.”