Page 131 of Queens

Silas scrunches his nose, then his eyes glaze over. It takes several minutes, which I suspect means the fates don’t want totell him. A small bead of blood travels out of the corner of his eye, and he winces as he finally comes to.

He wipes the blood away. “It’s painful. Fast, but painful. That’s all I can tell you.”

Cassia’s smile is unnervingly predatory. “Do you promise?”

“Yes.”

“That’ll do, then.”

Cassia strolls toward Aziel. My pulse picks up as she nears him. He’s not holding back his power, letting its full extent permeate the room. Most people take that as a sign to skedaddle, but Cassia enters his personal space without the slightest bit of worry.

Charlie is staring at me again. I ignore her.

Cassia pats the top of Aziel’s head. His nostrils flare as he smells her, and after a second, he lifts his arm and places his hand on hers.

“And I want you to announce a date for my coronation,” she says, her voice surprisingly tender. “Preferably within the next five years.” She pats his head again. “I’ll give you some time to digest that. We can talk through the details later.”

Charlie is in front of me. I didn’t notice her approach, and I clear my throat as I finally peer down at her. I’m not sure what to say. I’m mad at her, but I also owe her an apology.

“I know you’ll be good to Cassia,” she says, the first to break the silence. “And I hope you don’t take offense to this, but I don’t want to be best friends with my daughter’s mate. We can still be friends, but casual ones. I don’t care to hear about your love life.”

“I have never been interested in telling you about my love life.”

Charlie shrugs. “Well, don’t start now.” She turns toward Cassia. “Have you told Valeria? She’s been asking about you.”

Cassia shakes her head. “We haven’t spoken in a while.”

“Well, you two can catch up tomorrow evening,” Charlie says. She turns to me again. “Has Cassia told you about our family dinners? I assume you’ll be attending now.”

Cassia practically beams. “Yes. We’ll be there.”

She looks so fucking light. I love to see it, and I smile like a fool as she flickers around her parents. She tells them everything they’ve missed these past few months, then shares a highly embellished retelling of our relationship. She conveniently leaves out the several times she tried to murder me, and she makes it sound as if I’ve been chasing her around for weeks. She makes me sound desperate. I don’t correct her.

If this is the story she wants, so be it. We both know the truth. She put her teeth on me first. She couldn’t restrain herself around me.Shewas the one chasingme.

By the time we return to our apartment, I’ve lost count of her lies.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to remember all that,” I admit once we’re alone. “You might have to write it down.”

Cassia nods. “I can do that.”

My lips curl, and that warmth from earlier travels through our bond again. I should probably stop being a coward. She’s not going to reject me, and the bond isn’t lying.

I clear my throat. “I love you.”

“I know. I’ve been feeling it.” Cassia’s budding smile falls. “Have you not meant to be sharing the emotion with me?”

“No.” I take a second to find the words. “I haven’t intentionally been keeping anything from you. I just didn’t know how to label the emotion.”

“Well, you do now, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Wonderful.”

Cassia smiles up at me, then meanders toward the cabinet that contains my most personal belongings. She found it late lastnight, and it’s as if she discovered a rare treasure. I take a seat on the couch, excited for her to demand that I explain almost every item to her in excruciating detail.

She’s obsessed with me.