Page 11

Della

I did not know what was wrong with me. My mind had been elsewhere, but nowhere at the same time.

There was an itch in my brain that could not be scratched.

Maybe it was because of Haden, or maybe I had finally lost my shit.

It felt as if I was waiting for something to happen, but I did not know how to stop this feeling because I had nothing going on.

This was especially true since Haden did not want to see me anymore.

Sighing, I stood at the windows of my home in the stars, wishing I could turn back time and figure out a way to get Haden back.

Movement in the reflection of the glass caught my attention, and I turned quickly when I realized it was Cassius.

I half expected him to disappear when I turned, proving that my mind was playing tricks on me.

But he stood in his black guardsman uniform, frowning at me.

“Cassius?” I whispered worriedly. “Is something wrong with Thea or Haden?”

“No. They are fine.” He stared at me oddly, and for some reason that itching in my brain stopped, like it knew Cassius was here and it was what we had been waiting for.

“How do you know where I live?” I asked.

He smiled softly.

“You brought me here once, right after Thea went to Exile the first time.”

I stilled.

“No, I didn’t.” What the hell was he talking about?

Cassius’ smile fell, and he lifted his wrist, pulling up the black sleeve as his shadows swarmed it. When it disappeared, there were four orange stars in a row on the inside of his wrist. My eyes widened as I stepped forward, grabbing his wrist so I could inspect it.

“Who the hell did you make a star bargain with, Cassius? You should never make a bargain.”

I looked at him angrily because this was a serious thing to do. He should have come to me if he needed help.

“I made it with you,” he confessed. I dropped his wrist and backed away. My chest tightened as my mind swarmed to remember what he was talking about. “You don’t remember, but we made a bargain, and you fulfilled your side of it, but now I have to complete mine.”

“Cassius, you’re scaring me.” I felt tears sting my eyes as confusion filled my empty mind.

Cassius’ golden eyes filled with sadness at my words. He stepped backward as if he thought I was scared of him physically hurting me.

“I’m not going to hurt you, but you told me a very long time ago to come here on the night of the total eclipse in Elloryon.”

His head tilted to the side. I swallowed hard as he watched me closely.

“You don’t remember, but you and I made a bargain to save Thea before Mikel came to Elloryon the day that she died from her magic being stuck inside her.”

“We did?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “You arrived first, pissed beyond reason. You kept talking about how Thea could not die; she was important. You told me you would give her what she needed to become a full goddess—part of your soul—but in exchange I needed to do something for you.”

Fear gripped me in a tight hug, smothering me to death slowly.

“I don’t remember any of this, Cassius.”

He nodded as he looked around the room.

“You told me of Haden,” he whispered. “I knew I’d meet him in the trials, and you told me he was important, that he needed a place to start life over. But you were panicking, talking about how Mikel could not know what you and I were bargaining for.”

Bits and pieces seemed familiar, but I did not understand how I would know any of this.

“We did this before Mikel came? I remember him coming, but I do not remember getting to you first.”

Cassius smiled.

“I think what I say to you will make you remember what you wanted to forget. You said it was to protect Haden, that you needed to forget until it was time. You used your own magic on yourself to hide memories.”

I scoffed.

“I do not have that magic, Haden does.”

“I saw you. You do have it. As soon as the bargain was in place, you instantly forgot, Della. You didn’t remember our conversation, and when Mikel came, you acted as if you had just gotten there too.”

Cassius wasn’t a liar. I knew he was telling me the truth, but that scared the shit out of me.

“What did I want to forget?”

Cassius clenched his jaw before looking me directly in the eyes.

“You said that Haden couldn’t know what you did, and you were scared he would see it in your mind and try to change fate.”

My mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out.

“I have been both dreading and looking forward to this day for years because I could see you were so desperate for my help. When I asked you why me, you told me that you needed someone you could trust and count on. I am terrified that when I say this to you, you will remember terrible things. I don’t want this to cause you any more pain. ”

Tears were falling down my face as I watched Cassius.

I took a shaky breath before turning my back to him.

What the fuck did I do? If I made a bargain like this, then I wasn’t just hiding from Haden; I was hiding from someone else.

I would not go through this much trouble to hide my own memories from myself.

I turned to Cassius and nodded. “All right, tell me whatever you are supposed to.”

“It’s bad, isn’t it? I can tell by your face that you are terrified,” he asked in trepidation.

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to find the words to describe what was going through my mind. When I opened them, Cassius was waiting patiently for a response.

“If I went through all of this trouble to hide my own memories from myself, then I am going to assume I did something terrible, Cassius. Whatever it was, I was not just hiding it from Haden. I wanted to make sure that someone else did not know what I was doing. Whatever it is, it must not be done, and now I will need to finish whatever I started.”

Cassius looked at me and frowned as he stepped forward. He grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

“Bring forth the forgotten truth of who and what you are, Ardella,” he said with conviction. I stared at him, not feeling anything at first. Cassius stared at me intently, like he expected that I might change drastically.

“Did anything happen?” he asked after a moment.

“No,” I said, confused. “Did you get the words right?”

“Yes, you literally marked them into my forearm,” he said. He lifted his arm and showed the words, but as soon as I read them, they soaked into his skin, disappearing along with his star bargain.

“Cassius?” I whispered as my vision blurred and then disappeared.My arms instinctively moved up to feel around myself.

“Della?” he said in a panic. “What’s wrong?”

“Help me to the bed; I cannot see.”

“Fuck.” Cassius lifted me up and set me on the bed. I could hear him pacing around. “Should I get someone?”

“No,” I said too quickly. “You need to leave.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” He paused. “You are currently blind, and I did it to you.”

“Cassius, I’m not asking; you need to leave. I will be fine. I can feel something happening to me, but I do not know what I will remember. If it is bad, my magic will explode from me and hurt you. So, please leave; I will see you soon.”

“Della…”

“Go, and do not say anything to anyone.” I needed him to go. “Thank you for doing this for me. I would not have trusted just anyone with this.”

Cassius squeezed my hand. “You are family.”

Tears were stinging my eyes. “Go, hurry.”

I felt when Cassius left, his power no longer lingered in the air.

It was just in time because my head began pounding.

My entire body stiffened, sinking into the bed below me painfully.

A small sob broke from my lips as my skin began to feel like it was burning off of me.

I was dying. Then a soft, cold shiver ran up my spine, and when I opened my eyes, the pain stopped.

Suddenly, the pain exploded, intensifying until a violent scream tore from me. What the hell was happening to me? My eyes burst open, like I had no control over myself, and I was able to see again. They began fluttering as my magic swarmed around the room.

“Storm?” I could hear Haden calling to me, but he was not here. It was coming from inside of my mind. “Find me.”

At his words, my magic stopped, and my eyes closed. Haden was standing in the dark depths of my thoughts. When I stepped toward him, the black ground broke and started giving way.

“Haden!” I called out, but he just watched me, his eyes glowing bright red.

“It’s time to remember what you did.” He frowned. “It’s time to remember your fate, Storm.”

As soon as he stopped talking, the ground crumbled beneath me, splintering and shattering like glass as I fell through it.

Everything around me was burning bright orange and red, like it was on fire.

Then I hit the dirt beneath me, but it didn’t hurt me.

I turned on my stomach, and my fingers slipped across the charred ground as if it were permanently smoldering.

Small billows of smoke rose from glowing red cracks in the charred earth.

I looked over my shoulder and saw red lilies sprouting from the dead ground. And in the distance I saw a black castle, so large and ominous, that it radiated waves of evil. I had never felt anything like this dread before. I saw Haden walking into the castle, and immediately began hurrying to it.

“Haden,” I whispered as he disappeared inside.

I ran to catch up, and when I reached the castle doors, I pushed them open and found myself in a foyer that looked like it had been forged by the heavens with stunning artwork and decor.

My mouth fell open, and I gaped until I saw Haden walking up a winding staircase, not waiting to see if I was coming.

I followed him up the stairs until we reached the third story.

I didn’t think he could see me, but he stopped at a large wooden door and turned to me.

“I love it when you do as you're told, Storm.” He smiled. “Are you ready?”

“For what?”