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Little Viper
I set it on his nightstand and then headed towards the mens’ sleeping room.
Chapter 25
When I got there, they were dressed and ready. Only five of them. Tagon was missing.
“He died,” Zade answered when I peered around for the seventh member of our group. Haden and Kace stepped forward. Sadness filled me, but I couldn’t linger on it.
“We need horses to sneak out without being detected. Who knows the way to Cerithia?”
“Me and Zade,” Haden spoke and pointed to the magicless fae.
“Let’s go.”
The hallways filled with smoke and rubble as we wove our way out of the castle. The fire burned harshly, making sweat bead on my forehead. A hole had been blown into the side of the castle, so we climbed over the stone rubble and out into the fresh air. My eyes and throat burned from the smoke overtaking the castle. Other fae flowed out of the castle through holes that shouldn’t be there to escape the attack.
We had all dressed in dark colors to blend in with the darkness. When we all had our horses, we headed towards the woods, but I stopped and observed the castle being hit by huge balls of fire. The Wisps were watching the attack in shades of black. I pulled deep within myself and felt the barrier magic I had taken from the guardsmen who took Cassius in the woods. I summoned it forward and created an invisible barrier so tall and wide that nothing could penetrate it.
It wouldn’t hold forever, but it would buy them time. We turned and moved into the woods as fast as the horses could take us. A sense of pride and relief spread through me, and I knew it was Cassius through the blood mark. I smiled as I raced through the dark forest on my horse. She seemed to know where we were headed and needed little direction from me.
We covered a great distance after a day of traveling, only stopping to rest our horses. I had known we entered Cerithia lands some time ago because the air was much hotter here, probably because the sun seemed to be out constantly, and their trees did little to offer protection like they did in Crimson. Crimson always seemed to be gloomier, with the sun not making appearances as often. It was sticky and hot in Cerithia, much like Exile had been. My skin balked at the heat. I wasn’t sure how to work this damn blood mark, so I tried to feel for Cassius as I stared at it.
It only took him a moment to send relief through it. I took a deep breath and looked around the thick forests of Cerithia. Their trees were not the same as the Crimson Kingdom. Instead of tall pine trees, they were smaller leafy trees that didn’t block out the sunlight. Flowers did not grow on the forest floor even though it was Spring. The birds chirped faintly somewhere in the distance, but nothing near us. It was early morning, and the air was slightly cooler than it was at midday, and I was thankful for the small reprieve.
“How much farther?” I asked Haden, as they all sat and ate some food they had packed.
“Less than a day,” he sighed. “The Kingdom is directly in the middle of their lands for protection. We should be there by nightfall tonight.”
I nodded as they all stared at me.
“Is anyone here familiar with the castle?”
“Only you,” Haden responded. Great. I couldn’t remember anything about my time as a guardsman at Cerithia. Maybe being there would help my memory. It hadn’t worked at the Crimson Kingdom, but I needed to be somewhat positive.
“Well, we can’t rely on me remembering anything.” I sighed, eating a handful of berries I had foraged. We rested for a short time before heading through the thick forests again. My mind wandered to Cassius and the castle. Hopefully, there wasn’t too much damage done. By midday, I was dying of this heat. I much preferred the cool spring air of Crimson.
If Cerithia knew I made it through the trials and attack, they would be expecting us soon. Hopefully, they wouldn’t think we would leave so quickly after the trials, but I doubted we would get that lucky. No one had ever made it back. Why was everyone so sure that I could? I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Cerithia’s castle in the distance at first.
It sat on a tall hill above everything else. The walls were made from gray stone and blue flags whipped in the small breeze. My chest tightened significantly at the sight. Was it fear? Or was it because it was familiar to me even if I didn’t want to admit it? Images plagued me in quick flashes.
Me in my blue uniform while in battle. Arguing with the royal family. Feelings of sadness plagued me, as well as loneliness. I could see myself sitting in a small dingy room wearing tattered clothing crying. I shook my head and the flashes of memories left immediately. Then, memories I wasn’t expecting hit me like an arrow.
Smiling at the King of Cerithia when he gave me a small gift. Walking through the forest of the Kingdom with a blonde girl my age and a handsome guy. Flashes of the handsome guy kissing me sent a zap of jealousy through the blood mark. Can you see my thoughts? I asked through the marking, not expecting a response. Jealousy still sat in my veins. I would take that as a yes.
Why was I remembering things about my time here already? Maybe because I was from here or at least fought for the Royal family. Did my family reside here? Did they wonder what happened to me? I wasn’t sure if anyone did, but I did know that Cassius was waiting for me, and I would be fine if he was the only one.
“We should sleep until nightfall so we can all think clearly before making a move,” Kace muttered. We all agreed. There were a series of small caves we had passed and turned back towards. The cave was dark but cool as I laid on my cloak. Why hadn’t memories hit me as quickly in Crimson as they did here? Obviously being in Cerithia had triggered a vast amount of memories, but Crimson only showed me memories of Cassius. If I truly did live in Crimson with Cassius, wouldn’t I remember more? I thought sleep would evade me, but it found me so quickly.
?????
Cassius sat on our bed at the Crimson castle like he was waiting for me.
“Hi,” I murmured.
His head snapped up to me before he stood and crushed me into him.
“You’re alright.” He sighed before giving me a hard lingering kiss and I immediately thought of the memories he had seen of me kissing another man.
