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The second the two vampires are out of sight, Cassius’s sharp words carry up to me. I pause to lift Asmod onto my shoulders, taking a moment to adjust their long body as I eavesdrop.
“You know better than to openly cross Elizabeth like this. What were you thinking, seeking her out like this?” I imagine Cassius rubbing his temples when he heaves an exasperated sigh.
Asmod bumps their nose against my cheek, nudging me to continue. Reluctantly, I start walking again even though I want to hear more.
“If someone saw and reported back to Elizabeth?” Cassius continues. “She expects me to oath bind Clara by…”
Wait…
Cassius was ordered to what?
I miss the rest of what he says when his voice trails off as I continue up the stairs.
Cassius was ordered to oath bind me…And not once has he uttered a single word about it. Head spinning wildly, I make my way to my room, fury coating my veins in ice.
Chapter Two
Clara
When Cassius sauntersinto my room, I fling my arm and release my grip. My dagger embeds into the door with a deepthunk. A thin sliver of red beads up along the blade’s path on his face.
For several seconds, Cassius doesn’t move, staring at me without blinking. Then slowly, he reaches up to touch his cheek. Pulling his hand away, he glares at the blood smeared on his fingertips.
“What in the Otherworld do you think you are doing?” he snarls. Ripping the dagger from the door, he crosses the small space in four long strides and drops it onto the table with a clatter.
“You bastard,” I bite out, taking two steps forward bringing us chest to chest, as we stare each other down. My breaths are quick and shallow, I’m hardly able to through my anger. “How dare you!”
“You know you can’t be near him right now. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“This isn’t about Alaric,” I snap back.
Cassius’s eyes widen as he takes me in. His hands come up to my shoulders and smooth up and down my arms in an effort to stop my trembling.
“Then what is this about?” Cassius asks gently. He reaches toward my head and sends a nasty glance toward Asmod coiling up on my pillow. The demon’s dark green metallic scales shimmer in the low evening light. “Are you still injured?”
I slap his hands away. “No, you demon’s ass, this is about you keeping things from me—I heard you,” I seethe. His eyes go wide, but I continue on before he can speak. “How dare you ask me totrustyou when you hide things from me? Especially when they are rather important details—such as the fact that you are supposed to oath bind me to you!” My chest heaves with barely controlled fury.
“I was going—”
“No, you weren’t.” I plant both palms on his chest and shove him back a step. “You had more than enough chances, but you still kept me in the dark.”
“If you’re not going to breathe, will you please sit down before you pass out?”
When I don’t move to obey, he takes me by the shoulders and guides me into the only chair to sit. Then when I don’t stand back up, he retreats to the far wall. The distance takes some of the fuel from my burning anger.
“I will never let that happen,” I say, hating how broken my voice comes out.
Cassius rubs his temples with his fingers and mutters something under his breath. Dropping his arms, he purses his lips. “As I was trying to say, I wanted to find a way around it before you found out. I knew you would sooner gut me than bind yourself to me.”
I release a deep sigh, finally reining in my emotions.
Cassius takes a tentative step forward. When I don’t protest or grab for the dagger to throw at his head again, he kneels and takes my hands in his.
“I have never marked a human, so I can’t begin to understand what either of you are feeling, but I was trying to protect you.”
It might be foolish, but I believe him. If he had any intention of following through, he would have done so by now.
“Keeping things from me for ‘my protection’ is patronizing. I deserve to know anything that concerns me.”
