Page 102 of Secrets & Curses of Cerithia

“They knew I only killed you because of the binding spell, but it was like the god, Mikel, didn’t care. He said he was taking you to the stars, but I couldn’t let you go. I’m too selfish to let that happen. Della made me a deal instead. She wouldn’t take your soul, but to keep the balance, you had to pick me and fall inlove with me again. I agreed immediately because I knew I could make you love me in every life. She understood that you had not fulfilled the prophecy yet.”

His face turned hard and angry.

“Mikel woke you up from death right then and there. He asked you what you wanted. Either you go to the stars and claim your title as a true goddess, or you choose to stay and fight for a chance at a normal life with me. You didn’t even hesitate when you said you chose me. This seemed to piss off Mikel, though. He said if you stayed, you would lose the chance at being a goddess. And yet, you still agreed. Mikel became enraged at your choice and refused to accept it. He said you didn’t have a choice anymore; you were going with them to the stars.”

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“I don’t understand.” I frowned. “Is this what Della meant when she said the gods hadn’t dealt with a situation like ours before because of what I was?”

He smiled softly as he shook his head. “I told him you were my fated mate, and you had the right to stay if you wanted. This changed everything. Della told me years later that gods and goddesses hold the fated mate bond as sacred above all else. They could not force you to go with them, and you chose me, so they must honor it. If we weren’t fated, Della said Mikel would’ve taken you.

“It was obvious that this angered Mikel further. He kept telling me that I was not worthy of you as a mate. He said I needed to be severely punished for betraying you like I did. Even Della could not calm his wrath. He kept repeating that I was made to protect you and not let harm find you and that I had failed. Mikel was so cold and unforgiving to me that day, even knowing the circumstances.” Cassius rubbed his hands down his face as I tried to gather my thoughts about being both a deity and his fated mate.

He waited to see if I would speak, but no thoughts formed, so he kept talking.

“Mikel said it wasn’t enough to have you just choose me again; that was too simple. So, he wiped your memories to make it more difficult for me. He claimed that it was to spare you from remembering what I did, even though you would have understood the reasons behind my actions. I still wasn’t worried, though, because I knew you would love me again. Then he announced that because you were the last surviving blood witch, your bloodstone would be given to your father.

“The witch’s bloodstone that belonged to your mother, the queen, is sacred. You see, covens believe in preserving powers. When witches are born, they use a stone, in this case, a bloodstone, to which they attach their power. When a witch dies, their magic returns to the bloodstone, enabling other members of the coven to guard that magic. That stone holds so much power, Thea, and it’s all yours as the sole survivor of the blood witch coven.

“But the bastard, Mikel, gave the stone to your father to keep, just to be an asshole. I still remember the way he smiled at me when I realized how difficult this would be. We had to come up with the trials to give you a reason to get the bloodstone and give it to me. It became so difficult over the years because it seemed like you hated Crimson more and more each time you came back. I still believe that Mikel did something to make you hate me more the longer it took to save you.”

“Della told me it was her fault that Mikel was so cruel to you. She killed the woman he loved to save the man she loved, and it destroyed all the compassion he had left.” I squeezed his hand in mine. “Besides, Mikel wouldn’t have taken me anyway because I still needed to fulfill the prophecy.”

“That’s just it, though; Mikel was willing to let the realm be destroyed just to punish me, like hewantedit to be destroyed.Thank the stars Della talked some sense into him. Maybe he did not want a realm where the woman he loved did not exist anymore,” Cassius frowned. “I would have destroyed the realm too if I had lost you that day. I could not bear an existence where I do not have you. One where I must exist without being able to hold you, kiss you, or love you. It would turn me into a monster.”

I squeezed his hand in mine.

“It makes sense why I always felt so drawn to you, even knowing you killed me. I thought I was sick and twisted to still miss you.”

Cassius stared at me for a long moment.

“Watching you die over and over again, just to come back and not remember me or the life we had started together, is the worst torture. This new curse was not yours, but mine. Loving you so much and watching you stare at me like I was a stranger was the worst part of this. So many times, I caught myself about to tell you I loved you, or I had to stop myself from kissing you. Then you would die, and each time, pieces of me would die too. My father had to drag me out of our room after months because I could not function without you.”

Cassius’ voice was laced with emotion as he stared at the waterfall. It was clear that he was thinking of all the times I had failed and that he didn’t want to go through it ever again.

His golden eyes locked onto mine.

“I knew for a long time who you were, Thea. I think I knew on the blood moon when you stabbed me with that damn dagger you love so much. Your soul was cursed because your fated mate killed you. The gods never had a mate kill the other before, and they could not let me go unpunished. It was the ultimate betrayal in Mikel’s eyes. Maybe it is because he lost his mate. I do not know.”

My eyes blinked slowly as I stared at him. Cassius wasmyfated mate. I had heard him say it earlier, but the reality of it wasjust now clicking in my mind. He moved toward me, but I backed up slightly. I needed to process this. He didn’t try to touch me again. Cassius watched me closely.

“This is why I dreamt of you, why my mother came to meet you, and why I always find myself drawn to you, even if I don’t remember us. It’s why I love you even though you killed me.”

“It is why you chose to give up going to the stars and stay here to live a mortal life with me. There are times when I feel you made the wrong choice. Maybe you should have gone to the stars because I have not been able to save you.”

“You and I were destined to be together,” I whispered as my head swarmed through all the emotions of finding out that I never had a choice in loving Cassius. I stared at him, trying to process this. “Does that bother you that we had no choice in who we loved?”

Cassius looked at me as if the thought never crossed his mind.

“No, because we could have ignored it and chosen not to follow our feelings. It would have been easy not to act on them since we were enemies, but we both slowly fell in love. I admit, I think I fell in love a lot faster and way before you did,” he chuckled softly. “We still chose each other. We still had a say in it. Does it upset you to know that we are fated?” he asked with pain in his eyes.

“No, and being a goddess sounds boring,” I chuckled softly to lighten the overwhelming feelings I was having. “I made the right choice by staying.”

Relief filled his eyes.

“You should have seen their faces when I told them that you were my fated mate. I didn’t know Mikel could be surprised, but that only made him angrier. Della understood why I did it. She took pity on how destroyed I was. If anyone else would have released your magic that day, we would not be in this fuckingnightmare. Della kept apologizing to me, saying that it was her fault Mikel was such an asshole.

“The gods promised you would be kept in a safe place—Exile, as you called it. They let the group of elitist magic holders go with you, so it would seem like normal life. Those fae chose to go with you so you weren’t alone, but then started not remembering things either. They also seemed to turn on Crimson the longer they were there.

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