Page 101 of Secrets & Curses of Cerithia

“Like my mother did to me,” I said, frowning.

“Yes,” Cassius whispered.

“So would that make her a mortal goddess?”

“Yes, unless she chose to go to the stars and live an immortal life there. Specifically, she's the deity of blood and vengeance.”

“Sounds badass.” I nodded as Cassius agreed with a soft smile. “So, what happened?”

“The child’s mother was killed, but the gods and goddesses did not know of it. So, they did not check on the girl because they thought she was safe under the supervision of her mother. Unfortunately, the girl grew up with her star-blessed magic locked inside her, thinking that she only had elite magic and not knowing the truth. The problem, though, was that a mortal body could not hold that magic for too long before it killed it.”

My brows creased as Cassius told the story. Why did this sound so similar to me? When I glanced at Cassius, he frowned slightly at me.

“What happened to the woman?” I asked. I swallowed the lump of emotions forming in my throat.

“The woman fell in love with a mortal man. Eventually, he noticed how tired she was and how she seemed to get weaker by the day.”

My heart pounded as Cassius kept talking like he wasn’t describing me.

“What did he do?”

Cassius stared at me with a look of longing and sadness.

“He did what he had to. He went to a seer who saw the woman’s prophecy of crumbling kingdoms and killing kings. Her prophecy of saving the realm, just as the gods intended. The man asked how she was supposed to be Elloryon's savior if she was dead. The seer said the answer to her freedom was in the prophecy. So, he spent days in that gods-forsaken cabin in the woods and tossed out every idea he could think of.”

Cassius paused as his eyes cascaded over my face as if he were writing this very moment into his memory forever. He took in a shaky breath before meeting my eyes.

“Brim shot down every idea I came up with until I finally guessed correctly.”

I nodded because I couldn’t form any words.He was talking about me.

“A decision to be made, a choice that only results in death to be reborn, freed from a cage, a power awakened by a knife's blade. You had to die.”

My eyes widened as he stared at me, waiting for me to process what he was saying. I had to die. To be reborn. I had star-touched magic and the blood of a god in me. I shook my head. This couldn’t be true.

“But my father saidhebegged the gods to get rid of the curse when you killed me. Thathewas the reason why I ended up in Exile and could use my magic.”

Cassius let out an angry sigh.

“Your father lied to you. He wasn’t even there that day until the gods brought him to give him the bloodstone. Your father did not know the true nature of your magic, Thea. He believed it was just elite, but it is far more than that. I still don’t think that he believes you are the deity of blood and vengeance. You should have seen him the day that the gods told him what you were. He didn’t know any of it.”

Anger clouded my insides. My father had lied about everything.

“Your magic needed out before it consumed you.” He looked away from me. “I begged Brim for a different answer, but he gave me none. So, I went back to Crimson and stumbled upon war. Cerithia had stormed Crimson while I had been gone, and you were out there fighting. After the prophecy revealed itself, your father wanted to keep you as a weapon, not knowing how close you were to dying. The group of elite magic fae you saved were fighting with you. Sybil, Kaz, Kai, and Fallon, among others. They knew you were too weak to be fighting like you were, so they circled you, helping. I ran across the field to you just as you collapsed to your knees.

"I knew I had to kill you before the magic consumed you completely,” he said, his voice breaking as he continued.

“I remember catching you before you hit the ground, and then you smiled at me. You were too pale, and your eyes were turning white. Your magic had almost drained everything away from you. You were being consumed. I had to hurry, and there was no time to explain. You told me you missed me. You told me you loved me as I grabbed your viper-handled dagger. I told you I loved you too.” He took a deep breath and looked me right in the eyes.

“Then I plunged the dagger into your heart. Your magic exploded out of you with such a force that trees and fae flew everywhere. Dark clouds moved over us, and lightning lit up the sky. Everything was destroyed around us. I waited for you to open your eyes, but I didn’t know...

He stopped holding my hand and was silent for a long moment. Cassius was breathing heavily, as if he was reliving it. I went to grab his hand, but he didn’t let me.

“Gods came down from the stars because...” he looked at me, “I betrayed you. I did what I did because I loved you, and I would do it again, Thea. But if I could go back, I would have had anyone else kill you but me.”

He was angry, but not remorseful.

“You weren’t supposed to die. You were supposed to wake up. And when you didn’t, Della and her brother, Mikel, showed up. They told me how you were a deity sent here to save Elloryon, but I had taken that away because of what I did. I begged the gods to give you your soul back or at least take mine instead. I hadn’t meant for things to happen the way they did. You were supposed to wake up and be reborn from your curse.

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