Page 41 of Secrets & Curses of Cerithia

“Thea, please stop; we don’t want to hurt you!” He held up his hands in surrender.

I froze at his gesture. His eyes moved behind me before he moved out of my way.

“Little viper.”

Cassius’ voice drifted through the cool night air. My body stiffened at the sound of it. Great, the arrow was going to make me hallucinate too. Either the stars were torturing me, and I didn’t understand why, or my sanity had snapped for good.

I turned quickly, not expecting to see him. I blinked rapidly when I saw him standing in the forest. Cassius was a vision in his black uniform. His golden eyes glowed in the dark, and his dark hair was chaotic, like he had been running his fingers through it.

“Little viper,” he spoke again. This time I realized I was not hallucinating. I gripped my viper-handled dagger in my hand as I ran at him.

Cassius had expected my attack. He pulled out his own daggers and blocked every stab I tried to make. Not once did he try to attack me back.

“Thea, stop,” he demanded between my strikes. When I didn’t listen, he cursed under his breath. Suddenly, our daggers tangled with each other's, making them fall from our hands.Cassius looked up at me to speak, but I swung my fist and punched him in the face.

He stumbled backward, grabbing his cut brow. Blood dripped down his face as I ran at him again. I was not giving up. This was all his fault. Cassius dodged my attack, grabbing my wrists and yanking me flush against him as we tumbled to the ground. He cushioned my fall and quickly rolled us, so I was pinned under him. I was determined, though. My darkness would not stop me this time. No, it had retreated inside me with my other magic. The guard’s attempt to subdue my magic would only help me kill Cassius.

“My love, please stop,” he muttered as I thrashed around under him. His grip loosened, and I punched him again, making him fall off me. “Fuck!” He grunted as he held his nose. I stood and prepared myself for him to charge at me, but he just stared at me without moving. Something somber filled his features. I hated the way he stared at me with his empty eyes. The look of longing was worse than a punch to the face.

“Fight me,” I demanded. “Let’s finish this once and for all.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head and looking away from me as if he couldn’t bear to look at me. I glanced around to see Haden, Kace, and Zade watching our exchange. Gods, I hadn’t seen them since the trials. They all watched me with blank, uncomprehending stares. I couldn’t stand to see their faces, so I glanced at Cassius.

“Quit being a coward and fight me, Cassius. I promised you I would kill you, and you still sought me out. So now be ready to die.”

His golden eyes glanced around us as Falgon guards watched the exchange; all of them had laid their weapons down. His shoulders slumped as his eyes found mine again. My chest tightened at the odd gesture. I wouldn’t allow myself to fall for whatever this was. Cassius would use it to break me, to kill me.

He frowned at me before he tossed down his weapons and fell to his knees in front of me. His long exhale filled the silent space around us as his eyes closed tightly. Wisp floated behind him, her flames a normal shade of blue. She wasn’t warning me against him, but I knew she was not on my side. She loved Cassius, not me.

“Pick up your weapon and fight me!” I demanded through clenched teeth. My rage pounded in my ears as I stared at him kneeling in front of me. Cassius shook his head. If he thought I wouldn’t kill him, he was mistaken. If he thought I would fall for this act, he was stupid. Something about his submission to me made my insides twist with agony. I hated this. Desperate to understand why he was doing this, I glanced around us as if someone would speak up.

“Kill me if you must,” he whispered as his haunted eyes found mine.

“Cassius…” Haden started to say, but I was already running toward him. I tackled Cassius to the ground so he was lying flat on his back as I straddled him, my dagger pushed into his throat. A single drop of blood ran from his neck. And yet, he didn’t fight me.

“Come home,” he spoke softly. “Please.”

I sharpened my gaze on him, looking for the cruel, malicious man he had been in the clearing. His lips parted as his eyes glistened.

“I am home,” I lied. I would never give him the satisfaction of knowing how terrible Cerithia had been. Della had said I needed to be in Cerithia to learn the truth. I hadn’t pieced together enough to understand what the truth was yet.

“I’ve missed you terribly, my love.”

Tears filled my eyes because I knew his words weren’t true, but they still made time slow down around us as we watched each other. My teeth sank into my trembling lip so that he couldn’tsee how much he affected me. Cassius’ hands rested on my hips, and I waited for him to hurt me, but he didn’t.

“Stop,” I demanded. “I will never fall for your lies again.”

He winced at my words.

“Come home with me; fight with me there. Yell at me, hurt me, hate me, but do it in our home,” he tried again.

“Cerithia is my home.”

“Liar,” he snapped. “Even you know that is not true.”

His words and actions were confusing me. Why wasn’t he trying to hurt me? I hated that I didn’t know if this was a trick, even though he had betrayed me already. The dagger felt heavy in my palm as his words sank deeper into my doubts. It was clear that he was trying to enchant me. I shook my head, trying to get rid of these unwanted thoughts.

“Have they treated you well in Cerithia?” He kept pushing it. His eyes scanned over my face for any trace of the lie I would tell. “Did they welcome you with open arms? Do they treat you as well as Crimson did?”

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