Page 37 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

No one said anything as I turned and left the throne room, slamming the wooden door so violently that I swore I heard it crack.

?????

Things at Cerithia were different after my outburst. No one even tried to be friendly or talk to me about being family. Was this what life had been like before Exile? A sense of not fitting in or belonging? The queen and my half-sisters hated me, and I hated them too. Something in my bones ached with hatred when I saw them. I hated my father and Jesper as well.

“Thea?”

I shook my head from my racing thoughts. Jesper stared at me from the other side of the counter. I had snuck down here after everyone was sleeping to eat, so I didn’t have to talk to any of them.

“Jesper.”

“How have things been since you’ve been back?” He smiled at me, but it made me step away from him. The feeling of leaving the same room as him consumed me.

“Fine.” I lied. I had been trying to find a way to go see Cassius in Crimson for the past two days. But none of my excuses for showing up in Crimson made sense. I was sure the Crimson royal family would have me killed on sight.

“Do you ever remember flashes of your life?” He tilted his head to study me.

"Lie to him." The man with kind brown eyes said from somewhere close to me.

Jesper was bad news. When I didn’t answer, he reached out and grabbed my wrist. When I tried to pull it free, he gripped it tighter and examined the black trees tattooed on my arm. His finger traced something under my tattoo.

“What did you do to Palo?”

Palo? Why the fuck would I know where he went?

“Let go of me.”

“Why do you lookscared of me?”

“I’m not, but I don’t want anyone touching me.” His fingers gripped my arm slightly tighter. “I will burn your fucking hand off if you don’t let me go in two seconds.”

He gave me a look of irritation but dropped my arm. But I decided that it wasn’t soon enough and sent my fist into his smug face. Jesper fell into the wall behind him before falling to his knees as blood gushed from his nose. My darkness and I watched as he cried like a fucking baby.

“You will not touch me again, or I will slit your fucking throat.”

“You fucking bitch!” he yelled. “You remember something, admit it!”

I crouched down and stared him in the eyes.

“I don’t like you very much. In fact, I kind of want to slit your throat open right now.” I grabbed my dagger, and he sobbed loudly. I laughed as I stood up. “This is actually really embarrassing for you; get up and quit being such a baby.”

“Fuck you, you cunt.”

“Stay the fuck away from me,” I warned as I glared at him and slowly made my way past him and to my room. Once the door shut, I locked it and listened to see if he followed me, but nothing made a noise in the hallway. I lifted my arm to inspect my tattoo. Why was Jesper always askingabout and looking at these tattoos? My finger skimmed it, and I could feel the lifted skin under it.

Letters. I could feel letters covered by the dark ink. I traced them once, then twice. My stomach churned with disgust. Jesper’s name was on my arm. So many things swarmed in my mind, but none of them were good. Pain shot through my mind as images of Jesper cutting my flesh with a knife hit me. I stumbled into the wall and caught myself as my head pounded.

What was happening to me?

Through my panic, I saw a flash of movement in the dark corner of my room. I froze where I was because I thought perhaps I had imagined it. A moment later, though, a woman as pretty as the heavens stepped out. She held up her hands.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” she whispered. I grabbed a candlestick and held it back, ready to swing and hit this intruder. How had she gotten in here?

“I’m a friend; you just don’t remember,” she said quickly. My darkness didn’t stir inside of me at this warning. A flash of dark green let me know the friendly orb was back. She was floating calmly next to the woman.

My eyes shifted back to the woman with golden skin and eyes the color of twinkling stars. She smiled when she glanced at the floating green orb.

“You can see the light?” I asked.

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