Page 44 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

Devastation filled me at how sad she sounded.

“Yes, and your father did not like it. You’ll start having memories soon. It always happens when you leave Exile for too long.”

“I’ve left Exile before. Sybil had said the same thing.”

“Yes, this is your eighth time trying to break your curse, and I hope you do this time, Thea.”

I watched her closely.

“They won’t tell you anything about your life, and if you ask too many questions, they will start thinking you remember.” I stepped toward her and grabbed her hands. “I would keep your memories to yourself. They will not be happy to know that you remember.”

“What am I going to remember?”

My face softened as I looked at her. Us. Me.

“The real reason why you fled to Crimson tonight. It was no accident, Thea; it was destined.”

My answer caught her off guard. A tortured expression overtook her face, and I pulled her to me and kissed her deeply. She pulled back and stared at me intently.

“Tell me why I miss you when you’re gone,” she whispered. “You are all I think about, Cassius, and I should feel bad because your king is my father’s biggest enemy. But if I’m being honest, I really don’t like my father.”

A laugh escaped me at her words. I loved this fucking woman with every fiber of my soul.

“Because you love me, even if you don’t remember.” I decided to give her a sliver of the truth to see how she took it. Her face didn’t change. “You don’t look surprised.”

“We love each other,” she answered back. “Della said I needed to read between the lines when it came to you. But I can see it when you are near me that you miss me, but you have been missing me for a long time.”

My chest rose and fell as she talked.

“Gods, what am I babbling on about?” Her voice panicked as her cheeks heated instantly as she looked anywhere but at me. I grabbed her jaw and forced her gaze to meet mine. Maybe I should tell her about how I cursed her. She didn’t deny loving me.

“Thea!” someone called out close by.

Fuck.

“Shit, they're looking for me.”

“I’ll see you soon.” I smiled but frowned when she looked at me with tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong, my love?”

“I… I don’t know; I just feel overwhelmed by you leaving me.”

“I think I see her!” Someone interrupted us. I took a step back, but Thea glanced to my left, making me look too. I saw nothing, but she nodded her head as if she were answering a question. When I looked back at her, she was looking at me again.

"Do you see him like you see Wisp?" she asked.

I glanced to where she had been looking and saw no one. Worry filled my chest. Why was she seeing things?

"Who is it?" I asked. She frowned at my question.

"I don't know; he won't tell me. He has been following me for a while." Her eyes drifted to him again, and she smiled. "He said to tell you that…" Her brows furrowed. My heart sank when Thea looked at me. "Bayla? Does that name mean something to you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but a guard coming through the trees stopped me. I stepped back and left in my shadows, but I didn’t go to Crimson. I went to Cerithia. My shadows disappeared, and I was hidden behind the blue velvet drapes in Luren’s throne room. I had to make sure she was alright. I had to make sure she lied to them. Adrenaline pumped through me at Thea's words. How had Bayla sent a manto help her?

Her words raced through my mind. This was the year. She was coming back to me, and the excitement I felt was overwhelming. I stilled when I heard Luren clomp into the room. A moment later, a commotion followed. I could feel her hatred through the bond. I peeked through the small gap in the drapes and saw her glaring at her father.

“Where the fuck have you been for three days?” His voice was soft, but in a cruel way.

“In the forest.” She lied immediately. Good girl. “I was upset after you hit me, so I ran into the woods to get away from you, and I became disoriented and lost.”

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