Page 43 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

“You need to work on your lying, my love. If it makes you feel better, I picture you when I touch myself.”

Lust shot through me from the bond. Gods above, I was drowning in desire. I watched her face as my shadows swarmed around us and took us to Cerithia. Being this close to her instantly settled my racing thoughts. She had always been my safe place, my anchor. She smelled like these little purple flowers that grew in Crimson—sweet and intoxicating.

Her fingers fiddled with the dark hair on my neck out of habit. A moment later my shadows moved, showing her that we were in the forest of Cerithia, but she didn’t let me go, and I made no move to put her down.

“Are your eyes normally black?” she asked.

I didn’t answer. Brim said to keep my golden eyes from her until I needed to show her. He had been frantic that day he came to see me but refused to say why. I knew she didn’t remember anything about me but my golden eyes from her dreams. I felt like it would confuse her to know it was me. So, I kept my eyes black as I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers.

My gentle kiss only lasted a moment before she pulled me closer to her and turned it hard and needy. I moaned as she twisted in my arms and wrapped her legs around my hips. Her hands snaked through my hair, tugging it.I fucking loved when she did that. It was like her body remembered exactly what I liked because she did small things like this all the time.

I kissed her once more before setting her down on her feet. Disappointment filled her eyes, but I needed to understand where her mind was.

“Why do you think you ran to Crimson?”

“I don’t know. I just felt like I was suffocating here.” She paused before frowning. “Do you ever feel like you’ve lost something or misplaced it? I feel like that all the time, and no one in my family has been helpful. I’ve asked my father. I’ve asked my half-sisters. I even asked my sister’s fiancé, Jesper.”

“Stay away from that monster. Do you hear me?” I warned, but silently told myself to get a grip.

“Thank you for bringing me back. I guess we can go back to being enemies on the battlefield. Unless you will continue hiding?”

I smirked. She wanted to know if she’d see me again.

“I’m not hiding, Thea. I was testing out a theory. Maybe if you wanted to sneak into Crimson again, I would let you.”

“Be careful, Cassius; I might use that invitation to stab you again.” She glanced over at me, and that feelingof wanting to be close to her consumed me. I didn’t want her to leave yet. “Did your theory work?”

I smiled softly at her, and I wondered if she felt this tension between us.

“In fact, it did tonight.”

Her full lips tilted into a curious frown as she watched me. Her eyes looked over me as if she were trying to figure out what I meant. She took a step forward but stopped herself and turned towards the castle of Cerithia.

“I need you to promise me something,” I said.

“Depends on what it is.”

“When you get back to Cerithia, do not tell them you made it to Crimson lands.”

She looked confused at me.

“It was an honest mistake. They would understand.”

I was suddenly in front of her, holding her chin up, so I was staring at her pretty face.

“Believe me when I tell you they would not understand. They will know you found me, and you will not be around anymore. They will punish you, Thea.” My eyes closed tightly as images of what Jesper did to her last time plagued me. “If you promise me anything, let it be this, Thea. You will lie to them.”

“Okay.” She agreed. “I’ll tell them I ran into the woods after my father struck me and got disoriented from it. I was lost in the Cerithian forest.”

I sighed relieved as I let go of her.

“I want you to do another thing.” I was silent for a moment because I was wary of saying too much and not enough. “I’m about to tell you something that no one but Crimson knows, so if you speak of it, they will know you’ve come to see me.” I turned with my shadows swarming around me. “Crimson will be asking for a meeting of the kingdoms in two weeks to discuss a negotiation for peace. All of the kingdoms will meet in Cerithia. You should be in attendance as the captain of the guard, but I do not doubt that your father and Jesper will try to keep you busy, so you aren’t in attendance. You will do everything in your power to make sure you are there, but more importantly, you will see that the king will not tell you about the meeting at all.

“And in these two weeks as you’re in Cerithia, I want you to notice how no one tells you anything. How you are kept in the dark about everything. They will whisper about you when you’re present and speak of you when your back is turned.”

She stared at me like she was seeing me for the first time. Something about the look disarmed me. What did she see when she looked at me?

“We knew each other before I disappeared.” She frowned. “That is why you seem so familiar.”

---