Page 91 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

“You were promised to her, and you backed out.”

“Promised for what?” I snapped, my jealousy knowing exactly what he had promised to her for.

“Cassius was supposed to marry another woman before you came along. He even agreed to it.”

I felt it, my darkness stirring in my chest angrily. Jealousy and hatred toward a woman I didn’t even know made me sick.

“My parents agreed, and I didn’t even know you yet.” Cassius frowned at whatever he saw on my face. “Making Thea jealous is only going to work against you,” he snapped at Val.

Val’s smile vanished when she looked at me. My darkness had seeped from me.

“Your magic isn’t supposed to work inthe room.”

My red eyes flickered at my husband as he smiled.

Val started to speak, but I walked forward and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her along with me. Her magic no longer crippled me because she had seen my thoughts and memories.

“Who sent you here and why?”

“Flora,” Cassius answered for her. “Falgon Princess.”

The name sounded familiar in the sense that I hated it.

Haden stood and tried to help Della, but she refused his hand and went as far away from him as possible. He frowned at her back.

“Perfect,” I snarled, and my darkness wrapped around me and Val. When it moved away, we were standing in Falgon's castle. The guards all raised their weapons at me as the royal family sat down for dinner. Cassius appeared next to me a moment later.

“Cassius?” Valor asked, confused. I used my metal magic to rip all the swords from the guard’s hands, and when I squeezed my fist tightly, all of the weapons twisted and mangled on the floor.

“Tell your father what you did, you stupid bitch,” I demanded of who I assumed was Flora.

Flora looked at Val and paled.

“Flora?” Her father glared daggers at her. “What did you do?”

“She’s lying.”

Cassius stepped forward, and I saw the way she fawned over him. Her eyes shone like he was about to confess that he loved her. Stars, she was fucking psychotic. My dagger slammed into Val’s chest, making her yell in pain as she bled out at my feet, but my eyes never left Flora.

"Flora, tell your father now, or I will let Thea kill you,” he demanded.

Valor glanced at me, and I could feel his fear pumping through him. He didn’t look surprised that Flora had done something.

“He was promised to me, and I thought if Thea was out of the way, then he could see we were meant to be together!” Flora yelled.

Valor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily.

“Not this shit again. He doesn’t like you, Flora. That deal was made when you were babies.”

As I stared at Flora, something about her was not normal. My anger lessened as I watched her. Cassius glanced at me before explaining to Valor and his wife exactly what Flora did.

“Flora!” her mother gasped. “What were you planning on doing with that information?”

“Give it to her father,” shesneered at me.

I stepped forward, and Flora’s body shrank in its confidence. My head cocked to the side when I saw a small red mark on her skin, and red veins crept from it, seeping into her blood. It wasn’t a sickness like I thought it would be. But some sort of magic.

“Flora,” I whispered as her eyes found mine. When she looked at me, I could feel something evil lurking within her. Something foreign. “Where did you get that wound?” I pointed to it, and Cassius glanced with a frown.

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