CASSANDRAAs my head began to pound from the influx of this new information, I stared off in the far corners of the room.I saw movement in my peripheral vision, and then I felt Kaleb sit on the couch beside me. I glanced briefly in his direction, and he held a tissue out to me. Though my cheeks were stained with tears, I didn’t take it. I knew this was all by design. Every step he took was deliberate, and today’s conversation was no exception. He allowed me to listen to what Raven was going to say and then watched me break down.Though I wanted to continue crying and dissolve into my sadness, I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself. Ronald was right. There was no way I could fight against Kaleb, at least not directly. I needed to be cunning and brave if I wanted to take the king of Yurene down.So, I forced myself to look into his dark blue eyes.“Are there truly 50,000 people in Wild Crawler who have caught the disease?” I asked him quietly.Kaleb didn’t answer directly. Instead
CASSANDRANervousness plagued me the entire way back to my chamber. On one hand, I was afraid that Helene’s maid would notice the thing her mistress had placed in my pocket, and on the other, I was eager to know what it was.When I reached my room, I took a moment to greet Erika and Finnick, and then I told Erika I needed to read something. Though the declaration was a little bit of a lie, it wasn’t an unusual excuse by any means. I’d spent most of my days reading since I’d arrived in Vlokwell- usually eagerly studying the books Emmett had left for me and searching for clues.Finnick was too busy playing by himself to notice anything was amiss, and as I walked by and headed to the quiet corner I’d claimed as my reading nook, I found myself missing him dearly. We saw each other daily, but with everything happening, I didn’t get the quality time I was used to with him.I had duties to fulfill, and once I did, Finnick and I, along with Erika, would find our way back to Wegalla. Back to A
ASHERI had never expected the condition to be so dangerous for me. Of course, expectation was one thing and reality was another.I stared down at the killer whose throat had just been slitted. He was the third killer we’d been forced to take the life of this week. Though these would-be assassins were not very skilled, they all seemed to be loyal to their master. None of them had said who sent them here to kill the king before their deaths, but Kane and Silas had their theories. My stepbrother thought it could be just about anyone, but the Beta assumed the man who hired these assassins was his own father.Though Oliver was the most suspected of the bunch, Kane suggested that it wasn’t just him who wanted to use this chance to take the crown.The second and third killers came only half a day apart, which meant our whereabouts had been exposed. It came as no surprise to me that our route had been compromised. Since we had taken command of the Myriad and taken a few elite soldiers with u
ASHER“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Silas uttered before I had the chance to say a word.Kane’s violet eyes flashed and his eyebrows creased together in confusion. “Oh? And what would you suggest we do, Silas? I’m not hearing you brainstorm any helpful ideas. Please, the floor is all yours. Offer up something useful.”Silas’ demeanor grew defensive and his lips drew into a thin line. When he didn’t reply within a second or two, Kane scoffed in his direction.“That’s what I thought,” my stepbrother remarked and then he smirked. “You have nothing in mind, do you, Moses?”He took care to emphasize Silas’ surname, and it was spat with venom right back at the Beta. I knew Silas didn’t trust Kane, nor did my stepbrother fully trust Silas. The two men stared at one another silently, and tension hung in the air. I allowed this to go on for a minute, and then I cleared my throat and stepped between them.“Enough,” I said in a low and warning voice, and I held my hands up in an attempt t
CASSANDRA Though I was scared to do so, I decided to ask Kaleb if I could get some medicine for Ms. Benn’s daughter. I couldn’t let poor Lila suffer through the symptoms of her illness any longer. The herbs I’d given the head housekeeper were enough to dull some of the aches and pains that came with pneumonia, but to be fully cured, I needed real antibiotics. So, I summoned my strength and then requested an audience with Kaleb. The king of Yurene met with me in the same meeting room we’d conversed in the other day, and when I crossed through the doorway, there was an almost amused glint in his navy blue eyes. “Cassandra,” he greeted me as I approached the couch and took a seat. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?” I decided to skip straight to my request. “I need some medicine. Antibiotics and others. Is that something you could assist me with?” “Medicine,” he repeated back, and then he raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need it? Are you ailing? Or perhaps it’s for your s
CASSANDRAIt wasn’t a joke.I knew it in my bones.Raven’s expression had given it away the moment she’d been caught.The storm clouds that had plagued my mind felt as if they’d cleared away, and the puzzle pieces felt as if they’d been put together.Mind control.Sorcery.Weapon.That’s what Kaleb wanted, to turn the poor, diseased people into his weapon. Though it sounded utterly insane, this speculation seemed more plausible as Raven fidgeted and kept telling me what she had told me wasn’t a fact.“I shouldn’t make jokes like that,” she said, her tone jittery and nervous. “Roxy would kill me if she’d heard that.”The dark-haired sorceress offered me a dry smile, and for a moment, I debated on pestering her further, but instead, I decided to bide my time. It was best to go along with things for my safety, so I offered Raven a smile back.“Don’t worry,” I assured her warmly. “I know you were kidding, Raven.”She nodded and seemed to soften up a bit. “If you want to know more about th
CASSANDRAThat night, as I studied the map Helene had given me, I put together all of the information I’d been presented with and made several speculations.First, the name of the poison that had infected Asher was likely Inferno, not Black Marks. Asher had received it far too long ago, and if the infected in Wild Crawler were any indication, he would have deteriorated already if Raven’s recreation was in his veins. Of course, if it was in fact Inferno, why hadn’t it taken effect right away?If I remember it clearly, Asher started to get the Black Marks on his body around the time he’d visited Wild Crawler. So, what had triggered the reaction on his skin? It was hard to make assumptions about what was going on without specific scientific information or data to assess. I was a healer, but I was also a scientist, and without true research to observe, I was a little confused.At the very least, I was relieved to know that if Asher was truly infected with Inferno, and it had the effects R
ASHERMuch to our dismay and agitation, the sorceress’ mouth was very tight. No matter what we tried, Kane and I couldn’t pry answers out of her. She was well-trained and her expression remained eerily calm and aloof no matter what questions we asked of her. Thankfully, there were a few facts we knew to be true right away just by looking at her. It wasn’t difficult to surmise from her dress that she was from the North. She also shared the same tilt of her head that seemed to be a cultural gesture amongst the Yurenians. I’d seen Kaleb do the same thing many times while he was here in Anemond, so I knew she was from his country.As we continued our interrogation, I grew worried about Silas and the soldiers, but luckily, after half an hour or so, they awoke from their magic-induced slumber. Apart from feeling a bit dizzy and disoriented, they seemed to be fine, but the atmosphere around camp was tense and unpleasant.This Northern sorceress had caused a big quarrel between Silas and Kan