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
CASSANDRA The next day, I awoke with a lump in my throat. My stomach ached with nervousness, and when I rose from my bed, my entire body trembled so much that I needed to sit back down. There was still so much on my mind that I could hardly contain my nerves. As I stared at the rays of sunlight streaming in through the ice-white curtains, I wanted to cry from the pure stress of it all. I’d managed to stay strong and keep from breaking down so I wouldn’t worry Erika or Finnick, but that task was proving far too difficult these days. Ronald, Emmett, Kaleb, Raven, Asher… all of them danced around my mind, rendering me unable to handle anything else. I wrapped my hands around my sheets and gripped them tightly, so hard that my knuckles turned white. I hated the king of Yurene for putting me in this position… for putting all of us here. Emmett too. Suddenly, I heard movement behind me, and when I turned, Finnick stood by my bed, his favorite teddy bear in his hand. His dark hair was ru
CASSANDRAWhen I awoke, I couldn’t move. I tried to stretch my limbs and make sense of where I was, but it was impossible. I felt as if I was tightly bound to a bed, strapped down with no hope of escape. It was dark, so I couldn’t tell for sure, but I wondered if maybe I was in the bed that I had seen in Raven’s lab in the prison tower.My breath was so thin that I felt as if I could die at any second. My body was burning, a horrible, aching feeling that I never wanted to experience again. It was almost like I had returned to the inferno in Rosepetal. Maybe I had never truly been saved at all, and everything that had happened to me past the point of the blaze was nothing more than a mere hallucination before death.Suddenly, I felt my inner wolf groan. A painful groan, followed by anger.“Why have you been so weak and cowardly?” she growled at me, her voice fierce like Cora’s. “Where has your warrior’s spirit gone?”She then scolded and cursed me. “You aren’t this person. You aren’t a
CASSANDRAThe king of Yurene didn’t say anything further before he left the room. Once the door closed behind him, I let out a heavy breath and sat up. I swept my long copper hair off of my sweat-soaked neck and then let out another sigh.I felt disoriented. I didn’t think Kaleb’s words were truly an indication or acknowledgment of my secret alliance with Ronald. If the Northman truly knew of such a thing, he wouldn’t have been so calm while speaking with me. While he wasn’t hotheaded, he also wasn’t relaxed, and I had the sense I’d have seen irritation in his eyes.There was only one explanation. Ronald must have covered the situation.While I was appreciative of that, I realized that Kaleb had officially put a stop to my visits with Ronald and Helene. Though I could take a chance and try his temper, ignoring what he’d said just now, I didn’t think it was wise. I still had so little information that any bold move could ruin our plans- Ronald’s, Helene’s, and mine.Above all, I needed
BECKYEver since I’d shifted the direction of my research, I’d been making great progress. After long, thankless hours, I created the first batch of medicine. It had been a major triumph, one that had left me in tears upon completion.All of my hours, and all of my effort had yielded great results. At least, as far as I knew. Dickson helped me with the safety assessment, and once we deemed that the medicine was as ready as it could be at this stage, he took it down to Wild Crawler for a clinical trial.While I was immensely hopeful, I had no idea if it was going to work. If the past few months had been any indication, we might not be so lucky. Yet, despite this possibility, Dickson seemed excited before his departure.I, however, was worried. Ever since Jasper had visited and brought us the news of the “living dead”, I couldn’t get an image out of my mind: a dead man in his human form attacking a guard with his teeth and claws like a monster. Though something like that was to be expec
ASHERWhen I awoke, I found myself in a tent. My vision was blurred, but I could see the vague outlines surrounding me. The sound of faint voices lingered beyond me, outside, but when I tried to move my lips and utter a sound, I couldn’t.The last thing I could remember was racing… heading toward the North. My mission had been so set in my mind that I couldn’t understand what I was doing here.What happened to me?I wanted to sit up, but despite my every effort, I couldn’t move. My limbs were numb, as if every inch of me had been paralyzed. I couldn’t even lift a finger or curl my toes.Did Kane or Silas drug me?No, that would be ridiculous.Perhaps this was all just a dream- my vision failed to focus and my body was rendered immobile because I was deep in slumber. That had to be it. The scenes that danced in my mind and swirled around like a tornado were merely a dream. Nothing had actually happened.After a while, I managed to twitch my finger, and then I could roll onto one side.