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.
ASHERMuch to my surprise, Silas didn’t protest this time. He obediently nodded his head and after a long, lingering glance, the Beta retreated immediately. I’d expected resistance, but then again, Silas likely didn’t know how to deal with this situation. He was incredibly intelligent, but when it came to emotional hardships, he wasn’t well-equipped.Once he was gone, I gave Kane a cold glance and then a scoff.“What do you have to say to me?” I wondered and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “What’s so important that you had to dismiss Silas?”Though I knew it was cruel of me to think that way, Kane’s weary face irritated me greatly. I knew I was being unreasonable and acting childishly, yet I couldn’t control myself. The stakes were far too dire and I wasn’t sure what was going on.I lost my temper when Kane mentioned Cassandra. Was my stepbrother trying to remind me how useless I was at this point? I didn’t understand his intentions, which only made my own emotional issues far wor
ASHERIn less than an hour, I had regained enough strength to be able to move. With Kane’s assistance, I carefully shifted my position and climbed out of the cot, though my knees wobbled when my feet hit the ground. My stepbrother stabilized me with his arm, and I clung on tightly for balance.“You okay?” he asked me, and when I offered him a small nod, he nodded back. “Good. Take a deep breath. We don’t need to move swiftly. Take all of the time you need.”Though I wanted to rush out of the tent and go straight to the sorceress, a lingering sense of numbness remained in my limbs. It was as if they had fallen asleep, and the feeling was quite unpleasant.I grimaced as I tried to shake it off, and then frowned further still when it didn’t work. I took a breath as Kane instructed and then began to walk to the entrance of the tent. Kane dropped his arm but followed suit in case I fell.Once we were outside, Kane led me down the path, and once we reached our destination, my eyebrows shot
CASSANDRAI was certain that I would never forget the look on Ms. Benn’s face when I’d threatened her and alluded that her daughter’s condition could easily worsen if I stopped offering help.The head housekeeper’s already fair complexion blanched so white she looked like a ghost. Her lower lip trembled and her icy blue eyes widened so large that they appeared like they could fall out of her skull.Though her terrible expression haunted my thoughts, I didn’t regret that I’d done something awful like this. Given the chance, I would have done it over and over again, but still, I some part of me did feel sorry for Ms. Benn. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if someone had threatened me with Finnick’s life.But, I did what had to be done. I was powerless in this castle, in this entire country, even. Without nasty ploys and fierce cunning, I wouldn’t get any closer to getting out of here and returning to my homeland with Erika and my son.After our discussion, Ms. Benn left the room at o