Chapter 10 Scarlett
CHAPTER 10
SCARLETT
S carlett clung to Cassius as his hand stroked soothingly up and down her back. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t move until Scarlett pulled away. He cupped her cheek in his hand again and stared into her eyes. She brought her own hand up, wrapping her fingers around his wrist, steading herself.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Cassius said, his voice low.
“How did you know to bring him?” Scarlett whispered.
Cassius huffed a laugh. “A lucky hunch? Although I think he would have found an excuse to stay had Drake not told him to.”
Scarlett turned at the sound of shuffling feet to see Tava leaning against the dresser, a hand to her heart. “I’m fine, Tava,” Scarlett said, her voice as calm as she could muster. “Thank you for fetching them.”
Tava took a deep breath, then braced her hands on her hips. “Did you take your tonic tonight?” To her credit, her voice only shook a little.
Scarlett shook her head. “I did not. Could you fetch me the stronger one?”
Tava nodded and left the room, pausing at the door to look her over one last time.
When the door had clicked shut, Cassius spoke. “It’s not that late. You can take your regular one.”
“I need to sleep, Cass. I am exhausted.”
“That’s not what your stronger tonic is for,” he argued.
“That is not your call to make,” Scarlett snapped back.
His lips thinned as he studied her. “Don’t you keep one in your room?” he asked tightly.
“Of course I do, but she needed a task. It will center her,” Scarlett answered, waving a hand in dismissal. She went to the dresser and dropped that infernal ring onto it. It landed with a dull thud. She braced her hands on either side of the dresser and sighed deep, her head hanging. The exhaustion was definitely taking its toll on her. She was fairly certain she might be sick.
“What is with the ring?” Cassius asked.
She looked up into the mirror on the dresser and found Cassius watching her. She was a mess. Her clothes clung to her body, soaked in sweat. Her hair was just as atrocious. She met Cassius’s gaze in the mirror. “I wish I knew. He seems obsessed with it, but he will not tell me why.”
“He… I—” Cassius took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. Scarlett turned to face him, pulling the blanket draped over her shoulders tighter around herself. “Scarlett, he could hold the answers you’ve been searching for,” he finally said.
“I know. I’ve sensed it for a while now. We were finally starting to sort of trust each other, but he has secrets. I have secrets…”
Could she really expect him to reveal so much when she kept so much of her own life hidden from him?
“He pulled you out of that nightmare, Scarlett. I don’t know what he did, but he slid that ring on, sat beside you, whispered in your ear, and you woke up.”
“What did he say?”
“All I could hear was your name. As if he could reach you wherever you were. As if he were a tether for you.”
When she had woken and seen him leaning over her, her entire body had sighed in relief, as if he were indeed an anchor. She had been unable to keep from flinging herself into his arms.
“He also told us that he is Fae,” Cassius continued thoughtfully.
“Fae? He is Fae?” Her blood went cold. That was an interesting tidbit of information he’d conveniently forgotten to mention during their conversation atop the horse. She gritted her teeth.
“Apparently. He encased this entire room in flames when he put your ring on,” Cassius replied calmly.
“And you didn’t think that was something you should have said right away?” Scarlett demanded.
“I just did,” Cassius said with a shrug.
Scarlett leashed her rising temper. “How can he be Fae? He doesn’t have pointed ears or the canines. He…”
He did have immortal speed. He did seem to have better hearing and sight than most she knew. The Fae were powerful, natural born predators that were only made stronger by their connection with nature. It was also the reason they often acted like wild, savage animals with their snarling and baring of their teeth.
And she had been training with him. Like a godsdamned idiot, she had been training alongside a damn Fae with weapons that would never harm him. A sword or dagger or arrow might slow him down, but they wouldn’t end his life. Only black ashwood arrows or shirastone could kill a Fae.
Her vision began to swim and a wave of nausea indeed washed over her as realization after realization clicked into place. She ran for the bathroom and made it just in time to vomit into the toilet. A moment later, she felt Cassius’s hands gently pull her hair back as she retched again. When the nausea had eased, she leaned back and put her head against his knees where he perched on the edge of the tub.
The Fae. The reason the king and queen had sacrificed themselves to save their lands. The reason humans didn’t dare venture beyond their three kingdoms. The reason her mother was dead. The reason she had been trained as lethally as she had.
But the Fae were also immortal, which meant their knowledge was extensive. For all she knew, Sorin could have been alive during the war between the Courts and the Kingdom.
“If he is truly Fae, he might have answers for you, too, you know,” she said as Cassius soothingly stroked her hair.
“The thought has crossed my mind,” he answered, his voice calm and just as soothing as his touch.
“I’m supposed to meet Nuri tonight. At the usual spot. She said it was urgent,” Scarlett said, groaning at the sudden memory.
“I will go and tell her what is happening.”
“Maybe I should go with you. Once I take this tonic, I’ll sleep for at least two days. If it’s truly urgent…” She trailed off, her vision swimming in front of her once more.
“Seastar, there is no way you will be able to get out of this manor in your condition,” Cassius answered gently. “I will go. You can go to her when you wake. She will understand.”
Scarlett heard her bedroom door open quietly, followed by soft footsteps crossing her floor.
“I am sorry it took so long. A maid is changing your bedding.” Something in Tava’s eyes shifted as she took in Scarlett on the floor, her head in Cassius’s lap. Scarlett could see the worry. This was a scene she’d witnessed numerous times over the past year. There was hesitation in her tone as she said, “Ryker is still here. In the foyer. He asked about you.”
Tava held out a small vial to Scarlett. She took it, her hands shaking slightly from the vomiting. She downed the contents in a single gulp before looking up at Cassius and saying, “Tell that Fae bastard when he’s ready to tell me what’s going on, I’ll be waiting. Until then, he can go fuck himself, and my wellbeing is none of his concern.”
Cassius reached down, sliding an arm under her knees and across her back. She brought her own around his neck as he lifted her from the floor in a fluid motion. His brown eyes twinkled with amusement, and the ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “At least I know you’re fine.”
Scarlett glared at him as he carried her across the bedroom, her eyelids already drooping heavily from the stronger sedative tonic. “Promise me you’ll tell him, Cassius. Those exact words. And don’t tell him how I’m doing. Don’t tell him a damn thing about me.”
“As you wish, Scarlett,” he answered, gently laying her in the bed, the sheets fresh and crisp beneath her. Before he left her side, he leaned close and whispered, “He does care, Scarlett, whether he admits it or not. In some odd way, he cares. I don’t think he even realizes it yet.”
“I don’t care,” was all she could manage before sleep enveloped her wholly. For the first time in a week, she didn’t dream of that night or of the beautiful man.