30. Chapter 30
30
Casimiro
“ W here is she?” I bellowed as my feet slammed down in front of Alba.
My sister stood among the crowd of mingling fae sipping from wine goblets beside the open windows of the old castle. Magic buzzed in my ears, in the faces of those present, in the wine, in the air. And nowhere in this palace could I sense Zara’s presence. My magic couldn’t feel her.
Alba looked up from her sparkling goblet but said nothing.
“Tell me what happened.”
Her eyes flashed with concern. “Not here.”
Leaning into her space, I growled at her ear, “Tell me now .”
Alba’s breathing quickened as all the eyes in the room watched us. I didn’t care. Didn’t want to waste a heartbeat on what they thought.
“She’s alive,” Alba whispered a second before she vanished.
I stormed through the crowd into the empty atrium of the castle, where Alba stood against the far wall. She was young, but she had inherited my father’s magic, which made her powerful and fast. A barrier surrounded her that only I could sense—a concealment spell.
My gaze snapped to my sister’s face. “Where?” In a breath, I crossed the distance, undeterred by the magic that would keep her unseen and unheard by the rest of my court—a perk of also inheriting our father’s abilities. “ Where , Alba?” The fact that I couldn’t sense Zara’s presence meant only one thing—she’d been burned by dragon fire. A fire of my own kindled in my blood.
“Cas,” she hissed. “Look at your arms.”
“Tell me where she is!”
The curse tore through my veins, shredding me like a scalpel from the inside. Humans couldn’t survive dragon fire, even the smallest burns, if they were left untreated. The magic in the flames would eventually turn their blood toxic. I’d been a fool to leave—to trust I could return when someone here wanted to keep me away.
“Look at yourself! That’s why I closed the doorway,” Alba exclaimed, pointing at my hands. “Because you don’t have enough sense to keep yourself alive.”
Shock pulsed through me, dulling the pain for a brief moment. I clamped two quick hands around my sister’s shoulders. “You did this.”
I had known. I had sensed her betrayal in my room, hours ago, when Zara had stood there asking who would do this. When I’d pieced together that my sister was the only person who knew how I felt about Zara. The only person who would care about me enough to try to stop my feelings. And as I looked into my little sister’s face, the face of the one person I cared for more than anyone else in the world, the stab of pain split me in two.
She gripped my forearm, her eyes wide as my balance faltered. “I was trying to help. You know what happens if your curse brings him home before we’re ready.” Her voice was thick with worry.
“She might die because of what you did.”
“And you’ll die if you go to her now, Cas. We both will.”
Because if Father came home tonight, he’d kill us both. The antidote wasn’t ready yet. It wasn’t strong enough. We needed more time.
I shook my head. “I won’t let that happen, Alba. But I can’t let her die either.”
Alba’s mouth parted in quiet shock. “You really care for her.”
A moment of silence passed as I tried to master the pain that would render me useless to Zara if I let it. I had to take control.
My sister tucked her hair nervously behind her ears. Tonight, strands of tree moss hung among the loose curls she’d styled into her hair. “I thought…” She couldn’t seem to finish.
“You thought that if she died, I’d stop caring for her, and father would stay away longer.”
Alba nodded faintly, her eyes glistening brighter than before. In my words, she heard what I hadn’t said. That even death wouldn’t stop the way I felt about Zara. Admitting that shook something deep inside me.
“I’ve tried to show her that I’m not the monster she met a few weeks ago, but I’ve failed. All she can see is the danger I’ve put her in, especially after tonight. She hates me,” I said.
“Cas, I’m so sorry. I was only trying to keep you alive. I didn’t know it was…”
Love hung unsaid between us.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing the pain away. “All my life, I’ve been searching for…” My hand fell away. “I’ve been searching for her. Now tell me where she is.”