Chapter 24 #2
He gripped her chin lightly, turning it back and forth in the light, his eyes playing over her features. Then he dipped the rag in the water, squeezing out the excess, the drops plinking down before he gently dabbed the cut along her cheek.
She winced again, and his touch softened even more, as did his features as he went back to his ministrations.
Thalia’s throat bobbed, and she said lowly, “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Cassius nodded, attending to a cut near her hairline that she hadn’t noticed. “When a Vampyr drinks another’s blood, it allows them to heal at a much faster rate than a human. But only if you drink from the source. There’s a reason we don’t share blood over an injury unless it’s grave.”
“Is it because of what happens when Vampyrs drink blood from another?”
Cassius met her gaze, but he didn’t seem embarrassed as he swiped the rag down her neck. “Drinking from another is an intimate moment. There’s a level of trust that goes into it, because no matter how much you love that person, there’s always a risk of overindulging.”
“That’s why Keegan asked me to stop you.”
Cassius nodded, moving to the poultice he’d made. He dipped his fingers in, the paste sticking between his fingers. Thalia swallowed again. “If you hadn’t stopped us—stopped me—I would have drained him of all his blood.”
“I thought Vampyrs can only be killed by shoving a stake through its skull.”
Cassius swiped his finger over the cuts on her face. “It’s true. But when a Vampyr drains another of their blood, we go into a coma-like state. The only way to bring us out is to refill the blood that’s been taken.”
“So that Vampyr would have to drain another?” Thalia asked.
Cassius nodded, his fingers going again to the cut at her hairline. “It’s a vicious cycle when that happens.”
Thalia stared at him, studying the way his eyes roved over her face. The way he worked thoroughly and efficiently, like he always had.
When he was satisfied with his work, he moved to her hand. He didn’t speak as he cleaned the blood off her fingers. She hissed when he cleaned the cut.
“Sorry,” he murmured, his brows knotting. “How did this happen?” Cassius must not have recalled through his haze.
“I-I cut myself—to snap Keegan out of it.”
“Smart.”
“There was no other way to pull him out. Even shaking him didn’t work,” Thalia rambled.
Cassius tipped his chin. “That’s not uncommon.
Especially if there’s a lot of damage and a lot of blood is required.
If we were both at our prime, it wouldn’t have taken you cutting yourself to snap one of us out of it.
” He wrapped a length of gauze around her hand, tying it off before stepping back.
Thalia suddenly craved his nearness as he went about putting away the things he’d used. She stared at her covered palm, the sounds of clinking ceramics echoing.
Finally, she asked, “That was one of the creature’s spawn, wasn’t it?”
Cassius finished drying off one of the bowls. “Yes. We got word late last night that one was spotted near Irenbis.”
“And you went by yourself?”
Cassius shrugged. “Better to stop it before it could get to the city.”
“You could have been killed.” Or worse, bitten.
Cassius turned to her, ire suddenly washing over his features. “And you could have been too. Tell me, Thalia, why the hell were you in those woods?”
Thalia crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin. “Same as you.”
He raised an unimpressed brow. “You went to hunt the creature?”
“I went to find you.”
Cassius blinked, something flashing over his features before ire replaced it once more. “And why the fuck would you do that? I told you to stay in the castle.”
Thalia threw her hands up. “Yeah, well, maybe it’s because you didn’t come to bed last night!”
Cassius’s brow rose farther. “And you were worried?”
Thalia bit the inside of her cheek, annoyance replacing her concern. “You’re an asshole.”
She hopped down from the table, aiming for the door, but Cassius stopped her. His hand gripped her arm, pulling her back toward him.
“I’m not being an asshole,” he said, eyes scanning hers. “I’m asking you if you were worried.”
Thalia weighed her words and wished she were better at lying. Wished he weren’t able to tell when she was. “Yes. I was worried. Happy now?”
Cassius’s brows knotted. “Why is being worried a bad thing?” Thalia looked away, her throat suddenly knotting like his brows. He gripped her chin with his free hand, turning her face back to his.
“Because being worried about you means I care,” she got out.
“And what’s so bad about caring?” His thumb stroked alongside the curve of her jaw. She resisted the urge to lean in. To lean into him.
Yes, she was starting to care. Starting to feel the cracks in her mission.
Her reaction to him almost dying was evidence enough of her impending failure.
Thalia willed her mission to become clear.
For her mother’s desire to stop the Vampyrs once and for all to root itself in her heart—willed the image of her sister’s shredded throat to appear.
But all she could see was Cassius’s chest being ripped open.
All that flashed in her mind was the way his lips felt against hers. The strength of his arms when he held her. The fact that maybe … maybe he wasn’t the monster she’d believed him to be.
“I—”
Scuffing on the threshold had them both turning. Cassius’s hand fell away as Keegan appeared, his eyes bright as he said, “You’re going to want to see this.”