Chapter 66
Rhaevan's head snapped toward me immediately.
"No."
Excuse me?
"It's dangerous," he said firmly, his jaw set like iron.
I folded my arms over my chest. "Yes, I gathered that from the kidnapping and the attempted murder."
"Cassiane-"
"I can help," I interrupted before he could launch into whatever overprotective speech he had been rehearsing. "I was actually there. I saw their faces. I saw how they operate. If that horrible woman appears again, I'm the only one who can identify her."
His dark eyes tightened slightly, entirely unconvinced. "I said no."
"And I said I can help."
Rhaevan inhaled slowly-that long, deliberate breath people take when they are trying very hard not to commit a crime. Honestly, it only strengthened my resolve.
I turned away from him and looked straight at Theo. Unlike Rhaevan, Theo at least appreciated strategic arguments. Mostly because he deeply enjoyed watching other people suffer.
"She's right," Theo said smoothly before Rhaevan could protest further.
I tried not to look too victorious. I failed slightly.
Rhaevan looked at the Archmage as if betrayal had just occurred in real time. Theo ignored his glare with practiced ease, turning his sharp gaze directly on me.
"However, Cassiane," Theo added, his voice dropping into a stern tone, "you are not to use magic while you are out there. Under any circumstances."
I nodded immediately. "Absolutely."
The response left my mouth far too fast, sounding suspicious even to my own ears. Theo's eyes narrowed into slits.
"Cassiane."
"I said yes!"
"That does not reassure me."
"Understandable."
Beside me, Rhaevan let out a heavy, ragged sigh-a sound laden with pure resignation and what I suspected was deep regret regarding several recent life choices.
"Fine," Rhaevan muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But you stay with me the entire time."
The moment those words left his mouth, I had to actively suppress a triumphant smirk.
"Deal," I said, entirely too quickly. "Though I should warn you, my presence comes with zero guarantees of good behavior."
Rhaevan's expression remained stone-hard, but the faint, exhausted twitch in his jaw told me he was already calculating how many severe headaches this assignment was going to cost him.
"I'm serious, Cassiane," he said, taking a step toward me.
The sudden proximity brought the faint scent of rain and mountain air, and his intense gaze locked onto mine so sharply that the oxygen in the room felt suddenly thin.
"This isn't a stroll through the lower markets," he said, his voice quiet, low, and deadly serious. "The people who took you are professional, ruthless, and now they know you possess dangerous power. If we encounter them again, you do not engage. You do not try to be heroic. You stay behind me."
I tilted my chin up, refusing to back down, matching his stare beat for beat. "And what if you get stabbed again? Like Lucien?"
"Then you run," he said without a single second of hesitation.
The bluntness of his answer caught in my throat.
My mind flashed instantly back to Theo's words on the balcony last night- He convinced himself that keeping people safe was far more important than letting them understand him.
I looked away first, clearing my throat to hide the sudden, uncomfortable knot forming in my chest. "Right. Well. Luckily for you, my running form is exceptional."
"We leave at first light," Rhaevan said, turning on his heel toward the grand doors. "Wear sensible boots. And leave the snark in your room."
"Impossible!" I called out after his retreating back. "It's load-bearing! My entire personality collapses without it!"
He didn't turn around, but as the heavy oak doors clicked shut behind him, I could have sworn I saw his broad shoulders drop just a fraction-the subtle, quiet sigh of a man walking willingly back into a storm.