Chapter Ten #3
At least now she understood the difference between them. She was here because she'd clawed her way toward something she wanted. He was here because he'd given up something he'd wanted more.
The lecture had finally ended, and Cassara had a narrow window before combat drills with Nareen. Enough time to change into training gear and maybe grab a bit to eat if she didn't waste it. She gathered her notes and was slinging her satchel over her shoulder when movement blocked her path.
Verena stood there, arms crossed, eyes glittering.
"You think you're clever."
Cassara arched a brow. "Depends on the day."
Verena's smile was cold. "Humiliating me in front of everyone like that? Using him to do it?"
"Oh. That's what this is about. It's been a week and you're still hung up on that?"
"Don't play dumb," Verena snapped. "You made me look like a bully."
Cassara's laugh was short and sharp. "You are a bully."
Verena stepped in closer. "You think throwing a few snide lines makes you special? You're just another legacy bitch who walked through those gates because of her name. You don't belong at the top, Cassara. You haven't earned it."
Cassara grit her teeth. She was tired of this. Tired of being dismissed, underestimated, reduced to nothing but her family crest.
"And yet," she said quietly, "I'm still here. Still ranked higher than you. That must really bother you."
"Keep mouthing off and you'll find out what happens when someone finally puts you in your place.”
Cassara didn't flinch. "Is that a threat or just your usual attempt at personality?"
That was it, that was all it took to push Verena over the edge. Her hand shot out, aimed to shove her back, but she’d never get the chance.
Cassara moved on instinct. She caught Verena’s wrist, twisted, and swept her legs in one clean, efficient motion.
Verena hit the floor hard with a breathless yelp.
Cassara looked down at her, still holding her wrist. "Looks like we figured out who belongs where."
“What the hell.”
Cassara immediately released Verena’s arm and took a step back, breath still tight in her chest
“It’s not—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he barked, crossing the space between them.
“She shoved me,” Cassara snapped back. “I defended myself.”
But Gideon wasn’t listening. He was already kneeling beside Verena, steadying her with one hand as she pushed herself up with exaggerated effort, letting out a soft groan like she’d been flung across the battlefield.
“She attacked me,” Verena said, barely hiding the shake in her voice. “I-I just asked her a question, and she lost it.”
Cassara’s hands clenched at her sides. “That is not what happened.”
Gideon helped Verena to her feet, his arm braced under hers. “You’re bleeding,” he muttered, eyeing a scraped elbow that was barely more than a scratch.
Verena leaned into the attention like it was a performance. “I didn’t even raise my voice.”
Cassara scoffed. “You never have to. You just pick your moments.”
Gideon turned on her, his expression unreadable but cold. “Do you think this helps you? Picking fights in a classroom? Proving what exactly?”
“I didn’t start it.”
“But you finished it,” he said, sharply. “And that’s what people will remember. But maybe that’s exactly what you want.”
Cassara stared at Gideon, fury churning in her chest. He hadn’t been there for the shove. He hadn’t heard her threats, or the venom in her voice. But none of it mattered.
He was looking at her like she was the problem.
Before she could speak again, another voice cut through the tension. “What happened?”
They all turned as Julian strode in from the corridor like a storm, his eyes immediately locking on Cassara, then shifting to Verena who was leaning into Gideon’s grip like she’d just survived a duel.
Cassara opened her mouth, but Julian was already speaking.
“Just who do you think you are, Delvanir?” he demanded, stepping between them.
“Let’s just go,” Cassara said, not wanting the altercation to escalate further.
“She was on the ground,” Gideon said flatly, still holding Verena’s arm. “And Cassara put her there.”
Julian scoffed. “So? Maybe she deserved it.”
“She just threw me down,” Verena added softly, her voice trembling with the perfect edge of victimhood. “I didn’t touch her.”
Cassara took a step forward, fists clenched at her sides. “That’s a lie and you know it.”
Julian turned toward her, eyes narrowing, not with suspicion, but with that sharp, possessive fury she knew too well. “You don’t have to explain yourself. Not to them.”
She stood stiff between them, the heat of Julian’s protectiveness burning at her back, the chill of Gideon’s judgment pressing from the front. She could feel the tension coiling tighter by the second, anyone with eyes could see it was about to snap.
“Come on,” she tried again, catching his arm.
Julian shrugged her off.
“We both know what this is really about,” he said. “If you’ve got a problem with me, Delvanir, have the backbone to say it to my face. Leave Cassara out of your mess.”
Gideon’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not out of it if she’s throwing people to the ground.”
Julian stepped forward. “Please. You just don’t like that she makes you feel small. But that’s not new, is it? I imagine most things have felt out of reach since your family torched their name.”
Cassara saw the shift in Gideon's expression as his hands curled into fists at his sides. This was about to get ugly.
"Julian, please—" She grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back before this escalated further.
"I can handle it," he snapped, shaking her off with a hard shove.
Cassara staggered back at the same instant that Gideon lunged towards Julian.
For a brief moment their eyes met and she saw his grow wide as he registered what was about to happen.
He tried to pull back, but momentum carried him forward.
She twisted away, trying to avoid impact, but his elbow clipped her shoulder hard enough to send her crashing sideways into a desk.
Pain exploded through her side as the edge drove into her ribs leaving her gasping for air.
Everything stopped.
Gideon froze, breath heaving, his face going white when he saw her clutching her ribs, face flushed, teeth gritted against the pain.
“Cass!” Julian was at her side instantly. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine,” she said breathlessly, doing her best to curb the anger. She pushed his hands away and glared up at Gideon, fury sparking through her pain.
Gideon didn’t move. His hands were half-raised like he meant to reach for her, but didn’t dare.
Verena, conveniently silent until now, made a soft, horrified sound, like the whole thing had shocked her the most.
Cassara pushed herself upright, every breath tight.
“Next time you two want to prove who has the bigger legacy complex,” she said coldly, “try not to use me as the battlefield.”
And then she walked out leaving both of them standing in the silence she left behind.