bChapter /bb172 /b

    She smiles, not very convinced. I know I’m asking too much, that helping me could cost her Cassian’s fury when he finds out I’ve disappeared. I hope she can understand my reasons and realize that this has all been for a greater good. I’m sure the fact that I’ll never be able to have children won’t be the problem; rather, it’ll be the fact that I’ll be away from him for a few days, not knowing the reason for bmy /b

    disappearance, that will drive him crazy.

    “Thank you so much.” I ce my hand on her shoulder. “I know I’m asking a lot. Again.”

    She looks at my hand for a few seconds, then at my face. Her blue eyes are brighter than ever.

    “I helped you because I wanted to.” She stretches the corners of her mouth, this time her smile is sincere. “And I’ll help you now because ! know what it’s like to have your body used against your will.”

    A bitter pill settles at the back of my throat, and I force myself to swallow it. I want to offer her myfortb, /bbut I know she doesn’t want it, and surely doesn’t need it. Evanora is a strong woman, a survivor, and someone I admire. Her scars don’t make her weak, they enhance her fighting spirit and make her beauty strange and iparable. I clear my throat and turn my gaze away from her face.

    “Still, thank you so much. It means a lot to me.”

    b“/bThat’s what friends are for.”

    I slowly slide my hand off her shoulder, leaving it by my side.

    “Are you already hiding from me?”

    I jump slightly when I hear Cassian’s voice inside my head.

    “I guess I have to leave now,” I say quickly, heading for the door. “Let me know if you need anything.”

    She nods with an amused face, as if she knows exactly why I’m in such a rush. I leave and close the door behind me, leaning against it.

    “I doubt there’s anywhere you can hide from me without me finding you.”

    I’ve barely taken two steps down the hall when a small draft blows my hair away from my face, and it gives me goosebumps, though the sensation doesn’tst long. The warmth of another body presses against my back.

    “Correct,” Cassian murmurs against my neck. “You can run, but you’ll never hide from me.”

    He wraps his arms around me and follows me down the hall, kissing my throat. I let out augh as I feel the tickle of his breath in such a sensitive spot. I lose track of my steps, allowing him to guide us. He corners me against one of the walls, slips his hand under my dress, and

    caresses the skin of my thigh.

    “Cassian… they can see us.”

    “I’ll tear their eyes out and break their minds so they won’t even remember you,” he growls against my skin, marking it with his lips.

    His hand gets dangerously close to the area that’s begun to burn with desire for his touch. I move my hips forward, seeking him. He groans, more than satisfied with my body’s reactions to a simple tauch of his fingers. He traces the outline of my underwear, tempting me.

    A clearing of the throat brings me back from the lustful bubble and makes me let out a small scream.

    “I haven’t seen anything, and I want to keep my eyes where they are,” says Drystan, looking at the ceiling. “But Cassian, I think iyou /ishould

    b“/bIt better be important, for your eyes‘ sake,” he responds through clenched teeth.

    “Come and judge for yourself.”

    Drystan gestures behind him for Cassian to follow. However, before he walks away from me, I grab his hand tightly, forcing him to look at me. He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear and smiles at me.

    “I’ll be back soon, little lionessb./bb” /b

    “Can Ie with you?”

    He nces at Drystan, then looks back at me.

    “Of course.”

    He gives my hand a squeeze, and we set off. We head toward Cassian’s wing, to a room I haven’t explored yet. There are men stationed on either side of the door, and when we enter, I see more men, some with serious and worried faces. My eyes fall on one of them who, with ba /bsweaty face, holds a chest from which thick liquid is dripping. As we get closer, I smell the blood.

    Cassian gestures with his fingers for them to open the chest, and once its contents are visible to everyone, I bring my free hand to my mouth.

    The image is grotesque. On a small cushion rests the severed head of a young man, his eyes lost and dull, his mouth open in an expression of pain, and his skin ashen, with purple stains around the flesh of his neck.

    “It’s one of our scouts,” Drystan informs. “It doesn’t look like it’s been long since they cut his head off.”

    “Where did you find him?”

    “Another scout found him by his sleeping tent. Not far from here.”

    “They’re close, and they want us to know,” Cassian growls.

    “That’s not all.” The right–hand man rummages inside his jacket. “I had them examine everything thoroughly before showing you. This was

    inside his throat.”

    He extends a small yellowed piece of paper with bloodstains on it. I watch closely for every small reaction in his eyes, which go from curiosity ito /isurprise and then to rage. He crumples the paper into a fist andughs.

    “That bastard wants to die.”

    “What’s on the paper, Cassian?” I ask through our bond.

    He looks at me as if for a second he forgot I’m right next to him. He extends the crumpled paper to my hand, and with trembling fingers, I

    unfold it and read carefully.

    The shapeshifters won’t wait forever.

    Don’t mention anything about this note, I want to help you.

    Meet me where the water is red on the next new moon.

    Eleazar.

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