bChapter /bb52 /b

“What is she doing here?” He nodded at Evanora.

“She…”

“ra is not recovered or out of danger,” Evanora interrupted. “She needs to stay longer with us. Since you refuse to grant her that, I’ll go with you.”

“Why do you care what happens to her?”

“Her recovery is important to our reputation. We don’t want our clients ending up dead and unable to spread the word about our skills.”

“You’re a banshee, not a witch.”

“I know enough to handle the rest of her care myself. Naja trusts me.”

Cassian continued his fine, persistent scrutiny. His eyes narrowed, giving him a feline look, while Evanora didn’t let his stare diminish her. She lifted her chin proudly until Cassian clicked his tongue and lost interest.

“Fine,” he said. “ra,e. You’re riding with me. Drystan, take the screamer,”

“I’d rather die than ride with the mosquito,” muttered the banshee.

“Did you say something?”

Cassian and she locked eyes again before she bothered to ster a fake smile on her lips.

“Nothing. I was just saying there are a lot of mosquitoes around hereb.” /b

She pretended to swat one away and walked past Drystan toward the horse, amusement dancing in his eyes. Something told me he loved being challenged.

I snapped out of my trance when Cassian’s gloved hand extended toward me and, to my surprise, I took it and let him help me onto the horse. I felt him everywhere when he settled behind me, every inch of his body pressing against mine.

He nudged the horse gently, and we reentered the Twisted Forest. I couldn’t help flinching every time I heard even the slightest sound. Each time, I could feel Cassian rolling his eyes. The night was pitch ck, and that alone made my skin crawl.

“Seems like, Orpheus needs a drink,” Cassianmented after enough hours passed for him to stop feeling my backside.

Orpheus? So at least he’d bothered to name the animal.

“I hear water nearby. Wait here.”

Drystan nodded, and Cassian–without asking if I wanted to apany him–veered off the path and led us among twisted trees with bare branches. We went so far that, looking back, I could only see naked trees, as if they meant to devour us. A shiver ran down my spine.

We reached a small pool where the moon cast its reflection. Cassian dismounted, then grabbed me by the waist and bhelped /bbme /bbdown/bb. /bbMy /blegs trembled for a moment, sore from hours of riding andck of habit. The horse approached the pool and began bto /bbdrink /bbwhile /bbI /bbfelt /bbCassian’s /beyes on me.

b“/bbra/b.” My name sounded like ba /bcaress from his mouth. “You stink.”

I flinched bat /bhis tactlessness. My cheeks burned.

b1/4 /b

Mont b4 /bbAug /b

bChapter /bb52 /b

b“/bbOh /bGod, bCassian/b,” bI /bsnapped. “You’re so rude, insensitive, animalistic!”

bHe /bgrabbed the wrist of the hand I was using to cover my face, overwhelmed with shame.

“You reek of another vampire.” His nostrils red. “You smell like Eleazar.”

“I was there,” I replied instantly.

“What did he want from you? Why

“I don’t know.”

Was

he there?”

The pressure of his fingers on my skin grew stronger. The moonlight made his ck hair glint blue, matching his eyes, which stared at me with cial cold.

“You’re lying,” he nearly spat. “Open your mind to me, ra. Do it now.”

I frowned, confused. How could I open my mind? Had I ever closed it? I thought he could wander through my thoughts freely at all times.

“I don’t know how,” I replied.

“There’s something different about you.” His eyes scanned every inch of my face. “You’re not the same ra who entered the camp. You smell stronger, your blood is singing to me, ra. I’m going insane. Your scent has lingered in the air for days, tempting me to break the truce

with the banshees.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Lilith, I can’t resist,” he murmured to himself. “I’ve tried.”

“What are you talking about, Cassian?”

His eyes turned feral as he grabbed my other wrist, pinning both above my head and cornering me against one of the bare trees. I felt the bark scrape my skin, but that sensation waspletely overshadowed by the nerves triggered when I felt his nose grazing my neck. My body reacted to his touch in a thousand ways I couldn’t describe; repulsion wasn’t one of them.

“Cassian, get away from me.”

I tried to push him off, in vain. His chest was solid and unmoving, like a boulder. I felt the hardness of his muscle beneath his thin shirt. In contrast, ihe /ipressed himself tighter against me, touching me in so many ces that my blood boiled and rushed to my cheeks.

“Just a sip, ra. I’m thirsty.”

“Not my problem.” Again I tried to push him away. “You’re the one who refused to feed like Drystan did. Don’t expect to use me now–not in the state you’re in.”

“And how am I?” he whispered into my ear.

“Famished. You’re acting like an animal,” I said, trying to sound as calm bas /bpossible.

Something hard pressed against my belly. Cassian’s hand stayed firm on my wrists as he buried the other in my hair and bpulled /bbjust /benough

bto /bmake me look at him.

“My reputation precedes me–they say I’m the most insatiable of all. So bwhy /bdo you bkeep /bbresisting/b, ra? Yield.b” /bbHis /bbtongue /bblicked /bbthe /bbcurve /bbof /bbmy /bbneck /blike he was preparing me for bwhat /bwasing “I promise you’ll benjoy /bbit /bbas /bbmuch /bbas /bI bwill/b.”

bThe /bway his lips brushed my skin bmade /bbit /bball /bbstand /bbon /bedge. bCompletely /bbdisconnected /bbfrom /bbmy /bwill, bI /bbmoved /bbagainst /bbhim/b, bseeking /bbhis /b

b2/4 /b

closeness. I closed my eyes, surrendering to his touch, to the way his scent wrapped around me, numbing my senses like a drug. I unclenched my fists slowly and let my body soften against his.

“Please… don’t do it,” I whispered with thest remnants of my reason.

“You’re asking me to go against my nature.”

I took advantage of a brief moment of weakness on his part to free one of my hands. I immediately brought it to the base of my neck to cover myself, as if that would stop him.

A smug smile crept across his lips, slow and chilling.

“I could sink my teeth into other parts of you, ra. Your neck’s not the only ce I’d enjoy biting.”

I swear I felt my breath catch abruptly at his words. His eyes–those two oceans trapped in his irises–caught mine and d stole every possibility of breath. My heart betrayed me as Cassian’s hand traveled under my dress, which I now regretted ollime. They /li/ol

imple.

His gaze never left mine, expecting resistance that never came. Why aren’t you moving, ra? Don’t let yourself fall for his deceptive beauty.

“Cassian…”

“Yes?”

The cool tips of his fingers traced a path on my skin that burned like fire. My back arched against the tree as my leg becamepletely exposed to him. With pure seductive elegance, Cassian knelt on one knee and ced my leg over his shoulder.

“Please…”

He grazed my thigh with the sharp tip of one fang, never looking away. My chest rose and fell faster and faster.

“Please what?” His breath tickled my skin. “I’m not a merciful being, ra, but I’ll listen. Please what?”

The night’s silence settled between us, leaving only the erratic sound of my breathing and the soft noises of the horse beside the pool.

I wanted to say something, but my vocal cords were frozen, my senses dull. I was too intoxicated by the possibility before me. Cassian waited as long as his self–control allowed, and when his mouth approached my flesh and I didn’t stop him, he sank his fangs in.

The stab of pain was sharp and yet fleeting. As soon as a choked whimper of pain left my lips, it was reced by other sounds I’m not proud of. A tingling spread through my limbs, filling every cell. It numbed me, draining the strength that had kept me upright. Cassian’s hand was quick, holding me against the tree before I copsed into a position that would leave even less to the imagination. God, it felt so good I couldn’t even think about what parts of me the dress was exposing. I was incapable of feeling shame.

“You taste like something forbidden to me,” Cassian murmured against the bleeding skin of my thigh before sucking again.

That triggered new sensations that drove me into a kind of madness, where uncontrolled sounds spilled from my throat. A knot in my stomach begged to be undone. My nails dug into the bark behind me. If bI /bclosed my eyes, I could see bursts of color behind my lids, like the birth of a new gxy.

“You’re so noisy, little beast.”

I had ino /itime to respond ior /iopen my eyes before tasting something metallic–my own blood coating my tongue. Cassian’s body was everywhere, and it took me a while to process that he was kissing me. He, of all men, was kissing me.

His lips moved with a delicacy I didn’t think him capable of. His tongue found mine with grace and fluidity, like a true conqueror. I couldn’t let this continue. He couldn’t take more from me. This was my first kiss, and I never thought it would be stolen by one of these creatures.

Monb, /bb4 /bbAug /b

bChapter /bb52 /b

bFinally /bbregaining /bmy senses, I bit down on his lower lip and felt the explosion of his blood in my mouth. Now it wasn’t bjust /bmine bvoring /bbmy /bbtongue/b. He didn’t pull away immediately, which only proved again that Cassian was a sadist who enjoyed the darkest things.

I pushed him, and this time I got him off me.

“You bit me,” he said, wiping the traces of our blood with the back of his hand.

I tried to reim my pride and lifted my chin defiantly.

“Now we’re even,” I said through gritted teeth. “If you bite me, then I bite you.”

I didn’t wait for another sarcastic remark. I lifted my skirts just enough to see the tips of my shoes and started walking back. i’d only dodged a

few roots when his voice called from behind.

“I enjoyed it.” Without needing to look, I knew he wore one of those wicked smiles. “When we return to the castle, give y guards. They’ll take care of sending them.”

“What?” I tried not to reveal my surprise.

to the

“The letters to your parents.” Over my shoulder, I saw him grab the stallion’s reins. He began walking and quickly passed me. “Thanks for the fun, and you’re wee for being gentle.”

I thought I saw a fleeting wink before he turned and vanished into the underbrush, forcing me to run after him. As I did, I couldn’t stop a strange feeling from settling in my gut–a mix of guilt, fear, and excitement. I worried that I hadn’t resisted Cassian enough. I worried that a part of me didn’t hate him enough to stop him next time. I worried about the satisfaction I felt in the way his teeth tore into my skin.

When we returned to the others, I saw in their eyes the certainty that they knew what had happened. No one said a word as we resumed our journey–only now, I rode with Drystan.

AD

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