CHAPTER 359: A WITCH AND DEMON-I

Arabella clenched her teeth, her chest tightening with panic. The hands, the faces, even the trembling voices, all of them mirrored her sister’s so perfectly that it was impossible to tell truth from illusion. Each one clawed at her heart, mocking her desperation.

And worse, she was the reason Cassius stood still, rooted to her side like a shield of iron. His very presence, meant to guard her, shackled him from unleashing the brutality she knew could end this fight.

She forced her eyes shut, steeling herself, before meeting his gaze with a firm resolve, "I can protect myself. Go for Alice."

Cassius’s jaw tightened, his frown deepening as he shook his head.

Arabella’s heart pounded, frustration and fear rising in equal measure. "You’re the King now, Cassius," she pressed, her voice almost breaking.

But his reply came cold and resolute, each word a blade cutting into her resolve. "Before I am the King, my responsibility is to protect you."

He turned slightly, his expression unreadable, but his body remained firmly at her side. Alice was dangerous, yes, but to him, she was only a danger to Circe and Atlas. Cassius had grown close to Atlas, perhaps even trusted him, but not enough to gamble Arabella’s safety for it. Not when Arabella held only one last life. The thought of leaving her side, even for a breath, was unthinkable.

"Cassius!" Arabella gasped, stunned by the icy weight of his conviction, her own name cutting from his lips like a chain binding her in place. "Isn’t he your friend? Your ally?"

"No," came Cassius’s cold remark. He leaned forward, holding her shoulders, "While they are important to you, they aren’t more important than your life."

"What are you saying..." Arabella couldn’t comprehend how suddenly Cassius would turn so cold... so heartless and callous. She thought he had changed so why is it that now he didn’t want to move a single inch for Atlas?

"Go," she demanded and Cassius’s eyes narrowed.

"I am not going."

"Then if you’re not going, I’m going!" Arabella shoved his hands aside and strode toward Alice—only to feel iron fingers clamp down on her shoulders. Cassius yanked her back, pulling her tight against his chest.

A rough, frustrated sigh escaped him, hot against her ear. Every line of his body bristled with displeasure, with the silent fury of watching her fling herself into peril again.

"Can’t you just listen to me for once?" His voice was low, trembling with the effort it took not to roar. "Just once, stay where you are. Just once, put your life before everyone else’s. Because when you’re the one bleeding, Arabella, none of the people you try to protect will come to save you."

Her heart twisted at his words, but she met his gaze without flinching. "So you want me to close my eyes while people I know suffer?" Her voice cracked with quiet disappointment, but her resolve didn’t waver. "If it were someone else there, would you truly have me stand still and watch? I’ve spent my life powerless, afraid. Not anymore. If I have the strength to fight, I will not cower like a coward again."

His jaw tightened, eyes burning with something sharp and desperate. He leaned down until his forehead pressed against hers, their breaths colliding in the narrow space between.

"I would rather a thousand, no, a million, die before I see you hurt again," he ground out, his voice rigid, almost breaking. "Please, Arabella. Don’t drive me mad."

Alice’s laughter rang through the hall, sharp and cruel, reverberating against the shield until it cracked. With a savage thrust of her dagger, she carved into its core, the protective barrier splintering like glass.

Arabella’s heart seized, but before Cassius could surge forward, she shoved him back with all her strength.

"You told me you would protect me," she cried, her voice trembling but resolute. "You promised. That means protecting not just my life, but my heart. And now, Cassius, it’s your turn to keep that promise."

Cassius’s crimson eyes blazed with fury, his steps immediate, desperate to close the distance between them. But he slammed against the shimmering wall of her barrier, stopped cold. His hands pressed against it, fingers curling as if he could tear through sheer will.

"Arabella—" his voice was raw, pleading.

She turned her face away, unable to endure the storm in his gaze, the helplessness in a man who had never known defeat. Instead, she fixed her eyes ahead, unflinching. The phantom hands reached from the thinning air, clawing toward her, cold and merciless.

Her own heartbeat thundered, but her resolve stood sharper than the blade in Alice’s hand.

"Damn it. DAMN IT!" Cassius cursed before his blade manifest over his hand and without a single hesitation did he cut the flesh of his palms, letting his blood to drop on the ground which moved on its own, drawing into a circle around Arabella before burning into a bright green flame.

Then Cassius’s red eyes locked on Alice.

The woman was laughing still, high and shrill, her hands clawing at the wound in the air as she ripped the tear wider. Shadows writhed around her like smoke, eager to spill into the world. Across the room, Atlas had wrapped his body around Noah’s, shielding him with his own flesh despite the blood already staining his back.

"AHAHAHA!" Alice’s giggles shattered the air. "That stupid woman, her weakness has always been you! But don’t worry, King Atlas," she crooned, licking her lips, her gaze glittering with frenzy. "My plan was never to kill her. It’s you who I want."

Her fingers stretched greedily toward Atlas’s golden hair, ready to yank him away like a doll, when the air shifted coldly.

Her laughter cut short, her grin faltering as every nerve in her body screamed danger. Slowly, she turned her head.

And there he was.

Cassius. His crimson gaze burned with a fury so absolute it stripped the breath from her lungs. His hand tangled into her hair before she could move, his grip like iron.

"—!" The sound caught in her throat.

Without a word, he dragged her head back and hurled her across the chamber. Her body tore through rows of wooden seats, splinters exploding into the air before she slammed into the stone wall with bone-cracking force, caving a hole into it. Dust and rubble rained down as silence rippled through the hall.

Cassius did not blink. His expression was carved in rage, a predator unleashed.