The Blood King

Chapter 24

Neytiri

It's dark. I feel around for something, anything, but I only feel air. I tense when I get a familiar feeling. Cassian. He's here. Directly in front of me. I let out a soft gasp as the room slowly forms in a swirl of mist to solid stone. I know immediately it has something to do with the blood oath. This can't be real. But as the light forms from a candle atop the table, I find myself wrestling with the idea.

My heart sputters to a standstill as Cassian's gaze bores into me from the table. He's sitting on the other side, watching me expectantly. He looks sinister in this light. Even when he is doing nothing more than watching me. His dark hair falls freely around his shoulders and he's wearing dark clothing with red stitching, accentuating those glowing red irises and the black surrounding them.

He holds his hand out motioning to the seat in front of him.

I expect him to at least be angry, but his expression gives off a sort of calm. Almost amusement as he watches me. A stark contrast to his mood when we escaped his kingdom.

I take a deep breath, slowly stepping to the table.

"Have a seat, wife," he spits the word in disgust. I take a seat, keeping my eyes focused on his movements. He laughs at my skepticism.

"I'm not going to harm you," he says. My eyes narrow at his choice of words. He said the same thing when I first arrived at his castle and continued to speak that lie to me daily until I actually believed it.

"Why do you say that?" I snap. His face doesn't change, but somehow I can sense the amusement in his eyes.

"Say what?" he asks.

"You know what. That you won't hurt me, when it is clearly your intention," I say. His smile widens, and he laughs. A boisterous laugh.

"If it were my intention to hurt you, Neytiri, I would have a long time ago," he says.

"So you expect me to believe it was never your intention," I say. He's quiet for a moment, then shakes his head placing his hands on the flat small table to lean forward.

"It wasn't my intention. My intention was to win your heart, let you believe a fantasy, and have a carefree existence. But things don't always go according to plan. And I can't take back what has happened," he says. His eyes travel up and meet mine and he shrugs.

"But still, it would have been nice."

"I have to say I am shocked at the turn of events," he sits back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I never expected you to figure out the inner workings of the bonds," he says. He tilts his head, raising a brow.

"But you didn't figure it out, did you? At least, not on your own," he says watching me. I keep his gaze. I'm not afraid. And I won't show him that I'm intimidated. A small smile breaks onto his face.

"I'm not angry with you," he says. I hear the emphasis he puts on the words. I'm driving myself crazy trying to figure out why he's being so calm when he was trying to kill us when we were escaping. He seems to know the direction of my thoughts. He leans forward, placing his hand over the flame. I watch mesmerized as the flame licks his palm, causing him no pain. Not even catching his flesh. If anything, it's wrapping around it.

"Had it not been for Caius, escape would have never been an option for you. And had it not been for my men, escape would have never become a reality," he says softly. " I must congratulate them. I never suspected a thing."

I feel a bit of guilt tugging at my heart.

"We never meant to hurt you, Cassian. You can still make things right..." I try. He looks away from the fire, meeting my gaze.