Page 272 of The War God’s Favorite

“Fine! I’m taking the woman with me, but don’t you dare attempt to move our father anywhere, Opheus. You won’t succeed. I have my guards and our brother’s men surrounding the Palace, no one can come in or out!”

That was more than disputable considering that Cassandra and Missandra had managed to walk in despite the security, but surely, the Emperor’s health wouldn’t allow them to move him anywhere anyway.

Lephys walked over, and though Opheus still had his weapon in hand, both brothers only glared at each other. It was like two beasts in a room, ready to jump at each other’s throat. If there had been even a shred of brotherly love between these two, it was definitely gone now. Cassandra stepped forward and placed herself between the two men, fiercely hoping her plan would work.

“You take care of yourself,” Opheus whispered to her as he held his glare on his younger brother.

“Thank you.”

Lephys brutally grabbed Cassandra’s wrist, pulling her to his side and away from Opheus.

“You better not go anywhere, Opheus.”

“And where would I go?” retorted his older brother, pissed.

Lephys made a sour face, but he had nothing to answer to that. Working with his whip once more, he wrapped it around Cassandra’s wrists, pulling them together tightly and trapping her. She grimaced as the fibers painfully cut through her skin a bit. Opheus saw it too, but did not say a thing.

“Fine,” hissed Lephys.

Finally breaking their staring contest, Lephys pulled Cassandra to leave the room with him. She glanced back once more at Opheus. Maybe she dreamt it, but she saw him nod very slightly with a determined expression. Had he understood her silent plea? Was he going to send someone for Missandra, find a way to have her come to help the Emperor? She could only hope so.

It was too late now. Lephys was dragging Cassandra away, walking confidently across Vrehan’s apartments. He was obviously in charge with his brother gone. None of the guards they crossed paths with said a thing, and the servants didn’t dare raise their heads either. They knew, thought Cassandra. All the people working there were already obeying the Second and Fifth Princes, as if they were already in power.

Cassandra was utterly disgusted. The Emperor had probably taken years to establish himself as a force within his empire, working for years to keep it afloat, and yet the powerful man was overthrown so easily. Fear and envy were getting the best of all these people. They didn’t care which Master they served, as long as they could keep their positions and money. She thought about Lephys’ speech earlier, about his concubines. It was always the same. People killed and threw their lives away for greed.

“How did you get inside the Palace to begin with?” Lephys suddenly asked as they continued walking.

“I paid a servant to help me,” she lied.

She deliberately made it sound like she had used someone she hadn’t known before, so Lephys wouldn’t try to find and kill the culprit. He wouldn’t want to lose his time over simple corruption.

“Tsk...Those little rats cannot be trusted.”

Cassandra didn’t add anything else. Lephys wasn’t Opheus. He would have no compassion for her, and the only reason she was alive at that moment was her relationship with Kairen.

She had to think of her next move. How was she going to get out of this situation, now? She had been captured so easily, it was almost laughable. She continued following Lephys. He didn’t seem to fear that she might escape with his whip tightly binding her wrists. Cassandra tried to remain calm.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked. “To the cells?”

“Oh no, darling, that would be too obvious and boring. No...I have other plans for you.”

He suddenly turned around to face her, grabbing Cassandra’s throat in his hand. She almost choked, barely able to breathe as he tightened his grip. He had a dark, sadistic gleam in his eyes, something that reminded her of his vicious older brother.

“I don’t often get the chance to make my annoying older brother suffer, but when the opportunity arrives, I will take it. I wonder what Kairen will do when he learns I had my way with his precious woman? I’ve found you interesting from the day we met and, though I find you rather ugly, you will still be a nice toy for me to play with before they come back.”

Cassandra’s blood left her face. She could barely breathe with his fingers tight around her throat and all the blood draining from her face. Her limbs were tingling as she was fighting to stay conscious. Watching her, Lephys was enjoying her panicked state, his grip tightening as a vicious smirk spread across his lips. This time, he really did resemble Vrehan, with a crazy glint in his eyes. Cassandra tried to think, to grab his wrist, when he suddenly let go.

Cassandra fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for air. She could already see the bruises forming on her skin, but for now, she was focused on recovering as fast as she could. She had to stay alert.

“I don’t trust Opheus enough to stay here,” he said.

He grabbed her by her wrists, still tightly bound by his whip, and yanked her forward causing her to fall and hurt her shoulder. Cassandra grimaced as her mind flashed back to the day of the Celebrations when she had been similarly dragged across the Palace. This time though, she fought to get up before he could drag her any further. Lephys had just started walking without a care as to whether she was following or not, his whip was a leash that hauled her along. Painfully, Cassandra managed to find her balance and get back on her feet right away. With her hands so tightly tied, she had no choice but to follow him through the corridors.

She couldn’t recognize where they were headed, but she didn’t like that they were going deeper inside the Palace and further away from the Emperor. Cassandra prayed that the Fourth Brother would find a way to get Missandra to the Emperor, and somehow find a way to save the old man.

Lephys looked absolutely sure of himself as he walked through the corridors. Had his apartments always been this far? Cassandra was completely lost, but then, she suddenly recognized the area they were in.

The lake! They were close to the large garden, the one where the New Year Celebrations had been held only a few weeks prior. She recognized the corridor they were walking through, the same one that she and Kairen had isolated themselves in. The memory had her blushing slightly, in spite of the situation she was in. If only she could go back to those days, to Kairen’s strong arms. However, she had more pressing matters to think about. The Emperor had tried to tell her something about the lake, what was it? She could now see it through the windows, but no matter how many times she tried to glance at it, there was nothing special happening there. There weren’t even any concubines chatting or taking their tea, or servants walking by! The Imperial Palace seemed strangely empty now.

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