Page 132 of Secrets & Curses of Fate

“A fresh start in Crimson it is.” Cassius looked around us before looking at me. He seemed to hesitate for a long time. “I know a goddess; she’s become a friend since Thea’s curse. I can ask her to help you if she can.”?

“I don’t know if a goddess would be able to change fate.”?

“Ardella probably could.”?

I instantly stilled at her name falling from his mouth. He noticed the shift in my mood. He cocked his head to the side.?No one had said her name out loud in front of me in seven years. But I also really fucking hated that this prince of Crimson knewmyArdella on such a personal level that he thought she would help him.

I could not stop feelings of jealousy pumping through me. He had seen her. She hid from me, yet she let this guy see her? That really pissed me off. I swallowed down the wrath bubbling up inside of me. Gods, I willed the void to come out and take over so I would not lose my fucking shit, but like the last seven years, he stayed hidden away. Not once had he come out to help me. It was stupid to think, but I truly wondered if he was pissed at me for hating Ardella.

“Are you alright?”

“I don’t need help fromher,” I said with so much venom that he immediately narrowed his eyes at my reaction.

“You know her already?”

“Yes, and I don’t need anything from her,” I hissed.

Cassius threw his hands up and nodded. I sighed heavily as I closed my eyes and ran my hands through my hair, trying to keep myself in fucking control. When I opened them, Cassiuswas watching me with confusion in his eyes. Could he recognize that we both shared the same misery?

“You lied,” he said, confidently. Before I could say anything, he continued. “You said your surname was Winters during check-in, but it is Vale. Isn’t it?”

“How—”

He chuckled softly before muttering something toward the sky. His gaze met mine. “I was starting to think Della was wrong all those years ago.”

“I don’t understand. She told you about me?” I watched him curiously.

He nodded. “Yes. She said you’d come and that you are important.”

My chest felt warm at his words. Cassius rubbed a mark I had not noticed on his wrist before—four orange stars in a row on his wrist.

“What is that mark?” I asked.

Cassius looked down before giving me a concerned look.

“I made a star bargain with Della when Thea was cursed.” He looked over me oddly. “Della said you and I would become very good friends, so good that we would consider each other family." Cassius seemed to be thinking about something. "She had a message for you when you came to Crimson.”

“She did?” I stepped forward.

“That Crimson is your new home. You will be very happy here.”

I stared at him. How did she know years ago that I would come here—that I was searching for a new place to call home? My gaze fell to the mark on his wrist, and the void seemed concerned about it.

Ask him what the bargain was for. Gods do not make those unless it is serious.The void almost sounded worried.

“What was the bargain you made?”

Cassius sighed heavily before rubbing the back of his neck. His gaze met mine. “She wouldn't take Thea’s soul, and I had to do two things in return. First, I had to give you anything you would need to start over here. And the second one…” His gaze looked away from me. “I had to keep her secrets for her.”

What the fuck does that mean?The void was not impressed.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Della went to great lengths to hide something, even from herself, and when the time is right, I will break the magic binds she put on herself.”

Damn it, Storm. What did she do?

“Tell me.” I demanded.

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