Page 80 of Bound Paths
Rose wanted to answer. She wanted to say they would give anything to get the Suden Point back. She held her tongue. Carter said nothing as he leveled his gaze at the Lady of the Veil.
“Carter knows what he’s doing.” Luc’s reassurance distracted her long enough for Cassandra to continue speaking.
“Too long, the realm beyond the veil has been considered an afterthought. Too long, we’ve been forgotten and lost.” She gestured to Zrak. “I want only what I was promised for harboring him for hundreds of years.”
“And that is…” Rose couldn’t stop the thought. They had their own assumptions, but she might as well ask if they were being direct. She let the statement hang, waiting for Zrak or Cassandra to fill it in.
Carter swallowed thickly, and Rose knew his next words before they left his mouth. “Me,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. His yellow-green gaze darted back and forth between Cassandra and Zrak. “She was promised me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“So he says,” Cassandra replied as her gaze slid to Zrak.
Rose still didn’t understand how, but the meaning was clear. Zrak had come to Cassandra with more than the offer to shepherd spirits beyond the veil. He’d come with knowledge of another veil cat shifter that would find his way into her realm.
What interested Rose now was that Cassandra, for all her intensity towards Carter, spoke as if she didn’t believe he was…whatever was promised.
“You don’t believe it?” Rose couldn’t help but ask. She assumed Cassandra meant that Carter was a veil cat shifter, but as the words came out, she realized she had no idea what ‘it’ was. Maybe it wasn’t just the shifted form he took, but something else about him that had been promised to the Lady of the Veil. Rose held her breath as she waited for a reply.
“I’ve not had the best luck dealing with those from the continent,” she replied slowly.
Rose could only imagine the pain she buried in that statement. Those from the continent who betrayed her were her own blood—her twin.
“Why don’t you tell me what you were promised then,” Carter said calmly. “We can clear this up now.”
Cassandra’s eyes flashed in surprise. She must be too used to dealing with Zrak and his half-answers. Rose had barely dealt with him and was already fed up with his secrets. She could imagine that hundreds of years of his behavior would be grating. Hopefully, Carter’s directness would be a reprieve.
“If you have to ask, you aren’t the solution,” she said with a dismissive wave.
Heat filled the room. It took Rose a moment to realize it was Carter. His flame must have flared with his discomfort. His face didn’t change, and the temperature eased as he leashed his power.
“Glad I’m not the only one who has that issue,”Luc said through the bond. The situation in Cassandra’s study was too tense to laugh. She’d never seen Carter lose control before. She barely saw him emote.
“For being the one in need, you’re not doing yourself any favors,” Carter said when he finally collected himself. “I’m saying I want to help. Regardless of what you were promised.” He shot a glare at Zrak. “Tell me what you need.”
Cassandra’s eyes widened, surprise and hesitation warring across her features. It was a shame that kind of offer appeared so foreign to Cassandra. It had to be lonely ruling this realm on her own. The gods of the continent, for all their faults, at least had partners in their existence. Cassandra was alone. Given the circumstances of her origin, she’d had little choice in taking ownership of the realm. Yet one mistake, one misstep, could cost her realm and those she protected.
A chill ran up Rose’s spine at the lingering standoff between Carter and Cassandra.“I feel like we shouldn’t be watching this,”Rose couldn’t help but send through the bond.
“I’d be happy to entertain you while they sort it out,”Luc purred.
Heat rushed through her body at his tone. Cassandra couldn’t hold off Carter’s persistence forever. They had to be close to knowing if Cassandra would free Luc.
“What makes you think I need something?” Cassandra finally said, breaking the standoff. She also took a moment to glare at Zrak before continuing.
“We’ve read your journals,” Carter said. “We know what your sister took. We don’t know what you did to prevent the catastrophe her actions set off, but I know it made you what you are today.”
“Well, they have you there,” Zrak said, sitting up from the lounge chair, like the conversation was finally getting interesting. He dipped his chin in Cassandra’s direction.
Rose would not want to be on the receiving end of the look Cassandra returned. It was clear from all the interactions she’d seen that Zrak and Cassandra weren’t friendly, but it was becoming more apparent by the moment that whatever grace he’d been granted was wearing thin.
“Why I let you stay will always be a mystery,” Cassandra said through clenched teeth.
“My information has proved to be exactly as valuable as I said it would.” Zrak was the most composed of all of them. He seemed uninvested in the conversation even though he was clearly the orchestrator behind it.
Rose wracked her brain to put the pieces together. Both Zrak and Cassandra intimated that Zrak had known Carter would come. As much as Rose wanted to focus on how that was possible, she knew they still hadn’t covered what exactly Cassandra needed Carter for.
“Fine,” Cassandra said, her hand moving to her hip. “If you’ve read the journals, you know the spirits could benefit from a shepherd.”
