Page 81 of Bound Paths
Carter nodded. “Isn’t that what he is doing for you now?” The Vesten Point gestured to Zrak.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Allegedly, though I question the use of his Nebulus daily.” She looked like she meant it as she tilted her head, considering.
“Then why use them? Tell me what exactly he promised you,” Carter urged. He took a step toward her. Rose had never seen him enter someone’s space before. His frame wasn’t bulky, but he positioned himself to ensure he was all she saw.
He understood Cassandra in a way she couldn’t grasp. Rose didn’t know if it had to do with the pull of magic he felt in this realm, but her gaze tracked his movement. Solely focused on Carter, she began to speak.
“I needed something to prevent the ruin you assumed was imminent after Cee—Celeste’s actions.” Cassandra looked down at her hands clasped before her and Rose wondered how long it’d been since she’d thought of her sister fondly or called her by her childhood nickname. “Keep in mind, I don’t blame her. I blame him.” She gestured at Zrak, that fire still evident in her gaze. “And the other gods of your continent.”
Rose wasn’t sure she believed that entirely, but she was sure that’s what Cassandra wanted to believe, so she let it go.
“Understood,” Carter whispered.
“Zrak’s Nebulus did what they could for the spirits. They help them beyond the veil but can’t help them cross the river like the veil cats could before”—she paused—“before they stopped.”
“But you needed to refill the lake anyway, right?” Carter pressed.
“I needed the realm’s balance to return,” she replied. Rose didn’t miss that she didn’t answer his question. Carter appeared to catch it as well.
“I will happily shepherd spirits beyond the veil,” Carter said. “I will help them cross the river into your realm.”
Cassandra met his eyes. More surprisingly, the Vesten Point held her stare as she asked, “Why?” Her eyebrow raised at his offer.
“The pull of this land is strong. Its magic calls to me. Whether I have a reason to be here or not, I know I’ll be back. You know that—you know what I am.” He held her gaze again, and her chin dipped in the barest motion of acknowledgment. “I want to help.”
Cassandra’s mouth opened and closed. For the first time, she seemed unsure what to say. Carter pressed his advantage. He shifted into his veil cat form. A growl rumbled through his lean frame as he fell to all fours.
Rose noted the tilt of his head as he circled the Lady of the Veil. His tail flicked, getting dangerously close to Cassandra’s leg. Whatever Carter was doing, he was still speaking to her. The way her eyes widened, and the knuckles of her fists whitened as her grip intensified told Rose all she needed to know. Cassandra sucked in a breath as Carter’s tail swept across her leggings. Even this brief touch was more than Rose had seen him offer anyone.
“I guess we’re not the only ones with a connection,”she said through the bond.
“Our connection defies reason, Rose. It’s outside of anything that’s ever been known. Clearly, Cassandra can communicate with all her veil cats. Whatever they have isn’t unique.”She wanted to laugh at how offended Luc seemed by the comparison; she hadn’t had a chance to tell him about the mind connection the pack of cats was capable of.
She wasn’t willing to say whatever was happening with Cassandra and Carter wasn’t unique. Carter still barely made eye contact with Rose, even with the trust they’d built. Every one of the Vesten Point’s secrets had been pulled from him through circumstance. He had fought it most of the way. Yet he seemed intent on prying Cassandra’s secrets free. His determination to do so appeared to overtake the Lady’s insistence that she didn’t need anything.
“Fine,” Cassandra said, pushing her hair back again. “You can shepherd spirits. That’s all I require.”
“For now,” Carter said.
Rose turned to see Carter had shifted back into his fae form. Once again, he held Cassandra’s gaze as he responded.
“Wonderful,” Zrak said. The sound of his hands clapping together before him broke the standoff in the room, pulling all eyes to him. “If that’s settled.” He looked at Carter. “I could use a ride back to the continent.”
“Excuse me?” Carter turned to the Lost God.
“You want to bring me back to the continent, do you not? If I’m not mistaken, the balance requires three gods in place. You currently only have two.” The god’s voice was so even. Rose couldn’t begin to imagine what was going through his mind. “I need you, a veil cat shifter, to help me cross back over.”
Carter shook his head in confusion. “Can’t your Nebulus take you?”
Zrak rolled his eyes. “I can only call on them when the Osten Point has strengthened me. As you might have guessed, she’s not speaking to me at the moment.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Rose said, straightening as she realized the words had slipped out.
“Oops,”she said to Luc.
“He deserves it,”Luc replied. “Did he leave this conversation without explaining how he knew Carter would come?”
“We will absolutely be finishing that conversation,”Rose replied. She wondered if Cassandra had told Carter anything about Zrak in their weird, private conversation. Carter would tell them what they needed to know when they left the realm.
