Page 39 of Venomous Lies
Ambrose’s taunting laughter followed us out of the building, and Cassius held tightly to his control until we were back in my dorm room. He slowly moved back, allowing me to take over again as we dropped my bag on the bed.
‘He’s not going to let up, beastie.’His voice was soft, almost gentle.
‘No. Ambrose doesn’t really give me the impression of someone who would just give up.’I sighed as I collapsed on the bed, my fingers tracing my mate mark.‘What the fuck is my life, Cas?’
‘Complicated,’ he deadpanned, and we chuckled together.
‘Cas… Tell me something.’
‘Tell you what?’he asked after a small pause.
‘Anything that’s true,’I told him tiredly as I curled up on my bed. I needed to think about something else—anything other than what had just happened with Ambrose and my racing heart.
Cassius didn’t say anything for a bit, though I could almost feel him thinking in the back of my mind. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and found him in my mirror, watching me with a serious expression on his face. The tattoos on his face looked darker, somehow heavier, as he kept studying me.
His amber eyes met my gaze and stayed there, the weight of our combined attention growing as deep as the silence between us.
‘Cassius,’I whispered.
‘I knew Julian before, beastie, when I was alive, because he was my mate.’
My eyes teared up at the pain and love that I heard andfelt when he spoke of the vampire. Cassius didn’t look away from me as he slowly started opening up.
‘It was a long time ago, a very long time ago?—’
‘How long ago?’
‘Centuries,’he replied, unsurprised by my interruption. The corner of his eyes crinkled as my lips parted in shock.‘Did you really think he or I were young?’
‘Well, no,’I said defensively. ‘But realizing I somehow have a centuries-old spirit in my mind is a wild concept. How?—?’
‘I have no idea.’He shook his head with obvious frustration.‘I was dead, and then all of a sudden, I wasn’t anymore. That’s all I know.’
We stayed silent for a few beats before I sat up and faced the mirror. I chewed my bottom lip, urging myself to share the realization I’d been reminded of with his confession.
‘Beastie?’
‘Cas, I… I’ve felt drawn to Hellsing since we got here. Am I drawn to him because ofme, or is it because you’re in my mind?’I asked softly. Sure, I was confused, but if I were being honest with myself, I was scared, too. Was this something else I had no control over?
‘I don’t know,’he replied gently, something akin to pity in his tone.‘It could be because I’m tied to you, or it could be both. There’s really no way of knowing.’
I swallowed hard and blinked a few times, hating the tears and jealousy that twisted in my gut. At the moment, I had no idea if it had to do with Bones being with the vampire or Cas’ history with him… I just wished one part of my life could be straightforward.
‘Beastie—’
‘It’s not your fault, Cas.’I tried and failed to smilereassuringly at the spirit in the mirror.‘I think everything is just hitting me at once, and I need something that I can control.’
‘You do have to make the potion for that Junichiro guy,’Cas said after a moment.‘That will help, I’m sure.’
I nodded a few times.‘I need to figure out what to choose. That could be a good place to really start making notes in my grimoire!’
‘That it would be.’Cas smiled at me, the warmth of it fully reaching his eyes so the amber almost seemed to glow.
A new kind of pang hit my heart, but I stubbornly ignored it. Instead, I scrambled off my bed to ramble on about plants and potion ideas as I grabbed my grimoire out of my bag.
I was going to blow this new professor away so he had no choice but to teach and mentor me. I’d be damned if I came all the way to Greywood to leave the same witch that had arrived here.
Too bad I had no idea how true that thought would be.
