Page 108 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
“No.” His stony expression makes nerves ricochet through my insides.
“Please, untie me. Let me leave this place. I’ll keep your secrets.”
Another laugh. “You really are a terrible liar. Since it appears it’s impossible to kill you, I’ve thought of another way for you to be useful.” His hand runs along my cheek, then lower, fingertips trailing over the hollow of my neck. They brush along my scar, making me tense. “My sister and I don’t age, but should the need arise, having an heir with the blood of Roseheart’s princess could be extremely valuable.”
The weight of those words sinks into me like another dose of poison. “Do not touch me.”
His fingertips stop where they’ve traveled down to my waist. “You’re going to put up a fight?”
I jerk forward, testing my restraints once more. “I’ll kill you if you touch me.”
Cassius smiles. “Good. I love it when they fight. It makes me so…” He rubs a hand over the front of his pants. “Hard.”
His fingers skate across my thigh. My anxiety rises, blooming in my chest like an all-consuming algae, stealing the oxygen from a pond and trapping its residents in an airless grave. “Get away from me. Go back to your sister, you fucking freak.”
“Oh Lenore, by the time I’m done with you, you’re going to wish you’d stayed dead all those times we tried to kill you.”
A chill blasts through my veins. “What do you mean ‘all those times’?”
He sits back on the bed, a delighted look on his face. “Fascinating isn’t it. I failed to ensure you drank from your chalice during the engagement toast. Your poor husband-to-be had to die all alone. Things would have been far simpler if you had died then and there.”
“You killed King Hoff?” Why had Harrow let me believe it was him? Or had I always just assumed he was responsible?
He rolls his eyes. “He was in the way. That night, I underestimated your stubbornness. You didn’t drink the toast. Such a missed opportunity. I tried several times after that. You could have drunk from my flask when you pulled me into your room that night. That batch was even more potent. Just a few drops. I couldn’t force it down your throat. You had to consume it by choice. An irritating little detail of the spell. When you denied my offer, I knew I would need to get more creative.”
Rage comes over me. He had been trying all those times and I had no clue.
“Running away after I killed your mother made for the perfect convenience. I gained your trust, fed you the soup, and just like that you ingested enough poison to take down a small army.”
“My mother? You bastard?—”
“Don’t interrupt, Princess. Where are your manners?” He stuffs the edge of the blanket in my mouth. The fabric presses so far back that I repeatedly gag. “You look good like this. I should have tied you up and gagged you when I fucked you senseless that day in the cabin. You have no idea how freeing it was to drop my mask. When you begged me to break you, I saw your mask slip too. You’re as lost as my sister and I.”
My cheeks flame with the memory. I let him… no, I begged him to… and now that I know who he really is, the memories are so much worse.
“I could have knocked you up then and there. I might have. But the poison I fed you after was strong enough to kill anything. Including my seed.”
He traces a lazy figure eight across my lower abdomen. My muscles flatten, trying to pull away from his touch. I hadn’t even thought of how our sex would affect my future. I could have let this asshole impregnate me. God, have I even been present these past few weeks or just walking in some skeletal humanshell? Every ounce of intelligence I’ve always prided myself on has been worthless. I should have seen through Cassius. Instead, I was desperate for his attention. I treated him like a lifeline, a way to escape the anguish I felt over my arranged marriage and suppressive lifestyle.
It was only too easy for this monster to take root in my life. He fucked me, hurt me, fed me, poisoned me. I was none the wiser. I’ve never been so utterly disgusted with myself.
“Imagine my shock and surprise when you walked back into the castle completely unscathed. Where were you all those days? Dead in the woods? Slowly rotting from the poison? It doesn’t matter now. That’s when Cat and I knew there was something different about you.”
Leaning forward, he lays a hand on my scar again. “Resurrection. What a rarity.” His voice is filled with awe. “And what a fucking inconvenience.”
I thrust my tongue forward, working to push the gag free from my mouth. His words are too much for me to take lying down.
“Your magic could rival Catreena’s. I’m sure you can guess how much she likes that. Did you know she tried to kill you over a dozen ways while you were under the poison’s spell? Burned you, beheaded you, buried you alive. By the morning you were always back on that stone pedestal looking the picture of health. I thought my sister was going to rip her hair out.”
My jaw shifts side to side, tongue pushing, fighting to get this fucking blanket out of my mouth.
“The nobles refused to give Cat full claim over the throne as long as you were alive. And since we couldn’t convince them of your death… Well, eventually we had to wake you up.”
Working my jaw until it burns, I push the fabric out. “With true love’s kiss?” I regret the words instantly.
Cassius stares at me before bursting with laughter. He laughs and laughs, face turning red, tears tracking down his pale cheeks. He sighs, smiling to himself. “Oh, you are even more naive than I thought. Yes, Lenore,true love’s kiss. That, and the antidote I slipped in my mouth before I kissed you. But the people ate it up. I’ll admit, your followers are more loyal than any of the other kingdoms we’ve overthrown. Catreena wanted to kill them all and be done with it. She’s a violent thing. Her need to inflict pain and drown in the blood of the innocent grows stronger each day. She’s shared too much magic with her demon.It loves death. Killing has always been her solution. I’m the more humane of the two of us. I’ve managed to convince her that you need the people on your side to rule successfully, and the people needed a show. So one big kiss…”
He leans down, gripping my chin and pressing his lips to mine. The kiss makes me gag.
