Page 113 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
“She spit on me!” Catreena screeches.
Cassius walks to her, takes her face in his hand, and dips his mouth until it’s hovering above hers. “Do lower your fucking voice, Cat. You nearly blew out my eardrums.” He follows his comment with a swift kiss.
“I want her dead,” she fumes.
“Well, we tried that, didn’t we?” He gives her chin a little shake before releasing her face. “You’re looking lovelier than ever, princess spit and all.”
The compliment seems to please her. Catreena flips her golden hair over one shoulder. “He must have liked this one. She was very young.”
“She must have been. I felt the interaction. My entire body tingled. I came straight here. Had no idea I’d find my princess with you.” He lowers himself to where I’m perched on my knees. Catreena’s invisible binds still hold. I turn my face when he triesto run his fingers down my cheek. “Still not playing nice? How did you manage to get free?”
“I guess you underestimated me.” I offer him a bitchy smirk.
“Or you had help.” He smiles and it’s beyond unsettling. “You know that little handmaiden of yours has been missing. She hasn’t been a priority before now. The mirror values youth and beauty. Her burns make her unappealing. Nevertheless, I think I’ll make it my personal mission to track her down. She interfered with my plans when she cut you loose. If she hadn’t, my fingerprints would be painting your skin and my seed dripping from between your splayed thighs. I was so looking forward to breaking you again.”
“Enough,” Catreena snaps. “That is not a necessary part of our plan. Let’s just kill her.”
“We can’t kill her.” Cassius’s voice booms and we both jump. “Use your fucking brain.”
“Then we feed her to the mirror. Surely she can’t resurrect after something like that. They’re still half alive when he consumes them. It’s the perfect solution.”
I turn to look at the monster. It’s vanished, crawled back into the mirror. There’s no chance in hell I’m getting fed to that thing.
“It’s already eaten,” Cassius argues.
“It’s always hungry! Why are you protecting her?” Catreena seethes.
“It has nothing to do with protection. She’ll stay alive to bear me an heir.”
She hisses an exhale through her teeth. “You’ll find any excuse to fuck her.”
“It’s not an excuse. It’s the smart thing to do.”
“Like you’ve ever been known for your smarts, Cassius.” Catreena scoffs.
It was the wrong thing to say. Cassius moves with incredible speed. His fist buries in her hair, jerking her head back untilshe screams. He pulls back harder and she drops to her knees. His voice is a menacing whisper, “All this attitude over a nobody princess. Are you that insecure? Worried I’ll start to favor the taste of her pussy over yours?”
Her cheeks burn red. “Don’t be absurd. She’s dangerous. She has magic in her blood. What if she finds a way to use it against you?” Her tone softens. It’s the most vulnerability I’ve seen from the cold queen. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Cassius is quiet for a moment. He sighs, rolling his eyes. “You always get your way. Feed her to your demon if you wish, but not before I get to have my fun.”
“You’ve already had her!”
Cassius tuts. “You’ve always been such a jealous little thing. That was different. I was still playing Prince Cassius. Though, my true nature did spill through for a few moments.” His smile is icy. “If you’re going to deprive me of breeding her, you at least owe me one last bit of fun.”
“No.”
“So bossy.” Cassius runs the hand not buried in her hair down the front of her gown, pressing between her thighs. “Give me an hour. I’ll hunt her down, take her the way I want. She’ll be all too eager to be devoured by your demon when I’m through with her.”
He presses his fingers deeper into the fabric. A small whimper escapes Catreena. Her jaw tightens. “Fine. You have one hour. Bring me her heart. Then give her pretty face to my monster. If you fail, my monster runs free. If that happens, you’d better make sureyourpretty face is nowhere in sight.”
“Oh, Cat. I knew you’d come around. Not that it was ever really your choice.” His laugh deepens Catreena’s sneer.
“Blood.” She claws at the hands still yanking her hair. “Give it her blood.”
Cassius drops her, sighing. “You don’t trust me.”
She scrambles to her feet, straightening her crown along the way. “You’re obsessed with her. I’m ensuring she ends up in the mirror. Getting her out of the way was always the plan.”
