Chapter 109
Chapter 109
ATASHA’S POV
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I didn’t remember fainting. What I remember was being held in Cassian’s arms. It felt like I had been there for a long time, pressed against him while everything else slipped away. Something inside me stirred, a pull I couldn’t explain, as if my body recognized him before my mind did. Then, I lifted my gaze and met his
crimson eyes.
The sight jolted me. My chest, which had been calm and empty, suddenly thudded with life. The grief that had been eating me from the inside began to thin, slipping away bit by bit, replaced by the sound of my own heartbeat.
It looked like the sudden pressure that threw the others off earlier also disappeared. I immediately found myself looking at my empty hands. The stone… was nowhere to be found.
Then I stared up at Cassian and saw it, the red in his eyes had deepened, darker, almost like blood itself was flooding them. I didn’t need to ask. I knew what it meant. He was angry.
“Your Highness!” Reina’s shrill voice cut through the moment. “You saw it yourself. Hand over the witch! She caused this tide. She’s luring the beasts here p>
She pointed at me as if her finger alone could condemn me. Her soldiers moved with unease, their spears lifting.
Before I could even breathe a response, Cassian pulled me hard into his chest, one arm locking around me as if I were something someone might actually dare to take. His free hand snapped a sword up from the ground, steel catching the torchlight. His voice dropped. “I dare you to try p>
The soldiers froze, and so did Reina. For a moment she looked shocked, but then her lip curled and she found her voice again. “Don’t you see? He’s bewitched! The Tyrant Lord himself has fallen to her tricks p>
Cassian snorted. His grip on me tightened as his gaze cut across them. “Touch her,” he said, the words low enough that it made the air heavier. “And you answer to me p>
This time, no one moved. Everyone knew how strong Cassian is. Fighting him head on would be foolish.
Then, a sound ripped across the night.
The bell tolled, a sound so deep it seemed to crawl up from the bones of the earth itself. Each strike rolled through the night, heavy and unrelenting, until the very ground trembled beneath our feet.
I froze where I stood. The hollow in my chest widened with every echo, as if the sound had carved it out of me. Around us, voices faltered, movements stilled. We all knew what that bell meant.
It was never rung for the tide nor for the swarms.
That bell marked something greater, something vast and terrible, a beast far beyond the monsters clawing at
our walls.
Something that should not have come this close.
20:00 Wed, Sep 24
Chapter 109
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Hearing this, Reina’s voice rose even higher. It sounded frantic but somehow twisted with triumph. “You hear it! You all hear it! This is her doing! Kill her now, or the next wave will destroy us all p>
The men stirred uneasily. Their hands tightened on their weapons, some glancing toward Cassian, others at Reina. Doubt flickered in their eyes.
I frowned. I wanted to tell her to stop this nonsense, but I couldn’t speak. My tongue felt stuck, my throat dry. I didn’t know what words would even matter to someone who had already lost their reasoning.
“Enough!” Halden’s voice thundered from where he struggled on one knee, still clutching his wounded arm. His face was pale, but his eyes burned at his daughter. “Reina, you’ve gone mad! Stop this insanity p>
She glared at him, her jaw clenched.
Then Halden continued, “My Lord,” he called to Cassian. “I will deal with my daughter. Bring the Consort to safety.” As if on cue, Grace stood beside Halden, her sword ready.
Cassian didn’t waste words. He gave only a single sharp nod, then in the next breath, his arm hooked tighter around me and we were airborne.
The world blurred as he leapt. Soldiers shouted behind us, but their voices fell away with the rush of wind.
I pressed against him, the warmth of his chest against me, but inside, it was different. Something had started to spread through me, something I couldn’t fight.
It was warm at first, then the warmth turned sharp, twisting into a dreaded cold that seeped into my veins. My stomach lurched. I pressed a hand over my mouth, and blood spilled past my fingers.
Cassian stopped instantly. My eyes opened as I realized where we were. The cabin.
“Stay here. I will come back p>
Almost immediately, I shook my head, clutching his armor with trembling hands. “No.” My voice cracked, but I forced the word out. There was something wrong inside me, twisting and burning like it wanted to tear through my body, but I knew I can’t stay inside this cabin. “I go where you go p>
His crimson eyes widened just slightly, caught off guard. For once, he didn’t argue. He said nothing, just pulled me back into his arms and held me as if the matter was settled.
Then he jumped again.
The cold air hit us as he moved with inhuman speed. My head pressed against him, and through the blur of trees and torches, I saw it, the tall gates of the outpost looming ahead, their shadow stretched long in the night.
That was where we were going.
Cassian landed on the wall with me still in his arms. The stones shook under the weight of his boots. The moment my feet touched the ground, my stomach twisted. Blood rushed up my throat, and I bent forward, vomiting red onto the
stones.
20:00 Wed, Sep 24
Chapter 109
Cassian’s arm was around me instantly. “Atasha-
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1 shook my head hard, forcing words through the burn in my chest. “No. I can handle myself.” My hands. pressed against his chest, shoving him back even as my knees buckled. Something… Something inside me, something I failed to understand, threatened to wreak havoc inside my body but I cannot let this delay Cassian from saving the north.
I staggered, nearly falling, but another pair of hands caught me. Rio’s voice was sharp at my side. “Easy, My Lady.” He shifted me upright, keeping me steady.
I gripped his arm, forcing myself to breathe through the ache tearing through me. My gaze shot forward, past the edge of the wall, to the field beyond. That was when I saw it.
The beast was massive. Taller than the wall itself, its shoulders broad enough to blot out the torches below. Its skin was dark and ridged, gleaming in the firelight. Each step it took left cracks in the ground.
Then, it lifted its head.
Its eyes caught mine across the distance. My chest tightened. The thing then opened its jaws and let out a roar so loud it drowned the world. The stones beneath my boots rattled. Men shouted as weapons slipped in their grip. My ears rang, and my heart slammed against my ribs.
The sound didn’t just echo, it pressed, like a wave trying to shove us all off the wall.
I clutched Rio’s sleeve, forcing my eyes to stay on it. “Cassian,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Go p>
20:00 Wed, Sep 24
Chapter 110