Chapter 152

Jan 04, 2024

Instead of shaking free of Deon’s grip, Roxana stood still and stared into her brother’s face.

“How interesting. I can see through you much more clearly now.” She lifted her hand into the air like a gently flowing stream, then placed it on his chest. “I know that this place right here... is filled with rage. As always, you’re looking at me now as though you can’t wait to kill me.”

Her touch was so soft it was almost undetectable. Nevertheless, he stood frozen in place as if that same touch was crushing his heart.

“And yet, you still act this way while knowing full well what my intentions are.” A smile soon spread across her lips. “After all, you and I both know that you can’t kill me.”

Her intoxicating whisper reminded him of rose thorns as it stabbed into his heart with utmost precision.

“You killed my son, yet would die for my daughter.”

Sierra’s words from the past seemed to roar over and drown out her daughter’s voice in the present.

“Even so, that doesn’t mean you can go around killing people at random either. At least... not without my permission.”

That feeling of uneasiness that had been creeping up from the soles of his feet finally began to tug at his heart.

“I mean, just look at the way you let those two go. You used to strike any and everyone down on the slightest whim, but now you’ve lost your edge.”

His sister was making no attempt to hide the fact that she was purposefully churning the stagnant pool of emotions within him.

“You know better than anyone...” She shook off the hand that was still gripping her arm with little effort before continuing. “...how fragile and easily the string that binds us can snap.”

For a moment the smile that she cast his way appeared to be so radiant as it reflected the sunlight that he found it almost painful to behold.

“Don’t try to pretend now that you didn’t anticipate this. You were the one who placed your leash in my hands in the first place.”

He continued to stand there speechlessly staring at her chilling smile.

“As unfortunate as it is for you, I have no intention of either cutting you loose or feeding you.”

The statement did nothing to stir any sort of emotion within him since he acknowledged his refusal to escape from her grasp to begin with. As it were, he would continue to wander aimlessly from that day forth without any means to satiate his undying hunger and thirst for blood. She finally withdrew her cold hand from over his heart. It was the very same hand that had once warmed it.

“You have indeed outlived your usefulness to me and so I wish for you to stay out of my sight while doing absolutely nothing at all.”

His sister’s callous words pounded against his eardrums mercilessly.

“That is my final order, Deon Agrece.”

It was a decree that denied his very existence.

* * *

Jeremy had successfully carried away the two Fipellion cousins, who had eventually fainted, without anyone spotting him. It was the sort of covert task that would have likely been impossible for any other clan aside from Black Agrece. He basked in his success for a moment as he realized that the training and labor he endured while rebuilding the Agrece compound was finally serving him well.

Of course, once Duran and Jerome would awaken that night, they wouldn’t hesitate to confront the Black clan regarding the incident that afternoon. However, despite their later claims, their throats and bodies lacked even a single mark to prove that they had been physically harmed.

As it were, the red marks Deon had left on the men’s necks had long since disappeared thanks to Cassis’ intervention. He had feared that the Agrece man’s actions would stir up trouble for the Black clan, and more specifically for Roxana. Furthermore, the lack of witnesses to the incident, as well as the fact that everyone at the castle had heard about the two clans clashing before either had even set foot on the grounds, resulted in the matter being swept under the rug rather seamlessly.

Jeremy would even manage to play the role of the victim in front of the other attendants so perfectly later on that it gave them the impression that the Fipellions were the ones harassing him.

“That crazy bastard Deon...” He hurled a flurry of insults at his half-brother’s name as he returned from cleaning up the mess he had created. “I knew he was insane, but for him to act like this and here of all places!”

The desire to quell his fury by tracking down the older Agrece and wiping the marble floors with his smug face continued to bite at his thoughts, but upon reaching the garden, he noticed that Deon was nowhere in sight and had likely left the castle altogether.

That only seemed to fuel Jeremy’s anger that much more. He considered paying a visit to Roxana instead of returning to the tea party but immediately remembered that there was someone else he still needed to deal with first. He had been itching to teach Charlotte a lesson ever since her arrogant behavior earlier that afternoon, so he turned about and began to march toward her room. He cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers a few times on the way there to limber them up for their upcoming use.

* * *

Later that night, Roxana left her chambers to meet someone. Her small footsteps echoed throughout the silent corridor until they finally stopped in front of a door. Almost as if the room’s occupant had been standing inside expecting her arrival, the door slowly began to open. Before fully opening, a hand shot out from behind the door and pulled her inside.

Clack.

As the door shut behind her, an all too familiar scent made her realize that the person who had yanked her inside so abruptly was standing in quite close proximity to her. As she raised her head, her eyes immediately met the golden gaze of the room’s current occupant.

“Cassis...”

She instinctively said his name, but he swallowed the rest of her words as he pressed his lips against hers. Before long she was gasping for air and reflexively took a step back from his embrace, but in doing so her back met the wall to the side of the door. She had initially come to have a discussion with him and had even sent one of her butterflies ahead of herself in order to inform him of her intentions.

“W-Wait, Cassis...”

The more she tried to pull away or get a word in, the more firmly he pressed his lips to hers. Before she realized it, his arms were wrapped around her more assertively and holding her so close that there was hardly an inch of space between them.

Of course, it wasn’t a forced or brutish sort of embrace as he was always acting in a manner that ensured she would never be hindered by his movements not incapable of refusing him whenever she saw fit. It was only that in this specific instance, his kisses were far more intense compared to the ones they had exchanged before separating in Pedelian.

She could even tell by the way his lips were sealed over her own, and how they were conveniently preventing any words from slipping past her lips, that the only way to get to her original purpose would be to push him away more assertively. It was a given that if she had raised so much as a finger to do so, he would instantly concede and back away as he had done countless times before in order to show her respect. But for some reason she had yet to determine, she chose to place her hands on his face that evening.

He, in turn, froze for a moment as her feather-like touch gently grazed his cheeks. She continued to stroke his face as if she was inspecting it. The reason behind his uncharacteristically desperate behavior was lost upon her, but for the time being, she simply wished to caress his face.