Chapter 17: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - SOUR CANDY

Cassien laid stretched out on a dark velvet loveseat, eyes closed, his breathing strained. The familiar, biting pain behind his left eye had crept back shortly after he was discharged, but the idea of being confined in the room again with Naomi was more than he could stomach. Instead, he dealt with it for the remainder of the day as the long overdue Accord meetings resumed once more. At least, to his relief, she was not in attendance - though the hidden part of him hoped it was not because she was ill.

Thom uncorked a bottle of deep amber liquor, refilling a generous glass with the shimmering liquid.

“Another one?” Cassien murmured without opening his eyes.

Thom settled back into a chair. “Yeah, and after today, I deserve at least a dozen more.” He took a long sip, shaking his head. “Getting berated by a duchess is one thing, but for that… that maid to just get away with humiliating me?”

Cassien cracked one eye open. “You brought it on yourself.”

“Oh, you shut up. I thought you were done with the blonde one anyway, so why are you on her side?”

“Naomi,” Cassien corrected as he rubbed the tips of his fingers against his temple. “And we are done. Doesn’t mean that you didn’t ask for it.”

“Whatever,” Thom gave Cassien the stink eye. “What’s wrong with you anyway?”

“It’s nothing. Just a headache.”

Thom exhaled a chuckle. “Well it seems like you’ve had a ‘nothing’ headache for the last two weeks. I know, pretty observational of me.”

Cassien forced himself upright, slipping out a lie to deflect from his condition. “Just side effects from the medicine the doctor gave me.”

“Alright,” Thom mused, unconvinced, as he tilted his head back. “But don’t think I’ll forget about our spar. That’s unfinished business.”

A knock at the door interrupted him just as the cool glass touched his lips. Thom set down his drink with a sigh before he strode over, swinging the door open. At the doorway stood a short woman with red hair and maids’ wear - it was the face of the very same person who taunted his thoughts since the morning.

“You!” Thom fists shook.

Cressida yelped as she threw her hands up in self defense. “I-I thought this was-”

“You have some serious guts showing your face after what you did,” Thom growled, leaning forward.

“Thom,” Cassien’s deep voice said, suddenly beside him, hand gripping his shoulder gently. “Leave her alone.”

Cassien eyed the maid warily, recognizing her as Naomi’s handmaid. What exactly is she doing here?

Thom’s dark hazel eyes shot from Cassien to Cressida. “...Fine. What do you want?”

Cressida sucked in her cheeks, eyes nervously averted. “I… I need to speak with His Grace, Duke Rivain. Privately.”

Cassien’s brow furrowed in confusion as Thom crossed his arms, his expression a mixture of suspicion and annoyance.

“Privately?” Cassien asked. “Why come to me, and at this hour?”

“Probably on behalf of her mistress, what else?” Thom scoffed.

Cressida glanced nervously between the two men before shaking her head quickly. “No - my lady doesn’t know I’m here. And she can’t know, not yet.” Her voice dropped an octave, laced with urgency. “But since she refuses to help herself, I.. I’ve decided I need to step in, for her sake.”

Stolen novel; please report.

The urgency in her words caught Cassien’s attention, the ache in his head temporarily forgotten. “What’s going on?”

Her green eyes glanced at Thom momentarily. “I really would prefer if we could speak in private.”

Cassien exhaled, stepping aside to allow Cressida to pass. “...Come in. Thom, I think it’s best if you took your leave.”

Thom narrowed his eyes at Cressida as she scurried past him, scanning her up and down as if he could read her intentions. He nodded reluctantly, walking past the threshold of the door as he clicked it shut. Cassien waved at Cressida to take a seat, sighing heavily as he leaned back, the ache returning.

“...I need you to explain what’s going on in full detail.” He said quietly.

Cressida swallowed hard, her fingers twisting nervously. “First, I have to ask you - have you experienced anything… unusual ever since the.. incident?”

His brow furrowed deeply in surprise, though he tried his best to suppress it. The visions and eye pain that had been afflicting him was not information he divulged to anyone, not even the attending physicians - he had simply brushed it off to them as an adverse effect of his injuries. Even Thom, who had assisted him during the first episode of the visions, was not privy to such knowledge. Cassien didn’t see any benefit to making such a weakness known to anyone, even at the cost to himself.

He set his expression in the best poker face that he could muster. “Why is that relevant?”

“Please,” Cressida pleaded, her hands clasped together. “I wouldn’t even dream about wasting your time if it didn’t matter. I just need to know - for her sake.”

“You say that like you already know my answer.”

She sighed deeply. “I have my suspicions. My lady would never come to you personally after everything that’s happened, so I guess in a small way, you answering the question first at least preserves some of her pride.”

Cassien’s gaze fixated on the dark amber drink that Thom left behind, running a hand through his tousled hair. Anxiety twisted deep within him; how exactly was he supposed to sever himself from her if fate itself kept finding cruel ways to bring them together?

He shook his head slowly, his voice low and hesitant. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get involved.”

“But… don’t you care about her?” Cressida sputtered, shocked.

“It’s not that I don’t care. But Naomi… she’s better off finding help elsewhere.”

Cressida’s eyes widened, frustration bubbling to the surface. “Please, I beg you. I don’t wish to leave my lady alone any longer than I must.”

Every instinct screamed at him to refuse - to think of what had transpired earlier between them - to protect the little peace he had managed to claw back for himself. But if he could give her even a single breath of relief…

Cassien closed his eyes as he sighed deeply. “...Yes, since the shard was shattered, I’ve been experiencing pain.”

“Everyday?”

“Everyday,” he confirmed.

She twiddled her fingers, deep in thought. “Behind your eyes… perhaps?” Cassien nodded slowly.

Her next words sent a jolt through him, and it felt like the room was being squeezed. “And have you had any strange visions as well? As if you were seeing through another person’s eye instead?”

And just like that, the pieces clicked together at once. Cassien stood upwards abruptly, startling Cressida. “Where is she now?”

How could I have not realized this sooner?

**

Naomi sat in the middle of her bed, head resting against her knees as her eyes fixated on the muted fireplace in the corner of her quarters. She closed her eyes with a silent plea for the aching to stop; both emotionally and physically.

Maybe that was the last time we’ll ever talk, Naomi felt a semblance of relief that at the very least, it meant being spared some disdain from her court for finally disassociating from the duke.

Just as she laid back, praying for the lull of sleep to temporarily ease her pain, the door burst open so suddenly it caused her to jolt upright in bed. In the angle of light that streamed inwards, Cassien strode towards her with a dark cloak trailing behind him, his face set in a mask of determination. Cressida followed closely behind, her expression almost as if she were a guilty child.

“What’s going on?” Naomi demanded, swinging her legs over the bed. “You can’t just come in here-”

Cassien’s hands gripped her shoulders, firm but gentle, pr.ssing one knee against the edge of the bed to match her level as he leaned in. Before she could react, he lowered his forehead to rest against hers; the bold and intimate gesture sent a flush rushing to her cheeks - her breath caught in surprise and embarrassment as her hands naturally rested against his chest.

But as if by magic, the ache behind her eye vanished immediately, the sign of relief palpable on both their faces. Their gaze locked, and suddenly Naomi’s right eye flashed to the sight of silvery blonde lashes framing light blue eyes; golden orbs blazed in the perception of Cassien’s left eye.

The air suspended as their breaths synchronized, the full truth confirmed between them. They were linked, deeply and irrevocably, with no sign of escape in sight.n’t try to defend me,” Her voice was distraught. “I cut you off, like it was inevitable that you would be everything I’ve ever been told. Everything I actually knew about you… I threw it away, like it was nothing.”

Naomi ran her hands through her hair as she gave a half-laugh, half-sob, looking away. “You don’t owe me an apology or any kind of forgiveness. I’m less than deserving of it - and I’m sorry it took me so long to finally admit it.”

Cassien was quiet for some time. “...At the very least, I hope you find it within you to forgive yourself.”

She blinked away tears, her voice hoarse. “After everything… How are you so okay? You should hate me, resent me.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t bitter,” He replied in a low voice. “But hating you takes more strength than I have in me. And I have plenty of hate directed at someone else.”

Her heart stuttered at his words. “You mean…?”

“Yes,” He gritted his teeth. “Alistair Seraveth. That bastard is going to pay for everything he did.”

“And what will revenge accomplish?”

“It’ll make things right - make it even. For what he did to you, the prince and princess, this entire city and its people, and for me,” Cassien replied harshly. “Don’t tell me you never considered it.”

“Why would I? What good would that do for us now?”

“So you’d just let him get away with it?”

Their eyes met as Naomi’s brow scrunched. “I don’t think revenge is going to help the way you think it will.”

“With all due respect,” Cassien’s jaw tightened ever so slightly. “Your thoughts on this matter doesn’t hold the same weight as it did before.”

Naomi’s first instinct was to feel offended, a rebuke readied at her lips - but her breath caught as she realized that deep down, he had every right to dismiss her from the pedestal she had been atop of.

She cleared her throat as she looked away. “Then don’t pretend like I’m part of the reason why you want revenge - don’t make yourself out to be some vigilante for justice. You’re out for blood, pure and simple.”

“And what if I am?” He said curtly.

“Then you’re not the man I thought you were.”

Cassien exhaled a laugh, clipped and almost unkind. “So much for asking for my forgiveness, huh? Guess I really am a northern brute after all.”

The sting of his words cut deeper than she cared to admit, reeling towards him as she stood from her cot. “Could you blame me? Seeing as you think it’s fine to use other people as a sick justification for settling a debt.”

He turned to her, body tense. “It’s not like I’m dragging you or anyone else out to fight him with me.”

“Then don’t use me or my honor as an excuse to do so!”

Cassien rose to meet her, his broad frame casting a long shadow as he looked down at Naomi. He ignored the pain that ran across his chest - it was better this way, if she hated him - as the next words flew out his mouth.

“...Maybe it’s best if we don't associate with one another anymore.”

Her eyes flickered with something indescribable. “Maybe it is.”

Naomi’s heart pounded as she stood her ground, fists clenched at her sides. Cassien's golden eyes narrowed, his every muscle taut. This was the closest they had been since the incident; Naomi focused every ounce of willpower she had not to drown in his scent, and he in the pools of her eyes. But whether it was because of sheer stubbornness or a deep resentment, neither dared move another muscle or to speak another word.

The air between them crackled with unyielding fire, thick with tension; so much left unsaid, but every hurt too deep for words to express.