Chapter 84: Chapter 84 - Changing future
"You. Why? Give me a moment," Lilith requested, lowering her head as she tried to process what had been revealed. He acted without hesitation to kill someone for her sake. "Do you truly think now was the best time to kill someone? While we are already mourning your uncle?" she whispered.
Lilith liked that there was one less person to worry about, but all her efforts to keep suspicion off of Cassian could be ruined by the death of another relative.
"I am not going to allow anyone to go free when they are troubling our marriage and your safety," Cassian said, not feeling an ounce of remorse over the loss. His eyes revealed a dangerous possessiveness directed at Lilith.
The relative forced Cassian’s blade to his neck as they should have known better than to question her position.
"Firstly, you should start worrying about your safety as well. You are not immortal. I know that you are a war hero, but even heroes can fall. Think about your safety as well," Lilith pleaded, needing Cassian to be more careful.
Cassian took hold of Lilith’s right hand, his grip almost desperate, and raised it to his lips, placing a lingering kiss upon the back of her hand. His breath was warm against her skin. "You care for me?" he asked.
Lilith stared at Cassian, yearning to slap him to bring him back to his senses, but there was a crowd around them. "Can you stop focusing on me caring for you and focus on what else I have said? I see now why you get angry when I plot without you. I won’t do it again."
"That requires an answer, not a kiss on my hand," said Lilith.
"We have a deal," Cassian answered, his lips brushing her hand once more, as though he could not resist claiming her even in the smallest gesture.
"Again, this is why your soldiers think you have lost your mind. It has already happened, so we can’t dwell on the death. Once your uncle’s funeral has passed, then we will gather your court to speak about our future. To speak about the notion of mistresses," Lilith planned.
"Soon nobles will present their daughters to you, and while I admire your desire to be faithful, we must be careful with our approach. We cannot afford to make any enemies now. Enough," Lilith said, pulling her hand out of Cassian’s hold, her skin tingling from his touch.
Lilith placed her arms behind her back so Cassian couldn’t offer any more kisses. "Let us put on our best smiles, speak to your family, and then be on our way. In the early evening, I ask that you be prompt in coming to dinner in our chamber. Being late shall not end well for you."
"Mary," Lilith said, looking to her right. "We are to enter."
Lilith left Cassian’s side to enter the dining chamber first, followed by Mary and her guards. She needed all the pleasantries to be over with soon.
"I still cannot place why you fell in love with her," Eric said as he approached Cassian. "She always looks to be plotting."
"She is," Cassian said, the smile he wore vanishing. "What is it?"
"They found something in one of the churches. Not the high priest, but a gift he seemed to have left behind. I would assume that it was either to upset you or to bother the queen. We found the high priest’s chamber, and inside it was a portrait of the queen," Eric revealed.
"It sounds simple, doesn’t it?" Eric asked as he stepped forward. "But there was a note hung beside it. At first, it was a mere prayer, but the more I read it over, it seemed as though he was condemning her for seducing him."
Eric hated to think that the high priest had a twisted obsession with Lilith. A man of the cloth should not be so vulgar.
Eric noticed Cassian’s jaw tightening, his eyes darkening, but for the sake of answers, he had to continue. "It is my understanding that Lilith was sent to the church to be fixed when she was a young girl, and she lived there. Is it possible that in the past you learned that he..."
Eric didn’t want to finish it as Cassian looked at him with a gaze which should solely be reserved for their enemies. The air between them grew heavy and suffocating. "Forgive me," he said, lowering his gaze.
"As far as she told me, he didn’t harm her, but some details of this timeline have changed, so I can’t be certain. I only hope that the bastard didn’t lay a hand on her. He seems to be more fixated on her this time around," Cassian said, troubled by the changing events.
"Just as you are fixated on her. Perhaps the problem is that we keep seeing this as only a second chance for you. It could be a second chance with consequences. I mean, why did you, of all people, get to roll back into time?" Eric wondered.
"It’s been troubling me that this might not be a second chance, but just offering you a little bit more time with your wife. And no matter what you do, she will leave you again," Eric shared his thoughts.
Cassian gritted his teeth, his hand shooting out to seize Eric before he could give a calm response. "She’s not leaving me."
Eric placed his hands in the air, surrendering to Cassian. "No, she isn’t, and I don’t want that for you. I’m just pointing out that at every corner, there is a new danger aiming for you. Aiming for her. The only person who might have some answers for you is the high priest."
Unfortunately for Cassian, Virgil wanted Lilith, and he would not be pleased to hear that Cassian was granted power while it was all he sought.
"I think you should have let certain events play out as they did before. Like not rescuing Lilith from her father."
Cassian’s grip on Eric became firmer. "He was sentencing her to die. He lashed her so badly that she couldn’t stand for days. Was I to sit by and let her endure it? Let her body be marked with brutal memories of her father’s order? It was by some grace she escaped being hanged."
"You know nothing," Cassian said, releasing Eric.
"I apologise," Eric said, fortunate to be released.
"I don’t mind you having your theories, but ever suggest that I should have waited. You are usually so careful with how you speak," Cassian said, deciding to spare Eric. "Don’t let your assumptions and ideas get you killed," he warned.
"I am sorry. I was trying to say that if you had let it play out, then you could properly predict what would happen next. There wouldn’t be many changes, but I did not consider the beatings your wife would have faced. I don’t know the future as you do," Eric said, expecting some grace.
"No, you don’t. So be careful with what you suggest. Excuse me," Cassian said, leaving Eric’s side. His mind was already consumed by the thought of seeing Lilith again.
