The Tales of a Cursed Warrior

XI

When they left the Throne chamber, they immediately dropped each other's arms.

"Why isn't your cousin engaged yet?" she asked, handing him the black velvet box.

He took it and twirled it between his long fingers. "He has no need of a marriage so early."

"Because he's not the heir?" she guessed.

He nodded. 

"How long has he and Zara been betrothed for?"

"Less than a year," he answered, lifting his shoulder in a shrug.

"Shouldn't I be the one buying you a ring?" she asked after a few minutes, looking guilty.

He stopped, turning to her, laughter in his eyes. "Royals don't ask for anything in return. For example, if Sunny is to wed when she's older, she will be the one buying rings. He will not get down on a knee and propose."

"Oh," she said, frowning. "What if she loves him? Won't it be sad?"

"We do not usually marry for love," he said, his tone light but his expression hard. "I thought you already gathered that."

"I doubt your father will say no to her even if she comes back with a poor villager."

While Asteria didn't have much luck in life, she had money. Ares had told her that their parents had left a bank account full of gold. But they never had a use for gold. And they had to be adults to enter the vaults so they'd never seen any of it.

"Maybe," said Cassius, his eyes distant.

"Have you ever loved someone?" she asked, her hand swinging beside her and her eyes frantically looking around the palace halls. She looked on the brink of a mental shutdown and she figured that if she kept talking, she could avoid that.

He turned to her, blinking. "Why do you ask?"

She squirmed, still looking around. "Figured we'd need to know each other better if this's actually happening."

He was silent for a few minutes before he sighed deeply. "Sylvia," he said uncomfortably. "It was close to love. But I didn't want her romantically. I just figured that I'd at least marry someone I can bear."

Her past situation with Lukas seemed similar.

"Did she love you?" 

Cassius nodded. "That was our downfall. When I told her I felt nothing for her. I'm still unsure if I should've lied or not."

"If only you'd lied," she blurted out.

Cassius swallowed harshly. "I know that this marriage isn't something you wanted, Asteria, but will you please stop letting me down like that every chance you get? I am in the same situation as you, if you need to be reminded."

"You didn't love someone," she hissed, stopping to turn to him. What she said seemed to sink in and she blinked, staggering back a little. "Never mind, I'm sorry. I'll work on it."

But he had stopped to stare at her, a million emotions in his eyes and none on his face. "Sallow," he said.

She laughed coldly. "I don't even know what the word means. Throwing it around is a plain lie."

 "Were you two together?" 

She shook her head. "No."

He raised an eyebrow. "You kissed him."

Asteria squirmed again. "I shouldn't have."

"But you did anyway."

"We've never been together," she said firmly. "Not before."