The Blood King

Chapter 19

Dungeons.

The dank smell. The dirty floor covered in hay and dirt. The constant drip of water somewhere in this cavern. My arms are chained against the walls, covered. It's pitch black. I was a threat. A living threat. I was the only thing that could stop Cassian from the hell he is going to unleash on the world. And I had no idea.

He used me, manipulated me, took everything from me. A sob escapes me echoing off the walls. I'm such a fool. How I could have ever trusted him, when my mind literally told me who and what he was.

Evil.

I recall Caius's warning.

"Only you can see his true nature."

I feel like that day he was warning me, but I didn't listen.

Why didn't I listen?

I didn't know Cassian. Of course, he had his moments where he was unbearably sweet to me, but it was all an act. How could I have completely ignored my instincts? What kind of Ikniri am I? There were several times when he blatantly told me what he was doing, but I never read into it. Because I was a fool to believe that he meant it when he said he would never hurt me. He's a liar. That's all he'll ever be.

"Are those tears for me?" I look up in shock, and my heart flutters in excitement. Caius. He's alive. He has a bruise over his eye, and his arm is in a sling while the other holds a flame over his head, but he's smiling at me. I blink in confusion. Why is he smiling at me? How could he be smiling at me after what I did to him? I look away.

"Why are you here?" I ask softly.

He's silent for a moment and I hear shuffling. When I look up, he's squatting in front of me with a look of worry on his face. He reaches out touching my face softly.

"What did he do to you?" he asks. It sounds as if he's talking to himself rather than me.

"I... I hurt you. I almost killed you," I sob. I look at him through tear-streaked vision. He doesn't react. But I don't miss the sadness in his gaze. He lets out a deep sigh, sitting down in front of me.

"What happened wasn't your fault, Neytiri," he says. I look up at him in confusion.

"What?" I ask. He looks away.

"Like I said before. We are all pawns in his game," he says. He looks up and looks back at me.

"I didn't have a choice. Cassian controls me. He controls my will when he wants. And, toward the end of my travels, he wanted me to shun you. To stir your emotions and make you feel like you were alone. So that you would run to him," he looks down, unable to make eye contact with me.

"You can't control your power. Cassian knew that. And getting your emotions all over the place was the perfect opening for him. I just hate that he used me to get to you." He looks up at me and I see the hurt in his gaze.

"What do you mean Cassian controls you?" I ask.

"I'm not of royal blood like Cassian. Nor am I a Dragonborn. I am a Xindrite. Born and bred for battle and protection. To lay my life down and put whoever I am bound to ahead of mine." He sets the torch down between us, reaching for the sleeve of his armor and pulls it down slightly. My eyes widen when I see the large marking on his shoulder similar to mine. Cassian's marking.

"When I turned sixteen I was chosen to be Cassian's subordinate. He owns me. And I've never thought twice about that. I was honored. In my culture, it's an honor. I was the best, so I was chosen to protect the future," he says.

"You and Cassian, you are one of the ancients. The first. The originals. The ones that crafted the world we now live in. The rest of us are yours to control and do with as you please. Cassian wasn't always like he is now. He once believed in free will and fairness. Even if we were beneath him. But I betrayed him a long time ago," he trails off, not finishing his sentence. My head is spinning from all of this new information. It's so much in so little amount of time.