Cassandra
“Would you look at that, you didn’t die”, Jason’s voice is the first thing I hear the moment I open my eyes.
“Unfortunately for you”, I bite back, my voice dry with dehydration.
“Fortunately”, he counters.
“It would be rather appalling to have to find another Luna”.
I scoff as I sit up, and he hands me a glass of water.
I look at him with suspicion, and he raises a brow.
“What?”
“I know you said you don’t want to kill me, but I can’t help but think you do”.
I swirl the glass in my hand, “So tell me, is this poisoned?”
His jaw ticks, “I already told you. It would be appalling to find another Luna, not to mention stressful”.
“Fair point”, I mutter before bringing the glass to my lips.
The water running down my throat makes me almost sigh in relief.
“So are you going to explain to me why I have to train so hard?
What enemies do I need to kill?”
“I never said you had to kill anyone”, Jason says softly as he takes the empty glass from my hands.
“I just said you need to beat them. I doubt you can stomach taking any lives”.
“You’re right about that,” I mumble.
“So what enemies am I supposed to know about?”
Jason sighs as he reaches his hand forward to check my temperature.
“Your family”.
My heart leaps at the thought of my brothers, even though I know that they’re not the family he’s implying.
“Alexander, your mother’s twin brother, and his wife Lucinda want you dead. We still have no idea if you’re cousin is a part of the scheme, but he’s a suspect”.
“I have a cousin?” I gasp, and Jason nods.
“Yes. Prince Glendon is the only child of Alexander and Lucinda and the heir apparent. It would make sense for him to want you dead”.
“I don’t get it.
Why would any of them want me dead?”
“Princess Cassidy was the true heir to the throne and not Alexander.
As her daughter, the crown falls on your head and not Alexander’s.
Not to mention the power you hold that he can’t have unless he drains it out of you, killing you in the process”.
“What power?” I question.
“Sanguira,” Jason informs me.
“A magic that is only possessed by the true heir of the witch kingdom. It makes other witches submit and protects the heir. I don’t know too much about it. Anna could help you out with that”.
I sigh and rub my temples in exhaustion.
“Give me a break, universe”.
Jason gives me a sympathetic look.
“No! No! No!” Drake’s voice breaks through the silence.
Jason and I share an inquisitive look before we both quickly get up.
Jason keeps his hand on my upper arm to hold me steady so I don’t faceplant.
We walk downstairs to the living room, where Drake is pacing with one hand in his hair and the other gripping a piece of paper tightly.
“What’s wrong?” I ask in worry, and Drake looks up at me.
His eyes go from yellow to their usual green.
I would never get used to that.
“Anna left”, he holds out the note, and Jason takes it, his brows furrowing as he reads it.
“She went back to Dracula’s palace?” Jason sounds panicked.
I’m aware that Dracula would probably have Anna and Drake punished for leaving without his permission and, worse, coming here.
I knew he wasn’t the kindest king, and I have no idea what his punishments entail.
But they only did it to find me when they thought I was in danger.
If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be in this situation.
I felt guilt way heavily in my chest.
“She’s looking for the Codex”, Drake informs us with an exasperated sigh.
“Dracula is going to kill her.
I need to find her!”
“You can’t”, Jason tells him just as Preston and Caroline come down the stairs, assessing the scene with furrowed brows.
“This could be a trap. He could want you dead, you know, he wouldn’t kill Anna”.
“He wouldn’t kill her, but he sure as hell would put her in pain, and I’m not going to stand back and let that happen. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Fuck, I don’t care if I die!”
“I can’t let you go!” Jason sounds desperate.
“I wouldn’t let you die”.
Drake snarls, “You couldn’t save your sister, doesn’t mean I can’t save mine”.
Jason has a sister?
Jason’s eyes flash gold as he growls lowly.
“What the hell did you just say to me?”
Uh oh.
“You heard me”.
Jason lunges, and Caroline screams from somewhere in the room.
“Stop!” I stand between the two, my hand on Jason’s chest.
I feel a tingle run down my arm as well as a flicker of rage, though it’s not mine.
His heart beats wildly beneath my hand.
“Breathe, Jason”, I whisper to him.
“Let’s not kill anyone today”.
He takes a deep breath and puts his hand over mine on his chest.
He looks over me at Drake, who is being held back by Preston.
“I don’t appreciate that comment”.
Drake looks away, “I’m sorry”.
The door opens to reveal Natalie with a suitcase.
She looks over all of us and sighs in exasperation.
“I was gone for two days”, she rubs her temples.
“Two days, guys. You couldn’t be okay for two days?”
Natalie had left for two days to spend some time in her family’s house.
Everyone in the room smiles at her sheepishly, and she sighs.
“I’m going to my room”, she announces, and Preston picks up her suitcase as he and Caroline follow her up the stairs.
“We’re going to get the lecture of our lives as soon as she rests up”, Drake laughs, and Jason follows.
Every hint of animosity between them was gone.
Drake pulls out his phone and dials a number, and I turn to Jason.
“You have a sister?” I ask and he nods.
“Used to”, Drake quips, and Jason shoots him a glare, and Drake avoids his gaze.
“She’s still alive”.
Drake sighs, “Jason”.
Jason raises a hand, “Don’t want to hear it”.
“Josh”, Drake says in relief, his full attention on the call.
“I need to ask you something, but I need you to swear that you wouldn’t tell my brother”.
There’s a beat of silence before Drake sighs, “I know you’re loyal to him, but please, this is about my sister”.
“Did she show up in the palace?”
Drake listens carefully, and his brows furrow.
“What?” Drake’s hands tremble, and Jason and I exchange a worried glance.
“Alright”.
Drake moves to an armchair and collapses.
“What happened?” Jason and I ask simultaneously.
“Alexander and Lucinda have her. They’re keeping her prisoner, and all negotiations to get her back have fallen flat”.
I stop breathing.
***
“Alfred”, Jason says into the phone.
“I need you to inform the agents to be available tomorrow”.
He puts the phone down a little harder than necessary.
Drake had locked himself in his room a while back and refused to speak to anyone.
I’m so worried, yet I feel so useless; there’s nothing I can do.
The things they would do to Jason and me the moment they create Black Magic.
The things they are doing to Anna right now.
I shudder at the thought.
We have no time.
“What are you planning?” I ask Jason as he moves to take a seat in one of the armchairs.
We are currently in his apartment on the top floor.
It is huge.
The living room alone is bigger than my entire bedroom.
There’s a large bedroom with white and navy accents and an office connected to it with the same design.
There’s a small kitchen just in case he would rather make something up here than go downstairs.
There’s a large walk-in closet and a bathroom with both a shower and a bathtub.
Must be nice…
being rich.
It almost reminded me of my life before my parents died, and I was moved to an orphanage.
Though the memories are starting to get a bit foggy, I remember we had a good amount of money.
Dad was the CEO of a high rising tech company, so he made a good amount of money.
“We’re having a meeting tomorrow, and we’ll probably send out some ambassadors to speak with the king and queen. We’re trying to settle this as peacefully as possible without accidentally triggering a war”.
I sigh, “I feel so bad for Drake”.
Jason nods and gestures for me to take a seat since I had been awkwardly standing the whole time.
“Yeah. I know exactly how he feels”.
“That’s right,” I whisper.
“You have a sister?” He nods.
“What happened to her?”
“She went missing six years ago”, he informs me.
“My sister was supposed to be the next alpha of this pack, not me. She ran the agency as well”.
“One day, she had to leave on a mission to save a human child that was being held by a member of the Black Market, and we got into a fight. I never saw her again”.
Jason’s voice is quiet and far away as he speaks, and I hear the grief in his tone.
It’s enough to make my heart clench.
“I had to start training to take over my pack after a year of her disappearance. We kept searching for her with no luck, and my parents became extremely protective of me. My father was worried that I couldn’t handle it”.
He smiles sadly, “though I think I’m doing a decent job, wouldn’t you think?”
I nod, and he tilts his head at me.
“What about your brothers?”
“What do you want to know?” I ask.
“Whatever you want to tell me”.
I shrug, “There isn’t much to be said.
The oldest is good with technology, the second is good with cars, and the third is good at getting what he wants “.
The more accurate description is: Zane is a good hacker, Donald is the best getaway driver, and Blake is an incredibly stealthy thief.
“You never say their names”, Jason points out, and I tense.
Their names are enough information for him to track them down with his resources.
The moment he finds out they were actually arrested, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to discover who I am.
Asking him to help me find them was a mistake.
“That’s not important”, I counter.
He raises a brow at me, “How do you expect me to find them if I don’t have their names?”.
“I don’t know”, I whisper as I look away.
Jason places his chin in his hands, and his eyes scan over me in an almost calculating way.
His face is blank of any emotion as he stares at me.
The intensity makes me squirm in my seat.
And then his face breaks into a smile, “interesting”.
With those last words, the alpha stands up and leaves.
I’m left sitting there, feeling utterly exposed.
I have a feeling I’m walking on thin ice.