Page 74
Cassia
The light was different. That was the first thing I noticed. Brushing the grass off my knees, I stood up and scanned our surroundings.
The sky was the most intense blue I ever could have imagined, and the air was so clear I never would have been able to describe it. Everything was hyperreal, crisp and sharp, and the colors had a depth to them that I knew I’d never be able to get right on canvas. It went without saying that I’d certainly try, the first chance I got.
Zaynan was crouched down, palms in the dirt and one knee bent. “You okay?” He asked me.
“Yeah,” I replied, brushing a small leaf off my thigh. I rubbed my hands together and shook off any remaining debris. “Where are we?”
He stood and glanced around. “Fourth Realm, I’m assuming.”
“You don’t know?”
With a quick glare directed at me, he said, “It’s not like there’s a GPS for this shit, calm down.”
He was irritating. “Stand there and brood all you want, I’m walking.”
My arm was grabbed and I was dragged to a standstill. “You can’t just go wandering off; I don’t know what’s out here,” Zaynan whispered harshly.
Suddenly, my other arm was grabbed, and I smacked against a hard chest. Tilting my gaze, I saw Lukas staring daggers. Presumably at Zaynan.
My hand came away, speckled with blood. It was all over his chest, and I examined him quickly, checking for injuries.
“What the fuck do you think you were doing?” He snarled at Zaynan.
He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Saving her life. You’re welcome, by the way.”
What wasn’t clear to me was if he thought he was saving me from Lukas and Annalise, or in general. “Were you really going to sacrifice me to her?” I didn’t need to specify who I meant.
Lukas dropped my wrist and stalked toward Zaynan. “She stinks like you.”
“Excuse me.” I jogged after him and he swatted my hand away. “Lukas, stop. He got me out of there—safely.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do, man. I wasn’t going to let that shit go down. Plus, it got me away from that cunt.”
They were chest to chest now, neither of them giving an inch. The air around Lukas looked like steam, all foggy and wavy. “Were you really going to stab me to death?” I asked him.
He whirled around, his eyes sharp, and he closed his fingers together. I knew what he’d just done, but it didn’t stop me from screaming my outrage. Just, unfortunately, he couldn’t hear it.
My fist closed and I punched him in his side. He gave me a cursory glance before saying, “Do not touch Cassia,” he ordered Zaynan.
“Or what?” Zaynan laughed. “I wasn’t going to let her die, she’s cool. She pet a fucking unicorn. I don’t see you doing that; I see you following my mother’s orders.”
Lukas’s shoulders slumped a fraction, and he glanced down at me. He took a deep breath and swiped a clump of blood from his cheek, flicking whatever he could off his nails. It fell into the grass with a soft plopping sound, and he faced Zaynan again, pointing a finger in his face.
Zaynan blinked a couple times and stared into the distance. My head was a mess. Lukas still hadn’t explained his behavior. Nothing he’d done so far, or the way he was acting, should have led me to believe he would have hurt me. And yet there he was, accepting a sword from Annalise and staring at me like he’d never seen me before.
I felt like I was losing my mind and here I was, my voice magically silenced once again.
This time, I gently placed my hand on Lukas’s arm. He swung his gaze back to me, and his eyes softened.
“Maybe you did the right thing,” he offered. “She can’t fight for shit.”
Zaynan laughed. “At least she tries.”
“Mm,” Lukas said. “She does.” He waved his hand at my face.
“Dickhead. Don’t do that again.” My voice was back.
