Brute 179

Chapter 179 

 

“I can’t just stay here,” I muttered as I paced inside Cassian’s study. The walls felt too close, the air too still. 

“Cassian needs me.” 

Bond or not, even after he cut it off, I knew he needed me. I could feel it in a way that had nothing to do with magic. He was hurt, he was fighting, and I was here…trapped. 

Grace stood near the shelves, watching me nervously. She didn’t try to stop me from pacing, but her eyes kept drifting to the closed door, where Lucas waited on the other side like a silent guard. 

Every exit in this mansion was protected. I didn’t need to check to know it. Cassian had arranged it himself. Guards were stationed everywhere, the doors, hallways, windows, the courtyard gate. The whole mansioned was sealed. 

“Why would the Demon Fangs attack now?” I asked under my breath. The question kept nagging at me, over and over, loud enough that it was starting to make my head pound. It wasn’t random. It couldn’t be random. Something pushed them. Something triggered this. 

But sitting here wasn’t giving me any answers. And every second I stood still felt like a second Cassian faced everything alone. 

I walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside just enough to see the guards stationed outside. They weren’t even pretending to patrol. They were standing there on direct orders, his orders, to stop me from leaving. 

My frustration sharpened. “He knows I’d try to follow him,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. 

Grace stepped forward, her voice soft but steady. “My lady, he only wants you safe.” 

Safe. He wanted me safe, locked in a room while he bled at the border. Safe while he took wounds meant for 

Safe while my presence might have helped him. 

I turned away from the window, unable to stop the tight pull in my chest. “I don’t want safety,” I said quietly. “Not like this.” 

Grace lowered her gaze, unsure if she should answer. 

But it didn’t matter. My mind was already moving. Cassian thought this study and a handful of guards could keep me in place. He underestimated how far I was willing to go when it came to him. 

And staying here was no longer an option. 

Did he really expect me to obey every order he left behind? The thought made my jaw tense. I bit my lower lip, ready to turn to Grace and beg her to let me go, anything, as long as I could get out of this room. 

But before I could even speak, a loud commotion erupted outside. 

 

I suddenly heard shouts and metal clashing. Then boots pounded against the courtyard. 

Grace’s head snapped toward the door at the same time I rushed to the window. I pushed the curtain aside just enough to look out. 

Soldiers were fighting in the yard, Northern guards clashing with a group I didn’t recognize at first glance. Some were trying to restrain someone. Others were scrambling to get into formation. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a simple patrol scuffle. Something serious had reached the mansion. 

My heart hammered fast. “What is happening out there?” I whispered, more to myself than to Grace. 

From the window, I scanned the chaos again, trying to make sense of who was fighting whom. Then I saw her. 

Matron Yara. 

She stepped out from behind a group of armored men, her cloak whipping around her as she barked orders. Her guards, or the soldiers around her, moved with practiced formation, pushing Northern soldiers back step by step. 

My eyes widened. “A coup…” The words slipped out before I could stop them. “Matron Yara is rebelling.” 

It didn’t look like confusion anymore. It was planned and, clearly, coordinated. Her soldiers weren’t scattered. They were organized and outnumbering the Northern guards. I counted quickly, there were far too many of them. Twice the number stationed at the mansion. Maybe more. 

“How… is that even possible?” I whispered, gripping the windowsill as a soldier was stabbed and crumpled to the ground. Another Northern guard rushed in, only to be shoved back by two of Yara’s men. 

Grace moved closer beside me, her face cold. 

I turned to her. “How? How does she have this many soldiers? Where did they come from?” 

Grace swallowed hard. “The Matron has been raising her own forces… secretly. The council suspected something, but we didn’t know the scale.” 

I stared back out the window, my pulse pounding in my ears. Yara hadn’t just prepared to challenge Cassian’s authority, she had built an army for it, quietly. Right under everyone’s noses. 

A sudden shift in the yard caught my attention. More soldiers pushed through the gates, this batch wearing different insignias. For a second, I thought they were more of Yara’s reinforcements, but then I recognized the person at the front. 

Sister Veris. 

She moved fast, her robes pulled back enough to reveal a sword at her hip. Behind her, her own men surged into the courtyard and slammed into Yara’s line. Veris shouted commands, her voice carrying even through the closed window, and her troops began forcing Yara’s forces back. 

Grace let out a shaky breath. “Thank the Goddess… she made it.” 

Another crash shook the front doors of the mansion. Grace grabbed my elbow. 

 

“My lady, brace yourself,” she warned. 

My brow furrowed. “They’re coming here?” 

“Yes. They’ve already broken past the first line. They will try to enter the mansion next.” 

98: 

got 35 vouchers, 

I blinked, trying to steady my thoughts. Grace didn’t tell me to run. She didn’t tell me to hide. She stayed at my side like she knew exactly what was going to happen. 

“Grace…” I glanced at her. “You’re not worried.” 

She didn’t deny it. “The Lord anticipated this.” 

I stared at her. “He saw this coming?” Did he know about the coup? 

Grace nodded. “Maybe not the details, but he knew today would force someone to move. Matron Yara was one of the possibilities he prepared for.” 

I looked out the window again, at the fighting, at the numbers, at the blood on the stones. 

Cassian predicted this? A rebellion inside his own territory, timed with an attack on the borders? 

My fists tightened. 

So this was the game he set up. And now the enemy was moving straight toward us. 

Grace stepped between me and the window. “My lady, whatever happens next… be ready.” 

Ready? For what, I wasn’t sure anymore. But if Cassian had seen this far ahead, then he already set the board. And Yara was exactly where he wanted her to be. 

Or is she?