Chapter 218
ATASHA’S POV
“Where have you been?” Celeste’s voice cut through the trees before I even saw her.
I slowed, not because I was startled, but because the timing was too perfect to be accidental. It made me wonder if she followed me earlier.
The campfire light had faded behind us. The path back to the carriages was clear enough to follow even in the dark, with the guards posted in quiet intervals and the sound of the stream still trailing behind us like a reminder of what I had just left.
Then Celeste stepped out from between two trunks, cloak pulled tight, hair slightly disheveled as if she had been pacing. Her eyes locked onto mine first, then flicked toward the shadowed space behind me, as if she could sense the truth even if she could not see it.
I kept my face calm.
Inside, a small, wicked part of me almost smiled. The way she appeared out of the trees, the way I was returning past midnight with my cheeks still warm, made the whole thing feel strangely thrilling, like I had just slipped away to meet someone I wasn’t supposed to meet.
The thought was ridiculous.
Cassian was my husband.
And yet, my pulse still had not fully settled.
Celeste’s brows pulled together. “It is already the dead of night,” she said, her tone sliding into that familiar blend of worry and accusation. “I was worried.”
I didn’t answer right away, because I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing me rush to explain myself.
It was past midnight.
It was also true that I had not planned for my reunion with Cassian to take the kind of turn that made time disappear. We had been apart for days, and once he was in front of me again, my body had stopped caring about schedules, guards, or what was proper.
Who could blame me for forgetting the hour?
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said finally, keeping my voice even. “I took a bath.”
Celeste’s expression shifted like she had been offered a gift. “That is good,” she said quickly, stepping closer as if she could slip into my space before I decided to walk
away. “Would you mind talking?”
Her gaze slid over my
shoulder.
Grace stood just far enough behind me to look like she wasn’t listening, but close enough that I knew she could hear every breath Celeste took. Even in the dark, Grace’s posture gave her away. She did not soften when Celeste appeared. She did not step back out of courtesy. She stayed where she was, guarding.
Celeste’s lips pressed together. “In private,” she added, the last words clipped as she looked directly at Grace.
Grace did not react.
Of course she didn’t.
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Chapter 218
Celeste turned her full attention onto Grace, voice rising just enough to make it sound like righteous frustration instead of irritation. “This is no longer the North,” she said. “Whatever happens here is my responsibility. Surely you have stopped suspecting me by now, Lieutenant.”
I watched Grace’s face carefully, waiting to see if she would bite.
Grace did not.
She simply looked at Celeste the way she looked at threats she hadn’t decided were real yet.
I stepped between their tension before it could sharpen into something uglier. “Grace is doing her job,” I said.
Celeste opened her mouth, but I kept going, because there was one truth I wanted planted firmly in the air.
“And she has reason,” I added, my voice still calm. “If something happened to me here, Cassian would flatten the South to avenge me.”
Celeste went still.
Not because she cared about my safety, but because she understood what that meant for everyone she loved. I saw it in her eyes, the quick calculation, the sudden caution.
That made me smile. Then I turned slightly toward Grace. “Go ahead,” I said. “I will speak to my sister in private.”
Grace hesitated for a fraction of a moment, then bowed. “As you command, Your Highness.”
She took a few steps away, far enough to give the illusion of privacy, but not far enough that she seconds if something moved wrong.
Celeste watched her go, then scoffed under her breath. “Is she always like that?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “She is doing what Cassian asked her to do.”
treach me in
Celeste crossed her arms, exhaling hard. “Of course,” she muttered. “Of course he would send his shadow to follow you even here.”
I didn’t correct her. Instead, a part of me praised her for still trying to sow discord between Cassian and I. Clearly, she wanted me to think that Cassian was spying on me. I wanted to argue but it wasn’t worth it, and I wasn’t interested in defending Cassian to Celeste at midnight.
Celeste took another step closer, lowering her voice. “Beta William and the fest will be waiting for us at the border tomorrow,” she said. “I already sent word. They know we are arriving.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
For a moment, silence settled between us, filled only by distant insects and the occasional crack of wood from the campfires.
Then I said what I knew she wanted to hear, because I wanted to control where this conversation ended.
“I would like to apologize,” I said. “For what happened during the trip. The protocols were there to keep me safe, and Grace had to follow them.”
Celeste’s mouth twisted into a pout. “How could they suspect me?” she demanded. “How could they treat me like I was a danger to you when I am your sister?”
I held her gaze. “It wasn’t me accusing you,” I said. “It was the others. After the ambush, everyone was under suspicion. The protocol stays the same even if we are no longer in the North.”
Celeste’s eyes narrowed, then softened again, as if she could not decide which face would work better on me. “You should
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Chapter 218
Vouchers
have told them,” she said, voice thick with offended emotion. “You should have told them I am your sister and that you trust me. I saved your life. I was with you even before your marriage. How could they even think I would hurt you?”
The words hit me in a strange way, not because they were convincing, but because they were almost funny.
Celeste and her mother had been the ones to put poison in my hands before I left the pack. They had tried to turn me into a pawn and send me north with death waiting in the cup. They had smiled at me while planning to use my body as a bridge to Cassian’s control.
And now she stood here asking why anyone would suspect her.
I felt something curl in my chest, not anger this time, but clarity.
Celeste wasn’t lying when she said she wouldn’t hurt me.
Not yet.
She wouldn’t hurt me until she got what she wanted.
She didn’t bring me south just to heal Father. She brought me south to pry at the edges of my ability, to find out why I could do what no other healer could do, and to see if she could take something from it for herself.
I had already told her it was a gift from the North.
I was certain she would not stop there.
I let out a slow breath and softened my face, the way I used to do when I wanted her to think she had won something.
“I understand why you are upset,” I said. “But I am tired, Celeste. Tomorrow will be long. We will talk then.”
Celeste’s lips parted, clearly wanting to push more, but I stepped back before she could.
“Good night,” I said, still polite.
Then I turned and walked toward my carriage without waiting for her permission.
Behind me, I could feel her stare burning into
my
back.
I did not look over my shoulder.
I climbed into the carriage, closed the door, and let the darkness swallow me.
Only then did I allow myself one honest thought, sharp and steady in my mind.
Tomorrow will be the start of another game. And this time… I will never let them win.
AD
