14
AGRO
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Until now, Agape’s words were still so loud inside my head, it made me dizzy. Staying close to Cassian was the only way to stay alive.
Currently, every shadow felt like a threat, every silence carried the weight of something waiting to strike. I couldn’t stop wondering if this would ever end, if there would come a time when I could finally stop looking over my shoulder and live without fear.
The carriage wheels slowed as the gates of the North came into view, its massive iron structures bound with frost and old scars of battle. They towered like sentinels, every edge worn by years of storms and wars.
Through the small gap in the window curtain, I could see rows of soldiers standing on either side, their armor dark, their eyes following the carriage’s slow approach. Even from inside, I felt the weight of their stares pressing through the wood and iron. My chest tightened.
Was I just being anxious, or did they truly look at me differently? Can they even see me when I am inside the carriage?
I bit my lower lip, forcing myself to stay still.
Cassian must have sensed my unease. Without a word, he reached out and took my hand. His grip was steady, his palm warm despite the chill outside. Then, he guided me closer until my head rested against his shoulder.
“Breathe,” he said simply, his voice calm enough to ground me.
Before I could reply, he tilted his head and pressed a brief kiss to my forehead. It was not the kind of gesture I expected from him, not here, not now, but it was enough to silence the noise in my head.
“Don’t worry,” he said.
I nodded, even if my thoughts disagreed. His assurance helped, but not enough to drown out what Agape told me, the corrupted fae, the bloodlines, the threat that might already be hunting me.
And then there was the test. The one that would determine if I was a witch or not. This was supposed to clear my name, but I knew it was a trap that the Matron and Cassian’s enemies had set. Dread filled my stomach. It was coming.
As if on cue, the carriage rolled to a full stop. Cassian released my hand and stepped out first. The cold air rushed in through the open door. He stood tall against the gray morning, his cloak sweeping behind him like a shadow given form.
Then he turned and extended a hand toward me.
I hesitated only for a second before taking it. His hand was firm and anchoring. The moment my boots touched the ground, a thick silence rippled through the courtyard.
Dozens of soldiers watched. None of them spoke or made a sound. Their gazes followed every small
movement I made.
17:47 Fri, Oct 17
Chapter 144
48
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The banners of the North swayed above them, black and crimson against the pale sky. The air was cold enough to sting, yet the heat of those stares felt heavier than any fire.
Cassian didn’t flinch under it. He stood beside me, expression unreadable, presence commanding enough to silence the faintest breath of gossip.
But I could still feel it, the shift, the tension crawling through the air like smoke. They must have already heard the rumor.
They were judging me. Weighing me. Trying to decide if I belonged here or if I was another target that they needed to kill.
For a moment, I didn’t know where to look. The walls, the soldiers, the sharp mountains beyond the gates, it all pressed closer, colder and heavier inside me.
Then Cassian’s voice cut through the silence. “Welcome home,” he said.
The words weren’t soft. They weren’t even meant for comfort. But they hit harder than anything else he could have said. Home. Yes, this was my home now. Slowly, I lifted my gaze and looked at the soldiers.
I didn’t know who said it first, only that it came from somewhere in the ranks and rolled across the yard like a wave. “Greetings to the Lord and Lady of the North!”
The words rolled through the courtyard like thunder breaking over ice. One by one, the soldiers followed, knees hitting the ground in unison, the sound echoing off the stone walls until it filled every corner. The clatter of armor rippled through the air, a deep metallic chorus that made the hair at the back of my neck stand.
They weren’t just kneeling. They were bowing, hundreds of them, heads lowered, eyes hidden, the weight of their reverence pressing against my chest until it was hard to breathe. The frost beneath their boots cracked like the earth itself had bent to listen.
At that moment, I realized it wasn’t a greeting. It was a submission. And it was terrifying.
For a heartbeat I stood there, stuck between the memory of the cave and this moment, the way the children. had looked at me after I healed them, the way the soldiers later stared like I was something they couldn’t decide to fear or follow. Worship had never sat right on my skin. It didn’t now.
I looked up at Cassian. He looked like he’d expected this. He gave me a small nod.
I answered with one of my own.
He had already told me what my choices meant. He had warned me this would happen if I kept using what I could do in front of his men. I had made my choice anyway. I wasn’t going to run from it now.
I swallowed hard and let my gaze drift toward the front line, where the lieutenants stood. Rio was at the center, his posture steady, expression composed, the kind of calm that came from surviving too many battles to be shaken by rumors or fear.
Beside him was Lucas, his eyes scanning the crowd with the precision of someone who trusted nothing he couldn’t see. Just behind them stood Sivi, his hand resting on the hilt of her blade, ready for anything. And then there was Grace and the others.
17:47 Fri, Oct 17
Chapter 144
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They all knew the truth, as did Mendez, and that knowledge grounded me more than I cared to admit. For the first time since stepping out of the carriage, I felt that not everyone here was waiting for me to fall.
But what worried me wasn’t them.
Movement to the right pulled my attention.
A woman in a dark mantle glided through the gap the soldiers left open, a smile sitting light on her mouth. Matron Yara. The rest of the council fanned out behind her. Their steps were neat, even and rehearsed.
They stopped a few paces away.
“Lord Cassian. Princess Consort.” Yara’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Welcome back.”
I felt the yard tighten again. This wasn’t cheering or relief. This was the space people leave before a blade drops.
Cassian didn’t return the smile. “Matron.”
Her gaze swept over me from head to toe, quick and assessing, as if she were taking stock of a weapon rather than a person. When she finally spoke, her tone was polite but detached. “The council is very pleased to see you safe my lord.”
A.D
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