The defiant part of me wanted to headbutt the soup all over the floor, just to piss Kass off and make him go away, but the hunger pains in my stomach cried out for sustenance. Muttering a curse and avoiding his gaze, I took the spoon in my mouth.
“There. Was that so hard?” Kass muttered.
“Do you have to treat me like a child?” I snapped.
“I will if you keep acting like one.”
“Fuck off.”
Kassius let out a deep sigh and spooned more soup into my mouth. My cheeks flushed in shame and embarrassment and irritation all at once. I hated this - being shackled to the floor, trapped in an abandoned cabin, being spoonfed by my ex who was the reason for all this shit in the first place.
“You look upset,” Kass remarked.
“No shit.”
His voice remained steady. “Tell me why.”
That finally made me explode. “Gee, Kass. Why the hell would I be upset? I’m in goddamn handcuffs, kidnapped by some asshole who waitedfour centuriesfor the chance to capture me, and he even used magic to do it, and he hates it more than anyone! Now, my daughter’s gone, and - ”
“Wait,” Kass interrupted. The sarcastic edge disappeared from his voice, replaced by genuine concern. “You said Angel is safe. Is that true?”
I watched his face cautiously. “Yes. It’s not like you care, but yes.”
“What? Halo, how can you say I don’t care? Of course I do!” Kass replied, outraged.
“Don’t start this with me again,” I muttered. “If you really cared about her, you never would have sold us out to the Knights in the first place.”
Years worth of anguish and resentment flickered across his face. Kass shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long exhale as he calmed himself. “Let’s not talk about that right now.”
“When would be a good time, then?” I asked. “When your friend Silas hands me over to whatever freak he’s collaborating with now?”
Kass quickly opened his eyes. Intrigue and concern mingled in his expression. “What do you know about that?”
I shrugged. “It’s just a guess. I don’t know any more than you.”
Kass frowned and glanced towards the door. In a low tone he said, “He’s being too vague. I don’t like it.”
It surprised me to hear that Kass didn’t fully trust the former Knight. “Do you think he’s up to something?”
“I don’t know,” Kass admitted, “but whatever it is, he’s not telling me the whole truth.” His gaze fell as he faced me again. “I have to be honest, I’m shocked that he volunteered to be frozen in time with magicjustto capture you.”
“Me too,” I muttered.
“He went so far,” Kass continued. “Back then, four hundred years ago… When you disappeared, the rest of the Knights seemed relieved. You weren’t their problem anymore. You were gone, and that was good enough for them. Even Commander Sterling. I guess I didn’t stick around long enough to see what Silas became.”
It was the first time I’d heard what happened to Kassius after my disappearance. As annoyed as I was with him, curiosity gnawed at me. “What did you do? After I left?” I asked.
Kass’s eyes grew distant again, like he was imagining a time very far away. “It’s hard to remember. It’s all a blur.” He pressed his knuckles to his forehead in thought. “Silas said… that I told him you used magic to travel through time. To escape.”
“Did you?” I asked cautiously.
He shook his head. “I honestly don’t remember. I’m sorry.”
I shuffled in my chains. It felt strange to hear him apologize to me after all this time, for something he wasn’t even sure if he did or not.
It still won’t erase the rest of the things he did,I reminded myself.
An uncomfortable silence settled around us like gritty sand.
