Cassiel
Cassiel was so afraid of widening the rift between them, he always seemed to make it worse. He couldn’t make himself move from on the other side of Dyna’s door. Every shred of him ached with longing and misery. He wanted to plead at her feet to let him in. Not only in the room, but in her heart and mind. After last night, he hoped it meant their bond could be mended, but for every step he took forward, he stumbled several more back.
“Is there a reason you stand there?” Cassiel glanced at where Netanel lingered in the shadows.
“I came to assure Lady Dyna’s well-being.”
Cassiel stiffened at Raiden’s voice behind him. Netanel quickly retreated into the adjoining hall. “And why should her well-being be any of your concern?” Cassiel faced him. “See to your mother. That is where your attention should lie.”
Raiden lifted his chin. “And yours is no longer required here.”
At that moment, Lucenna, Zev, and Klyde arrived in the hall. They stilled, sensing the tension in the air.
Klyde crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall. “I wouldn’t provoke him, mate. He can breathe fire.”
“No,” Cassiel said drily. “I don’t.”
“We heard there was an incident in the market,” Lucenna said. “Is Dyna all right?”
“Yes, she’s resting now,” Cassiel told them, and fixed his glower on Raiden. “What is your strife with me? From the moment I arrived, you have been nothing but insolent.”
“I cannot abide any man who would readily abandon his wife. Nonetheless, I think you made the right choice in this case. A human does not belong with a Celestial, especially when it endangers her life.” Raiden mouth curled. “I am the better choice for her, Soaraway. You must see it. I could give her a better life. A good life free of danger.”
That declaration stirred Cassiel’s veins with his fire. He crossed the hall to Raiden until they were a mere two feet from each other. They stood at the same height, their eyes glowing with their power.
“Free of danger?” Cassiel repeated through his clenched teeth. “Was she not put in danger because of you and your mother?”
“An unforeseen circumstance that I will not allow repeating.”
“Is that so?”
“Acknowledge that our courtship would not be possible if you had stayed by her side, instead of running off to do whatever else you deemed more important than her. The only reason she is at my side and not at yours is because ofyoualone.”
Fire scorched through Cassiel’s chest, and he felt it press against his being. His ears started ringing.
Raiden smirked. “No argument there? How frightening it must be to face a future without the one you planned it with.”
The entity of flame awoke inside of him with a wrathful roar, ready to set everything ablaze. He shook. “Stop. Talking.”
Cassiel couldn’t see straight. The sound of his heart pounded in his ears. Sweat broke out on his back.Protect and destroy.That was all his flame demanded, and Raiden was in his line of sight.
“Thank you for stepping aside,” the damned elf continued. “Now I will see that Lady Dyna is never abandoned again.”
Cassiel slammed a flaming fist into the wall beside Raiden’s head. It cracked from the force, spreading fissures across the surface. Blue light glowed in the hallway, bathing his startled face.
Grimacing, Raiden didn’t move as he withstood the immense heat pressing into the side of his cheek. “You’re so preoccupied with convincing her you’re the hero, but we both know the truth.”
Cassiel bit back a harsh laugh. “I never once claimed to be a hero. For you see, lordling, there is not a shred of nobility inside of me.” His eyes flamed with his beast, and the first threads of fear crossed Raiden’s face.
“You’re no Celestial ... are you?”
Since he had been born, Cassiel knew what he was. He saw it in the disgust of his people. In their hatred and revilement. The truth was clear every time he looked in the mirror, and now in the reflection of his flame.
He was anabomination.
“You know nothing about who I am or the things I have done. As vile as you believe I am, you cannot possibly fathom how far I will go to protect that which I hold most dear.” The wall cracked and blackened under Cassiel’s fist as the flames spread up his arm. “Perhaps you are confused, so I will make it perfectly clear. I don’t call Dynalya my wife merely to stake my claim, but because we are bound by blood. I feel her heartbeat in my soul, as she feels mine in hers. Therefore, go on then. Attempt to win her heart but know one thing. When you think you at last have her, you will come to realize who she belongs with will never be you.”
Raiden stared at him mutely.
