“All I am left with are questions that plague me. I fear the answers.” Asiel took a breath but hesitated.
Cassiel smirked. “You want to ask if I am Kahssiel reborn?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t care if you are reincarnated or not. I want to know why you killed Lord Hallel and his people.” His voice grew anxious, raw. “I want to know what happened to my father.Whereis he?”
Cassiel gazed at the horizon as the last of the sunlight dipped beneath the clouds. Thinking about that day made his skull feel as if it were being crushed. He didn’t want to remember his uncle’s betrayal.
“Is he…?”
“Lord Jophiel lives,” Cassiel said, looking back at him.
Asiel's shoulders sagged with relief. “Then why has he not returned home?”
“Your father is being held for crimes against the crown.”
His cousin stared at him with angry incredulity. “He would never.”
“And yet he has,” Cassiel replied coolly as he turned away.
“No, I will not accept that.” Asiel grabbed his arm, and the Valkyrie immediately drew their weapons. Cassiel motioned with his other hand, silently ordering them to stay back. “That is a lie,” his cousin continued. “My father would never betray his brother, oryou, for that matter. Because healwaysplaced you above me. Whatever happened, there must be a reason. You have taken him from me time and again.” His voice cracked. “Give him back, Cassiel. Please.”
The plea stirred in his chest, but Cassiel ignored the feeling. “Let go.”
“I can’t.” Asiel’s grip on his arm shook, and he lowered his head. “If I let go, I know what youwill do.”
He wasn’t the only one who had changed. Asiel seemed different, too. Now Lord of Hermon, he was here because he felt the duty to protect his people, even if it meant coming here to defy him.
“And you think you are enough to stop me?” Cassiel asked.
“I know that I’m not. None of us are. But that will not bar the Realms from doing everything to fight you. They believe the throne was stolen. Most accuse your mate of killing your father to make you king.”
Cassiel’s eyes flamed blue.
Asiel sighed. “It was not I who said it, but it is not the only rumor spreading amongst our people. Others say you have committed regicide and are now making your way through the Realms, killing each Lord who does not bend to your will.”
They would say that. But Cassiel was no longer surprised by what those against him would concoct.
At his silence, Asiel’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me it’s true. Did you take the throne at the point of a sword?”
“You insult me with a question I will not dignify with words.”
Why bother defending himself? No one would believe the truth. Not from a half-breed.
“If it’s not true, why didn’t you come to Yoel’s funeral?”
The question made Cassiel clenched his jaw. “I had no reason to go.”
Bewilderment crossed Asiel’s face, and he shook his head. “I understand and I’m sorry. But whatever your torment, you must halt this army and return to Hilos to address the Realms, Cassiel.” He grabbed his shoulders. “After what you have done to Skath, Edym and Nazar are preparing for battle. They will fight to defend their territories. Think of your people. The children who are innocent, made casualties of war. Dyna would not want this.”
Her name was a hot iron searing into his very soul.
Cassiel shoved him off. “You know nothing, Asiel.”
There was only frustration and distress on his cousin’s face. “You’re right. I don’t. Sotellme! What happened that night?”
Memories flashed in Cassiel’s head. Blood. A bright light. A caress against his cheek.
Sharp pain pierced his skull, and Cassiel grimaced. He turned away with a shallow breath and pressed on his temples. “The only thing you need to know is that I am righting wrongs.”
