It took a moment for his words to register. “Youtook my books?”
Cassius shrugged, flicking a speck of dirt off his leather doublet. “You weren’t looking after them. Considering I hauled them all the way from Agripa to the castle, you should be thanking me.”
Thalia stepped forward, her anger spiking. “Thanking you? For stealingmybooks? Where the hell are they?”
“In our room. I would have given them to you if you’d asked. Although some of the information needs to be amended. But I can’t fault Marcus for that. It seems no one has updated the information since before our treaty fell.”
Thalia pushed the image of the night aside. Her sister’s unseeing eyes, her mother kneeling in a pool of her father’s blood. She didn’t realize she stood toe to toe with Cassius until she had to tilt her head back to see him clearly. “What information?”
Cassius cocked his head. “Be specific.”
“You’re a prick.”
“Now, thatisspecific.”
“How can you eat meat—food?”
“Because blood isn’t our sole source of nutrients. It’s like how you eat meat and drink water. We eat meat and drink blood. Sameconcept.” That would explain why her breakfast hadn’t tasted like shit. But that didn’t explain why she hadn’t seen any of the Vampyrs eat anything since being in their realm.
“How long can you go without consuming blood?” she pushed.
Cassius shrugged. “A few days.”
“Do you have to drink blood from the source?”
“No. Another fact Marcus’s books got wrong. And before you ask”—Cassius interrupted as Thalia opened her mouth again—“it doesn’t have to be human. Believe it or not, Vampyrs never lived off the blood of humans as a sole source. Sheep’s blood works just as well.”
“Then what about the Scarecrows? Why suck out their blood if you had other sources? Tell me, did you all draw sticks on who got to terrorize the farmers? Who got to slice them up and peel their skin until they were strips of leather? Was the war between our worlds, the fact that our ore was dwindling, not enough for you?” Thalia wished she weren’t standing so close to him, if only so she could kick dirt onto his boots now. “Or is it just you who was assigned that honor?”
Cassius’s jaw flickered. “You must think me quite capable to cause that much damage all over Agripa.”
“I know it was you.”
“How so?”
Thalia scanned his eyes. “I tracked you.”
Surprise flared in Cassius’s face before he quickly masked it. “Of course you did.”
Thalia’s anger rose. “Did you really think I’d let you go? That I wouldn’t try to find you?”
“I didn’t realize you wanted me dead so badly.”
Thalia’s lips twisted into a cruel grin. “Considering what you did, the fact that after your betrayal you began hunting innocent humans, death would be a kindness.”
“And why would I have needed to hunt humans?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’d take a look in the mirror.”
Cassius’s face darkened. “Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t do it?”
Thalia scoffed. “Who else would have done it?”
“Do you really think me capable of such a horror?” Anger filled Cassius’s voice, his words a near-inaudible growl. “Do you really think that the man I am could be so easily given over to my bloodlust? I may be a Vampyr, but the man inside me is still alive. If you really think I could do something as heinous as what was done to those farmers, then you truly don’t know me at all.”
Thalia swallowed, but she didn’t let his anger faze her as she lifted her chin. “Then who else would have done it?” she repeated.
Something in Cassius’s eyes flashed too quickly for Thalia to decipher it. “It was probably a different creature from the forest.”
