Cassius huffed out a laugh, leaning back on the couch. He shook his head, something like amusement dancing across his face. “No.”
Surprise speared itself through her. “No?”
Cassius shifted. “When a Vampyr drinks blood from the source, particularly that of a human or another Vampyr, it’s … pleasurable.”
Thalia suddenly didn’t know what to do or where to look. And she certainly couldn’t explain the odd flush that traveled over her skin. “What do you mean, it’s pleasurable?”
Cassius raised a brow. “I mean that it’s an aphrodisiac.”
“Oh.” She felt the heat of Cassius’s stare sweep over her face. She hoped that sitting so near the fire could be blamed for the redness creeping over her cheeks. “Is that why you refused to share blood at the ceremony?”
“Partially, yes. Although, that pleasure wouldn’t be as strong, because I wouldn’t have actually bitten you, just tasted it as it dripped from the cut. But I meant it when I said I wouldn’t take what isn’t mine.” Just like that, the heat inside Thalia died, quickly replaced by anger. “But if I had bitten you to drink your blood, as a human, it would have caused you excruciating pain. It would have triggered the process of you turning.”
Thalia’s stomach knotted, nausea rolling alongside. “So it’s true your bite causes pain?”
“To a human, yes. It’s why most who are bitten turn in the end. The pain is worse than death.”
Thalia didn’t realize she’d shifted closer until she knocked over a chess piece. “But it doesn’t cause pain to another Vampyr?”
Cassius stared down at her, unblinking. “No. Sharing blood between Vampyr and Vampyr is pleasurable to both parties.”
Something oily filled her stomach, along with a bitterness she couldn’t quite place. “So the reason you’ve been staring at my necksince the moment you laid eyes on me is because you want to get off?”
Cassius smirked, not taking the bait. “Trust me, I have no issue getting off.” Thalia’s heart rate quickened as he leaned closer. “My issue is that I’ve never wanted to do it before.”
“What do you mean? You said it was pleasurable.”
Cassius shrugged, his dark-auburn hair rising with the movement. “So I’ve heard. I’ve never tried it.”
It’d been four years since he’d turned into a Vampyr. Four years—
“Have you fucked anyone?” Thalia blurted out.
Cassius raised a brow. “Have you?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“No, I haven’t.”
Thalia scanned his face, but all she saw was the truth laid out. “Why not?”
“Why haven’t you?”
“I guess I’ve been too busy hunting you across Agripa,” she snapped.
Cassius’s smirk grew. “Then I guess I’ve been too busy running from you.”
But Cassius leaving the Scarecrows in Agripa didn’t make sense anymore. Not with the way he held himself now. Not with the duties he carried as hand to the prince. Not with whohewas.
The clock above the fireplace chimed, and they both startled, having lost track of the time they’d spent together.
Cassius stood suddenly. “It’s late. I have some things to attend to.” He aimed for the door but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “I missed this,” he said softly.
“Missed what?” Thalia’s words were too breathless.
There was an invisible string that kept pulling them together. No matter how she fought it, somehow she always found she had no choice but to be tugged along.
A ghost of a smile flickered on Cassius’s lips. “Sparring with you.”
