And it waspowerful.
Castor squeezed her arm again. She didn’t realize how much she’d been shaking until the gesture stilled her vision.
Frowning, Finn checked the hallway for any unwanted visitors before he asked, “Is everything okay?”
Cassia took a deep breath. She needed to calm down. She needed to get a grip. It was one time. No reason to get excited, or proud, until she could do it again. “We were practicing.”
Finn’s frown turned to mild disgust. “I’ve heard that one before.”
Heat flooded Cassia’s face. She’d forgotten that had been their excuse the last time Finn had caught them together in a dark room, three years ago. “We were.”
“Cassia asked me to help her with some spells,” Castor said mildly, rubbing the back of his neck. Discreetly, he wiped his nose. “I didn’t mean the book to come crashing our way like that.”
She silently thanked Castor with her eyes. There was no reason for the others to know it had been her. Not until they knew for sure what it meant. And if she could do it again.
But Finn was Finn. And based on his raised brow, she could tell he sensed they were hiding something. Damn emotion reader. Clearing her throat, Cassia asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for Castor,” Finn said. “The king wants to see him.”
Castor let out a frustrated sigh. Waving a dismissive hand, he said, “Not now. We’re not done here.”
“As much as I like the idea of blowing him off… it’s about Tafari. He received a letter from your parents.”
Chapter sixteen
Cassia gave the bartender another mocking smile as he glared at her from across the room. She saluted him with what was leftover of her drink, then downed the potent liquid in one gulp. Fire exploded in her throat as she slammed the glass on the sticky table. Not long after Castor and Finn had disappeared due to her father’s bidding, she’d headed straight for her favorite club in Astraeus. Unable to stop feeling like she wanted to crawl out of her skin. Unable to sleep. Unable to do anything but replay the memory of magic soaring through her bones.
“Another?” the older man asked tiredly, already heading for the near empty bottle.
Cassia ground her teeth together. For an establishment that advertised being open all night, he sure seemed inconvenienced by her presence. Granted, she was the only one left in the place, but it wasn’t like she wanted to be there. She’d nearly smashed a window when she’d discovered her usual haunt boarded up. Permanently. Just like every other bar and restaurant she tried until she stumbled across the seedy one shewas stuck in now.
She didn’t pretend she didn’t know why. Even though her father constantly told the city they were safe from what was happening at the border, the majority clearly didn’t believe him.
“You know, if you showed a little enthusiasm instead of mumbling under your breath every time your only customer ordered, this place might not be so dead,” Cassia snapped, slurring her words just a little too much for her taste. She stumbled to her feet and pulled out a handful of gold coins. “Forget it. I’m done.”
“At only one in the morning? I’m shocked,” the man deadpanned. “And we have plenty of customers. At reasonable hours.”
Not bothering to walk the money over to him, Cassia left the coins sprawled on the table. “Then change your damn sign.”
Wind almost knocked her over as she stormed into the night. It cut across her face, leaving her cheeks stinging as she tightened her long black coat around her shoulders. As she turned in the direction of the palace, Cassia paused to stare up at the dim buildings towering around her. Months ago, they’d lit up the night sky and captivated the attention of everyone on the street. Now, each one almost seemed lifeless. And she was alone on an abandoned avenue. A shiver ran down her spine.
To her left, a whistle sounded from the train station, alerting patrons in the station that it was leaving in five minutes. Cassia glanced over at the silver monstrosity. She’d never been on it, nor did she want to after her experience with machines in the human realm. If she ever needed to leave Astraeus, a horse would do just fine. Bristling at the thought, she was surprised to see it operating so late. Would anyone even be on it?
Cassia caught sight of a figure at the ticket counter. Well, apparently someone was a fan of riding late night death traps. When the figure kneeled to pull out a ticket from the dispenser, their hair fell away from their face. Cassia froze.
Delphine?
What the hell.
Feet already moving, Cassia watched as Delphine rushed inside the station. Before the other girl could get out of sight, she hopped up the steps and slid through the closing glass doors without bothering to stop at the counter for her own ticket. No matter what, she wouldn’t get on. She just wanted to know what Delphine was up to.
Because there was only one reason she was sneaking on a train in the middle of the night.
Practically sprinting to keep up, Cassia managed to grab Delphine’s shoulder seconds before she reached the train’s nearest boarding door. Flinching at her touch, Delphine whipped around. Shock radiated from every inch of her skin. Catching her breath, Cassia leaned against her knees and silently thanked whoever was listening that Delphine had decided to walk instead of using her special ability. Not that she seemed to be using it much lately anyway.
“What are you doing here?” Delphine asked, dark eyes worriedly roaming the space behind them.
“What areyoudoing here?” Cassia countered. “It’s the middle of the night.”
