Marrying a Warhound (Cassian) novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171

ATASHA’S POV

1 day before the testing

“It’s been two days,” I muttered, turning the fac stone in my hand. “Why can’t I get it right?” Frustration tightened my voice. Then, I looked toward Elder Agape and held the stone out to him. “Are you sure this is even going to work? I mean-”

“My lady, please, have some water…” Grace hurried to my side, pressing a glass into my hand before turning toward Elder Agape. “Elder, perhaps it’s time for a short break? There are snacks prepared downstairs. I’ll call you when the Lady is ready

to continue.”

I set the glass down and rubbed my thumb over the cool face of the fae stone again. It sat dead in my palm-no pulse, no heat, no stir of light. Just a pretty lump that refused to answer me.

The last few days replayed in pieces. Cassian had refused to let me leave his side after Violet.

Since then, I’d been honest with Cassian,about the night I absorbed one by accident, about the way it bled into me like water through dry earth. And the possibility that I might be a fae just like what the elder said. This prompted him to have the Elder teach me how to use fae stones.

He brought Elder Agape to the northern gates himself and told him what he wanted.

We’d been at it since dawn two days straight. Elder Agape laid out stones by “temper,” he called it, sleeping, listening, and answering stones. I never got past sleeping.

He showed me the holds, the breaths, the little commands you make in your head. “Impress a pattern,” he’d said. “Stones follow structure.” I impressed patterns until my fingers cramped. Yet, the stones did nothing.

Grace tried to be gentle. “Breathe,” she said. “Drink.” “Sit.” I sat, and all I could think was that time was running toward the testing while I was staring at rocks.

“Maybe I really can’t do it,” I said finally, voice low. “It hasn’t been proven I’m a fae. Maybe that first time was just a fluke.” Maybe it has nothing to do with being a fae and has something to do with the fact that it was a corrupted stone.

By now Grace knew what we were attempting. Cassian had placed her on me like a shadow, if she had to guard me, she needed to know the shape of the danger. She didn’t flinch at the word fae anymore.

“You should stop thinking about Violet. The testing already had you on edge,” Grace said. “You’ve been sleeping in pieces since Violet. Eat, breathe, then try again.”

I nodded. Since that day, I have not seen Violet, but Grace assured me she’s doing well with Sister Veris. “Give me a moment alone?”

Grace searched my face. “Are you going to be all right?”

“I will.”

She hesitated, then dipped her head and left, closing the door with a careful hand.

Silence immediately settled inside the room. I dropped onto the couch and leaned my head back, eyes tracing the lines in the ceiling plaster. Grace was right about one thing, the testing had me on edge. Not the fire and crowds part, I could handle the noise. It was the way Cassian flinched when the Stone of the Goddess was nearby. It was the way he endured the pain that I was supposed to feel.

1/3

“And you believe her ability has that much weight?”

Yara’s voice lowered slightly. “It isn’t just an ability, my lady. It’s something that could change everything. To heal as she does, without offering anything in return, it defies what we know. The people see it as divine. The rest of us…. we simply see the effect.” She smiled faintly. “The Lord of the North is no fool. He understands that when someone can perform miracles. even small ones, it shifts where power sits. And so, he adjusts.”

Lady Kenneth tilted her cup, watching the coffee ripple. “You mean he adjusts to her.”

Yara smiled again. “He adjusts for her,” she corrected softly. “Out of respect, of course. It is rare to see the Lord so… attentive. Given his previous marriages that ended in… failure.” She leaned back. “But if her presence brings him peace, then perhaps it is worth the distraction.”

Lady Kenneth’s lips twitched in a ghost of a smile. “Distraction.”

“Even the strongest leaders need one,” Yara said smoothly. “Especially when that distraction can heal wounds others cannot.”

“I am not someone who would sugarcoat her words,” Lady Kenneth set her cup down, the faint clink against the saucer breaking the stillness. “So, tell me something, Matron. Has Lord Cassian been neglecting his duties because of her?”

Yara gave a soft laugh. “No, of course not, my lady. Lord Cassian is a northerner through and through. The North is in his blood. He would bleed for it.” She folded her hands. “He and his lieutenants remain vigilant. They have done their best to keep the borders secure, the mines productive, and the people fed despite the season.”

She paused, lowering her voice slightly. “But the North is vast. There are always things that slip through, things even the Lord cannot see all at once.”

Lady Kenneth’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Such as?”

“There have been movements along the western edge. Witches, they say, or remnants of their circles. No one’s confirmed it yet, but the signs are there, animals found drained, strange marks in the snow, a few traders whispering about lights seen at night.”

Lady Kenneth’s brow furrowed. “And you’re telling me this now?”

“I assumed your men would prefer truth to ceremony,” Yara replied calmly. “If I hid it, it would find its way to you anyway. There’s also talk of strangers, people who arrived after the Red Moon. They came quietly, no banners, no letters of passage. The guards count new faces every few days. Some claim to be refugees, others simply appear and vanish before dawn.”

Lady Kenneth’s fingers tightened around the handle of her cup. “Are you saying Lord Cassian is gathering people in the North?”