From Slave To Queen (Athena and Michael) novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

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I decide to head down to the library, almost certain it’ll be in vain. Maybe it’s just Evanora, hiding from Drystan. Still, I descend the stairs and glance around once I reach the bottom. Everything’s empty except for the candle resting on one of the tables, as always. It ne

never goes out. I consider turning back, but something draws me toward the aisles formed by the bookshelves, so I start walking through them one by one, running my fingers along the edges of the shelves or the dusty covers.

I’m so absorbed by the golden–lettered titles that I don’t notice someone else is there–until my fingers touch his. The contact is immediate, and it feels like an explosion, a supernova.

My traitorous heart races without my permission, and my eyes seek the owner of those long, cold fingers, already knowing who they belong They’ve held me by the waist more times than I care to admit.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice tight.

“Just because you’ve chosen this place as your favorite doesn’t mean it stops being mine,” Cassian replies in a neutral tone. “I wanted to check on its condition.”

“And?”

His proximity is too much–I try to pull away, pressing my back against the bookshelf. I almost want to beg the wood to swallow me whole.

“I’ll send someone to clean and maintain it better.”

“Good.”

“Good,” he echoes.

We stare at each other in silence. I’d love to be him–to know what he sees when he looks at me. The wood creaks as he leans on it, some of his weight falling forward. He watches me from his towering position, waiting for me to shrink away like everyone else.

“Ow, ow, ow!”

We both look toward the noise and find a sore–looking Ank hobbling on her tiny legs, rubbing her backside. It doesn’t take a genius to figure she fell -probably from eavesdropping where she shouldn’t have been.

“Ankhiale.” Ank straightens up the moment she hears her full name from Cassian’s lips. “Out. And don’t even think about spying again–I’ll know.”

Immediately, the tiny salamander begins to run, turning into a flickering flame darting across the floor tiles. For a moment, I worry about her–at least until I remember I should be worrying about myself. I’m alone with him again. Whenever we’re alone, things happen that make me lose control of my thoughts.

“You know Ank?”

I keep my chin raised to look at him. He’s leaning over me, caging me in with his body. Nervously, I fiddle with the shelf’s edge behind me and try to count the small notches in the wood.

“I know everyone who lives in this castle, Elara.”

“Then I assume you’re a complete control freak.”

“I won’t deny it. I like control.” He exhales a small breath before continuing. “Ankhiale has lived in this library since I was considered a teenager.”

He steps away from me, leans against the opposite shelf, and crosses his long legs at the ankles. I take the opportunity to breathe normally again.

“I don’t know what surprises me more–that you were ever considered a teenager or that Ankhale has been here that long.”

Cassian raises two fingers in the air.

“First–Ank isn’t imprisoned here. She’s always been free to leave whenever she wanted. And second–did you think I was born like this?” He gestures to himself “If only. No, I had to go through the mess of out–of–control hormones and the feeling that the world was against me.”

“Vampires go through adolescence too?“.

A crooked smile curves his lips and his eyes narrow mischievously before he answers.

“We suffer it far worse than humans and indulge it far quicker. Maybe because we come from something corrupt. It might make us surrender to our desires in a more carnal way.”

“What else makes you like humans?”

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Chapter 68

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I’ve never been one. Maybe you should ask Eleazar.”

I catch a slight tic in his jaw, and though I have a sharp reply on the tip of my tongue, I decide not to ruin this moment with arguments. I want to extract as much information as I can–I have to take advantage of Cassian being open to my questions.

“So, if Ank isn’t a prisoner here, why doesn’t she leave? Doesn’t she have family? Friends? Somewhere to go?”

“I suppose she does. But she’s loyal. She made a promise.”

“To whom?”

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.

“To my mother,” he confesses.

His body tenses, while mine relaxes. Something inside me already knew the answer. Seeing how hard it is for him to talk about this makes me think maybe there’s still some light in the monster trapped within these walls.

“What was the promise?” I ask in a half–whisper, almost sure he won’t respond.

The air seems to hold its breath, just like me, aware that whatever the vampire says next will be important. My fingers have stopped counting the wood’s notches and now rest limply at my sides.

“To keep a spark in my heart.”

I can’t see myself, but I’m completely sure the look on my face is one of utter confusion.

“What does that mean?”

“Who knows.” He shrugs. “Only those two know–or rather, only Ank knows now. Maybe it’s something metaphorical, or perhaps more literal than I thought. In any case, I don’t feel any warmth in here.” He touches his chest.- “Only cold and silence. Lots of silence.”

–

I nibble my lower lip, absorbing his confession while tasting a bitter flavor at the back of my mouth.

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