Chapter 21
When Cassius returned with the bowl of soup, he handed it to Anastasia. She took one spoonful into her mouth and nodded her head.
"Too hot," she murmured, setting it down.
"You should be asleep," he remarked.
"I will sleep after you," he replied.
"The bed is small for us to share," Anastasia observed.
"I will sleep on the couch," he assured her.
When the soup had cooled down a bit, she took the bowl and served another spoonful into her mouth. Her mind went back to the time Cassius had traveled. She had trusted Maggie, thinking she would help her escape. But who knows, she was only leading her to where she would be killed. Her mother, on the other hand, had left the Kingdom. But where did she go? She didn't know anyone outside the Kingdom. Anastasia shook her head, not wanting to think about it again.
She dropped the empty bowl on the floor before turning to lay on the bed. She flinched.
"Easy," Cassius soothed, helping her down. She drew out her wrist for him. Cassius frowned, raising a brow.
"What?" He asked.
"You need my blood to feed," she declared. "You haven't fed for some days now."
"I found some blood bags in the cabin," he explained. "I'm fine with that."
She parted her lips, staring at him in shock.
"But you need my blood to punish me," she said.
"You are severely wounded, Anastasia," he remarked. "You need time to heal."
"Heal?" She scoffed. "Why not just take my blood so I wouldn't heal on time and I can die? That would be easy, you know."
He didn't respond. Anastasia stared at him with a frown. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Because I don't want to hurt you," he admitted.
"But that's exactly what you've been doing," she retorted.
"You've been hurting me this whole time."
"Anastasia–"
"I'm feeling sleepy. Goodnight," she closed her eyes to sleep.
Cassius sat down, staring at her. The urge to touch her face and feel her overwhelmed him. He raised his hand towards her before taking it back. Why was he doing this? He frowned, getting up from the bed.
Cassius walked outside the cabin. He didn't like that he was having this strange feeling towards her. He didn't like that he wanted to hold her in his arms. He hated himself for being excited around her. When did this start? For some odd reason, Cassius didn't want to take her blood again. He now realized why he had been reckless throughout his journey to the Woven Kingdom. He wasn't in his right senses. He was always thinking about Anastasia. He thought he was going insane at some point.
Clenching his hands into tight fists, Cassius punched a tree. A low growl erupted from his throat as he glared at the tree. He needs to find a way out of this. He will be the King of Blackwood soon, and he cannot be feeling this way. She was making him weak, and he didn't like it.
Turning around, he walked back into the cabin to see her sleeping peacefully. Her soft snores filled the room. This time, he couldn't hold himself back, and he reached out to her hair. He brushed her hair backward, and he felt a sense of calm wash over him. His fingers trailed down to her lips, and he brushed against her plump, inviting lips. The urge to kiss her strawberry lips was overwhelming.
Realizing he was drooling over her, he quickly stood up and went to the couch to sit down. But he couldn't fight himself from staring at her. When he first found her injured, he thought he was going to lose her. He thought she wouldn't survive it. For three days, she had been lying unconscious in the room. All he could do was stare at her unconscious self. And the more he stared, the more he felt drawn to her.
Cassius knew he needed to go back to the castle. The Elders would be thinking he went missing. He had killed Lucas already, so there would be no competition for the throne. But what if they put someone else in his place? Cassius was afraid. But he couldn't just leave with Anastasia still sick. He wanted her to be healthy before he traveled back to the castle. And also, he wanted her to trust him, to know that he was never going to hurt her again. He feared that she was going to die if she lost more blood.
Cassius tried to sleep, but he couldn't. She was keeping him awake, consuming his thoughts. She was messing with his head. Wanting to cool himself from the stress he was feeling, he stood up and walked to the cupboard, pulling out a vodka bottle. He gulped it down, feeling it burn down his throat. This made him feel calm. He gulped more until the bottle was empty and he placed it back in the cupboard.