Lilian lowered herself into the chair, her movements slow and deliberate, as if the weight of the air itself pressed down on her shoulders. Across from her, Cassius sat in perfect stillness, his presence both magnetic and unnerving. Their eyes met briefly, a bow of silent respect exchanged between them, but the room seemed to grow colder as silence descended, heavy and thick. Lilian's hand trembled as she picked up her fork, each bite of food a distraction from the tension building between them.
She hadn't expected Cassius to speak, so when his voice broke through the quiet, it felt like a crack of thunder.
"What is your judgment?"
Lilian's fork clattered against her plate, her heart leaping into her throat. She stared at him, her breath catching as if she hadn't heard him right.
"My… judgment?" she echoed, barely above a whisper.
"Of my rule over Ironwood," Cassius replied, his tone calm but carrying an edge, as though the question held far more weight than its surface suggested.
Her mind raced. *Judgment?* Why would he ask that? Her fingers tightened around the utensils as she forced herself to meet his gaze.
"Why would I judge it?" she asked, trying to steady her voice, though a knot of dread had already settled in her chest. It was not dread of Cassius but rather what he observed and her reaction to the red-eyed vampire. She told him that she killed his kind and it was a matter of time before she was due to pay for her sinful deeds.
Cassius leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing in quiet contemplation. "You observed the audiences last night. I assumed it was to form your opinion of me as the ruler of my kingdom."
"I didn't…" Lilian began to protest, her voice faltering. Her cheeks flushed as confusion and unease warred within her. She hadn't gone there to pass judgment on him. But the way he looked at her now, it was as though he expected an answer—an answer she wasn't sure she could give.
"Did you come to see *me* then?" Cassius asked, his words slow, deliberate.
The implication behind his question struck her like a physical blow. Lilian's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock. "What? No! Of course not!"
His lips twitched into the faintest of smiles. "Then why?"
"I was just… curious," she stammered, her pulse pounding in her ears. She felt exposed, as though he could see straight through her with his deep blue eyes, peeling back layers she didn't even know existed.
Cassius tilted his head, amusement flickering in his gaze. "And did it fulfill your curiosity?"
Lilian swallowed hard. "Temporarily," she answered.
A low, rich chuckle escaped Cassius. There was something intimate about it, as though he had expected her response all along.
"Is there anything else you are curious about?" he asked, his tone light, yet the undercurrent of something darker lingered beneath.
Lilian's eyes flickered toward the door behind which she knew there were grand halls, the twisting corridors that led to places she had yet to explore. "The castle," she said quickly. "You mentioned before that I have free rein within it." She asked carefully. She wasn't going to reveal her find of the dusty study or the book. It felt sacrilegious for a human to read it even if it didn't reveal any truths.
Cassius nodded, leaning back in his chair, his gaze never leaving her face. "Indeed. No room is off-limits to you. I will leave it to your judgment which doors you choose to open."
Lilian felt a chill crawl up her spine at his words. The way he said *judgment* made her feel as though he was testing her, pushing her to the edge of some unseen line. "You either trust me entirely, or you know that no matter what I find, no one will ever hear me speak of it."
A dark gleam sparked in Cassius's eyes, something almost predatory. "The question isn't whether you will speak of it," he said softly. "It's whether anyone would believe a girl who claims to have walked among vampires and who dined in the heart of Ironwood itself."
Lilian's gaze locked onto his, her heart pounding. The weight of his words hung between them. She didn't know what concerned her more—his confidence or the stark truth in what he said. Who would believe her, indeed? She had already crossed into a world beyond reason, beyond human understanding.
Lilian shifted topics. "Your subjects," she said, watching him closely. "They are… quite different."
Cassius raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "In what way?"
"Physically," Lilian replied, choosing her words with care. "Their appearances vary greatly"
Cassius leaned forward, his expression thoughtful. "Isn't it the same among your kind? Some have skin like alabaster, while others possess skin as deep as ebony. Some with hair of fire, and others as black as a raven's wing. My subjects come from far and wide. Vampires, too, are shaped by the lands they hail from."
Lilian nodded, though the unease still gnawed at her. She dropped her gaze to her plate, and it was only then that she noticed the difference between her meal and his. While her plate was filled with breakfast fare—fruit, bread, eggs, bacon, and cheese—Cassius's was laid with what appeared to be a rich, savory meal, more suited for a feast at dusk than a morning's table.
She kept the observation to herself, not daring to voice the thoughts spinning through her mind. Instead, she lowered her head and resumed eating, the tension between them still taut, like a thread that could snap at any moment.
The unease was not caused by Cassius but the red-eyes vampires that he overlooked, and haunting visions of the events that kept returning with a increasing magnitude, readying to sweep Lilian off her feet and destroy her from deep within.