For Heaven's sake! Stop bringing her to this conversation!
Bella wanted to rip this vampire's head bald if not for the fact he's stronger and is the crown prince of Versailles! Nervously, she walked toward him, feeling the burning gaze coming from Lady Blair. Then she saw him pointing downward to the floor as if telling her to sit there. This should be embarrassing but as long as she didn't have to sit anywhere near him, she couldn't care less.
After sitting down, Cassius's red eyes darkened to Lady Blair, "You see that? She's my pet so she listens to me very well. What I dislike is someone else hurting my pet."
"Yet you proudly exclaim how you killed your own pet..." she muttered and felt his eyes falling down on her which caused her to shut her lips tighter than a locked door for decades.
"And I dislike ever having my pet being hurt by someone," Cassius walked slowly toward Lady Blair and they all felt the sudden shift in the air from the one that felt mischievous into something menacing that caused their stomach to twist form an impending fear. Belle could suddenly feel wetness on her back as she saw Cassius who was smiling to Lady Blair who seemed to have realized what mistake she had done.
"I- I'm sor—" she couldn't say another word when Cassius's hands moved toward her neck, at once strangling her. He had also effortlessly lifted her body to the air and then turned to Bella with a happy grin.
"How did she hurt you, my birdie?" He asked, voice gentle and tender as if he wasn't about to squeeze someone's neck to death.
Bella shuddered when she saw Lady Blair's feet flailing and her eyes widened in fear as she seemed to be yelling for help to no one. Then she looked at her, begging for help.
This twisted vampire— he had placed the decision of allowing Blair to live or die to her hands!
She shook her head as the only thing the lady did was yank her hair but Cassius's amused eyes immediately stopped glistening. She could see the small detail of his emotion and how unhappy he was that she hadn't played along with him.
"Quiet the moment I ask you yet so many things to say when I'm quiet. I'll ask you again: Did she hurt you?" He repeated his question.
She thought that amusement that had disappeared meant that he was going to kill her now but Bella would rather die than having to cause someone's death, which was something Cassius seemed to be looking forward to see.
She opened her mouth and stared into his red eyes, the bravery she had already left her body but she could still mister the energy to stare back into his eyes and respond firmly, "She didn't."
Cassius watched the little human who was shaking. He could smell fresh blood from her scalp. In no way was Blair hesitate when she had yanked his birdie's hair but she seemed to realize confirming she was in pain will cause Blair's death. He smiled, his curiosity got the better of him as he wanted to see to what extend could Bella's humanity expand before it was extinguished.
"So what I saw was wrong, birdie?"
"I'm not saying you're wrong but... your eyes must have failed you a little."
"Haha," he laughed though his eyes seemed to turn darker.
His smile appeared again as he loosened his fingers, causing Blair to fall to the ground and then coughing for air. Her eyes were bloodshot as she seemed to be trying to catch her breaths as she had almost lost her life if another second passed with Cassius's hands around her neck. Bella herself was relieved seeing this, just as she was about to gather her courage to be the one strangled next, Cassius's knees bent as he crouched in front of her. He placed his hands on her head, looking at her scalp as he spoke with a faint trace of chuckle on his lips, "I like the fact that my little birdie has a smart head on her shoulders. But it vex me to think that you're going to lie to me simply to protect a stranger."
When his voice reached the last word on his sentence, she felt his cold hand that trailed from her ears down her neck. She stared at him with wide eyes, her blue orbs shaking under her long lashes. He watched as her round eyes wide, her shock permanent on her forehead while her fear seemed to be replaced with her courage which she had tried so hard to muster. This all only looked more interesting to him... or maybe adorable?
Cassius remembered feeling the same joy when he saw his parakeet first fly from his shoulders.
"What should I do to you, birdie?" He hummed, his red gaze peering into her soul and she could only see how empty it was.
A monster. This is what vampires had always been. But she couldn't tell if that monstrous personality was innate or created.
"I should punish you," he said, "For lying to me."
She closed her eyes, bracing herself for death, her heart pounding in her chest after his chilling words. But instead of the expected blow, a dull, round sound echoed in the silence, followed by a sickening thud as something heavy hit the ground. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Lady Blair's body crumpled to the floor behind him, lifeless. Her gaze flicked to Cassius's terrifying crimson eyes—eyes that seemed to pierce her very soul with cold, merciless intent. Before she could process what was happening, the sight of Lady Blair's severed head rolling away from her lifeless body sent a wave of nausea crashing through her. Blood pooled around the corpse, staining the floor in dark crimson. The woman had died without so much as a gasp, her life snuffed out in an instant.
The half-moon birthmark on Cassius's neck seemed to glow faintly, a pulse of red that shimmered like a heartbeat, hungry and alive, almost as if the mark itself was thirsting for blood.
It took a moment for the horrific reality to sink in. Her breath caught in her throat, and a scream of terror tore from her lips before she could stop it. Her heart dropped to her stomach, and despite every ounce of willpower telling her not to look, her eyes were drawn to the gruesome scene, unable to look away from the bloodied remnants of Lady Blair's body.
Thankfully, Cassius's form obscured the gruesome sight, hiding the worst of the carnage. But it was of little comfort. She tried to calm herself, to clamp her mouth shut, to force her trembling body into stillness, but the sight before her was too much. Her mind raced, her heartbeat erratic as fear clamped down on her chest.
Before she could regain any sense of control, darkness rushed in like a tidal wave, drowning her in its depths. Her body gave out, and in an instant, she collapsed to the cold stone floor, unconscious, her mind slipping into blackness, unable to process the horror that had just unfolded before her.
Cassius watched the now unconscious Arabella who was sprawled on the floor. He reached out his hand, touching her pale cheeks and then a smile softly spread on his lips before he stood up."Clean the mess," he demanded and although the door was locked, in almost an instant a group of maid entered the room from it. They were dressed in a white apron and their faces were mostly covered with a white cloth that seemed to have a cross pattern on it, all of them seemed to be used to the bloody scene as they were quick on their feet to take care of Lady Blair's body. Then they moved toward Bella who they had thought died as well but Cassius stopped them. Instead he curled his finger, calling another maid whose face wasn't covered with the white cloth."Clean her up and take care of her wounds, I don't want my birdie to die from illness again."