It was as if she had submerged into a wet puddle. Her entire back felt drenched with cold sweat and she found herself staring at Cassius who had with ease rip apart these vines, tearing them with fun and even stomping at it. Then she noticed how some of the vines had cracked and turned grey before dissolving into a pile of ash all around him.
Not only that, she noticed that the entire maze had turned grey, becoming ashes in a blink of second, like a falling sand.
"Really," Cassius said, his tone casual, almost amused. "I hadn't realized the maze was capable of all this- until you fed it blood." His crimson eyes, sharp and piercing, turned toward her, "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Bella barely heard his words over the pounding in her ears. She was still grappling with the sheer relief of being alive, her mind reeling from how close she had come to death. Yet his so maddeningly indifferent cut through her daze like a blade.
Her relief turned to fury, a scorching heat that burned away her fear. Her hands trembled, not with weakness, but with the weight of the anger that surged within her. Without thinking, she stepped forward, her movements quick and fueled by raw emotion.
Her palm connected with his cheek in a sharp, resounding slap. The force of it jolted through her arm, and her own hand stung with the impact, the pain blooming hot against her skin. For a moment, the sound seemed to echo, a testament to the power behind her strike.
Cassius's head tilted slightly from the blow, his expression unreadable as his gaze remained fixed on her.
Bella's chest heaved, her breaths ragged as she glared at him. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she refused to let them fall. At least not in front of him. She clenched her fists at her sides, her body trembling with the effort of standing upright when exhaustion and frustration threatened to overwhelm her.
"You," she choked out, her voice trembling, caught between a scream and a sob. She inhaled sharply, trying to steady herself, but the words came out in bursts, each laced with disbelief and anguish. "Do you even care? I nearly died, and you stand there, calm, as if it's nothing!"
Her voice cracked, and her vision blurred, but she refused to let herself break. Not here. Not now. Not in front of the man who seemed to toy with her life like it was a game.
"You promised me! You said you will protect me- you're a liar. A LIAR! A MONSTER!" In a moment of anger and upset, she didn't realized who she had shocked and how all the vampiress who watched everything had almost backed to the wall, their faces pale, their blood disappearing despite how pale they already were.
The one poor Bella had struck was none other than the Crown Prince, the man who had single handedly brought the entire Versailles into its demise and took it for himself. Cassius was a man whose name alone could inspire fear, whispered in dark corners and trembling breaths.
He was a prince forged in blood and war, a creature of ruthless cunning and unrelenting violence. His acts of villainy had become legend, his insatiable thirst for blood enough to terrify even the vampires who thrived on it. He was a man who had lived among monsters and become something worse, something more feared, more untouchable that even the King felt unable to deny all his requests.
Striking him was unthinkable. To raise a hand against Cassius was no one, not even the bravest, could ever done.
They were sure she was going to die, after all no one else was going to live especially after striking Cassius.
Cassius's long finger touched his skin that had turned red and his sharp gaze landed on Bella.
Much to everyone's surprise, he was still smiling- though uncertain whether it's good or bad- he didn't swiftly move his hand and choke her to death. Instead he reasoned with Bella, his voice was cunning but it seemed to be trying to coax Bella.
"The monster part?" he echoed, tilting his head as though considering her words. "Yes, I thought that much was obvious. One glance should've told you as much. I'm a monster, little birdie, and I won't deny it. But a liar?"
The weight of his gaze fell upon her, sharp and unyielding, but his expression remained maddeningly calm. "That part intrigues me. Tell me, my dear birdie, what makes you so certain I'm a liar? What untruth do you think I've told?"
"This maze! It's alive- it's a monster. You never told me anything about that!" she accused him to which was responded with a smile that curled his red lips. It was as if he found her interesting, funny, as if her words to his ears were entertaining than offensive.
He licked the corner of his lips from where it was cut by her nails. Seeing the blood, Bella realized what she had done but she remained calm, not wanting to falter now.
"This maze is alive, but I didn't say otherwise to you, did I? It was you, sweetheart who didn't ask this information from me."
"So that isn't lying to you?" she snapped, her fingers clenched tight.
"It is withholding information however, I did not deny you that this maze is capable of shifting which is the truth."
Anger surged to her blood. She wanted to hit him more but then felt as his finger reached to her chin. His hand tipping her face upward and his smile curling, those red gaze looking at her seemed to be fiery despite the lack of emotion that he often shows to other creatures around him.
"Though I wasn't aware this creature drank blood; or that it would dare to drink your blood," Cassius said, his voice cold as his eyes flicked to the lone black vine still writhing weakly on the ground.
Bella stepped back from his touch, her heart racing. She watched as his gaze hardened, and with deliberate cruelty, he crushed the vine beneath his boot until it dissolved into a slick of black liquid.
His tone turned icier, the air around them chilling with his words. "If only you hadn't killed it, I could've taught it a proper lesson— one it would never forget— about laying a hand on my pet."
The weight of his words made her stomach twist, but she held her ground, refusing to let him see her fear.
"Do you expect me to truly believe that you hadn't known that this maze would kill me?"
"If I knew, would you really think that I would allow you to enter here? Didn't I make it clear that I despise anything that could bring harm to my pet?" He arched an eyebrow, his tone shifting to one of cold amusement as he gestured to the lifeless vines around them. "It wasn't supposed to move. You weren't supposed to feed it blood. Yes, it's an enchanted maze, but somehow, you managed to turn it into a monster."
She gulped, her heartbeat racing. Though she didn't want to trust him, Cassius wasn't someone who would lie and pathetically try to hide it, especially to a mere pet who he could have killed and crushed so easily.
"Regardless, you put me in this situation. You left me to fend for my life, you broke your promise!" She shot back, squeezing her hands that were still trembling uncontrollably.
"Well, I am a man of my word, and it pains me to think I'd let something as pathetic as this hurt you." Cassius gestured lazily to the remnants of the vines before pointing upward toward the balcony he had leaped from. "I came the moment you were in danger. Doesn't that show how kind and protective your owner is? Most pets would rejoice, maybe wag their tails— but you? You slapped me instead."
"You. Deserve. It." Her words were sharp, punctuated by the fury in her eyes.
Cassius chuckled, the sound low and amused. "That's why I'll let it slide this time," he said, his easy smile betraying no hint of offense. Then his tone darkened and his crimson gaze bored into hers, the humor melted into something fierce and unyielding. "But understand this: I meant what I said. No danger will touch you, not from me, not from this maze, not from any creature in existence. Not even death will dare reach for you so long as you're mine."
"Hah! You and your pretty words!" she snapped, her frustration boiling over.
"My words are pretty," he quipped, a smirk spreading across his lips, "but don't you think I'm prettier?" He pointed at his face, the audacity in his tone making her scoff and roll her eyes in exasperation.
"In any case, I have escaped the maze. I don't think you'll tell me that I didn't actually escape it and deny me from leaving the castle, the man who claims he is of his words?"
"Well no," He brushed his hands, "I promised and I would allow you to leave the castle but..." his words hung and her face turn drained as she heard that horrible word called "But".
"...You didn't bring me the object."
"Here!" She pointed to the necklace and saw him tilting his head innocently, his ink hair bounce as his head turned to the left side of his shoulder.
"Your neck? What, want me to take a bite now?"
"HERE!" She yelled, frustrated, "This necklace. This bird! Isn't this what you wanted?"
His red eyes slowly moved. First it looked over all her wounds and the smell of her blood that was too sweet which was perhaps why this maze had turned into a monster- out of thirst. But it also annoyed him as there were other vampires in this place and they wouldn't be able to hold themselves from thirsting for her blood.
"Hello?" Bella waved her hands in front of him as his eyes finally stopped at her bird necklace.
"Yes. That's a cute necklace so what?"
Her face froze, stunned, like a drop of water meeting the icy chill of winter. She stood motionless, her jaw slack and mouth slightly agape, unable to pull herself together from the shock.