Sticks and Stones

Chapter Sixteen

The final layer of their journey was, as far as Caspian was concerned, the longest stretch. The dangers they faced didn't matter. They didn't frighten him. Nor did the dark. Neither did the threat of the unknown.

Let it be known, he couldn't stand the sight of his mate any longer.

His insides were in turmoil.

On the one hand, he was programmed to adore her. To see no flaws in her makeup. And if he did see any, they would only enrich her character. Each flaw made her more beautiful. Each hiccup made her more attractive.

Instead, alongside these poisonous feelings, he saw Sofia for what she really was. And that was a person he didn't like.

He didn't like her attitude. Her entitlement, like the world should bend to her will without her ever giving back to it. The way she acted like she knew everything when she barely knew a thing at all. A woman like Sofia would take advantage of him. Advantage of his status, his name, his resources. But then she'd shun him the second she got what she needed.

What he hated most of all was her mindset. Her venomous, sick mindset.

Disrespecting the dead! Oh that was royal. She'd gotten on her high horse when this whole skit began. Hours later, she hadn't thought twice about all the lives she took.

He'd been convinced she could change. That her brother with his selfish way of living was a bad egg. Only the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Sofia was just as bad as the brother she lived for.

She'd lined those arrows up and let them fly without a second thought. Innocent people. Innocent, unarmed people.

The side of him that was her mate wanted to reason this down to her fear. Sofia was scared of dying. She'd acted in defence.

But the other part of him knew better.

She'd had a fearless protector standing in front of her. Caspian, who'd made it perfectly clear he'd protect her and keep her safe no matter the cost. Caspian, who'd proven in every God damned layer of that pyramid that he'd stick by his word to do so. She'd known he could take care of her. And she'd killed them anyway.

She said she was too young to die. That she was doing what Caspian wouldn't do.

That was a lie. All of it.

She'd taken the easy option, just like her brother. Instead of doing what was right, she did what suited.

Because helping those people was too much work.

I could've helped them.

And now they were dead. Unidentifiable, stuck where the Crusader had abandoned them.

Cas felt sick to his stomach.

"It's here," Sofia said, speaking for the first time in what felt like hours. "We did it. It's here."

His body recognised the pleasure of her voice—but Caspian was stronger than his body's stupid instincts. She was wrong. She'd done wrong. She had a future of bad deeds ahead of her.

Caspian wasn't okay with that.

Artefacts surrounded them, unsurprisingly easy to access now. But Cas knew better than to touch something they hadn't come for. There was no saying what curses they'd been made from.

The crown of the dead Queen Raya was easy to spot. It had all of Annaliese's grandeur with its golden circles and ruby red gems. Beyond its history, there was nothing special about it. Still, that thing was worth millions.

"It's so normal."

Cas said nothing, grabbing a case from his backpack he'd purchased specifically for the occasion. The tiara fit the box perfectly. Sofia took it from his hands, inspecting it.