Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 38

"This damn wench," the Emperor muttered to himself, pacing around the room anxiously. He was waiting for the Pope to come to tell him about the princess. This was a matter of the national importance. The blood of Vasilios was still alive and seeking vengeance. The woman was beyond dangerous and needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

With the Pope's help, it was possible to execute her on the basis of being a heretic, but now she had the protection of the Vautours, meaning, she was untouchable for the Temple.

"Why don't you just kill two birds with one stone, father? Get rid of both Cassian and the woman," the Crown Prince suggested with a wry smile, enjoying the sight of his father so anxious. Seeing the man who was considered a tyrant his whole life tremble at the thought of a mere woman was hilarious. True, the woman was extremely beautiful with her midnight black hair that resembled a starless sky and her golden eyes that shone brightly like the sun, but other than that, there was nothing outstanding about her. Although it was hard to tell as the prince only saw her briefly before she escaped with Cassian.

Cassian... he was a thorn in the prince's side that just didn't want to get out. His mere existence was annoying, but to see him prancing around the palace with a beautiful woman he called his fiancée was infuriating. 'Maybe I should steal that woman from him the same way I did with Elizabeth?' the prince thought, chuckling to himself quietly.

"What do you find so funny, boy?" the Emperor snarled viciously, his patience running thin with each passing minute.

"Just thinking of Cassian's fiancée..."

"Don't get near her, Rael. She's a Vasilios."

"A what?"

"You don't have to know. Just leave her be."

"It makes me want her even more when you warn me like this," Rael grinned then left his father in his misery, his mind filled with ways to take away Cassian's woman again. It would be so fun to torment him like this for the second time. Just imagining his crestfallen face was enough to send a shiver down Rael's spine. It was exhilarating to take what wasn't his. It gave him the feeling he was above everyone else and could get whatever he wanted. And taking something that belonged to Cassian felt even better. Even if they shared the same blood, at least the part of it that belonged to their grandfather, Rael always considered Cassian to be someone unworthy of carrying royal blood. He was a failure, a shame of the royal family and he needed to know he was below Rael in every way. His place was in the north, guarding the Empire like a loyal dog instead of trying to crawl into Rael's world, where he didn't belong. To Rael, it felt like an insult. How dare he try to taint his perfect world with his filthy existence? Dogs belonged in the doghouse, not in a palace.

It wasn't the truth. There was one thing he would never get - Celosia. She was someone who stayed loyal to those who earned it, and ruthless to those who deserved it. Once she promised Cassian to stay with him, she would keep her word until the end. Living for as long as she had made one appreciate simple things like loyalty, trust, honesty, sincerity, responsibility...

People seemed to forget what they were, which was why Cassian's sweet affection and honest approach towards her made Celosia appreciate him even more.

It was so easy, so nice staying with him she couldn't help but hope to continue living with him. Together. And if he ever grew feelings for her, for example love, she would ask him to end her misery and kill her.

Until now, she was never able to reach the peace only death could bring, and in time she lost hope she would ever die. Her father's curse was truly cruel.

'Du skal ikke dø, medmindre den er ved hånden af den, der elsker dig', meaning 'You shall not die unless by the hand of that who loves you.'

Celosia's father didn't know that his curse would make his child get reborn each time she died. He simply wished for her to live with him and his beloved wife for eternity. Mages lived for a long time, exceeding humans' lifespan by tenfold if not more, but with Celosia being a half-blood, having been born from an average human mother, there was a chance she would live for only as long as a normal human would. Therefore, the true king of Mάgos, Alkaios Vasilios, placed a curse, which he thought would be a blessing for his most cherished child, hoping to save her life. He could have never expected that it would end up forcing his beloved daughter to go through death infinitely until the condition he had set was met.

Celosia didn't know it, though. She was convinced that her father had cursed her. She had no idea he wanted to prolong her life. In a way, he did exactly that, as she had been alive for a thousand years now, but it wasn't a peaceful life. It wasn't even one life she led, but over a hundred of different lives, in different places, different times, with different people, none of could end her life for good.

If this was her last chance to die, she wanted to leave with no regrets. She would do her best to live to the fullest, achieving all her forgotten dreams, including the one about ruining the damn Empire. It was her only ambition now that she remembered her first life.

However, she couldn't risk harming Cassian by doing that, so she had to find a way to save him from suffering once both the Temple and the Empire were doomed.

Because that was what she would do. Destroy the Forbandelse Empire and the Holy Temple. And then she would make Cassian the new ruler of the continent, that is of course if he wished to be one.

"You look anxious, my love," Cassian couldn't help but notice the forlorn look in Celi's eyes that soon turned into determination. She was planning something, but it was something she wasn't sure about. Hence the anxious look.

Celosia turned over in the bed to face her fiancé, distractedly tracing her fingertip over his collarbone. "Cassian, what would you do if..." Celosia started tentatively then gave up with a sigh. "Never mind. It's still too early..."

"Too early?"

"To go through with my plan. It will take a while to achieve my goal. I don't want to rush it, not when I'm starting to enjoy being with you."

"You enjoy being with me?" Cassian smiled, running his hand through Celi's hair. He was elated to hear those words. The dark ting inside him was beyond satisfied that Celosia was starting to warm up to them.

"I do. You're so sweet, kind and adorable that it's become really easy for me to like you. However, I might end up hurting you in the end."

"I'm okay with that, as long as you stay with me," Cassian leaned in and pressed his lips to Celi's in a chaste kiss that sealed his promise.

Celosia only stared at him quietly for a moment, slightly taken aback by his sudden move. "I didn't know you had a bold side," she smiled then kissed him back.

"What can I say, my love? The longer I am with you, the deeper my yearning for you is. I fear I might end up scaring you in the end. Celi, what should I do with this overwhelming need to keep you mine?"

"You can do whatever you want to do, Cassian. As long as it's you, I don't mind," before she could say more, Cassian kissed her again, this time pouring all his feelings into it. He longed for her, yearned to feel her, to make her his, to share a future with her. She was his perfect match in every way, and it was hard to stop himself from giving into his dark desires.

When Celi reciprocated his kiss, he deepened it, claiming her lips like he wished to claim her heart and body. His patience was wearing thin and it showed. His hands unwittingly traveled over Celi's body, bunching up her nightgown until it revealed her long legs, then continued their journey towards her breasts, which fit perfectly into his palms, until he finally reached her neck. He was now on top of her, softly caressing her body while his lips silenced her quiet moans.

"Stay with me, Celi. Be mine. I will do anything you ask of me as long as you're mine," Cassian panted against Celosia's lips then continued his sweet torture without giving her a chance to reply.

She didn't necessarily have to reply with words. And the way she reciprocated his desire with equal fervor was enough of an answer for Cassian.

She was his now.