Why The Hell is Fate Trying to Kill Me?

Chapter 72 The Culling

The night was quiet, but my mind was loud.

I sat in my room, the heavy velvet curtains drawn against the moon. The key to the Winter Vault sat on my desk, glinting in the candlelight like a promise—or a threat.

Knock. Knock.

The sound was soft, respectful, but it shattered the silence.

"Enter," I commanded, not looking up from the key.

The door creaked open. Adel stepped inside.

"My Lady," she whispered. "It is late, but... Cassius requests a moment of your time."

I frowned, finally turning to face her. "Cassius? He should be in the guest quarters with Valerie. Or sleeping. We have a war to plan tomorrow."

"He insists, My Lady," Adel said, her face unreadable. "He is waiting for you at the Courtyard."

I looked at the clock on the mantle. It was past midnight. A mercenary demanding an audience with a noble daughter at this hour was improper. But Cassius was not just a mercenary. He was one of the Twelve Figures.

"Very well," I said, standing up. I grabbed a heavy shawl to cover my nightgown. "Lead the way."

We walked through the silent corridors of the manor. The servants had long since retired; the only sound was the rustle of my skirts and our soft footsteps.

"Why the Courtyard, Adel?" I asked as we descended the stairs. "And what does he want that cannot wait until morning?"

"He did not say, My Lady," Adel replied, keeping her gaze forward. "He only said that before you march North... he needs to ask you something."

I narrowed my eyes. Ask me something?

We reached the heavy oak doors leading to the gardens. Adel opened them, and the cool night air washed over me, smelling of damp earth and jasmine.

We walked down the stone path. The moon was full, bathing the garden in a pale, ghostly light.

Ahead, I saw him.

Cassius stood near a stone bench beneath the weeping willow.

I stopped. I knew this bench.

It was the same place where I had sat months ago, weeping over the children of the Orphanage. It was where I had told him, through tears, that I had killed them by waiting too long. It was where he had scooped me up because I was too broken to walk.

Adel stopped walking.

"I will remain here, My Lady," she said softly, stepping into the shadows of the archway. "He asked to speak with you alone."

I nodded once and walked forward.

Cassius turned as I approached. He wasn't wearing his armor. He wore a simple tunic and trousers, his greatsword absent for the first time since I had met him. Without the steel, he looked older. Wearier.

"Cassius," I said, my voice calm. "You summoned me."

He didn't bow. He just looked at me.

He looked at my face, searching. He looked at my eyes, deep into the blue irises that used to hold so much fear.

"I did," he said. His voice was deep, rumbling like distant thunder.

"Adel said you had a question," I said, stepping into the moonlight so he could see me clearly. "Well? Here I am."

Cassius let out a long, slow breath. He ran a hand through his rough hair.

"When I found you here that night," he said quietly, gesturing to the spot where I had collapsed months ago. "You were crying. You were broken because you believed you had killed those children."