by Isabel Wroth
Mixed in with those angry and resentful thoughts, Cassie was thinking hard about the things Falken had said to her before he had left. He was absolutely right, she didn’t trust him. Not one bit.
Deep down in the quiet of her soul, Cassie admitted that she hadn’t trusted him from day one. She had been waiting for him to hurt her or do something to push her away. She had been looking for any excuse to run away, ready to cut him out of her heart at the tiniest infraction. Falken hadn’t accused her of any of that, but alone with the thoughts of what he had said, there was no way to lie to herself.
This whole mess between her and Falken was totally one of her own making. Her own mistaken assumptions about why Falken had been angry and irritated with her whenever she had tried to connect with him.
Her own mistaken assumptions about how he felt for her. Her lack of consideration for his feelings in general.
It hadn’t ever occurred to her that he would feel as though he was failing his duty to his king and to her by not having come up with any definitive answers.
Cassie had peeked at the data Falken had compiled, and he had been meticulously searching through every single document and digital paper trail between the council, Asho, ground command, and armada for what she had added up to two thousand years.
An almost inconceivable amount of information involving well over ten thousand different sources. That in eight months Falken had been able to take those ten thousand sources and rule out well over half of the suspects based on paper trail alone? Cassie was impressed and she understood now why Falken would have been irritated and angry. How easily it would have been to be consumed and overwhelmed by so much data.
His method was meticulously effective and would eventually have resulted in the answers they needed. But having seen the crazy mess of it all, Cassie had taken the program Falken had implemented and beefed it up a little.
It was running now to find original documents or deleted documents and compare them to the documents received, looking for alterations. When it was finished, Falken would open up his search and know who had sent the original document, where it had gone, when it had been altered, who had altered it, where the altered document had gone.
He would know the time the original document had been altered. The terminal or personal data pad it had been altered upon, where that terminal or data pad was now and have a list of suspects corresponding to the work on the personnel files Cassie had been doing.
She hoped Falken would be pleased with the results and not pissed that she had interfered.
Again.
Cassie was drawn from her retrospection by the buzzing of Ilaria’s energy pressing closer, and the visible appearance of the Matavei to her left.
“Someone is coming. I am uncertain of their intentions.” Ilaria reported quietly, looking over Cassie’s left shoulder with a frown pulling between her brows.
“Your thoughts have kept you up late again, Cassie.”
The deep male voice belonged to someone she had not been expecting. “Setar, you startled me.”
The Sarazen gave a quick smile and stepped up beside her, clasping his hands behind his back while he looked down at the sleeping citadel. He was the carbon copy of his father, the same dark hair. Same dark brown markings along his skull and throat. Same green eyes. Ne’tare’s youngest son.
“My apologies. Any news from your mate?” There was no scent or suggestion in Setar’s tone to imply anything other than curiosity and concern.
It was the corresponding look on Ilaria’s face that had Cassie on edge and struggling to conceal it. She immediately forced herself to bring up a terrible memory of having felt helpless and alone. Angry. The problem was, once she opened that door, the rest of those memories came flooding in.
“Cassie?”
Setar called her name and made her jolt lightly from her thoughts. She looked up to see him staring at her now with a hint more consideration.
Ilaria moved closer to her, standing now almost directly between Cassie and Setar. As though Ilaria would somehow be able to protect Cassie if she needed to.
“This male is wondering if you are the one he needs, Cassie. Be careful.”
Cassie drew in a shaky breath and licked her lips, nodding to both acknowledge Ilaria’s warning and to lead Setar to believe that she was with him. Setar made no indication to say he was aware of Ilaria one way or the other.
“No. No news yet.” Cassie said.
Setar inclined his head, quickly glancing sideways at her before moving a few steps closer to the balcony edge. It was private, out of the way. You wouldn’t know it was there or that someone was occupying the balcony unless you had been looking. So just walking by, unless Setar had been looking for her, it was unlikely he would have coincidentally happened upon her.
“Forgive my rudeness, but my sire has spoken in passing of his concern for you and Falken. Your mating is not…as it should be.”
Ilaria said nothing, but was frowning intently at Setar.
“Just my luck, huh? All the other girls get mates who can’t stand to let their women out of their sight, and I get the one who can’t wait to be anywhere else. The Asho, in his esteemed wisdom, just dumps all the stuff he doesn’t want to deal with on Falken, which gives my so-called mate the perfect excuse to do anything but talk to me.”
Cassie let her voice drip with disdain, and then a heartbeat later sucked in a tight breath and forced a smile. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Setar inclined his head and made what Cassie assumed was supposed to be a comforting sound. “There is no need for apology. You are unhappy here.”
As it was somewhat of a question and Ilaria was nodding for Cassie to continue, Cassie did her best to sound hesitant.
“My alternative was death, so I don’t have much room for complaint. Except for the part where I’m not even human any more. I’m a mutant.” Cassie took a pause as though testing Setar’s reaction.
Ilaria made a little noise of anger and the vibrating waves of that anger made her physical form harder for Cassie to see clearly. Like Ilaria was wavering in and out of focus.
“He agrees that you are a mutant, Cassie. His interest is sharpening.”
“I heard how terrible and unexpected the conversion was for you and the other females.” Setar stated tactfully. His tone oh so gentle and not a whiff of scent to betray the interest Ilaria claimed the male was feeling.
Cassie didn’t have to pretend to feel upset by his description of her transition. “Terrible and unexpected. Sure. Toss in the most excruciatingly painful moment of my life, one my mate didn’t have time to attend until I was almost about to die, and we’ll call that about right.”
Setar was quiet for long enough that Cassie worried she might have gone too far. Ilaria didn’t say anything one way or another so Cassie did her best to wait patiently and continue to glower out at the view.
It was worth the wait. “If you were no longer encumbered by a mate, what would you do?”
Cassie scoffed and hugged her arms around herself, doing everything in her power to not let on by a single scent or action, how much that question disturbed her.
“According to Ga’rae, I’d go insane and die shortly after.”
Setar turned to face her then, his hands still folded behind his back. He looked down at her and the light in his eyes was predatory. The look Cassie would have expected from his beast as it was about to take down its prey for sport, not out of hunger. Setar was smiling, but it was a smile just shy of being all teeth.
“You and Falken do not share a bond. It would be all too easy for you to find another mate. Your true mate. One worthy of you, who would honor and care for you as you deserve.”
Ilaria huffed a short sound. “This fool is testing you. It is his hope you will denounce any matings, current or otherwise. He is thinking of how disgusting it is that Clary has born mutant offspring who will weaken the pride.”
In answer to Ilaria’s information, Cassie turne
d to face Setar and let her chin lift at an arrogant angle.
“If I were no longer encumbered by a mate, why the hell would I turn right around to take another one? No offense, but I’ve had about enough of this ‘fated mate’ crap. I’ve also had enough of you messing around and pretending to be all sweet and kindly like your father, so cut the shit. I can smell how much you dislike me. What do you want?”
*****
Setar abandoned any attempt to mask his scent or his disgust from her then. His handsome face twisted with cruelty and mocking, and Cassie couldn’t help but wonder whether or not Ne’tare was involved with the traitors. It would have been a clever move on their part, planting a previously established and well-trusted member of Tarek’s inner circle even closer to the new family.
Though Niora had dismissed Ne’tare and Te’sha long before the humans had come along, Cassie decided it was possible, but unlikely. Which then begged the question, why and how had Setar been seduced into the traitor’s camp?
“I was told not to underestimate your abilities.” Setar sneered.
While he was doing that, Cassie was trying to remember exactly what his position was within the fortress household. When Tarek had dismissed the majority of his brother’s staff, he had replaced it with warriors he trusted.
Tarek had asked Ne’tare and Te’sha to return to their previous duties and allowed Ne’tare to bring on a few trusted hands to help around the fortress. Setar had been among those few, but for the life of her, Cassie couldn’t say what it was Setar did.
“Yeah, well, you’re not the first person to make that mistake.” Cassie shot back, glancing at Ilaria for clues.
Setar stepped closer to her and murmured huskily. His voice roughening as though he was trying to seduce her, “What if I could offer you freedom from a mate you detest? What is it you want most, Cassie?”
She curled her lip at him and let out a little growl of displeasure.
“You’re not a warrior, Setar, and you’re not on the elder council. I actually don’t know what it is you do here other than obey your father’s orders. Therefore, I don’t believe you have the power to offer me anything.”
Any hint of teasing or cajoling faded from Setar’s expression and he made a soft, wicked little rumbling sound that raised the hair on her arms. Now he crowded her. Got right up in her space and tried to use his superior height to intimidate her.
In the process, Setar stepped through Ilaria and Cassie saw Setar’s pupils dilate and a small flicker of unease flash across his expression. No more than a half a seconds worth. Not enough to make him stop or step back, but enough to see he had experienced some kind of physical sensation in reaction to Ilaria’s energy. Froth gathered at the corners of Setar’s lips as he hissed,
“You should not underestimate my abilities either, freak.”
Ilaria stood now at Setar’s shoulder, reaching up and around to press her hand to his forehead, as though the touch allowed her deeper penetration into his thoughts.
“He was given specific instructions not to harm you, Cassie. But he dearly wishes to and is thinking of the many ways he could cause you pain. He is thinking of the one who gave him orders. The one preventing him from killing his father and taking his place. Setar wishes to impress his master by bringing you into the fold despite having been ordered to stay away and simply watch you.
“He is debating whether or not to push you over the edge of the balcony to conceal his mistake and claiming an accident. He is concerned now, feeling my energy upon his brow. Concerned you are somehow reading his mind.”
Ilaria’s lips curved in a bit of a smirk, urging Cassie to make Setar think just that. This was a role Cassie knew she might have to play. She had deliberately put herself in a position to be approached by the unknown traitors, yet somehow it hadn’t crossed her mind she might not be able to do it.
She was good at being hostile and standoffish, but Cassie was uncertain she knew how to play mind games well enough to convince Setar’s master that she was willing to betray Falken. It wasn’t like fooling the eugenics nurses into thinking she was going to be cooperative for her treatments. This was so much more dangerous. So much more was at stake and Setar’s people didn’t care if she lived or died. Uncertain what to do, knowing that any hint of artifice could betray her, she decided to simply be herself. Her old self.
Cassie let her eyebrow drift up sardonically, unable and unwilling to hide her amusement.
“You could throw me over the balcony you know, but I don’t think the person holding your leash would appreciate your failure.”
Setar’s chin jerked back as though she had struck him. Ilaria giggled and moved her fingers back and forth across the male’s forehead while Cassie just stared him down.
“I have no leash-”
Cassie flicked her fingers through the air and interrupted Setar before he could say another word.
“Oh you most certainly do! You want to hurt me, but you were commanded not to. You want to kill your father, but you were commanded not to. You want to move up in the ranks of your silly little boys’ club, but you haven’t done anything worthy of advancement. You were supposed to stay away from me and just report back, but you thought you knew better than your superiors.
“You figured you could slip your leash, ignore those commands for a little while, get me alone, entice me a bit and see what you could come up with.”
Setar sucked in a hiss of furious air, vibrating with his unease. Twitching as he fought not to step back from her.
“It is not possible. You cannot know my thoughts.”
“Yeah. I can. I’m a freak, remember?” Cassie cooed at him, really taking a perverse sort of pleasure in making him sweat. It wasn’t easy to find anger as she imagined this ungrateful little bastard killing his father and thinking he could get away with it. That no one would know.
“So we have now come to a unique situation. I know now there’s someone out there willing to give me what I want. I also know it’s not you. What is it you call yourselves, anyway? The Secret Society of Sarazens? Old Men Hiding in the Shadows like Cowards? Naw. That’s too much of a mouthful. But calling you, Traitors, just doesn’t sound good enough.”
Cassie’s heart was thundering in her veins as she goaded Setar into revealing something. Anything at all Cassie could bring back to Falken later. Setar wanted to speak, she could see it in the way his pupils had split and the way his cheeks flushed with furious color. Smell the frustration that oozed from his pores and how his jaw quivered from how hard he was clenching his teeth together.
“You know nothing, female.” Setar hissed. His eyes wide with crazed belief as spittle collected at the corners of his mouth. “We are the way back to strength. To power and freedom.”
Cassie snorted derisively, continuing to poke at this raw nerve Setar had exposed. Poke it until he gave her all the information she needed.
“What, like you’re all slaves now?”
“We are slaves! Slaves to the Blackpaw tyrants and all who stand with them. Our clans scattered, our race weakened by the madness of T’kalis and our territories stolen under the guise of unity.”
Having not have even been alive during the times of those wars, Cassie reasoned that Setar was just crazy. Or incredibly gullible. He was sincere. Sincerely fanatic, and the more Cassie listened, the more she provoked Setar, the more Ilaria would be able to read of his thoughts.
“We were close to achieving our goal. So very close. And then you and your people were found and brought home to reproduce and spread like a disease. One that will infect all who come in contact with you.”
Setar rambled on about how awful the human hybrids were and all the horrible ways the hybrids were causing problems.
“Setar knows very little, Cassie. Only what he has been told by his superiors and the rest is his own interpretation. He was brought into the fold only eleven months ago, by a group he calls, the Original Council.” Ilaria informed Cassie.
So Cassie int
errupted Setar’s tirade about how disgusting she and the other human hybrids were by holding up her hand.
“I’m sorry, you’re starting to repeat yourself. Maybe I should be speaking to your sire. Clearly, he has things in hand better than you do.”
“My sire?” Setar spat, sneering cruelly. “He is a fool! You accuse me of being leashed? My sire is the most pathetic example of this pride’s weakness. He spends his entire life raising cubs of tyrants and even when he is betrayed and abused by them, he remains loyal. Then when Tarek returns with his mutant mate, my sire comes running back with delight to raise more mutant offspring. Catering to their every whim like an inbred bitch in heat.”
“Daddy’s spending more time with the other kids than he is with you so you want to kill him. Is that it?” Cassie pressed, ignoring the hiss of Ilaria’s warning.
Setar’s scent exploded with rage and, as close as Cassie was, she knew one more poke would send him over the edge. Or more likely, he would push her over the edge. Literally. Cassie shifted her weight to her left foot and gave a dismissive roll of her eyes, fighting for just a few more moments of control.
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter to me either way. Talk to me again when you have a legitimate offer to make, I’m going to bed.”
Cassie turned on her heel and made it to the arched doorway of the balcony before Setar hissed out a nasty snarl.
“You. Are. An abomination.”
She paused with her hand on the stone and looked over her shoulder with a smile. Setar was standing there, vibrating with fury, his hands fisted at his sides. He must have lost control of his claws, because Cassie saw blood starting to drip from his white knuckles to the gray stone at his feet.
“Maybe. But I’m not the one plotting to kill my father. Sleep well.”
Ten
Unable to sleep, Cassie had sat up the rest of the night writing down every piece of conversation she and Setar had had. Ilaria’s accounting later would have to be added, of course, but Cassie had asked the Matavei to follow Setar and see if she could find out who he would be reporting back to.
