Fake Mate of the Enemy Shifter (Red Oak Shifters #2)

16. Cassia

Chapter sixteen

Cassia

I manage to make it to the raised platform without passing out, but there is a whole ceremony for me to get through before I can start patting myself on the back.

“Cassia,” Grey greets me in a quiet voice as I turn to face him.

“Grey,” I breathe out once I catch my breath, steadying myself as all eyes fall upon us.

I’ve already broken down once today in my room with Gliselle, which means I need to hold it together for the rest of the day. This is happening whether I want it to or not.

But what’s interesting to me is how Grey is acting. He doesn’t seem… bitter with me. His eyes have a softness to them that’s a bit jarring after the way he’s been acting toward me lately.

What caused the change in heart? Seeing me suffer pain from my own leader over dinner?

Ash, Moonveil’s acolyte, stands behind us on the platform, raising his hands over our heads. “Today, by the light of the moon and stars and by the strength of the earth, we witness the union of two clans and two souls. Grey of Everblade and Cassia of Moonveil.”

His words send a tremor of nervousness throughout my entire body, making my hands start to shake as they remain by my sides.

Grey’s eyes trail down to see the light tremor, prompting him to hold his hands out to me. He gives me a little nod, encouraging me to take his hands. His thumbs roam over my knuckles in a light caress, his eyes shifting up to mine.

Why comfort me? So that I don’t embarrass him? So that we can get through this as quickly and painlessly as possible?

I can’t read him!

But his hold does feel good. It actually grounds me.

“This marriage marks a change in history. A moment of time that will never be forgotten years into the future,” Ash continues as he lowers his hands. “From here on out, Moonveil and Everblade will become one kingdom. One united, fighting force, represented by the joining of two brave, loyal souls.”

I don’t feel brave, and I certainly don’t feel loyal.

I tighten my hold on Grey’s hands, feeling him do the same. It’s like we’re tethering each other to the earth, keeping each other from floating off into oblivion. That still sounds better than being stuck in this hell.

“To sanction this union, they will cast a bonding spell using a special source of magic of their choosing. This spell will join their hearts and souls from now until the end of their lives,” Ash announces to the room.

Or until the spell is broken.

I turn to my left to see Emeric approaching me with the Red Oak sapling in his hands. My heart hammers in my chest at the sight of the small bloom of green leaves. The sapling is gently tucked into a soil-filled, light brown pot, easily fitting in both of my hands as Emeric hands it over.

“Thank you,” I tell him as I look up at him.

Emeric holds my gaze for a moment, but he doesn’t nod or reply. He glances at his son before sitting back down in the first row.

I guess I should’ve expected that, but it still stings. He thinks I’m some evil person, but I believe that even his son is starting to see that I’m nothing like Morgana and Lucian.

“Cassia will cast first,” Ash says, nodding to me before stepping back.

I had to learn how to do a bonding spell before the ceremony, but it’s fairly straightforward. Even younger witches can learn how to do this with ease, but I still don’t want to mess up in front of so many people, especially Morgana. She would ridicule me until my last breath for fumbling during my wedding ceremony.

My chest rises and falls with a deep breath as I hold the Red Oak sapling between Grey and me, my eyes sliding shut. I concentrate on the sapling, able to feel its power vibrating between my fingertips. All I have to do is draw a little bit of magic from it.

With one more breath, I start to siphon its magic, feeling a tickle of its radiant power.

Until it explodes.

A shockwave of magic hits me like a crashing wave, knocking me backward onto the floor. A breathless gasp breaks from me as I land on my back, my eyes flying open to see the sapling glow white and then red. The intensity of the light burns my eyes, making me squeeze them shut as the pot starts to shake in my hands.

“What’s going on?” Grey’s voice booms throughout the throne room, saying what everyone, including myself, is thinking.

The shockwave suddenly reverses, roaring back to the sapling and tearing through me like gale force winds. A pained cry breaks from me as a harsh tug on my very soul pierces me, my body feeling like it’s being ripped in half.

“Cassia? Cassia!” Grey’s voice echoes in my ears, but the pain renders me speechless.

All I can do is scream as a piece of me is ripped out of my body. My magic. My powers. It’s all gone.

Coldness settles in my aching body as I lay curled up on the floor, tears spilling from my eyes. The pot clatters onto its side next to me, the sapling’s glow fading away. Taking my power right along with it.

“Cassia!” Gliselle gasps as she lunges off the pew to run toward me.

“Don’t!” Morgana snaps as she grabs Gliselle’s arm and rips her backward, shoving her toward Lucian so that he can hold her still. She whips around to face Emeric and Arabella, who look as shocked as everyone else in the throne room. “Is this some sort of setup?”

Grey kneels next to me, carefully turning me onto my back. “Are you okay? What hurts?”

“Everything,” I breathe out as my tears tumble off my face and hit the floor on either side of my head. “My powers… it took away my powers.”

Grey’s eyes grow wide. “Your magic is gone?”

I watch Grey’s eyes snap to his parents, my body shuddering. I’ve never felt this way before. So empty. So weak.

“It took her powers,” Grey tells them. “What the hell happened?”

“A curse!” Morgana snaps as she stalks toward Grey’s parents. “You cursed the sapling!”

Emeric and Arabella shake their heads, sharing confused looks with one another. Arabella puts her hands up in an innocent manner. “I don’t know how this happened. We didn’t do this! But…”

“But?” Lucian bites out. “But what?”

Emeric pitches Arabella a surprised look. “Do you know what could’ve done this?”

Arabella looks over at me, an uncertain expression filling her face. “I didn’t think it was real, but… there’s a family rumor that dates back generations in Everwood’s royal bloodline. Supposedly, one of our witches put a curse on the forest that prevents witches with bad blood from casting from the trees’ powers. No one thought it was actually true, though!”

“Bad blood?” I breathe out in shock. I push myself up into a sitting position, wincing as my body protests.

“Careful,” Grey replies as he places his hand on my back, helping me sit upright.

“Witches can be born with good or bad blood depending on their lineage,” Arabella replies. “Witches who practice dark magic birth children with bad blood. It’s easier for them to cast more destructive magic.”

A ringing noise fills my ears, blocking out any other noise as the others speak to one another. I can’t possibly have bad blood. Before Morgana and Lucian, Moonveil was a good coven!

“You have to be wrong. There’s no way I have bad blood,” I tell Arabella as I profusely shake my head. “Moonveil witches have good blood in their veins.”

“Are you sure about that?” Grey murmurs under his breath.

“Before them, yes,” I whisper back as I look at him over my shoulder. “I swear I’m not bad, Grey. You have to believe me.”

Grey frowns as I plead with him, looking conflicted. Before he can reply, Morgana’s voice tears through the throne room.

“This is ridiculous! Undo the curse and give her powers back!” Morgana snaps at Arabella.

Arabella’s jaw drops. “I don’t know how! I didn’t even know the curse was real until now!”

I force myself up onto my feet, swaying a little as my head spins. “This doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t have affected me.”

Gliselle breaks free from Lucian and rushes over to me, cupping my face as my skin pales. “I’m so sorry.”

I place my hands on her forearms, using her for balance. “How do I have bad blood? You don’t have bad blood. Even your siblings were born with good blood. Was my mother or father bad?”

Gliselle’s eyes start to well up with tears. “I… I don’t know.”

My face screws up in confusion as I draw myself away from her hands. “What do you mean? You knew my mother. She was your cousin!”

Morgana crosses her arms over her chest as she lifts an eyebrow at Gliselle, borderline looking amused. “Well, are you going to tell her the truth now, little sister?”

“What truth?” I question Gliselle as I fix her with a firm look.

Gliselle tries to blink away her tears, but they keep welling up in her eyes. “You weren’t my cousin’s baby. You were found abandoned as a baby on Moonveil’s border.”

At first, I can’t even process her words. What is she talking about? I’m not related to her at all? Someone just left me on foreign land without a care in the world?

None of that makes sense!

“Hold on. Hold on,” I say as I wave my hands, motioning for her to pause. My head continues spinning as I take a deep breath, trying not to completely panic.

What is that going to help?

“I’m not related to you? At all?” I ask Gliselle once I find my voice.

Gliselle shakes her head. “From what I know, you’re not. We don’t know who your parents are. There wasn’t a note or anything when we found you.”

I swallow hard as tension winds around my neck, squeezing tightly. “I’m not a Moonveil witch.”

“Not by birth or blood,” Gliselle replies before taking my hand. “But you’re still my daughter. That won’t ever change.”

My bottom lip threatens to tremble as my eyes sting. “Why did you lie? Why did everyone lie?”

“To keep things from being overly complicated,” Lucian speaks up. “It was easier to pretend that you were family. No one questioned where you were truly from. Who actually birthed you.”

“My parents were bad then,” I say as reality strikes me. “I do have bad blood.”

“That doesn’t make you a bad person,” Gliselle assures me as she tries to draw me closer to her.

How can she say that after all the bad things I’ve done for Morgana and Lucian? I’ve had every chance to sacrifice my life for good, and I have yet to do that! Maybe it’s because I’m predestined to do bad things.

It’s in my blood after all.

“I can’t… I can’t do this. I need some air,” I gasp out, my chest feeling as if it’s collapsing in on itself.

I tear my hand away from Gliselle and flee from the platform, running down the aisle and out of the throne room without a clue as to where to go.

It’s not like I have any idea of where I truly belong anyway.