Marrying a Warhound (Cassian) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

ATASHA’S POV

“How certain are you that I may have fac blood?” I asked, my frown deepening as I leaned against the edge of the study table.

It had been a week since Matron Yara left the northern border. Strangely, the days that followed had been almost… calm.

The red moon still hung above, and the beasts never stopped pressing against the walls, but the onslaught wasn’t the endless tide it had been before. Now, the attacks came in smaller waves, dangerous but tolerable. Some nights, I even managed to sleep without being startled awake by the bells.

Cassian had made his stance clear after my ability was revealed: I was only to heal those whose wounds were fatal, the kind that left no room for delay. Anyone else would have to wait for Mendez or the other healers.

Beyond that, I spent my hours in the study or the infirmary, learning from Agape and, on occasion, Mendez himself. Agape showed me how to prepare salves and balms, teaching me what each herb did, how to mix them so they would not burn the skin or turn bitter in the wound. Apparently, fae’s are specifically good at creating these things. It was tedious work, but it grounded me.

Now, with Agape and Prince Kaelith seated across the table, I found myself staring at them, waiting for an answer I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear. The fire in the brazier cracked faintly, filling the silence that stretched too long.

For the first time since Agape had told me there was a possibility, since he’d dared suggest that I might carry fae blood in my veins, I finally forced myself to speak the question out loud. It had taken me a week to gather the nerve, and even now my palms pressed against my skirts to keep them from trembling.

Agape’s fingers brushed over the pages of an old book. Prince Kaelith leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his sharp eyes fixed on me as though he was just as curious about how I’d react as he was about the question itself.

I shifted under their scrutiny. “You’ve both spoken about corruption, about how stones twist anyone with fae blood. But how can you be sure that’s what I am? That I’m not just… different in some other way?”

The words came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t look away. I forced myself to hold Agape’s gaze, even as unease tightened in my chest.

The test was already set, it would happen once the red moon passed, which could be any day now. I couldn’t afford to sit in silence anymore. If there were truths about me that I didn’t understand, even the ones I dreaded to hear, I needed to face them before others forced the answers out for me.

“I thought you would never ask,” Agape said at last. “To be honest, letting us stay here is already more generosity than I expected. I am not ungrateful. I do not force knowledge where it is not welcome. If you were not ready to hear it, then I would say nothing.”

I nodded slowly, even as my stomach twisted. He wasn’t wrong. Cassian had made the decision to shelter them, to let them remain inside the outpost until the red moon passed. I hadn’t been told the details. I hadn’t asked, either. Whatever bargain had been struck, it wasn’t mine to meddle with. Still, curiosity lingered in the

19:39 Sat, Oct 4

Chapter 128

back of my mind. Why them? Why now? Why agree to something Cassian would normally refuse?

But this wasn’t about Cassian. Not right now. I drew in a breath and forced myself to meet Agape’s gaze again. “I need to know,” I said firmly, my fingers curling tight against my skirt.

Agape inclined his head. “Then let me start with this. What do you know about the fac… and about humans?”

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