Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 30 - Judging
Lilith didn’t object to what Cassian had said, nor did she respond. She was his captive and in no position to argue.
Cassian wasn’t surprised by the silence. He had anticipated it long before this.
Cassian approached the bed and slipped his arms beneath Lilith to lift her. There was no resistance.
He turned and carried her out of the chamber.
Lilith kept her arms folded as Cassian carried her, her eyes fixed ahead so she wouldn’t accidentally look at him.
It was a strange thing, not having Solomon waiting outside. She would have to get used to it.
As Cassian carried her through the corridors, Lilith noticed the castle maids were beginning to move about again, carrying out their duties. Fear was visible on their faces, but this needed to happen to bring everyone back to their usual routines.
Soldiers and maids cast glances as they passed, but Lilith paid them no mind. Instead, she found herself wondering whether Mary had eaten.
Cassian carried Lilith up to the bedchamber he had claimed for himself. A soldier standing guard pushed the door open as they arrived.
Lilith recognised the chamber as one used for visiting royals or their envoys. It was heavy with the smell of metal as it was filled with armour and swords that likely all belonged to Cassian.
"I apologise for the mess," Cassian said, but he received no answer.
He set Lilith down on the bed and immediately began to tidy the chamber as best as he could to make Lilith comfortable.
"You are not in any position to plan a wedding, so I will have someone else handle it-"
"I am perfectly capable of planning my own wedding. Most of the tedious work is already done. The invitations have been sent out, and a dress is being prepared. I can finish it," Lilith said with confidence.
"I’ve made up my mind about having someone else take over," Cassian said, his decision unchanged from the night before. "How many royals do you see planning their own weddings?"
"I am not like most royals, but then again, you see me as just another Beaufort. If that is the case, why didn’t you marry Thalia? We are just alike, and you wouldn’t have been burdened with a bastard," Lilith said, each word leaving a bitter taste in her mouth as she spoke it.
Lilith knew well that she was nothing like the others, and it was an insult for Cassian to suggest otherwise.
"For a long time, I was alone in this castle. All the servants were sent by my father or the queen to watch me or torment me in silence. They found ways to hurt me every chance they had, and yet because I made you cry just once, you would compare me to them?" Lilith asked, her voice low with disgust.
"That is why I don’t want to hear you claim to know me. You don’t," Lilith said with great certainty in her voice. "You should begin to realise it. I harmed myself, and you have made it about you."
It bothered Lilith that they were not speaking about her plan to track down the queen, but instead circling the same conversation about the poisoning.
"You use people to get what you want, Lilith," said Cassian.
Lilith snorted, amused that Cassian only pointed fingers at her. "The man who commands an army to fight a battle that those men did not provoke is judging me? Your soldiers didn’t want this war. You used them just as you are accusing me of doing."
"Enough of this," Lilith said, tired of going in circles. "I hope you don’t expect me to sit still while you judge everything I do. Are we going to spend our marriage revisiting this one moment, or will you move on?"
"You are so stubborn that I won’t dwell on it for long, but I won’t forget it either," Cassian said, unable to simply let it go. "The next time you come up with some idea that involves hurting yourself, at least tell me first so I have the chance to stop you." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"You are without real power here, so you have only your body and a handful of people to use. I failed to give you something else to work with," Cassian admitted. "We will settle this when you are well."
"I was poisoned, and yet this conversation is causing me more pain by sheer length alone. The queen, the nobles, and our wedding must be our focus. I hope the men trailing Solomon don’t expose my plan. It would be upsetting if I poisoned myself all for nothing," Lilith said, her voice dry.
Cassian laughed, though he hadn’t intended to. Not at what she said, but at the simple fact that none of it had changed anything. He still loved her.
As stubborn as Lilith was, Cassian still loved her because there wasn’t any other lady like her.
He had married Lilith at her best, when she was trying to heal and was long free of this castle. Now, he was seeing an entirely different side of her.
Lilith stared at him, wondering whether he was losing his mind. ’It would all make sense,’ she thought.
"You are something," Cassian said, once his laughter had faded. "I’ll find people for you to command, so don’t hurt yourself again. If this happens a second time, I will have no choice but to keep you confined to this chamber."
Lilith wasn’t moved by the threat. "Locking me in a chamber is not a new punishment for me. Neither is binding my hands, so I can’t move. That was done before."
Cassian held his tongue. He didn’t want to hear how Lilith had been treated in the past, because he knew it would all catch up to her in time and wear her body down. Poisoning herself may have only hastened that.
"You are not to leave this bedchamber, and you will have no visitors until you have recovered. You will eat the food I send for you, and I don’t want to hear a single word about wedding planning," Cassian said, leaving no room for argument.
Lilith didn’t respond. She no longer had the strength to fight him.
"I apologise for the chamber being so disorganised. I will have the armour and weapons put away before the end of the day," Cassian said, already looking to where a maid could begin.
Lilith’s eyes moved slowly around the room, taking in the swords, spears, and daggers lining the walls and leaning against the furniture. "Leave them," she said. "A weapon within reach is always necessary."
