Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Anastasia scream pierced through the air, waking Cassius from sleep.

"What happened?" He asked sitting up.

Anastasia's chest heaved up and down as she struggled to breathe properly.

"I had a dream," she said squeezing her eyes for a moment.

"What did you dream of?" He asked.

"I…. I can't remember," she stuttered, her eyes scanning the room.

As she shifted her eyes to Cassius, she noticed their close proximity, their bodies were rubbing each other and his leg was on hers. Her eyes widened with shock.

"Why is your body over me?" She asked, pushing herself away from him. 

Cassius raised a brow. "I didn't move an inch but you did. You hovered over me, trembling when there was storm."

Her expression softened at his words. She remembered she has a soft heart, always feeling fragile and vulnerable during storm. She was always scared during storm.

"I didn't ask for your comfort," she said trying to defend herself.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door and two maids walked in. Anastasia recognised them as Maggie and Hannah.

"You should wait outside," she turned to Cassius who was still sitting on the bed.

After Cassius left the room, she headed to the bathroom to get herself ready for the day. Stepping out of the bathroom, she dressed in a blue long gown.

After she got dressed, she headed to the dining room and sat down for breakfast. She urged the maids to take a sit and join for her breakfast. They were reluctant at first, before they agreed to join her for breakfast.

"What's your opinion about Prince Cassius?" She asked Maggie who seems more jovial than Hannah.

"He's the King of Blackwood Kingdom," Hannah responded.

"There's a rumour circulating that Cassius has been hunting down mermaids," Maggie shared.

Mermaid? Anastasia eyes widened in realization. Wait…. Does this mean vampires already found out that mermaids exists? She could feel fear coursing through my veins as she stared at Maggie.

"Mermaids?" she asked with disbelief.

"Yes," Maggie nodded. "He caught one last month and drained her of her blood. There's a disturbing rumour that mermaids blood is even more delectable than human blood."

"Even with his charming smile and gentle expression, he's nothing but a demon in disguise," she continued.

Anastasia's eyes widened with horror. "Isn't he aware that doing that could damage his reputation? Doesn't the Elders talk to him about this?" She asked. 

"I think the only one whom he actually listens to is his father and now King Darius is dead," Maggie said, running her tongue across her chapped lips. "Also the Elders doesn't care as they too are interested in having a taste of mermaid blood."

Cassius was the first and only child of his parents who grew up being over pampered by his parents. Anything he finds interested in, would be given to him in golden platter. Maggie still remembered one night when the maid had give him his bag of blood late.

Cassius, in rage had bitten the maid and sucked her of her blood until she was dead.

Maggie made an effort to be as friendly as she could to earn Anastasia trust before making the next move.

"Anastasia you should be careful of him," Maggie said. "You never know what's behind that sly smile of him."

"Careful?" Anastasia scoffed. "How can I be careful of him when I know I would be dead soon."

"I heard of everything," Maggie said, her voice low. 

"If only I could find a way to escape from this pack," A sigh escaped from her lips.

"I can help you escape," Maggie said.

At her words, her eyes gleamed with excitement. "Really?"

"Yes, I know a few guards here. If I give them whatever they want they would let you leave," she said.

"What do you mean?" Anastasia frowned, having slight clue of what she meant.

She smiled before standing up from the chair. "I will be taking my leave now."

Just as Maggie left the room, Cassius walked in. Anastasia stood up awkwardly from the dining chair before walking to the room and she sat down on the sofa. 

"What were you and the maid discussing before I came?" He asked. Did he overhead their discussion? Anastasia felt taken aback by his words. She didn't know what to say at the moment.

"Just random things," she answered, seeing him narrow his eyes at her.

"And what is the random things about?" He asked, with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"We were just talking about the things happening around the castle," she said, feeling his judgemental gaze on her.

"Are you gossiping about me with the maid?" He tilted his head.

"Why do you care so much about what we were talking about?" She asked.

His lips twisted into a sly smile. "Why do I care? Let us just say I don't trust random maids around you."

"But they work under you," she said. "You could just fire anyone you don't trust in a blink of eye."

Was he hiding something? Did he decide to keep her because she knows something?

"If I do like that I would end up firing all the maids," he said.

"I'm going to die anyway," Anastasia rolled her eyes. At this point, she wasn't interested about what would happen as her fate is already sealed.

He smirked. "Glad to hear that you've finally come to terms with your fate."

"I already accepted it a long time ago. Just that your actions are only prolonging it," she narrowed her eyes.

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful," he advised. "I'm the one who plans to take your life and if someone else does it, I won't be pleased."

"The entire Kingdom are outrage that I spared your life instead of allowing the guard execute you," he said. "They're not happy."

Anastasia didn't take her gaze from him as she began to wonder if he had forgotten the purpose of his visit. And as if reading her mind, a sly smile appeared on his face, causing Anastasia to frown slightly.