Chapter 198 — I Know Everything

Chapter 198: Chapter 198 — I Know Everything

~ Cassian ~

The carriage slowed as the road narrowed, and a few moments later, the driver drew the horses to a stop.

Cassian glanced through the window at the empty stretch of road ahead. There was little to see beyond the trees lining either side, and Valerius was still far enough away that none of its lights were visible.

"Here?" the driver asked, glancing back at Cassian.

"Yes."

The man looked toward the deserted road, his brows drawing together. "Are you certain? There’s nothing out here for quite some distance."

"I’m certain." Cassian reached into his coat and handed him the fare.

The driver accepted the coins, although he still looked puzzled by the request. Cassian had given him no destination beyond this stretch of road, and he intended to keep it that way. The fewer people who could account for his movements, the better.

He adjusted the hood concealing his white hair before gathering his belongings, making certain the satchel remained hidden beneath his travelling coat.

By then, the driver had climbed down to open the carriage door.

"Sure you don’t want me to take you farther?"

"This is fine, thank you."

Cassian stepped onto the road, leaving the man to wonder why anyone would pay for a carriage only to be dropped somewhere so inconvenient.

Still, that seemed to settle the matter. The man gave him one last uncertain look before climbing back into his seat and gathering the reins.

Cassian watched the horses start forward, the stabilizing sigils along the carriage wheels absorbing most of the movement as it travelled over the uneven road. Within moments, the carriage had disappeared around the bend, leaving him alone.

He adjusted his coat and began walking.

It had taken considerably longer to return than he would have liked. Once he had put enough distance between himself and House Blackthorn, Cassian had burned the fitted black clothing, hood, gloves and everything else he had worn during the infiltration. He had stayed until nothing recognizable remained before changing into ordinary travelling clothes.

Getting back to Valerius without leaving an obvious trail had taken longer. He had changed transport more than once and avoided the direct roads, making sure nobody could easily trace his journey from Blackthorn territory to the academy.

If Aldric Blackthorn ever discovered the intrusion, Cassian preferred to give him nothing useful to follow. He didn’t regret being cautious; he was simply fucking irritated that it had taken so long.

His hand moved briefly to the satchel beneath his coat as he walked. Inside were Raven’s manuscript, the letters from her publisher, the little money she had hidden away and everything else he had recovered from beneath that floorboard.

Six days away from Valerius, and he was finally bringing them back.

He wondered whether Raven had any idea what was waiting for her.

Probably not.

She had been convinced she would never see those belongings again, and Cassian had been looking forward to proving her wrong ever since he found the manuscript.

The thought brought a small smile to his mouth, one that lasted until he reached a gradual rise in the road and finally saw the lights ahead.

Valerius.

Cassian slowed slightly as the academy buildings came into view beyond the trees, their windows illuminated against the night sky. The grounds around the main ceremonial buildings were considerably brighter than usual, with rows of sigil lamps marking the paths leading toward the formal hall.

Then he heard the music.

Cassian stopped walking.

For several seconds, he simply stared toward the academy before reaching into his coat to check the time.

His expression immediately soured.

The Renewal Ball.

Judging by the hour, he had probably missed most of the evening.

"Fuck," he muttered, clenching his fists as he stared at the lights.

It wasn’t the Ball itself that bothered him. He could happily go the rest of his life without attending another formal academy celebration, particularly one that involved spending several hours exchanging meaningless pleasantries with nobles who considered every conversation an opportunity to negotiate something.

Unfortunately, tonight was different.

Raven would be there.

And so would Dante Prymont.

Cassian’s jaw tightened as he remembered that the bastard had enjoyed six uninterrupted days around her while he had been occupied with House Blade, Dreamwalker records and retrieving the belongings Blackthorn had taken from her.

Prymont, meanwhile, had been free to spend as much time with Raven as he liked, and tonight, of all nights, he had an entire formal evening where nobody would question him finding reasons to remain at her side.

Cassian resumed walking, suddenly considerably less pleased with his arrival than he had been several minutes earlier.

By the time he reached the academy grounds, most of the students were either attending the Ball or occupied elsewhere. A few people crossed the paths ahead, but none paid him any particular attention as he made his way through the familiar grounds.

That suited him perfectly.

He lowered his hood, running a hand through his white hair as he continued.

His clothes were clean, if slightly rumpled from travelling, and apart from his hair being somewhat less orderly than usual, there was nothing about him to suggest he had spent the previous night inside another Alpha family’s estate.

His first priority was getting back to his wing, where he could secure Raven’s belongings before washing, changing and perhaps finding something to eat. After that, assuming the Ball hadn’t already ended, he could decide whether there was any point attending.

He was already turning toward the path leading back to his Wing when a familiar scent caught his attention.

Cassian stopped and looked toward the adjoining path.

Raven?

For a moment, he thought he must have mistaken it. She should have been inside the ballroom, and the scent was coming from entirely the wrong direction.

He remained still, allowing his senses to sharpen, and caught it again.

There was no mistaking her now.

Raven had passed this way recently, and judging by how clearly he could still detect her scent, she couldn’t have gone very far.

His wolf stirred immediately, becoming restless as Cassian turned toward the path.

He had barely taken another step when something pressed faintly against his chest, making him pause.

The sensation was familiar, although it had never been particularly easy to understand. Whatever connection existed between him and Raven remained too weak to carry anything precise, and most of the time, he could barely distinguish his wolf’s reactions from his own.

This was different.

Something sharp reached him through the connection, followed by a feeling unpleasant enough that his wolf surged forward almost immediately.

Anger.

And beneath it, something else that made Cassian’s expression change.

Hurt.

What the hell?

The pressure returned, stronger this time, and his wolf pushed against his control with enough force that Cassian abandoned every thought of returning to Blade.

He was already moving.

Whatever had brought Raven away from the Ball could wait until he found her. For now, the only thing that mattered was following her scent before it faded among the other paths.

Cassian took the next turn quickly, leaving the brighter academy buildings behind as he followed the quieter route toward the grounds beyond the formal hall.

The music became more distant with every step, and by the time he passed beneath another archway, Raven’s scent had grown strong enough that he knew she had to be somewhere nearby.

Then he saw her.

Cassian stopped.

Raven was sitting alone on a stone bench some distance from the main path, her attention lowered toward her hands.

For several seconds, he simply stared at her.

Well, fuck.

He had known Raven would be attending the Renewal Ball. He had even imagined what she might look like dressed for it while enduring the journey back.

But his imagination, it seems had been embarrassingly inadequate.

The gown suited her in a way Cassian hadn’t been prepared for, its elegant design making the silver-white of her hair stand out even more beneath the nearby lamps.

She looked completely different from the girl he was accustomed to finding in the library, arguing with him over books or looking at him as though he had personally invented every inconvenience in her life.

And yet there was no mistaking her.

Even sitting alone, Raven carried herself with the same stubborn pride he had come to recognize, her posture refusing to surrender entirely to whatever unpleasant thoughts were occupying her.

Cassian found himself staring longer than he intended.

He had seen beautiful women before. Valerius was hardly short of noble daughters who had spent their entire lives learning how to make an impression, and he had attended enough formal occasions to have grown thoroughly bored of most of them.

But Raven was something else entirely.

The girl who had spent years serving people dressed for evenings exactly like this now looked as though she had every right to be standing among them, and Cassian found himself absurdly pleased by the thought.

She looked fucking lethal.

His wolf seemed to agree, surging forward with such sudden enthusiasm that Cassian almost laughed.

Six days away from her, and the damned thing had forgotten every reason it was supposed to behave.

He allowed himself another moment to look at her before Raven shifted slightly, finally drawing his attention to her expression.

The faint smile beginning to form on his mouth disappeared.

Something was wrong.

Whatever had brought her out here had left her visibly upset, and now that he was looking properly, he could see the tension in her shoulders and the way she held herself as though she was trying very hard to contain her anger.

Cassian’s concern returned immediately.

"Raven."

Her head snapped up at his voice.

For a second, she simply stared at him. Then her eyes widened so suddenly that Cassian almost smiled again.

"Cassian?"

The disbelief in her voice was genuine, and hearing her say his name after six days away felt considerably better than he wanted to examine.

He started toward her. "What happened?"

Raven didn’t answer. Instead, she rose from the bench, her attention moving over him with an expression he couldn’t quite understand.

Cassian frowned slightly as her gaze travelled across his travelling clothes and the coat he hadn’t yet bothered changing.

For a moment, the anger he had noticed in her expression gave way to something else.

Worry.

"Cassian, where the hell have you been?"

"Travelling," he answered, earning himself a look that would have been considerably more amusing under different circumstances.

"No shit." Her eyes returned to his face, and the way she studied him made his brows rise slightly. "Are you alright?"

That caught him off guard.

Cassian had expected questions about his absence, perhaps a few complaints about disappearing without properly explaining himself. He had certainly not expected her first concern to be whether something had happened to him.

The realization pleased him considerably more than it should have, and a small smile escaped before he could stop it.

"I’m fine."

Raven continued studying him. "Are you sure?"

"Quite sure," he assured her, although something about her expression suggested she was still having difficulty believing him.

He had endured far worse journeys, and apart from wanting several hours of uninterrupted sleep, there was nothing particularly wrong with him.

Raven, however, still seemed unconvinced.

Cassian might have enjoyed her concern a little longer under different circumstances. Unfortunately, whatever he had sensed from her earlier was still lingering beneath the surface, and now that he was standing close enough to see her properly, he was considerably more interested in finding out what had happened.

His smile faded as he studied her face again.

"Raven, who did this?"

Her expression changed.

For a moment, she seemed genuinely surprised by the question, and Cassian’s brows drew together when she merely stared at him.

"Who upset you?"

The question appeared to catch her off guard even more.

Cassian could practically feel his wolf waiting beneath his skin, still restless from the distress that had brought him here.

Whoever had managed to ruin Raven’s evening had picked a remarkably inconvenient time to do it. He had only just returned, and he was already beginning to consider how unpleasant his night might become if somebody had been stupid enough to hurt her while he was gone.

Raven’s eyes widened slightly before something in her expression hardened.

Cassian frowned. "Raven?"

She drew a slow breath without answering, her jaw tightening as she continued looking at him. Then, after several seconds, she gave a small nod to herself.

Cassian had absolutely no idea what conclusion she had just reached.

He waited for her to explain, but instead, Raven started walking toward him.

His wolf responded immediately, the restless pressure beneath his ribs shifting into something almost embarrassingly pleased.

Cassian could hardly blame it. After six days away, having Raven finally standing in front of him again was enough to make him temporarily forget how irritating the journey had been.

He watched her approach, still trying to understand why she was upset.

"Raven, what—"

She came close enough that he began lifting a hand toward her.

Then she slapped him.

Hard.

The crack of the impact rang through the quiet grounds, turning Cassian’s face sharply to one side.

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

His cheek burned as he stared at the empty path beyond her shoulder, completely unable to process what had just happened.

Even his wolf seemed to have gone still.

What the fuck?

Cassian slowly turned his face back toward her.

Raven stood directly in front of him, breathing harder than she had been moments earlier, and the fury on her face only made the entire situation more confusing.

Less than a minute ago, she had been looking at him with unmistakable concern, asking whether he was alright.

Now she had slapped him hard enough that his cheek was still burning.

He stared at her. "Raven, what the hell?"

She didn’t back away. Instead, she lifted her chin and met his eyes with an anger that left him even more bewildered.

"I know everything, Cassian."

Cassian blinked.

Everything?

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

He searched her expression, trying to determine what she could possibly have discovered in the six days he had been away, but nothing useful came to him.

Whatever Raven was accusing him of, she seemed to believe the explanation should already be obvious.

It wasn’t.

"Raven—"

"I know everything," she repeated, her voice sharper this time as she stepped closer without breaking eye contact.

Then she said the last thing Cassian expected to hear.

"You manipulative bastard."