Chapter 149: Meeting Again in a Court Filled with His Concubines
The taste of porridge still lingered faintly on Cassian’s tongue, but it might as well have turned to ash. Every bite he had taken now felt like a lie. His stomach twisted the longer he sat there, the luxurious table before him suddenly suffocating.
Concubine.
The word echoed in his mind like a curse, each repetition carving deeper into the hollow beneath his ribs.
He couldn’t stay. Not here. Not in this room where the light was too soft, where the music pretended nothing had changed, and where the golden plates felt less like luxury and more like shackles. He needed air—space. Something that didn’t sparkle and shimmer and pretend to be kind.
"I think I need some air," he muttered, pushing his chair back with stiff hands.
Veyce blinked, a little surprised, then gave a loose shrug. "Sure. Go ahead. The hallways are quieter this time of day. Just don’t wander into the moon gardens—they’re patrolled, and the guards bite."
Cassian stood, legs aching, chest tight. Each step toward the curtain-lined archway made the air feel thinner. Veyce didn’t try to follow, didn’t protest. He just offered a lazy wave and a faint grin.
"We’ll talk tomorrow," he called. "I’ll show you where the firebirds roost. You’ll like them."
But Cassian barely heard him.
The moment he stepped through the trailing vines and into the marble hallway beyond, he drew in a long breath—though it did little to calm the pounding in his chest. The air smelled clean and cool, like crushed herbs and fresh stone, but it still felt wrong. It all felt wrong.
This place—this realm—it wasn’t what he thought it would be.
He didn’t know where he was walking. He just moved, legs carrying him down the corridor as if distance could untangle the knot inside him. His thoughts spun, trying to push away the truth. He wasn’t meant to be here. Not in these halls of dragon-blooded nobility and fae royalty. Not among warriors who bowed to a king they never saw. He didn’t belong here.