"Cassandra, you have to be truthful with me. How is everyone treating you here? Are you happy? And who was that woman you spoke about?" Lotus asked a string of questions once both sisters were settled down for the night.
Cassandra sighed. She knew she couldn’t tell Lotus about the curse or chaos would break loose. But she could definitely speak to her about Kela.
"Siroos had a lover and she didn’t take my arrival very amiably. She was jealous and tried to create rifts between us," Cassandra explained.
"What? How dare he? Is he going to keep her as a concubine? He better not," Lotus seethed out, her brows scrunching together in anger.
"No, he actually imprisoned her for trying to disrespect me. She is spending her time in a dungeon."
Relief washed over Lotus and she placed her hand on her chest.
"So the brute has principles. Colour me surprised," Lotus answered.
"Yeah! I was bitten by a snake on my first day here. He saved my life," Cassandra reminisced on the horrible memory with a shudder.
Instantly Lotus’s hands went to her sister in protection.
"Blimey! How tragic. You have to be careful, Cas. This is a dangerous place."
"Yes, that’s why I have my personal guards now," Cassandra said with a smile, trying to ease her sister’s fears.
"I wish I could lend you my magic. But I have brought along something." Getting up, Lotus ambled towards her wooden trunk and opened it.
Extracting a small rectangular box covered in royal blue velvet she brought it along and squatted beside Cassandra.
"It’s strange, he hasn’t even given you a proper bed to sleep on," Lotus complained with her nose scrunched up while opening the box from its lid.
"They don’t use beds here; I am happy with my bedding," Cassandra reassured her sister, who didn’t seem very pleased but was focused on what lay in the box now.
Extracting a small pendant with a tear-shaped blue gemstone dangling from it, she let it hang in front of Cassandra. The gemstone seemed to be swirling as if hundreds of tiny fireflies had been caught in a sea.
"Wow! It’s beautiful." Cassandra’s eyes widened seeing the gemstone of such elegance.
"I have placed a protection charm on it. It will protect you against the evil forces and those who hold malice in their hearts. Always wear it. Don’t take it off," Lotus sternly instructed, placing it around Cassandra’s delicate neck.
The golden chain was light, and so was the pendant; she could easily hide it under her clothes.
"Thank you! Lotus, for always looking after me. I love you." Cassandra emotionally threw her arms around her sister and they both hugged, their cheeks pressed together.
"You are my baby sister, I will always watch over you." They separated, and Lotus flicked her fingers; green vines sprouted out and began to crawl on the floor like snakes. They tangled around her trunk and pulled it closer to her.
Cassandra laughed.
"I was in no mood to get up." She shrugged her shoulders and began to fish inside her trunk again. Taking out a large jar of mixed preserved fruits, she handed it to Cassandra.
"Here, I knew you would be dying for this."
"Aww! Thanks, this is the best gift ever." Cassandra hugged the jar to her chest making Lotus’s heart brim with love for her sister.
"Siroos brought me fresh strawberries from another pack he visited last month and now this."
Cassandra quickly opened the jar and extracted a cherry, all dried and preserved. Placing it inside her mouth she let it melt and juices to quench her mouth.
"Um! Yummyyy!" She cried out in pleasure, closing her eyes, she was lost in the fruity taste.
It made Lotus chuckle.
"Are these the sounds you make when he makes love to you?" Lotus suddenly asked and Cassandra almost choked on the cherry. Her eyes sprang open and she coughed.
Lotus patted her back with a smirk.
"There! There! Seems like it’s true."
The embarrassment singed her, turning her into the very cheery she had been savouring.
"Lotusss!"
"Just saying, I am sure you are not deprived in that sense," Lotus deliberately winked at her sister making her blush deepen. She had no clue how wrong she was.
Although Siroos had been trying to pleasure her they hadn’t mated in the real sense and would never do. But she kept that piece of information locked away in her heart and didn’t reveal that part to her sister. The hurt crawled up slowly but she pushed it down and placed a smile on her face.
"Well, if you are so interested in shifters. I saw how you were flirting with Faris." It was Cassandra’s turn to wriggle her brows at her sister.
"Ah! Faris is like those delightful young men who are needed by us women to remind us how special we are. They sing praises of our beauty and sweetly whisper into our ears. They boast our female egoes but I was only doing it to vex Razial. I can’t forgive him for the way he treated you."
Cassandra softly squeezed Lotus’s arm in understanding before speaking.
"Things happen for a reason. Razial and I weren’t meant to be. I know Siroos, he would have killed Razial too if he had tried to interfere. I have forgiven him, it’s time you do that too. Feel at ease."
"I know, Cas. But it’s a matter of trying. He never took a stand for you. He was your fiancé." Lotus shook her head. She hated people who had no loyalty and she felt Razial lacked it because of the way he had treated Cassandra in their relationship.
"That’s because he was never in love with me. You can do many things but you can’t force someone to fall in love with you. It stems from within you, it requires passion, it burns your existence when you are with the right person. That never happened between me and Razial but it does happen between me and Siroos."
Cassandra had made peace with her past and she had to navigate the future now with Siroos, no matter how perilous it was.
"I am happy for you my sweetest. You deserved all the love which father and Stephanie never gave to you. I hope Siroos and his pack sees you for the gem you are."
Cassandra could only politely nod at her sister’s words, how she also wished it was true.