Alone in the dim-lit cell, the no longer bored Cassian rose to his feet, taking a measured step towards the guard in front of him. Their height difference already said a lot, and Cassian looked down at the little guard who took a safe step back away from him, still refusing to look into those dominant Amber-brown eyes of his that gleamed with a natural light.
The air in the cell instantly switched, and the tension that was amiss gradually enveloped the corners of the cell.
Madeline retreated back when he took a dominant step towards her. Despite her attempt to keep some space between them, the young lad was more hell-bent on closing the gap between them, and Madeline, misinterpreting his actions as a way of wanting to bully her, immediately drew out her sword, and it worked magic as Cassian stopped in his movement.
"Stay back!" She tried to pull a manly accent as she took a stance her head could come up with, "please be wary of your manners, or I shall be forced to use my sword."
"Go ahead, wow me." Came Cassian’s stunning remark as he continued with his witted movements, looking unaffected by the cute guard’s tiny threat.
Madeline, who failed to raise the blade at him, dejectedly moved back until she got stopped when her back hit the cold wall, and Cassian stopped in his tracks, leaving only an inch of space between the two of them, one that sent Madeline’s heart skyrocketing, and it became even more difficult to look at him when they were standing only inches apart from each other.
Was he going to flirt with a male guard?
"You’re not a real guard, and you’re holding the sword in the wrong position." Cassian’s tone simplified as he suddenly grabbed her arm, eliciting a surprised gasp from Madeline, and this time, she was left with no other choice but to look him in the eyes, her dark orbs staring into those alluring Amber-brown eyes.
"Did you forget? I can recognize your scent from any angle." His lips pulled into a mischievous smile as his hold on her arm loosened, and then it dropped slightly down to her hands until he held her dainty pretty finger in his. "Let us leave that for a second, if you wish to pull off a disguise, my little wife, you have to do it perfectly, and leave no traces." He caressed the wedding ring on her finger, reminding Madeline of another reason that gave her identity away.
"Even without the ring, I knew Alaric was up to something." He cocked his head at her, "why did you come?"
"How can you ask me that?" She freed her hand from his hold, meeting his gaze with her worried one, "am I not allowed to visit you, or you don’t miss me enough to see me? I was worried about your health so I had to come see you, and also..." Her gaze lowered to his abdomen before retracting back to meet his eyes.
"How’s your..." Madeline’s words got stuck in her throat when he suddenly pulled her into his arms for a hug. For a second, Madeline was concerned that he might hurt himself if he kept pressing her body against his like this, but she felt her body refraining to pull away, maybe because she missed him a lot more than he probably did.
"Thank you for coming." He whispered his appreciation, and Madeline’s heart thumped in her chest. Carefully, he took a whiff of her hair that escaped from the captivity of the helmet she wore, and Madeline’s body froze for a split second when she felt the tip of his nose brush against the nape of her neck.
"Take a bite if you really want to." She gave him the go-ahead. "There’s no one here to see you do it, take as much as you need if it’ll help you recover your strength."
"You’re right, I am in need of your blood." He revealed, but surprisingly pulled back instead, refusing to take her blood, at least not yet. "I want to have you to my satisfaction, Maddie, and I’ll take as much as I want from you when I get out of here."
Madeline could feel her heart thump against the sinful promise that was etched to those words of his, and noticing his wife grow flustered, Cassian said no more and took off the helmet for her, causing her hair to spill down her back like a waterfall.
"Much better, I prefer the womanly version of you. Actually, you looked feminine even for a man. In my head, I already made a list of things I wanted to say to the guard, but alas, it was my lovely wife, I had to burn down the list."
The last thing Cassian wanted was to be dealt with by his wife. He wasn’t wrong when he said she gave off half of his mother’s vibe.
"But what if..."
"Shhhhhh," he silenced her with a finger placed on her lips, "you came here for me, so let me be the only one to occupy your thoughts." He tilted her chin up with his fingers, his burning gaze lingering on her lips as he was dying to have a taste, but before he could accomplish his desire, Madeline turned the blade in her grasp and poked Cassian’s chest with the hilt instead.
"How many women did you deceive with such a statement?"
"Unfortunately, I can’t see these ’women’ since you’ve obstructed my view."
"Ahhh....you handsome idiot." Madeline wished for her stick right now, how can he say such to her, and she did so much just to see him today.
She should have known this would happen.
"Cas," discarding their argument on that topic for another day, Madeline hugged him instead, but was careful to avoid hurting him. "Everyone knows about it, Klaus revealed the truth about what you’ve become, and you’re being blamed for the disappearance of those people."
"Can you do something for me?" He asked, pulling Madeline back so he could look into her eyes.
"What do you need me to do for you?"
"When you return to the house, gather a few things you think will be hundred percent needed for a journey."
"Why? What journey?"
"We’re running away," he informed her, "we’ll escape from here and head to Amade’s place first, then we can plan the journey to Whitebrige city’s capital from there."