To His Hell and Back
Chapter 45: It’s A Small Peel

Chapter 45: It’s A Small Peel

Cassius was no stranger to impossible demands. His father had once ordered him to conquer an entire kingdom overnight, and the insatiable vampires at court constantly whined for more human livestock, despite their own reckless indulgence leaving corpses drained to dust.

But tonight, his little bird had asked for something far more absurd.

She wanted him to abolish the practice of keeping human pets, something she failed to realize would only tip the balance further against her kind.

Yes, it was heartless to use humans as livestock, but it was the only way to curb the more insolent vampires—the ones who would attack human villages under the guise of "hunger." Without the human pets, the court’s delicate, bloody balance would shatter, and the ensuing chaos would be deadlier than anything Arabella could imagine.

Yet, strangely, he felt no anger at her audacity. No urge to mock her foolishness.

Her vivid green eyes burned with such conviction, with such fire, that he found himself entertained. More than he should be. More than he ever intended to be. It had even swayed him into considering her idea, if only for a moment.

He leaned back against the velvet upholstery of his chair, fingers tapping idly against the gilded armrest.

It didn’t amuse him to see his little bird so upset, her usual defiant spark dulled. If indulging her in one of these foolish bets would return her fire, perhaps it was worth the trouble.

"Something in exchange for your leave?" he mused, eyes half-lidded in amusement. "But tell me, why would you even want to leave? Oh, your sister, is it? If you want, I can bring her here to the castle—"

"NO!"

Her voice rang out sharper than she intended, slicing through the dimly lit chamber like a blade. Cassius raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Arabella’s chest tightened. The very idea of Ariel entering this wretched place sent ice through her veins. Ariel didn’t belong here. She didn’t deserve to suffer in this gilded cage, where survival meant peeling away one’s own humanity piece by piece until nothing but a hollowed-out creature remained.

"Alright, not that, then. What would it be?" Cassius drummed his fingers against the chair’s armrest, watching her too patiently—far more than he afforded anyone else.

"Leave—"

"Oh, my patience is running thin." His red eyes darkened, sharpening to something lethal. Arabella stiffened, swallowing hard. "Choose your next words carefully, Arabella. I dislike it when you pretend to be weak."

She shut her eyes, forcing herself to breathe, to think. She couldn’t leave. That much was clear. But she needed the opportunity to see Ariel, to know she was safe. Lying to him was pointless. He saw through falsehoods as easily as a blade slicing through silk. She was nothing but a mouse caught in the trap of his palm.

Cassius watched her struggle, her emotions flickering across those expressive green eyes. Something stirred in him—something foreign, something unwelcome. He closed his eyes, his long inky lashes lowering as if exhausted by her sadness.

When he opened them again, the danger had melted into something smoother, something almost indulgent.

"Then I will allow you to see your sister."

Arabella flinched, her heart seemed to have skipped a beat as she had heard what Cassius said loud and clear yet still not clear enough for her heart to accept. She stared at him, confused and a bit bewildered. His handsome face and that ethereal grasp of darkness that rested on his face were still in a state of ease as if he hadn’t said something that could even shock a ghost.

She glanced up at him, his eyes unreadable but his mouth curling into the faintest of smirks as if the offer itself was a game, a cruel amusement for him.

"W- Why?" The word slipped out before she could stop it, too raw, too vulnerable. She cursed herself for it, for showing any weakness. But she couldn’t help it. There was too much at stake, and the idea of seeing Ariel, her sister, the only person she cared about in this twisted world, was unbearable.

Ariel was her only family, the only one.

Cassius’s gaze sharpened a flicker of something almost like mirth crossing his features. He stepped closer, his presence like an invisible weight pressing against her. The air between them seemed to hum with tension, but it was different now, he wasn’t mocking her, not this time. Instead, there was an almost delicate precision to his movements, a meticulousness in how he watched her that made her skin prickle.

"Oh," she gasped, "Oh in exchange for another game of yours? Like the maze? What kind of maze this time? Will it become a monster and eat me-"

"No. For nothing. You would just have to go out with me this evening to find someone," he answered, leaving her in confusion.

No way. Not this easily.

"You doubt me," he observed softly, his voice a velvet blade. He walked closer and his cold hand then held her chin, the coldness spread to her head and heart, and was heated up by the whisper of guilt from this afternoon’s. "Do you truly believe I would lie about something so trivial?"

She noted how his smile seemed oddly... soft.

There was no hint of mocking. He was not cruel... just unbelievably soft. And that startled her more than his usual smirks and taunts. Cassius did nothing without reason, and kindness, if it could even be called that, was never given freely.

But maybe she’s wrong?

Perhaps deep in him... Donna had warned her not to believe in anything that doesn’t exist but what if it did exist? It did. Once. But was erased by the cruelty of this castle. After all, even humans lost their reasons and touch in this nightmare. What humans wouldn’t fall into the tricks?

Arabella swallowed, resisting the urge to pull away from his touch. His fingers on her chin were deceptively gentle, but she knew the power behind them. The power, he had never used to hurt her.

"You never do anything for nothing," she said, her voice quieter now, confused and a hint of hope.

Cassius hummed, tilting his head as if considering her words. His thumb brushed against her jaw, almost an absentminded gesture. "Perhaps you’re right," he admitted, his voice carrying a lazy amusement. "But tonight, I find myself in a generous mood."

Arabella frowned. "Why?"

He released her, stepping back just slightly, as if granting her space was part of the game. "Who knows," he said. "Do you agree then? I’ll only give you three seconds to think. One- two, t-"

"I will!"

The words escaped her lips before she had the chance to reconsider. Arabella cursed herself for the desperation laced within them, but Cassius only smiled. He seemed satisfied and she could tell by the curves of his lips. What had she done that made him change? She couldn’t tell but she felt as if she was a step closer to him.

This was odd. He was odd. But she was even more odd.

Shouldn’t she be scared of decreasing their distance? But why did her heart seem... excited?

"Good girl," he murmured, his voice smooth as velvet, yet laced with something brighter. Amusement? Triumph? She was frustrated that she couldn’t tell.

Arabella exhaled softly, hoping he couldn’t the ripple in her emotions through her words, "You haven’t even told me who we’re looking for."

Cassius gave a lazy shrug, adjusting the cuffs of his dark sleeves as if the matter was of little importance. "Does it matter?"

Her jaw tightened. "It does if you’re dragging me into another one of your games."

At that, he laughed. Seeing him laugh made her wonder if anyone at the dinner table last night had ever seen him smiling so... happily as now, one free from taunt or mockery.

"Oh, Arabella, you wound me." Cassius’ eyes gleamed with something unreadable as he stepped closer once more, his voice dipping lower. "I would never drag you."

His fingers ghosted over her wrist, a barely there touch, but it caused the hairs on her neck to stand in a shudder.

"You follow," he continued, his breath brushing against her ear, "because you have to and want to. Did you forget your pretty little legs were the ones that carried you everywhere?"

Damn him.

"You should be grateful. No one has ever seen me so merciful."

She could tell that was true... Cassius was not merciful by nature. He was sharp edges and cruel amusement, a man who played with people like a cat with a dying bird. Yet tonight, he extended his hand rather than his claws, and that made her wonder if she had ever seen the real him.

Sighing, she decided to ignore his frivolous words. "When do we leave?"

Cassius’s smirk widened. "Now." He stood up and then pushed a soft white shawl made up of a white fox fur to her hands. "Keep that with you."