To His Hell and Back
Chapter 83: Iron Scent and Her Heartbeat

Chapter 83: Iron Scent and Her Heartbeat

It took him a moment to shake free from the lingering thoughts of her- her skin, her expression, the sweet, erratic rhythm of her heartbeat. But once he did, his mind sharpened, slipping back into its natural state of calculation. Cassius had never been one to let his thoughts rest, not even after enduring his father’s latest punishment. Even as the ache lingered in his muscles, he was already anticipating the next game, the next performance in the cruel theater of courtly entertainment. This time, his father’s chosen pieces were his two cousins and his aunt.

His fingers tapped idly against the edge of the bath as he soaked in the warmth, stretching out the moment. The heat dulled the pain, but his mind remained razor-sharp. But then, his sharp ears caught it, the sound of that familiar. That same noisy little heartbeat that always seemed to stutter and race, as if unsure whether to flee or stay. Stuttering. Skipping. Tempting.

Intrigued, Cassius pushed his arms against the side of the large bath, rising slowly. Water slid off him in glistening rivulets, cascading like liquid silk down his pale skin. He moved without urgency, indulging in the weightless silence of the moment. With a rough motion, he dragged a towel across his body before pulling the bathrobe over his shoulders, and a grin crawled from the sides of his crimson lips.

Arabella’s presence was unmistakable, her heartbeat betraying her location just outside the chamber. She had hesitated while her feet paced back and forth outside the bathroom as if wondering if she should enter. He smirked. Smart girl. But not smart enough to stay away.

With the water still dripping from his damp hair, Cassius crossed the room with the unhurried grace of a predator who knew his prey had nowhere to run. He pulled open the door just as Arabella raised her hand to knock, and she froze, her green eyes widening at the sudden proximity.

His crimson gaze swept over her, noting the way she stiffened at the scent of blood lingering on his skin. The faint candlelight cast shadows along his sharp features, making him appear almost otherworldly, something not quite human.

"Eavesdropping, Arabella?" His voice was smooth, almost teasing, but there was something in it that made the air feel heavier.

She swallowed, her lips parting slightly before she managed, "I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just—"

"You just?" he prompted, stepping closer, enjoying the way she instinctively took a step back.

Her stubbornness flared, and she straightened her spine. "I was going to ask if you’re—"

"Alive?" His smirk deepened. "Disappointed to find that I am?"

Arabella rolled her eyes. "Not everyone is after your head, Your Highness. I was going to say alright, but if you’d rather I not ask—"

Cassius tilted his head, watching her intently. There was something delicious about the way she tried to act unaffected, as if she hadn’t just been caught lingering outside his door. As if she hadn’t been thinking of him just as much as he had been thinking of her.

And then, with a quiet amusement curling in his chest, he leaned down, just enough for his breath to brush against her ear as he murmured, "I thought you ran away from fear."

"Me?" She rolled her eyes. Even if she did run away, where could she run to? He knows this too well that no matter what, as long as she is still in this castle, she would be forced to go back toward him, to his side. She then pulled the medicine box from her back, showing it to me, "No one wanted to talk me, it took me a while but I found your maid and requested of the medicine box."

Cassius let out a low, amused hum, his crimson gaze flicking from her face to the medicine box she held up between them. So that was her excuse.

How dutiful. How adorable.

His lips curled in a slow smirk, and instead of taking the box from her hands, he reached past it, his fingers ghosting over hers for the briefest moment before he plucked it from her grasp. "How thoughtful of you," he murmured, his voice rich with amusement. "Braving the castle, facing all those hungry little beasts, all for me?"

Arabella exhaled sharply, narrowing her green eyes. "Don’t flatter yourself. It’s just medicine."

"Medicine my birdie caught from the wild forest that could have eaten her alive instead; how could I not be moved?" Cassius teased, and he could see how annoyed his birdie looked upon hearing all his teasings when she was trying to be serious. However, she didn’t go. Though annoyed and miffed, she stood in front of him, holding her stance.

"Yes, please be moved," she answered insincerely, believing that the medicine box could have something that would heal him, but she wasn’t aware that no medicine could heal a vampire’s wounds, at least not a vampire like him.

He smiled. "You want to heal me?"

As if ashamed of helping him, she shook her head. "Last night, you addressed my wounds, so I’ll help you with yours."

Cassius smiled; his crimson eyes were so intrigued by her adorable behavior. It was such a foolish act to try and heal a vampire when the medicine she held smelled like the medicines only used for humans. Seems like his birdie had left and requested for the medicine box and his maid had thought it was for her, not him.

She didn’t tell them that he was wounded, and he could tell that was because she knew he wouldn’t want anyone to be aware of his weakness.

"What to do?" Cassius leaned on the bathroom door frame. His skin that was still exposed was glistening with the wetness of the bathwater, his hair damped, and it dropped a single tear of water down his collarbone. He watched her, head tilted slightly, the smirk on his lips slow and teasing. "You’re trying so hard, little bird. But what will you do when your efforts are all in vain?"

"We could try first," she offered, looking at the medicine box. "Surely, with how wealthy the King is, he should have a medicine that could ease a pain or heal it faster."

"Perhaps, but I’m a vampire," he reminded, and his arms that were crossed unwound. He reached out his finger to her chin, tapping on it slightly, and then drew a line over her neck. The cold contrast of his fingertips and her skin caused her to shiver, and he looked at her frail, pale neck. His teeth then sneaked out from his red lips, licking the sharpness of his teeth. "I could only get healed by drinking blood, you see. Knowing that, will you allow me?"

Arabella stiffened, her fingers tightening around the medicine box. Her green eyes flickered up to meet his, a whirl of emotions stirring in their depths: defiance, wariness, and yet also something softer buried beneath it all.

Cassius chuckled, the sound rich and indulgent, as if he were savoring her reaction. "Ah, see? Your pulse betrays you, my birdie." His finger traced the delicate line of her throat, resting just above the frantic flutter of her heartbeat. "It’s such a lovely thing, so eager, so alive. Do you know that your heart has the best tune I have ever heard from any creature?"

How would she know how her heartbeat sounds?

She swallowed hard, but her voice remained steady. "You’re toying with me."

His smirk widened. "Perhaps because you’re so easy to toy? So, why are you still here instead of running away? Allowing me to munch on you until my stomach is full?"

Arabella exhaled, willing her body to remain still despite the chill seeping into her skin from his touch. She refused to let him see her flinch, refused to give him that satisfaction. "Because I don’t believe you," she said finally. "If you truly needed my blood to heal, you wouldn’t ask."

Cassius lets out a soft hum of amusement. "Touche, I’m a gentleman. Don’t you know it already? Well, only to my pets, so you should be grateful for your position." His thumb ghosted over her jaw as if considering something. Then, with deliberate slowness, he withdrew his hand and stepped back, though the weight of his presence still pressed upon her.

"I suppose I’ll allow you to play doctor for now," he murmured, his crimson eyes gleaming with something unreadable. "But don’t say I didn’t offer you a more... effective solution."

Arabella looked as he walked toward the plush couch. His bathrobe still stuck over his wet skin, his black lashes dropping more water drops down to his skin. It was a warm bath yet he seemed even colder than usual. He was joking around, but his mind seemed more firm, and this was something she could tell perhaps due to how often she tried to read Cassius’s poker face.

She kneeled down in front of him, and his eyebrows furrowed, seeing her face so near his knees, and then she looked up at him, her dewy green eyes staring at his face, "May you turn around, Your Highness? So I can address your wounds? The wounds aren’t at the front."

Cassius stilled, his crimson eyes flickering with something unreadable as he gazed down at her. The sight of Arabella on her knees before him, her delicate hands resting lightly on his knees for balance, sent an unexpected flicker of amusement through him.

How obedient she looks like this, he mused. How utterly misleading.

Cassius exhaled a chuckle, tipping his head back slightly as he studied her. "How diligent," he mused, though his amusement didn’t quite reach his eyes as if he was restraining something though Arabella wasn’t quite aware of it.