Chapter 181


    Chapter 181 Run Now


    CASSANDRA


    I had never considered myself a fool.


    But then again, in light of everything, perhaps I was.


    At the very least, I was naive, foolish, and blind. I should have put the clues together long before this


    moment. It should have beenpletely obvious from when Asher had mentioned the jasmine tea


    wasn’t a gift from him but from his brother.


    Back then, I had thought that Kane Collins was just considerate. I thought maybe he had just checked


    with Erika or some other servants who knew I adored jasmine tea and then made an excuse saying it


    was a gift from Asher just because he didn’t want to pressure me.


    Or maybe he just wanted topensate for what his mother had done to Erika and me. Either way, I


    hadn’t given it a single thought


    But if I’d been more careful and sharper about it all, I wouldn’t have neglected the possibility that Kane


    might find a clue to my real identity.


    The moment that the question left my lips, Kane’s gaze remained elsewhere. He avoided eye contact


    with me as if he was too ashamed to look at me, but his silence gave me all the answers I needed.


    Kane knew who I truly was, or at least the woman I had been.


    When and how had he figured it out?


    I’d been able to conceal my identity from Asher for so long because my appearance had been altered


    from that terrible inferno. Whatever Emmett had used to heal my wounds and burns had drastically


    changed my features enough to conceal my former identity. The only indications of my old self were the


    green of my irises, though they’d been much lighter back then, and then the sear on my leg. Without


    that scar, Asher would have taken longer to realize it was me.


    So what had Kane noticed that his brother hadn’t?


    Was it as Keleb suggested, that Kane had been following me for a while to gather intel? Or had he


    simply caught on by the mention of jasmine tea? It wasn’t the mostmon of tea vors, and


    everyone who had known Cora well knew that it was her drink of choice.


    There were so many questions I wanted to ask Asher’s stepbrother, but I couldn’t. This wasn’t the time


    or ce, especially considering how injured he was. The sheer amount of blood loss alone was


    threatening his life. We needed to find a way out of this terrible scenario and get far away from the king


    of Yurene.


    But before I could act, Kane spoke. He didn’t look at me and his voice was coarsely low.


    Chapter 181 Run Now


    “I’m sorry, Cassandra,” he apologized, and then he closed his eyes and his brows furrowed in pain. “I’m


    so, so sorry.”


    A lump formed in my throat as I tried to make sense of it all.


    Sorry?


    Sorry for what?


    I didn’t understand what was going on. There was nothing he needed to apologize for. Was he sorry for


    this situation? Or was he sorry for not letting me know that he had long uncovered the truth? Or maybe,


    he was sorry that we were involved in this sick game Kaleb appeared to be enjoying.


    Regardless, there was nothing for him to apologize for. I knew he had his reasons for remaining quiet


    on


    the matter.


    I didn’t think what Kaleb had said about Kane was true. I didn’t think he had some kind of sick, twisted


    obsession with me. He probably just wanted to make sure I was okay out of kindness or something.


    Though we weren’t the closest of friends in our youth, he had always been kind to me and treated me


    with respect. He was Asher’s brother, of course, so I had no reason to believe that he was acting out of


    some strange ce or obsession.


    Kalebughed when Kane uttered his apology to me.


    “Oh, now I definitely feel sick of this pathetic love story,” he mocked him and then he sneered. “You’re a


    coward, Lord Kane, as well as a fool. I’ve heard the stories they tell about you in this terrible pce.


    You’re nothing more than a second–rate version of that pitiful excuse of a king that rules Wega”


    At the mention of Asher, anger swelled within me and my hands balled into fists at my side. To throw


    insults and snide remarks at a wounded man on the ground was nothing short of cowardly in its own


    right.


    How dare this cruel foreign king disrespect the royal family of Wega?


    “Stop this,” I demanded. “There’s no reason to continue down here. It’s a waste of time.”


    Kaleb lifted a brow and then shrugged. “You’re right, Healer Cassandra. Why pretend otherwise? Let’s


    get on with the show, shall we? You seem ready to ept the reality of your situation.”


    When I continued to eye him coldly, he spoke again.


    “If you agree to go to the North with me, everything will be just fine,” he remarked. “Lord Kane can get


    the help and médical attention he needs, and no one else will get hurt. The decision is yours. Of


    course, I’m not a very patient person, so you need to make your choice now. Will youe with me


    and save him?”


    My hands curled into fists at my sides. I knew I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and I hated the loss


    of agency in my own life. After five years, after all that had happened, I was still incapable of controlling


    my own fote, wasn’t I?


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    Kaleb looked at our surroundings and grimaced. “This small ward is suffocating, isn’t it? And the smell


    of


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    2:3


    BK 5.77%


    Chapter 181 Run Now


    blood is too heavy. If it’s impacting your judgment, perhaps I could take you somewhere else and you


    could make your choice there”


    “No,” Kane spoke up, and then he nced at me finally. “Cassandra, don’t do this. You don’t have to go


    with him.”


    I dug my fingernails into my palm and took a deep breath, I approached Kane and then crouched down


    beside him.


    I had an idea but admittedly, it was crazy. It would require swiftness if I was going to pull it off, as well


    as cooperation on Kane’s part.


    “Tightly hold your breath,” I said to him in an almost whisper,


    Kane’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “What-”


    “Do it,” I insisted with a firm look.


    Once he nodded, I put my hand in my pocket and retrieved a small bottle. I then lifted it in one swift


    motion and held my breath as I flung it against the stone wall.


    The ss shattered upon impact and as the shards flew in every direction, plumes of shimmering


    smoke rose around us.


    The bottle had contained an inhtion anesthesia. I always carried it with me when I went to visit


    Spike. just in case anything went awry. I’d never needed to use it, but now was the perfect opportunity.


    The anesthesia wasn’t enough to make the guards lose consciousness, but it was enough for them to


    loosen their iron grip on Kane. The tall pair of men let go and began to cough, and as they dissolved


    into a fit, covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve. Kane copied my gesture and then I inclined my


    head forward, toward the dungeon stairs.


    We needed to run