When I entered Caelia's room, she was waiting for me with a serious look on her face.
I raised an eyebrow as I approached her with a confident smile, showing not even a trace of remorse.
Once I was close enough for her to feel my body heat brushing against her skin, I asked:
"What's wrong? Mad?"
She frowned and turned her face away from me, but her body didn't pull back. She seemed to explode when she finally answered:
"If you do what you did yesterday again, everything I promised you will disappear. You'd better remember who holds the power in this relationship. I can always find a replacement," she snapped, trying to sound firm, though her voice trembled slightly at the end.
"Mmm…" I murmured in acknowledgment as I took her chin and forced her to look at me. I slowly slid my hand down her body, and an involuntary moan immediately escaped her lips.
"Looks like Mommy missed me," I smiled, amused. "But don't worry," I leaned in to whisper in her ear, "there's no one who can replace me."
Cassian looked at her in silence for a second, wearing that half-smile he always had when things got interesting.
Without saying anything else, he took Caelia by the waist and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. He turned her easily and sat her straddling him, pressing her against his body until there wasn't a single inch of space between them.
She let out a low moan when she felt how hard he was beneath her. Her hands instinctively gripped his shoulders.
With slow, sure movements, Cassian ran his hands up her thighs, pushing her dress up until it was bunched around her waist.
He didn't speak. He just watched her. His fingers brushed the sensitive skin on the inside of her legs, moving higher little by little until they reached the center of her heat.
Caelia trembled and let her head fall forward, resting her forehead against his. Her breathing became uneven almost immediately.
Cassian continued moving his fingers calmly, increasing the pressure right where he knew it would undo her. With his other hand he held her firmly by the hip, guiding her to grind against his palm. Every time she tried to control the rhythm, he stopped her and pressed her harder against him.
Little by little, Caelia's moans grew louder and more desperate. Her hips began moving on their own, seeking more. He could feel her thighs trembling around his hand.
Without warning, Cassian withdrew his fingers. Before she could protest, he lifted her just enough, freed himself with one hand, and lowered her onto him in one slow but deep motion.
Caelia let out a long, broken moan as she felt him enter her completely.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her body tightened around him.
He said nothing. He simply gripped her hips tightly and began moving her up and down on his lap with a steady, deep rhythm.
Each time he pulled her down, he held her there for a second, pressing her against him so she could feel everything.
Caelia buried her face in Cassian's neck, breathing hard against his skin. Her hips started following the movement on their own, growing more urgent with every thrust. Each one made her tremble harder. Her breathing turned into small sobs of pleasure as she clenched around him, as if she never wanted to let him go.
Cassian could feel her losing herself. How her movements became clumsier, more desperate. How her body surrendered completely every time he pulled her down onto him.
He pulled her closer, one hand on her lower back and the other on the back of her neck, keeping her pressed tightly against his body while he continued moving her with that relentless but unhurried rhythm. He didn't need to say anything. The way she was falling apart on top of him said everything.
Cassian kept moving her over him with that deep, steady rhythm. Every time he pulled her all the way down, Caelia let out a choked moan against his neck. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders tighter, as if she were afraid he might pull away.
Little by little, her hips began moving on their own, more urgent, more desperate. It was no longer just pleasure — it was need. Her nails dug into Cassian's back, marking him without realizing it.
"More…" she whispered, her voice broken and breathless.
He didn't answer with words. He simply tightened his grip on her hips and pushed her down harder, forcing her to take him completely. Caelia let out a long, shaky gasp. Her body clenched around him, squeezing as if she wanted to keep him inside forever.
Suddenly she lifted her head. Her eyes, glassy with pleasure, looked at him with a new intensity. With a trembling hand she took his face and forced him to look directly at her.
"Don't go…" she murmured against his lips, almost like an order. "Don't you dare look at anyone else."
Cassian only smiled faintly, saying nothing. He kept moving her, slower now, making her feel every inch. Caelia closed her eyes for a second, but opened them again immediately, as if she couldn't bear to stop looking at him.
Her arms wrapped around him even tighter. She pulled him against her chest, pressing her entire body to his while her hips continued moving on their own, riding him with a mix of desperation and possessiveness.
"You're mine…" she whispered in Cassian's ear, her voice broken but laced with something dark and growing. "Only mine. No one else can touch you. No one else can have you like this."
Each word came with a harder movement of her hips. Her hands slid down his back, nails digging in as if she wanted to leave permanent marks. Her mouth found Cassian's neck and bit down hard — not enough to truly hurt, but enough to mark him.
Cassian could feel Caelia's body trembling more and more. How she clenched around him with increasing intensity, as if her own pleasure depended on knowing he belonged to her.
She pulled him even closer, almost crushing him against her body as her movements grew faster, more frantic. Her moans mixed with breathless gasps.
"Don't stop…" she repeated, almost begging now, her voice full of that obsession that was growing out of control.
In her mind, the words kept repeating over and over, louder and more desperate:
Mine… mine… mine…
Caelia buried her face in his neck again, clinging to him with her whole body as pleasure dragged her deeper. She couldn't think about anything else anymore.
Caelia's body tensed violently around him as the orgasm hit her. Her nails dug into his back and her legs wrapped around him as if she never wanted to let go.
For a few seconds, only her ragged breathing and the small sobs of pleasure still escaping her mouth could be heard.
Little by little, her body began to relax. She stayed wrapped around him, face hidden in his neck, breathing in his scent as if it were the only thing she needed to live.
Cassian waited a few moments longer, his hands still on her hips. Then, without a word, he lifted her easily and moved her off his lap. He stood up calmly and straightened his clothes as if nothing had happened.
Caelia was left sitting on the bed, naked from the waist down, her legs still trembling and her dress bunched around her waist.
She looked at him, confused, still breathing hard.
"Wait…" she murmured, her voice hoarse and weak. "Where are you going?"
He paused for a second at the door, but didn't turn around. He simply answered in a neutral, almost indifferent tone:
"I have things to do."
Caelia felt a knot in her stomach. She sat up a little, supporting herself on her arms, and called out to him again, trying to make her voice sound firm:
"Cassian… stay a little longer."
Cassian turned his head just enough for her to see his profile. There was no warmth in his gaze.
"We're done," he said simply. "Get some rest."
And without waiting for a reply, he opened the door and left the room, closing it behind him with a soft but final click.
Caelia remained alone on the bed, her body still sensitive and trembling from the recent pleasure. She hugged herself, feeling the emptiness he had left behind. Her mind kept repeating those same words, growing stronger and more obsessive:
Mine… mine… mine…
But he was already gone. And no matter how much she wanted him with all her being, Cassian didn't seem to need her the same way.
Her nails dug hard into her shoulders, hurting herself, as a mix of frustration, desire, and that growing possessiveness burned in her chest.
…
I couldn't stay playing with the empress for too long; today I had an appointment to attend.
Elizabeth was already in the carriage along with Elara.
When she saw me arrive, she immediately sensed that something was off with me, but she most likely already knew where I had been.
Adela and she always knew everything I did.
However, another person was in the carriage, and something inside me made me frown and put on a cold expression.
Either way, I put on the mask I had used in Beaumont and looked toward our destination: Astaford Mansion.