A few minutes later, Bellen Tavern
~Cassius’ Perspective~
I sit across from Selene, who’s glaring at me. If looks could kill.
“Are you pissed off that I said ‘I told you so?’” I ask. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Shut the fuck up,” she says. “So what do you want? I’m in your damn debt now, and I have no money to give you. I gave most of my last payout to my mom and sister. The rest is for me to have food. So what the fuck do you want.”
I look at her.
“What?” she asks.
Oh shit. She’s really not going to like this.
“We want you to help us kill Baron Adrius,” I begin. Her eyes widen in shock. “In exchange, we’ll protect your family from any Bellona scum and keep your involvement hidden. We’ll even give you financial compensation. No one will have to know. Not even the Archons.”
“The Archons? You mean the leaders of the branches of the Underworld? Those Archons?”
“I would like you to know that for the record, my reputation as one of the best captains of the Shining Pirates gives me a respectable amount of influence within the Underworld. In fact, the only reason assassins haven’t killed you in your sleep is because I made a deal with Archon Alethia.”
“Shit,” she swears. “When am I ever going to stop owing you?”
“You owe me a ton, but I’ve just never brought it up.” I don’t mention that I had sent a portion of my wages to Selene’s family back when I was in the navy. “There’s so much you owe me for that I have no intention of making you pay back to me. Consider this making us a bit closer to even.”
She glares at me.
“How much?” she asks. “How much do I owe you?”
I don’t say a word. I stretch out my hand to her.
“Do we have a deal?”
She spits angrily on the floor before taking my hand.
“You have a fucking deal.”
–
10 years ago, Valeria, the 4th Sea
Cassius and Julian walked down the dirt path to Julian’s home. Castor and Pollux had split up a long time ago to go see their own parents.
“Valeria’s an old town, so all of the paths are dirt,” Julian explained to Cassius. “And the AG doesn’t have enough time to pave stone paths into a rural town in the meadows, so we don’t get any. Trust me though, this place is way better than your home back in the 2nd Sea. And you’re going to love my mom.”
The 2 stopped at a house next to a forge. Cassius watched silently as Julian walked up and knocked on the door.
“Yes?” the voice of a young girl asked.
“Cagney, it’s me, Julian. And I brought a friend.”
The door opened to reveal a small girl with golden-blonde hair and striking green eyes.
“Cagney, this is Cassius. Cassius, Cagney.”
“Hey,” Cassius said nervously.
“Why are you so nervous? I’m literally 3 years younger than you. Why do you sound so scared?”
“Cagney, what did me and pa tell you about talking to strangers?” a woman asked Cagney, appearing behind her.
“Don’t be blunt,” Cagney responded, turning to her mother.
“That’s right. Your pa needs help right now, so go help him.”
Cagney ran into the house as the woman turned to the 2 boys. She let out a small smile as her eyes met Cassius’.
The first thing Cassius noticed was that she looked a lot like Cagney.
“Hello. You must be Cassius. My name is Julia Kestos. Julian’s told me all about you. Let’s go talk inside. I would love to get to know you.”
End of Chapter XLI