DECISIONS, DECISIONS
681 Words
Cassius
Cassius had faced council interrogations, assassination attempts, and packs that hated him on principle.
None of that prepared him for Jasper Merrow.
It happened after the meeting dispersed—leaders lingering, voices low, the air still heavy with politics and consequence. Cassius was already preparing to leave when a steady presence stopped him.
“Your Majesty.”
Cassius turned.
Jasper Merrow stood before him—tall, broad-shouldered, graying at the temples. His posture was respectful, his gaze unwavering. No fear. No awe. Just a man who had lived long enough to stop being impressed by crowns.
“Thank you for coming to my daughter Queen Elora and King Lysander’s coronation,” Jasper said evenly.
Cassius inclined his head. “It was an honor.”
The courtesy lasted exactly one breath.
“So,” Jasper continued, voice shifting, “you’re mated to my daughter?”
Cassius didn’t bristle. Didn’t posture.
“Yes.”
Jasper studied him for a long moment, as if measuring something beneath skin and reputation.
“I don’t care that Seren is twenty,” Jasper said plainly. “And I don’t care that you’re the future King of the North.”
Cassius felt something unfamiliar then.
Respect.
“She is still my daughter,” Jasper continued. “And if you don’t intend to respect her—if you don’t intend to treat her correctly—then she will not be going anywhere with you.”
There it was.
Not a threat. Not bluster.
A line in the ground.
“I’ve heard your reputation,” Jasper went on. “Most people have. But I’ll trust—for now—that it isn’t the full story.”
Cassius held his gaze.
“So I need to know,” Jasper said. “What are your intentions? Do you want her to go with you?”
Cassius didn’t answer immediately.
Not because he didn’t know—but because he understood the weight of the question.
“I have no intention of being cruel to Seren,” he said at last, voice steady. “I want to know her.”
Then, without thinking—and perhaps because honesty felt safer than silence—he added,
“Besides… your daughter is quite bossy. If anything, I should be the one afraid.”
Jasper stared at him.
Then—unexpectedly—his mouth curved, just slightly.
“Good,” Jasper said. “She gets that from her mother.”
Cassius watched him walk away with a strange, grounding realization settling in his chest.
This is a man who would burn the world down for his family.
Cassius understood that kind of loyalty.
Later, Seren invited him to her family’s home on the royal grounds.
It was quieter there. Warmer. Lived-in.
Cassius stood near the window while Seren leaned against the table, arms crossed, studying him with open curiosity.
“Why should I go with you?” she asked lightly.
The tone was playful.
The question wasn’t.
“My entire life is here,” she added, shrugging.
Cassius turned to face her fully. “Is it?”
She smiled. “Mostly.”
He hesitated—an unfamiliar sensation.
“You could stay here,” she continued, eyes bright. “A few days. While I make up my mind.”
Something tightened in his chest.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “And what exactly do you have to think about, Seren?”
She circled him slowly, inspecting.
“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “you are tall. That’s good. Nice cheekbones. You seem interesting enough—”
“Interesting enough,” he repeated dryly.
She didn’t stop. “Quick question. Summer or winter?”
Cassius blinked. “…Winter.”
She nodded decisively. “I guess you’ll do.”
“Lucky me,” he deadpanned.
She laughed—and something in his chest eased.
“I’ll stay,” he said. “Less than a week. But I’ll stay.”
Seren’s smile softened, just a fraction.
And for the first time since the bond snapped into place, Cassius thought—
Perhaps this won’t be a war.
Not yet.
- Writer
