She knew asking this of Cassius was like walking a blade's edge and he would never agree easily. Yet when her eyes locked with his, full of unwavering resolve and the desperate determination to share his burden, the sharp lines of his fury faltered. Against his better judgment, he relented.
Arabella let out a small breath of relief, though her chest still ached with the storm of worry twisting inside her. She reached for his hand, her touch felt feather light, and whispered with a gentleness that softened even her own trembling heart.
"I'm only taking the smaller part, Cassius. The rest... I'll leave to you."
Cassius exhaled sharply, pressing one hand to his temple as though her words struck deeper than the battlefield's chaos. His other hand snapped upward, intercepting the serpent's lunge. Fangs never met flesh, its skull slammed into a conjured barrier so dense it recoiled with a piercing shriek, its massive body flung backward like a rag doll.
