hearts

chapter 33|Cas

I felt something on my chest that immediately woke me up. My head snapped up in alarm to search for danger but instead, I was met with tiny fists pounding on my chest. I looked down to see Hibi stuffed beneath me as she struggled to break free.

Aw, cute.

Her face swelled in adorable frustration as she thrashed around "For fucks sake Cas get off me!".

But I'm comfortable.

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly rolled off her and instantly sprung up and took a large gulp of air. Drama queen. I watched in amusement as she started to pant aggressively. "After all we've been through and you try and kill me in my sleep!?" Her hair was everywhere as we'd still not found a hair tie for her messy locks.

I shrugged "I'm a hugger" She scowled at me.

No, I'm not.

But she was extremely comfortable.

"Don't look at me like that, you cuddled into me first".

And she did. I wanted to make the first move but refrained from doing just in case I managed to wake her up. But surprisingly she was the first one to move closer to me in her sleep and nuzzle into my arm. Instinctively I wrapped my arm around her and she quickly found solace beneath me.

I tried to enjoy the moment for as long as I could but eventually, I ended up succumbing to slumber which meant I probably began to crush her. But could you blame me? She was so warm in contrast to my usual cool skin and besides she was very easy to trap in between my arms as compared to me she was quite small.

"I was asleep" She huffed.

"So was I"

She angrily stood up and shoved a finger in my face "Shut up" She stormed off but didn't make it far as she ended up planting herself by the river bank.

She could pretend she hated it all she wanted but I remember her very clearly stuffing her face into my neck. "So what time are we leaving?" Her head snapped back to me and she shot me a glare before turning back to stare at the waters.

Petty little thing.

I chuckled and slowly got to my feet, stretching a bit as I stood up. Fuck that was the best sleep I've ever had.

I trudged over to her and sat next to her. The river was glistening as the sun hit the waves in a beautiful way. The sound of birds chirping and waters splashed softly against the rocks. It was very peaceful as for the first time I was able to take a second and admire the beauty of Spades.

But I couldn't help but shiver at the eerie feel in the wind that set me on edge.

"I think you're now on the top five list of people who've come the closest to killing me" I snorted.

"Hibi I just slept on top of you" She chuckled.

"You weigh like a thousand pounds" I gasped dramatically.

"Are you calling me fat!" She shoved me jokingly.

"If the shoe fits wear it" We both chuckled and eased into another comfortable silence as we admired the scenery together. A sudden question jumped into my head and I blurted it before I could stop myself.

"Whose come the closest?" Her face hardened and she looked down.

"You saw the large scar down my back right?" I nodded.

How could I not?

It was large and long and looked like it took a very long time to heal. From what I saw it stretched from just beneath the back of her head, across her neck and all the way down her spine, ending right above her ass. It had healed pretty well as it was now just a beige line with slightly darker undertones on the sides but other than that it was fine.

I just knew that whoever did it wanted it to be as painful as possible.

"Adaora" My face drained of colour. She looked at me from the corner of my eyes and smiled dryly. "C'mon don't be shy, ask now because I'm not talking about this again".

"I- uh" My mouth ran dry. What exactly do I ask.

Wow, my aunt got you good huh?

"Why did she-

"How about I just start from the beginning" She cleared her throat.

"Adaora saved me when I needed someone the most and I idolized her for it" Her voice was dry and lacked emotion "She took me under her wing and taught me everything I know now" She sighed "I soon became a member of the Datura but that wasn't enough for her".

"She pushed me harder than anyone else, made me stay longer at training times, woke me up at the crack of daylight and only let me sleep when it was way past midnight" Her fists clenched "I soon became the head of the Datura and it was clear to everyone that she was training me to soon take her place".

"I was happy and cocky and so, so, so ,so stupid" Her fists unclenched and her arms relaxed "One day I was fighting in the pit, and I asked the crown 'who wants a piece of this now' " She chuckled dryly "and no one spoke up. I was undefeated for so long that no one wanted to try" Her teeth gritted together.

"Adaora took a step in the arena and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. And naturally we fought" My mind raced with all this new information "I'm proud to admit that I started wiping the floor with Adaora" She snickered.

"People started to notice the match falling into my side more and grew scared. If I'd beaten her that day I would currently be the Queen Of Spades" I looked at her and she avoided my gaze.

"So why aren't you?"

She let out a choked sob "I went soft. Fights like those are to the death and when it came up to it. I couldn't do it so I dropped my weapon and turned my back on her, refusing to kill my mentor" A lone tear slide down her cheeks "Next thing I knew I was on the floor screaming in pain".

A ragged breath left her mouth "She spat at me and told me I was pathetic for not finishing the job and told me if I would not finish the job she would and she nearly did" She lifted up her now crop top and traced over the scar "She felt humiliated and in the heat of anger, banished me to never step foot in her fortress again but only after she nearly split my spine in half".

The silence after her confession was deafening. I had nothing to say and she had nothing left to say either. She abruptly stood up and wiped her cheeks aggressively before turning around. "Pack your shit we leave now"

She walked away from me but I stood there still processing what I was told. The cruelty and absolute horrors of what Hibi has been through hid well underneath her coffee brown eyes but today I saw her eyes glisten with untold trauma.

I slowly got to my feet and took a deep breath, preparing for the journey ahead of us. I heard something muffled so I turned around "Hibi?" My eyes widened as I saw Hibi struggle in a man's arms as he restrained her with one hand behind her back and a cloth to her face.

"Shi-

My words died down in my throat as I felt something hard hit the back of my head. I didn't pass out but fell to my knees as my eyes blinked out the black spots that were filling my vision. I clutched the back of my head as unconsciousness caressed my fingertips.