It took her a few seconds to expel the feeling of sleepiness. She opened her eyes and blinked, the surrounding blurriness fading as the details of the ceiling turned crisp. This wasn\'t her room.

A chill rushed through her as she sat up in a jolt. She examined the room and let out a sigh of relief when she noticed the picture frame of her late mother and father on the bedside table. If her guess was right, this used to be her parents\' room.

She walked out of the bed and opened the floor-to-ceiling curtains that shielded the room from the brightness outside.

Waking up in her parents\' room, she couldn\'t help but wonder what the hell had happened. Her room was on the other side of the mansion. This room was next to her grandfather\'s, if she remembered right.

What had happened to her?.

Memories of the events that had transpired in the forest made her pause. She opened the window halfway and stared at the light shining through the door that led to the balcony. The sun was high outside. She felt its scorching heat, just as she recalled the fireball that she had released the other day. How long had she even been unconscious? She had lost her bearings.

"You\'re awake?"

She turned towards the voice. It was Carmichael. He was leaning against the door, glowering at her.

"I\'m awake," she answered, her face turning placid, cold even. Was he angry that she hadn\'t saved him? Was he mad about Selene? Was he annoyed that she had woken up? Was he furious that she hadn\'t died?

Question upon question piled up in her head as her brother walked towards her and suddenly pulled her into his arms - an action that caught her by surprise. Without saying anything, he wrapped his arms around her, almost squeezing her body.

Before she could say anything, she felt him pat her head. "If you had died… I would have killed you again."

"…" Does this mean that…

"You silly. How dare you faint without waiting for your brother to save you? Now everyone thinks that the prince actually saved you."

"…" Did she hear a fit of faint jealousy in his voice?

Cassandra lifted her arms and returned the hug. Warmth flowed inside her. It was as if thin strands of sunlight had finally pierced through the dark skies around her heart. She gulped and closed her eyes. "I\'m sorry."

"Hm… Don\'t cry. It\'s not like you lost a limb or something. You just slept for two weeks. Alright, maybe three. But you woke up. That\'s what\'s important."

"Three weeks?"

Carmichael freed her from the hug and looked at her. "Yes, three… whatever happened inside must have exhausted you. The prince refused to say anything, so I can only assume that you used something… powerful?"

His eyes examined her for a few seconds. "It didn\'t look like he took advantage of you. That\'s the reason why he still lives."

"You— "

Her words were interrupted when he walked out of the room. He called some servants and ordered them to serve her food. "You got careless?" he asked and held her hand as he guided her out to the balcony. He pulled a chair for her and sat on the other side of the circular wrought-iron table.

"It was a demon, there," she said.

He raised his eyebrow. "How did it get there?"

"I don\'t know."

His face turned solemn as he looked at the sea from across the balcony. Despite the pergola that partially covered them from the heat of the sun, she could still feel the warm breeze coming in from the sea.

She stared at her brother, wondering what he was thinking. Then she shifted her gaze to the sea. Since they were kids, Carmichael had been smarter and more powerful than her. He had been overprotective and would even fight the occasional soldier who would stare at her lecherously.

Even when he had gotten engaged to Selene, their closeness had never changed. He was caring and warm and was always supportive of her actions. Obviously, his attitude had changed after the accident. He had become cold, lonely, and just a different person. Just the thought of seeing her brother drunk calling his woman\'s name made her heart ache. She couldn\'t take the guilt.

Carmichael spoke. "Grandfather told me about the things that happened outside. A dark one pretended to be me."

She nodded, but said nothing. She assumed that her grandfather had already told him about her dealing with that dark one.

"How\'d you know it was me?"

She knew he would ask this question! "You wouldn\'t offer me a coffee. I presumed you would give me a punch in the face. But you were actually kind of nice."

"True. I would have started the meeting with a fight."

She chuckled.

"You should be thankful you are injured. That injury saved you from a sword fight." He angled his head towards her and smirked. "You owe me a fight."

She snorted. This was the Carmichael that she knew. And she missed this. She missed him.

Soon, silence descended between them. They continued watching the sea until two servants brought them food. "Where\'s my coffee?" she asked her brother. She had been asleep for three weeks. Obviously, the first thing that she would want when waking up was her coffee.

"You can have it tomorrow. That\'s a punishment for saving him instead of me," he said casually, before eating his sandwich. "Ah, speaking of that prince… "

"Did he die?" she frowned.

He looked at her and dabbed a napkin on his lips. "Alive. The King found out that he saved you. So he issued a decree. You will marry him."

It was as if a bolt of lightning had hit her in the head. Her brain stopped working, her jaw dropped as she stared at his face, wondering if he was joking. She waited for him to say he was just kidding, like he usually did.

As if sensing her thoughts, he added, "No, it\'s not a joke. Cassandra La Roche of the La Roche Family shall marry the Prince in three months. The king said three months should be enough to establish a bond together. After all, you two have been through hell and come back alive and safe."

"But that\'s..." her words were interrupted by hundreds of visions that flooded inside her head until she almost lost consciousness again.

One vision of her in a white bridal gown, another one of her running away from him on their wedding day. Then visions of him killing her flooded inside her head. "That man killed his own wives! Why would the king want me to marry a murderer?" she said out of nowhere.

"How do you know if he was really the one who killed his previous wives?" he leaned towards her, squinting. Then he sighed. "You aren\'t saying anything," he continued. "Are you still scared that I would blame you for Selene\'s death, knowing that you did nothing to stop her death even though you could see the future?"

His words made her pale. She gulped as the headaches vanished, as if they had never been there in the first place.

"Please, Cassandra. Did you really think I am that shallow?"