Cassian Nightwhisper's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The serpent's gift had won the crowd, but not the father. Isabella walked Cassian to her family's door the next morning. "He gave his word," she said. "To him a word is a wall. You'll need more than charm to move it." Cassian pressed his hand to the wood and knocked. Sam Morrison opened the door himself. He wore no cape now, just a plain coat, and mud on his boots. He had been out on the roads before dawn. His brown eyes moved over Cassian, then past him to his wolf pup and the serpent coiled at his shoulders. "I know who you are," Sam said. "You knelt for my daughter in the square. But I gave my pledge to another man. That still stands." "I came to change your mind," Cassian said. "A pledge isn't a thing I break," Sam said. "My name is worth something. Unless you can offer more than the other man, my answer is no. Come in." He led them to a bare table. Elara sat near the window, her curly hair loose, a floral dress fanned over the bench. She looked up, saw Cassian, and dropped her eyes fast. She was Isabella's sister, the shy one. She pushed her glasses up and said nothing, but her hands went still on her lap. "The other man offered coin," Sam said. "And safety, he claimed. There's danger on the roads now. A merchant robbed two towns over. His boy left bleeding. I want my girls guarded when I can't be here." Cassian understood then. The father wanted no gold. He wanted a shield. "I can give you what no coin buys," Cassian said. He lifted his arm. The serpent slid down and crossed to Elara. She flinched, then held still as the crystal-flecked coils rested light on her wrist. "My familiar guards those I love. She will watch your daughters when you ride out. And this one—" he touched the wolf pup's head, "—stays at your door. Nothing reaches this house without teeth to meet it." Sam watched the serpent glide back to Cassian. He watched Elara, who had not pulled away. He watched the pup sit at the threshold like it already belonged there. "The other man promised a wall of hired men," Sam said. "You offer beasts that answer only to you." "They'll answer to your blood," Cassian said. "For as long as I live. That's the bond I'm asking to make." Sam was quiet a long moment. He looked at Isabella. "You want this?" She nodded once. He turned back to Cassian. "Then I take back my word to the other man," Sam said. "You have my consent. But understand—a promise of protection is a debt. The day my daughters aren't safe, this ends." Isabella let out a breath. Cassian felt the door to the bond swing open. Yet Sam's last words sat in his chest like a stone he now had to carry.