Lady of Ashes (Lady of Darkness #3)

Chapter 17 Sorin

CHAPTER 17

SORIN

S orin stalked down the streets of Baylorin, cloak on and hood up, hiding his features. Beneath the cloak were his ?ghting leathers and every possible weapon he could carry. Eliza, Cyrus, and Luan prowled beside him, along with Arianna, who had shifted to look like Mikale.

Nuri had pouted incessantly about being left behind again, but they didn’t have much of a choice. They hadn’t heard from Cassius since he’d been summoned by the Assassin Lord three days ago. Sorin was hoping it was because he was with Scarlett, but he knew that was likely not the case. He also knew if the Commander was being held at the Fellowship as well, they couldn’t leave without him either. He could only hope he was easy to ?nd. They needed to be in and out as quickly and discreetly as possible. As much as he wanted to kill every motherfucker who had a part in this, they couldn’t leave a trail of bodies in their wake.

Not tonight, anyway.

But Nuri had still been invaluable. She’d spent the last three days working to get as many people as she knew they could trust into place, putting them on the rooftops so they’d turn blind eyes as they approached the Black Syndicate. There weren’t many who would dare to cross the Assassin Lord, but those who would apparently had their own grudges against the man and welcomed any excuse to go against him. Sorin hadn’t questioned it further, trusting that Nuri knew who they could count on and who they couldn’t. If they came into direct contact with any of the men on their side, Nuri had given them a codeword that would be said immediately. If they weren’t close enough to say the word, they knew to get out of the way.

Because there would be no second chances this night. There would be no hesitation.

When he stepped foot in the Black Syndicate tonight, he would be leaving with his queen.

On top of that, Nuri had set up an elaborate diversion that she swore would draw out the Assassin Lord. She’d told Sorin not to worry about the details, just to trust that he would be occupied for a good amount of time. He didn’t have it in him to push her further. If it would get Scarlett back to him, then he was on board with the plan.

As for Mikale and Lord Tyndell, they’d been trailing them and learning their routines. Mikale was usually gone from the Fellowship in the evenings to have dinner with his father and Veda before heading back to the Black Syndicate in the later hours of the night. Lord Tyndell’s visits to the Black Syndicate seemed sporadic and only happened when he received word from a messenger. They had eyes on them tonight with plans in place to keep them occupied if needed as well.

“Archers on the rooftops,” Eliza muttered beside him.

“I see them. It appears they are Nuri’s,” Sorin replied, a lethal calmness settling over him.

They rounded a corner and found themselves on the main road through the Syndicate. The last time he’d been here was in the light of day. Tonight they were under the cover of the waning moon.

He was immediately pulled into memories of Scarlett bringing him here the ?rst time. Of watching her scale brick walls and ?it along rooftops. Of dining at a little cafe in a back alley. Of watching her care for children.

Of watching the Assassin Lord hit her and force her to her knees before him.

“Easy, Sorin,” Cyrus muttered from his left, and Sorin inhaled deeply through his nose, quieting the ?ames in his veins and sparks ?lling the edges of his vision. The Fellowship was just ahead, and as they drew closer, he could feel the faint hum of wards. He hadn’t felt that before, but then again, Scarlet hadn’t taken him this close to the Fellowship grounds either.

The plan was to leave Luan and Eliza outside the Fellowship. They couldn’t risk their only Traveler getting caught. They’d be waiting for them at the exact spot they could Travel from to get back to the warehouse. Arianna had said the wards took effect as soon as she’d crossed the gates to the grounds, and as they drew closer, two armed men stood, exactly as Nuri said they would be. She was going to try to have people in place, but she couldn’t promise anything.

And Sorin really didn’t give a fuck at this point. He stepped towards them, Eliza at his side. The men reached for weapons, but before they had a chance to draw them, they had hands clamped over their mouths and daggers in their hearts. Sorin would have preferred to slit their throats and listen to them drown in their own blood, but he supposed a blood trail would be just as problematic as a body trail.

Luan and Eliza would be posing as the guards they’d killed, waiting for him, Cyrus, and Arianna to return. Sorin and Cyrus helped drag the dead guards to the shadows where they wouldn’t be seen, and Arianna led the way in as Luan and Eliza took up their posts.

Sorin and Cyrus tugged their hoods lower over their faces, double-checking weapons strapped beneath their cloaks. His ?ames instantly guttered when he walked through the gates, and a glance at Cyrus told him he’d felt it, too. Eliza, Cyrus, and Arianna had taken strong doses of the tonic to make sure they could access their magic tonight, but that meant nothing with these wards. He had to agree with the Shifter Beta. He’d never experienced wards like these.

Cyrus wrenched the main doors open, and they found an empty foyer, but they heard muf?ed voices from a corridor to the left. Arianna strode straight ahead, heading to a doorway behind the grand staircase that wound up to the levels above them. They passed a few men along the way, but they took one look at Arianna in Mikale’s form and continued on, clearly unconcerned. No one spared him or Cyrus a second glance.

When they pushed open the door that led down to what he’d been told were the holding cells, a guard stepped into their path.

“Lord Lairwood,” he said gruf?y with a nod of his head. He had short, cropped blonde hair, and his light brown eyes shifted to Sorin and Cyrus. “Who’ve you got with you?”

“Is that any of your business?” Arianna growled, Mikale’s voice low and threatening.

“Well … yeah,” the man said, running a hand over his head. “There are only certain guards allowed down there right now. He said I’m supposed to make sure everyone has clearance so …” Hetrailed off, clearly uncomfortable with having to question who he thought was Mikale.

“They are with me. Is that not proof enough that they have permission to be down here?” Arianna demanded.

“Listen, my Lord, I’m just doing my job. I don’t ask questions,” he answered, lifting his palms placatingly. “But if someone gets down there who isn’t supposed to be, it’s my ass.”

“You don’t even know what you are guarding?” Sorin asked.

“Not my place to know,” the man answered.

“What if he is doing horrendous things?” Sorin pushed.

The man snorted a laugh. “We’re assassins. We were trained to do horrendous things.”

“To innocent people?”

“Not my concern,” he answered with a shrug. “My concern is who the fuck you are, and if you’re allowed to be down there.”

“That is no longer your only concern,” Sorin said calmly. Between one breath and the next, the man had a dagger in the side of his head.

“Sorin,” Cyrus sighed, bending down to drag the man to a corner where, hopefully, no one would stumble upon him until they were long gone. “We need a low body count.”

“We had a problem. I took care of it,” Sorin answered, wiping the dagger off on the dead man’s shirt.

“We cannot kill every problem, Sorin,” Cyrus said. “Not this time.”

“We also do not have time to sit and debate this,” Sorin answered, gesturing at Arianna to continue leading the way.

The dungeon halls were eerily empty. Every once in a while they passed a cell that was occupied, but that was it. The people in those cells, though? They were clearly being starved. Their eyes were hollow and sunk in. How long had they been down here? And why?

His thoughts turned back to Scarlett as he followed Arianna deeper and deeper into this underground network of halls and rooms. He didn’t know what state she was going to be in. Arianna had said she was chained and seemed thin and weak, but she didn’t have anything to compare her to. She’d never met Scarlett before.

Or he was trying to convince himself she wasn’t in the state Arianna had described.

They continued down more halls, their footsteps seeming to echo off the walls no matter how much they tried to soften them.

“How much farther?” he asked in a low voice.

“Assuming she is in the same room, just around the corner,” Arianna answered.

But when they reached what appeared to be a study of some sort, the room was empty. There were places to anchor shackles on the wall beside a large wooden desk. A sofa stood along the wall, and everything was neat and orderly. And her scent. Citrus and embers. Jasmine and lavender and night. It lingered in the room.

Arianna hesitated just inside the doorway. “This is where she was,” she said, Mikale’s voice sounding strained.

“Then we check the other rooms down here before we start searching the upper levels,” Cyrus cut in before Sorin could lose his godsdamn mind.

They had planned for this. Nuri had given a list of the most likely places she would have been moved to, starting with the private dungeon rooms the Assassin Lord used for his personal business and moving progressively up through the other floors. His private wing would be the hardest section to gain access to, but was also a likely place she could be. They made quick work of the first few rooms. The doors were open and clearly empty as they passed, but as they rounded a corner and found three men standing outside a door, they’d obviously found the room they were looking for.

The men glanced at Mikale, but as soon as they saw Sorin and Cyrus, weapons were drawn as they approached.

“He said only you and—”

The man didn’t get to ?nish what he was saying as a dagger left Cyrus’s hand and lodged itself in his throat.

“What happened to not killing every problem?” Sorin asked with a smirk, drawing a sword to meet the other two men now running towards them. One didn’t make it past Arianna as she drew a blade as fast as any Night Child, slicing it across his middle and then his throat when he dropped to his knees.

“I thought I’d follow the lead of my prince,” Cyrus retorted.

Sorin swung his sword, slicing clean through the remaining man’s neck, his head rolling in the opposite direction of his body. He could have used ?re, he supposed, but they’d all agreed to save the small bit of power they might be able to access. Despite Arianna’s claims and the wards he had felt, he could still feel his ?ames. He knew he could access them, likely because of the ring he wore. It was to be used only as a last resort inside the wards.

“Scarlett would be so proud,” Sorin said mockingly.

Cyrus rolled his eyes. “She would have said fuck covertness, announced her arrival, and then made a competition out of who could make the most kills.”

Sorin barked a laugh at the accuracy of that statement, but it quickly died in his throat as they stopped before the heavy wood door. He swallowed thickly before he reached for the handle. It wasn’t locked. They’d apparently believed the various obstacles they’d put in place, along with the wards, to be enough. He stepped into the room, and then clamped down on the snarl that wanted to claw its way out of his chest.

She was here, sitting on the stone floor, her ankles and wrists in shackles, just as Arianna had said. Her wrists weren’t anchored above her head though. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees that were curled to her chest. Her ankle chains were anchored to the floor, however, and her chin was resting on her knees. Silver hair hung limp around her shoulders, and she wore a black gown that, from what he could tell, was partially sheer.

He pushed his hood back, taking another step into the room. “Scarlett,” he whispered.

But he stopped short when she lifted her head at her name. Her face was covered in grime and ?ecks of blood, tear-trails cutting a path through it all. Her eyes were a muted silvery-blue, and they were vacant, hollow.

More haunted than he had ever seen them.

When you ?nd her, she will not be the same as when she left.

Her eyes moved up and down him warily before she returned her head to her knees.

Arianna’s description had been true. She was pale. She was far too thin, but even without much food, she shouldn’t be this thin. Not in only a few weeks. He could make out bruises and cuts along her wrists and ankles where the shirastone cut into her skin.

“Is she in—” Cyrus started, coming into the room behind him but stopping short at the sight of their queen.

Scarlett’s head lifted again at the sound of Cyrus’s voice, and her head tilted slightly to the side. Her brows knitted together, and her nose scrunched in confusion for a moment before her head went back to her knees once more.

“If that is Cassius …” Cyrus said slowly, and Sorin realized that Scarlett was staring at a ?gure on the ?oor a few feet from her. He had been so focused on ?nally laying eyes on her, he hadn’t taken in the rest of the room.

It was indeed Cassius, just out of her reach. He was bleeding from multiple places, puddles of blood pooling beneath him. His leg was at an unnatural angle, and the bruises marring his face made him almost unrecognizable.

“Is he …” Sorin said softly, his eyes going back to his wife, where she stared unblinkingly at the motionless body. Sorin couldn’t say the words aloud. He didn’t want her to hear them, as if voicing them would make it more real for her.

Cyrus made his way to Cassius, lowering beside him and reaching to check for a pulse. A ?icker of relief ?ashed in his golden eyes. “He’s not. Not yet. But his breathing is shallow.” He glanced quickly to Scarlett, then back to Sorin again before saying, “He doesn’t have long.”

Sorin nodded once and took a deep breath before moving to Scarlett. He slowly lowered down to his knees before her. He reached out to cup her cheek, just to fucking touch her after not having done so for weeks, but she lurched back from him. Her chains scraped along the stones, and Sorin froze at the sound, his eyes widening.

He held up his hands placatingly in front of him, showing her his palms. “Okay,” he breathed. “Okay, Love. I will not touch you.”

Her gaze snapped to his as he spoke, but he had no idea why as she looked him up and down again. He took another deep breath, trying to decide what the fuck to do, because he didn’t know. He didn’t know what she’d experienced. He didn’t know what had been done to her. And he couldn’t fucking feel her. He couldn’t reach her. He couldn’t speak into her mind because she’d blocked their damn bond.

“I will get Arianna. She can use the key, and we can go,” Cyrus said quietly.

Sorin nodded, not even glancing at his Second, his eyes ?xed on his twin ?ame. Her gaze bounced from him to Cyrus before settling back on Cassius. He slowly lowered his hands, wiping his palms along his leathers.

“Hey, Love,” he said gently. “You are going to be okay.”

She didn’t look at him, didn’t show any sign that she’d heard him.

Cyrus and Arianna came in the door, and Scarlett’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as they approached her, before going back to Cassius, her head returning to her knees.

That was her only reaction to who she thought was Mikale entering the room?

Sorin ran a hand through his hair at a complete and utter loss. She hadn’t said a godsdamn word. She hadn’t made a godsdamn sound. Could she? Had Alaric done something to her so that she could no longer speak? Was she in too much shock? At least when she had retreated into her soul on the journey to the Fire Court, he could feel her. He could sense her, even if it was a muted bond. Here, with her Blood Mark in full effect, he didn’t know what to do. He felt utterly helpless. He had failed her. He had been too late. They had waited too long.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Cyrus stared down at him, concern and understanding on his features, knowing he was struggling. He jerked his chin to tell him to move aside. Sorin pushed to his feet, moving closer to Arianna and letting Cyrus take his place.

“Hi, Darling,” Cyrus said softly, and Scarlett stiffened before dragging her eyes to his. “I know it looks like we’re here with this bastard, but rest assured, if it were truly him, he would not be breathing. I would be laying his corpse at your feet as a gift.”

Scarlett sucked in a breath, but she still said nothing.

“This is Arianna Renatus,” he continued, gesturing to where she stood. “She is the Beta of the Shifters. Her wearing that fucker’s skin is how we got in, and she is how we will get you out.” Scarlett’s gaze ?ickered once to Arianna before meeting Sorin’s brie?y.

“Scarlett,” Cyrus said softly, reaching for the chain. She clearly interpreted it as him reaching for her, though, as she lurched back from him.

“Love,” Sorin croaked, unable to keep himself from taking a step towards her. “Love, let us help you. Let us get you out,” he begged. “Please.”

“I’m not going to touch you,” Cyrus said quietly. “And neither is she. But she studied your chains a few days ago, Scarlett. She was here before. I am told you kicked her little mouse butt off of your foot when she was trying to get closer to your ankle manacles.”

At those words, her entire demeanor physically changed, and she began trembling. Her hands came to her mouth, sti?ing some sort of cry. Her chains rattled with her tremors as tears welled in her eyes.

“Gods, Scarlett,” Sorin pleaded. “Please let me come to you.” Seeing her like this was pure torture.

But she shook her head, denying him.

“Take these off,” she rasped, her eyes going to Arianna. Her voice was raw and hoarse, but it was her voice, even if he recognized nothing else about her right now, and the sound of it still nearly brought him to his knees.

Arianna nodded, taking Cyrus’s place before her. She pulled the iron she’d shaped into the key from her pocket. “I made this before we came,” she explained, Mikale’s voice spilling from the Shifter’s lips. “There are wards around this building that prevent me from being able to shift anything inside them.”

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded for the Shifter to continue. Arianna slipped the key into the lock that was keeping her ankle chains secured to the ?oor. The moment it fell open, Scarlett was crawling across the ?oor. She didn’t wait for the shirastone shackles to be removed. Her arms nearly gave out as she pulled herself across the stones until she was next to Cassius. Carefully, as if she knew exactly where each injury he had was located, she draped herself over him, nestling into his side. Blood soaked into her dress and added to the grime already on her skin as her head came to rest on his chest.

Arianna crept forward carefully, reaching tentatively for her ankle shackles. She ?tted the key into them, and a frown formed on her lips. “These are different from the ?rst lock,” she said. “This key will not work. I can ?gure it out once we are away from these wards.”

Scarlett buried her face in Cassius’s bloody chest, clutching at his shredded tunic, her trembling increasing.

“We are going to get them off, Scarlett,” Sorin said thickly, cautiously coming to her side again. “But we need to get you out of here first.”

“How are we going to do this?” Cyrus asked from his side.

They had been prepared to possibly have to carry Scarlett from here if she was not well enough to walk out herself, but they had not anticipated having to carry the Commander out as well. There was no way Scarlett was going to let them leave him here, even if he was likely to not make it out of the Fellowship still breathing.

“One of us needs to carry Cassius, the other needs to be free to access weapons,” Cyrus continued. “Arianna, can you carry the queen?”

“Yes,” the Shifter answered. “If she will allow such a thing.”

Sorin hated the idea of anyone other than him carrying her out of this hellhole, but he nodded in agreement. “I will get her for you. It will likely look more believable if Mikale is carrying her out anyway. Cyrus, you grab Cassius. I will make sure our way out is clear.”

Arianna nodded, stepping back to wait for the handoff, and Cyrus walked around to Cassius’s other side, lowering down once more.

“Darling,” he said softly, swallowing thickly when she didn’t even lift her head. “Scarlett, we will bring him with us. You can say goodbye outside of here, without chains.” She showed no reaction. No sign that she had heard them. Cyrus glanced up at Sorin, regret heavy in his gaze. “You’re going to have to force her. We’re lucky no one has come in since we’ve arrived the way it is. We need to get moving.”

“Come, Scarlett,” Sorin said, his tone ?rming and becoming a command. He reached for her, and the moment his ?ngers touched her shoulders to pull her off of Cassius’s body, a snarl emanated from her. Her head whipped up, and her eyes were bright with rage.

“Where is Mikale?” she rasped. “Where are Alaric and Lord Tyndell and Tarek?”

“Tarek?” Cyrus asked, his eyes widening in horror. “Love,” Sorin said slowly. “Who is Tarek?”

Her lip curled into a sneer, and it was Death’s Maiden who peered out from those silvery-blue orbs. “A male whose days are numbered,” she hissed. “Where are they?”

“We do not have time to go into all the details, Scarlett,” Sorin answered, resisting the urge to reach out and tuck her hair back. “Nuri created a diversion of sorts, but they will likely ?gure it out soon if they have not already. We need to go.”

“They already know you are here,” she answered. “They would have felt you the moment you crossed the wards.”

“All the more reason we need to go,” Sorin said, moving to reach for her again, but her grip tightened on Cassius’s shredded shirt. “Scarlett,” he begged. “Please. We need to go.”

“Go where?”

“Back to the warehouse, then home,” he answered.

“How will we get there?”

“Eliza and Luan are waiting for us. He will Travel us if you cannot.”

“Sorin,” Cyrus gritted out, his tone conveying his warning that they needed to get moving.

“Come to me, Love,” Sorin coaxed. “Cyrus will carry Cassius. Arianna can carry you.”

“I will walk,” she replied hoarsely, eyeing Cyrus as though she thought he might leave Cassius here, before she slowly eased her grip on the shredded fabric. Sorin reached for her, helping her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, she pulled away from him again, swaying slightly. She watched as Cyrus lifted Cassius over his shoulder as carefully as he could, and when she was satis?ed, she turned to Arianna. “You need to act like you are escorting me. Mikale never carries me unless I physically cannot walk, and even then he prefers to drag me along behind him.”

Sorin snarled at that, and Scarlett glanced at him, tilting her head once more as she studied him. Her eyes snagged on his hands, and she leaned forward slightly. “Let me see your ring,” she demanded, her chains rattling as she held out her palm to him.

“I need your ring to access my magic, Love,” he replied, his ?st clenching.

“Not that one,” she answered, hand still outstretched.

He looked down at his left hand, where his marriage band encircled his ?nger. He slowly pulled it off, placing it in her palm. She held it up before her, studying it intently, as she murmured so softly he barely heard her, “Do you still see the light?”

“Yes, my Love.” He stepped closer to her. “There are still stars to ?ght for.”

“Perhaps,” she muttered, more to herself than to him, as she extended his ring back to him.

He took it from her, letting his ?ngers brush hers, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

“You are sure you can walk?” he asked, sliding the ring back onto his ?nger.

She looked dramatically down at her feet. “It would certainly appear so.”

“And here I thought we had found a better use for your tongue,” he retorted, relief ?ooding through him at the brief glimpse of her snark.

Her lips twitched slightly, and he thought she was going to smile, before she turned and began making her way to the door. “Grip my arm. Turn right when we exit,” she said, stopping beside Arianna.

“But the way out is to the left,” the Shifter argued, reaching out to take Scarlett’s arm as instructed.

“The odds of us getting out of here are slim the way it is. Although if this is Lord Tyndell’s doing again, I suppose it doesn’t much matter,” Scarlett answered, swaying on her feet again, and making Sorin lurch for her. “The point is, I know a more discreet path out.”

They didn’t have time to question her at this point, and Sorin pulled the door open, allowing Arianna and Scarlett out ?rst. Scarlett glanced down at the dead guard outside the room, bending down to swipe a dagger from the corpse.

They made their way down the hall, Cyrus keeping pace beside Sorin as the Commander steadily dripped blood, leaving a trail behind them.

“We need to go left up ahead,” Scarlett murmured when they approached the end of the hall. He watched her shift the dagger she held, hiding it as best she could in her gown. “There will be guards. They are beneath you. Should they try to stop you, tell them if they question you again, they will answer to the Lord himself. Be convincing.”

They rounded the corner moments later, and sure enough, four guards stood at the end of the hall before a stairwell. They straightened as their group approached, two reaching for short swords. Sorin tensed, his hand going to his own weapon.

“Where do you think you are going?” one of the assassin guards sneered.

“I did not realize I answered to you,” Arianna growled back, Mikale’s voice hard and gruff, and Scarlett ?inched. Sorin didn’t know if it was an act or a natural reaction to his voice.

“No one is allowed up this stairwell without permission,” the guard retorted, his eyes sweeping up and down Scarlett, making no attempt to hide his perusal of her body.

“You are questioning me?” Arianna demanded, twisting Mikale’s features into rage.

“If it were just you, no, but all of you …” the guard replied hesitantly.

“If I turn around, trust I will return with the Lord, and you can explain to him why there is a delay in our plans,” Arianna snarled, stepping forward and tugging Scarlett roughly along with her.

The guard glanced at his companions, and Arianna pulled a dagger from her cloak, bringing it to the guard’s throat. “Let me rephrase that. The others will explain why we are delayed. You will be bleeding out at the base of these stairs.”

The guard swallowed, nodding slightly as he stepped to the side, the others following his lead. They climbed the stairs, Scarlett stumbling and tripping several times, but Sorin didn’t dare say anything in case they ran into others.

When they reached the next ?oor, Scarlett spoke between labored breaths. “We shouldn’t run into anyone else. This is Alaric’s private living wing. His closest are allowed in this wing. Some of us have rooms here. Up the stairs and down a hall, we would come to his private suite.” She gestured to the stairs. “No one is ever allowed in there, but that way,” she said, pointing down a hall to the right, “leads to a private exit. There will be guards outside in the yard. You will need to kill them or be killed,” she ?nished simply.

“How many guards can we expect?” Sorin asked, stepping closer to her on the vacant landing. He brought a hand to her back to steady her, but she stepped from his touch.

“Normally, there are only a couple, but as I said, he’s been expecting you. He already knows you are here. He could be waiting for you himself, and he is prepared for the ?re you wield,” she answered indifferently.

“What does that mean?” Cyrus demanded, his breathing heavy from carrying Cassius up the stairs.

“I do not know,” she answered with a shrug, her chains rattling slightly. “He did not tell me that.”

“Which side of the Fellowship will we come out on?” Sorin asked. “The south,” Scarlett answered. “If we survive, there are paths leading both east and west. We can take whichever is necessary.”

“We go out together,” Sorin replied. “Cyrus, start heading east to Eliza and Luan immediately. Scarlett go with him. Arianna and I will handle the ?ghting.”

“I have a dagger,” Scarlett scoffed.

“You are in chains and can hardly stand,” Sorin countered.

Scarlett’s jaw clenched, and she averted her eyes, looking down at her bare feet. “I have faced so much worse. This is nothing.” She inhaled deeply before lifting her head once more and heading off down the hall, leading the way.

Sorin fell into step beside her, Arianna falling back to guard Cyrus. He saw Scarlett glance at him out of the corner of her eye before she quickly ?xed her gaze forward once more. She halted a few feet from a door, turning to face him. “This is likely Lord Tyndell messing with my mind again, but on the off chance it is not … please don’t die.”

Sorin smirked at her. “I will do my best, Princess.”

Her lips twitched again, but the smile still didn’t form. “There are not many stars left.”

“You are my necessity,” Sorin answered, the smirk falling from his lips. “I will always come for you.”

He thought she might reach for him. He was praying to Anala she would, but instead she nodded once before turning back and going to the door. He watched as she rolled her shoulders back and breathed deep before she pushed the door open, and he moved to follow her out into the night.

He only had one foot over the threshold when she was swinging her dagger. She slammed it into the chest of a guard standing just outside the door. She’d clearly known he would be there, and he growled at the fact that she’d gone ?rst instead of telling him.

Because of course she had.

She darted out into the darkness, tripping over her chains as she began to run on the path, catching herself with her hands. Her dagger skittered from her grasp. She was back up before Sorin could reach her, and he cursed under his breath that she wouldn’t let him touch her, let alone help her.

He heard the arrow whizzing his way seconds before he caught the shaft of it in his hand. He snapped it in two, before pulling a knife from the bandolier across his chest, cocking his arm back, and throwing it at the assassin who’d aimed for him, striking true. He crumpled to the ground, the knife embedded deep in his skull.

Sorin whirled to look for Scarlett. She had her wrist chains around another guard’s neck, struggling to pull him back against her to ?nish him, and Sorin ran for them. His short sword went into the man’s gut as a knife went across his throat.

Scarlett brought her hand to her abdomen, pressing against a gash and breathing hard. She was scanning the yard, relief ?ashing in her eyes as Cyrus and Arianna ran past them down the path.

“Let me carry you, Scarlett,” Sorin said, sheathing his sword and knife once more.

She shook her head. “You need your hands free to ?ght.”

“There is no one else out here, and you are bleeding. We are almost out,” he insisted.

But she shook her head again. “They are coming. They are waiting.”

“Who, Scarlett? Who is coming?”

She looked around the yard again before jerking her chin to the path Cyrus and Arianna had gone down. “Let’s get as far as we can,” she said, setting off down the path, even slower than before.

“What should I be preparing for?” Sorin asked, scanning the yard, slowing his pace to match hers.

“I don’t know,” she said around a grimace, her legs nearly giving out again.

“Who are they?” he pressed, catching her elbow to keep her upright.

She stiffened, coming to a halt, but for once it wasn’t a reaction to his touch.

“I was beginning to think you were not going to come for her.”

Sorin shoved Scarlett behind him, cursing himself when he felt her stumble, and Mikale stepped into view not more than twenty feet away from them down the path. Sorin called ?ames to his ?ngertips, but Scarlett was back in front of him, pushing his hands down and forcing him to extinguish the ?re.

“No!” she cried in terror, tripping over those damn chains at her feet yet again.

Sorin caught her before she could face plant onto the ground, and Mikale chuckled, taking a few steps towards them.

“You really are so damn clever, aren’t you, my pet? That will be so incredibly useful.” He took another few steps as a sneer curled up his lip. “But right now, it is causing quite the inconvenience for us all.”

“Where is Tarek?” she demanded.

Tarek. That was the second time she had said that name. He and Cyrus had immediately thought of Tarek Ordos, Talwyn’s twin ?ame. He had been killed alongside Thia, so it obviously wasn’t the same male, but the name still dredged up memories that both he and his Second liked to keep buried.

“He is waiting for you to be returned,” Mikale answered. “He has your tonic ready for you. You will be needing it after exerting so much energy. How careless of you.”

The mention of a tonic had another snarl ripping from Sorin, and he pulled Scarlett possessively to his side. She fought him for a moment before she sagged against him. He brought his other hand up again, preparing to cast ?re and burn this motherfucker to ash, but she reached for his arm again.

“No,” she rasped, leaning into him so much now he was holding her up. “He wants you to use your magic. I told you. They are prepared for it.”

A frustrated growl came from Mikale, and he began striding for them with more purpose. “You are not leaving here with her,” he snarled, pulling his sword from his side. “I will not lose her again.”

“She is not yours to claim,” Sorin replied darkly, his grip on her tightening.

“We shall see,” Mikale answered with a dark smile, continuing his advance.

He wanted to push her behind him and shield her, but he was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to stand. Tucking her in even closer, Sorin raised his sword. She was not leaving his side again. She clung to him, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

“Let me go so you can ?ght,” she rasped.

“Not a chance in hell, Love,” he replied. “I will never let yougo.”

His blade met with Mikale’s a moment later, the resounding clang echoing in the otherwise empty yard. Mikale’s lip curled up on one side as he brought his sword down again and again, pushing them back down the path and towards the Fellowship. He was trying to ?gure out a plan, but his focus was on keeping Scarlett up and beside him and avoiding the swipe of Mikale’s blade.

He felt Scarlett pull a knife from his belt a moment before it was being shoved deep into Mikale’s side. He let out a bellow of rage and pain, stumbling back, and Sorin planted a foot in his gut. Mikale fell backwards to the ground with a grunt, and Scarlett was lurching from Sorin’s side before he realized what was happening. She fell to her knees beside Mikale, reaching for the knife and twisting it in his wound, making him scream again. Sorin stalked forward, placing his foot on Mikale’s throat to hold him in place for his queen.

“That is not shirastone, my pet. It will not kill me,” he panted out through gritted teeth.

“I am well aware,” she rasped back, tugging the knife from his side, blood instantly beginning to pool beside him. Sorin reached for her as she leaned in closer, ready to intervene if Mikale made one move to grab her. “I want you to know that the next time you see my face, you will be looking upon your death.”

Sorin couldn’t help the dark smile that spread across his face as he watched his wife and queen make threats when she couldn’t even stand. But the words that came from Mikale’s lips next had confusion coursing through him.

“Do you know why you are so weakened right now, my pet?” he replied, a cruel, vindictive smile on his face. “You weaken as your Guardian fades.”

“No,” she rasped, shaking her head at those words. “That bond is blocked. All my bonds are blocked. That is what Alaric said.”

Mikale laughed as much as he could around Sorin’s foot at his neck. “He also said that because Cassius chose the Guardian bond, you would still feel it. You did not feel a thing as you watched us carve him up and make him scream, but now you are weakening. You know what that means, my pet.”

“You are lying,” she rasped, horror and panic coloring her tone. Her already labored breathing was becoming erratic.

“Breathe, Scarlett,” Sorin ordered.

“She can’t,” Mikale taunted. “She cannot because her Guardian is on death’s doorstep. He already has a foot beyond the Veil, and when he fully crosses, the pain will be excruciating.”

“Scarlett, I do not know what this means,” Sorin said, looking from Mikale to his wife as she fell back, drawing her knees to her chest.

“Tarek will ease the pain, my pet. The tonic we give you will ease this loss,” Mikale continued, his voice slipping into a coaxing tone, smooth and entrancing. “You know what is required of you.”

“Scarlett, I do not know what is going on here, but do not listen to him. Do you hear me?”

But she didn’t hear him. Her hands were clamped over her ears, and her eyes were closed tight as she rocked back and forth. Tears were coursing down her cheeks, sobs racking her body, and a scream of anguish left her throat. He couldn’t go to her. He couldn’t reach her. He could do nothing for her right now, but he could kill the man beneath his boot.

With a snarl of rage, Sorin pulled a shirastone dagger from his belt, but as he raised it to bring it down on Mikale’s chest, another voice cut through the night.

“I wouldn’t do that, Aditya.”

Sorin’s head snapped up to ?nd a hooded ?gure crouching beside Scarlett. Where had he come from? And why was his voice so familiar?

“Get away from her,” Sorin ordered darkly, his dagger halted inches from Mikale’s chest.

The hooded man tsked as he stroked down Scarlett’s hair, brushing it back over her shoulder. “How can I help her if I step away from her?” he mocked, pulling a dagger from the folds of his cloak. “Here’s how this is going to work. You are not going to kill him,” he continued, gesturing to Mikale on the ground. “And I will help the female you love so deeply.”

“Help her how?”

“Not until we have an agreement,” he answered. “You can keep Mikale beneath your boot. I do not really give a fuck, but I, unfortunately, must insist you do not end his life.”

Sorin watched as he continued to stroke Scarlett’s hair while she rocked back and forth, lost to the depths of her darkness and pain. His chest tightened painfully when she screamed again in clear agony.

“Agreed,” Sorin said tightly. “Help her. Now.”

The man pushed the sleeve of his cloak up, bringing the dagger to his forearm and slicing a gash up the inside. Then he took Scarlett’s hair loosely in his ?st, tilting her head back before moving his arm to her mouth. She fought him, pressing her lips together.

Until he leaned forward and said something into her ear that made her scream again.

As soon as her mouth opened, he was pressing his forearm to her lips, his blood dripping down her throat.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Sorin demanded, and Mikale began chuckling beneath his boot once more.

“You desire her so deeply, yet you do not even know what she is,” Mikale managed to get out, and Sorin was pressing his boot down harder to cut off his air supply.

But Scarlett was indeed calming. The hooded man had tipped her chin up, closing her mouth and forcing her to swallow. She blinked her eyes open and seemed to know who was beside her, because she lurched away from him, crawling a few feet down the path.

“Now, now, your Majesty. We’ve become so close these past few weeks. I am wounded,” he chided, pushing to his feet and striding towards her.

He stretched out a hand. “Come with me, and he may let your beloved live.”

“Where is he?” she asked. Her voice was still hoarse and rough, but it sounded stronger than it had moments ago.

“He is waiting for you in his study. He is unhappy,” the man said.

“He is always unhappy,” she retorted, pushing herself to her feet to stand unsteadily before the man.

“I assure you, once you ?nally meet his demands, he will be quite pleasant to be around,” the man replied, his hand still outstretched to her. “Tell me, your Majesty, is your lover’s life not worth it? Will you sacri?ce yet another person you love?”

“What do you know of sacri?ce?” she spat back. “Is that what you think you’ve been doing here?”

Mikale squirmed beneath his foot, but Sorin wasn’t sure what to do here. He wasn’t sure if he should be attempting to intervene or standing back as he was. He had no idea what was being discussed or who the cloaked man was.

“Careful, Majesty,” the man warned, his voice going cold. “We have discussed this before. Do not pretend you know my motives in what I do.”

“From what I’ve gathered, your motive is a Court you think was stolen from you. But in actuality, you are too much of a coward to challenge the sitting Royal for it, so you sought out someone to take it for you,” she replied, stepping back from his outstretched hand.

What the actual fuck was going on here? Because the way Scarlett was talking to this hooded man made it sound like he was Fae. The terms she was using made it sound like this Fae desired one of the Courts, thought he was owed one of the Courts.

“I am going to enjoy watching his punishments for what you have done today,” the man gritted out, beginning to stalk towards her.

“Scarlett,” Sorin called out to her, but before he could say more, a deep bellowing had them all turning to look down the path.

Running towards them beneath the moonlight was a great red stag, and Azrael Luan was on his back.

“No!” Mikale roared, rolling suddenly and catching Sorin off guard. “Grab her, Tarek!”

But Sorin was already racing for her as she stumbled back from the man again. A shirastone dagger was ?ying from his hand and embedding in the man’s shoulder. He didn’t slow as he lunged for her, too, but then Rinji was leaping clear over the top of him and standing between the man and the queen.

Sorin was beside Scarlett a moment later, pulling her into him, and she pressed her forehead to his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she looked up at him.

“If we do not get out of here—”

“No,” Sorin snarled, pulling her towards Rinji but keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her. “There will be no goodbyes, Scarlett. Never again for you and me.”

“Help her up, Aditya,” Luan said, reaching a hand down for her.

“ You ,” the hooded man hissed in rage, and Luan whipped his head around to face him.

“I know your voice.” When the man did not reply, Luan said, “Lower your hood.”

“We do not have time for this,” Sorin snapped. “Get us out of here, Luan.”

The Earth Prince’s attention returned to him. “I cannot Travel within the wards,” he said, pulling Scarlett onto Rinji’s back. She sat sideways in front of Luan, unable to straddle the animal with her chains on. A moment later, Luan was helping Sorin up behind him.

With another bellow, Rinji stamped its front hoof, and the ground shook beneath them.

“Stop them,” Mikale hollered in rage.

“I cannot stop a spirit animal, you idiot,” the cloaked man spat back.

“You are useless,” Mikale sniped, prowling forward.

But Rinji lowered his head and ran down the path, both men jumping out of the way of the animal’s antlers. Minutes later, they were skidding to a halt at the east gate. Cyrus was reaching up to help Scarlett down, and Sorin was leaping from the animal’s back.

“Hi, Darling,” Cyrus said, setting Scarlett on her feet.

“Hi,” she answered, tilting her head back to look at him.

“He’s waiting for you.”

And she was passed into Sorin’s arms. He gripped her face in his hands, smoothing hair back from her face. He couldn’t ?nd his voice as her silvery-blue eyes stared into his own, and emotion ?nally ?ickered in their depths.

“Take these chains off,” she whispered.

“As soon as we are at the safe house,” he answered.

“No. Now.”

“Let’s go, Aditya,” Luan said, reaching for them, preparing to Travel, but Scarlett pulled free of his grasp.

“Take the chains off,” she said again, louder this time.

“Scarlett,” came Eliza’s voice as she came to Sorin’s side. “There is not time. If you want to say goodbye to Cassius, we need to go now.”

“Take them off,” she demanded again, as though she hadn’t heard the general speak.

“Grab her, and let’s go,” Luan said. Arianna was beside him, one of her hands clasped in his. She had apparently shifted back into her natural form before giving Luan Talwyn’s ring. She was crouched down, her other hand on Cassius’s still form.

Scarlett turned to say something to him, but her gaze fell on the Shifter.

“We are outside the wards. You can make the key now, can you not?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Arianna answered. “However, I have to agree with your husband. We have barely managed to escape alive this night.”

“I do not care who you agree with,” Scarlett answered. “Take them off.”

Sorin started to move towards her, but he caught Cyrus’s eye as he silently circled behind her. Yelling and pounding footsteps told him they had seconds.

“Now!” Sorin yelled, reaching out and grasping Eliza’s hand at the same time she gripped Luan’s. Cyrus came from behind, his arms coming around Scarlett’s waist and trapping her arms to her sides. He forced her forward. She screamed in fury, but the second Sorin’s ?ngers touched her ?esh, they were pulled through a rip in the world.

Cyrus kept her held tightly to him as he hauled her up the path to the warehouse. Sorin didn’t dare try to take her from him. She was kicking and ?ghting and swearing at them, and he didn’t know why. He had no idea what had set this off, what she had experienced to make her react like a feral animal.

“Scarlett,” he pleaded. “I am sorry, Love. We needed to get you out.”

“What the fuck happened?” came Nuri’s voice as she rushed out of the warehouse and fell still at the scene before her.

“Let’s get inside, and we can ?ll you in,” Sorin ground out, brushing past her and leading the way into the warehouse. They all ?led in, Luan carrying Cassius. As soon as the door was closed, he gestured to Arianna. “Make that key.”

“I need to see the manacles,” she answered.

Scarlett was still thrashing in Cyrus’s arms, and Sorin didn’t know how she even had the energy or strength to be doing so. It couldn’t all be from that man’s blood, could it?

“Scarlett.” Her name was an order, and she stilled long enough to sneer at him. “Cyrus is going to let you go.”

“I am?” he asked, his brow arching.

“Yes, you are,” he answered. His eyes were ?xed on Scarlett as he continued, “Since you are in a particularly delightful mood right now, for reasons I am incredibly interested to learn I might add, I suspect you are going to run and ?ght. But know that I will chase you, and I will ?ght you, and you will not win tonight.” Flames began to twist up his arms, and Scarlett glared at him. He nodded at Cyrus, and he slowly unwound his arms from her.

Scarlett didn’t move, but she continued to glare at him. He took a tentative step towards her, and when she still didn’t move, he closed the distance between them. “Keep your eyes right here, Scarlett,” he said, his voice a soft command. He motioned Arianna forward. No one made a sound as the Shifter lowered to study the locks on the ankle shackles.

“You know why her emotions are heightened right now, do you not?” Arianna asked casually, running her ?ngers over the manacles.

“I am assuming because she has been a prisoner for weeks, experiencing any number of countless horrors, and we just freed her?” Sorin drawled.

“She is feeling much right now,” Arianna continued, ignoring his sarcasm. “She is obviously feeling relief at being rescued, but she is also feeling sorrow for Cassius. I would guess she is also feeling rage at what she has experienced.” The Shifter pulled the key she had used earlier from her pocket. It began shifting in shape as she continued speaking. “I am assuming she has been in these shirastone manacles since she was taken. Her magic has replenished these last weeks but has had no outlet. She is over-sensitized, on edge, feeling everything intensely.”

Sorin had not even considered that. When he was in the human lands, his magic had simply gone dormant. Her’s would not have done that. Her’s would have been demanding she use it. It would have been trying to break through just like it had when she’d been addicted to her tonic. When it couldn’t physically manifest, it would have sought out other outlets— like rage and sorrow. She would have fallen back on old habits, retreating into herself to try to keep from feeling anything at all.

Arianna slid the key into the shackle around one ankle, and a moment later it popped open. Scarlett began trembling, but her eyes stayed on his. He didn’t reach for her, understanding that even touching her right now could set her off again. But gods; the desire to touch her, feel her skin, her mouth. To drive that haunted look from her eyes.

He swallowed thickly. “It is almost done, Love,” he said softly.

“I wanted to burn the Fellowship to the godsdamn ground,” she whispered back. “That’s why I wanted them off there.”

“Then when you are ready, we will go back and do just that,” he answered, the second ankle shackle falling to the ground. “If you want to set the entire godsdamn world on ?re, my ?ames are yours to help you do so.”

Arianna stood and began examining the wrist manacles. A few minutes later, they fell from Scarlett’s wrists with a clang. She closed her eyes, breathing in deep. She spun to face the expanse of the warehouse. Flames ignited up her legs and down her arms, and then she was arcing those ?ames into the air above them. Embers and sparks were raining down to the ground, and Sorin snuffed them out before they could set anything alight.

“Sorin,” Eliza warned, stepping forward, but he thrust out a hand to stop her.

“I am prepared to intervene. Just stay back.”

His hand was raised, ready to take control of her ?ames if they got out of control, but as those red and gold and blue ?ames began to arc towards the ground, Scarlett raised one hand higher. Water ?ew from it, but instead of snuf?ng out the ?ames, she froze them in midair and let them crash to the stone ?oor of the warehouse.

Sorin created his own wall of ?ames to shield the others as the frozen shards of ?ame shattered and exploded outward. When he was ?nally able to lower that wall, he turned to ?nd her striding to where Cassius lay, frosty footprints left in her wake.

“What did he do to him?” Nuri asked, her voice quiet and tense.

“Everything,” Scarlett answered, dropping down and curling herself into him just as she had back at the Fellowship.

“He was still breathing when we got here,” Eliza said quietly, coming to Sorin’s side. “I don’t know how, but he was.”

“What do we do?” Cyrus asked.

“We let her say goodbye,” Sorin answered.