Chapter 33 Scarlett
CHAPTER 33
SCARLETT
S carlett sat cross-legged on the bed beside Cassius, holding his hand in hers. He still hadn’t opened his eyes, but his body shifted slightly every once in a while. Small groans would escape him whenever he did.
Hazel had not returned, giving them privacy for when he did wake. She was grateful for that; although she knew it must be agony for the High Witch not to be in here right now. Sorin was here, though, keeping her company until he woke. Not letting her get lost in her own thoughts.
Mikale hadn’t been back in her dreams since that night when she couldn’t fall back to sleep and Sorin had found her on the beach. And even with Sorin sitting on a chair that he’d dragged over beside the bed, all she could think about was how many times would she have to do this? How many times would she be sitting beside Cassius, waiting for him to wake up, because he’d tied his life to her own when he was ten years old? How many times before he didn’t wake up?
“Stop,” Sorin ordered softly, pulling her from those spiraling thoughts.
“Maybe we can ?nd a way to reverse the Guardian Mark in the books we’re looking through,” she mused, brushing her thumb along the back of Cassius’s hand and ?ghting off the exhaustion already trying to settle over her. It wasn’t even midday yet.
“Maybe we should wait until he is awake to see if he even wants to do such a thing,” Sorin countered. “I think you should let him have that choice.”
“Of course it will be his choice,” Scarlett said. “But if he wants an out, I want it to be ready for him.”
“And if he does not want an out? If he chooses to stay bonded to you as your Guardian, will you let him? Or will you try and talk him out of it? As you have continually tried to talk us out of our own choices to stay by your side since you have returned?”
“That’s …” She paused, pursing her lips before she ?nished. “That’s not fair of you to say.”
“What is not fair, Scarlett, is for you to want to make your own choices, for you to want the freedom of that for everyone, but then for you to not accept the choices others make,” Sorin replied.
Her gaze fell to her hand locked around Cassius’s. “I don’t want to talk about this right now,” she said softly.
Sorin tsked under his breath, muttering, “Of course you don’t.”
She tried to hide the ?icker of hurt that went down the bond at his words, but he hadn’t taught her how to shield against that yet. Either he hadn’t had time or hadn’t wanted to. She wasn’t entirely sure which one.
“I didn’t—”
“Don’t try to take it back now, Sorin. You did mean it.”
“You are right,” he conceded. “I did, but I could have worded it differently.”
“You don’t need to tiptoe around me. I can handle when you need to say things to me.”
“It is not that I think I need to tiptoe around you,” he said. “I know you can handle far more than most can. I often forget how young you truly are when I think of how much you have faced in your short life. But as I have previously said, I want to be your reprieve from the weights of your world. I do not wish to add to them.”
“That is not always an option,” she shot back.
“Obviously,” he replied. “But when the option is available, I wish to take it, rather than add to the burdens you are already trying to carry because you refuse to let others help.”
“No tiptoeing there, hmm?” she muttered.
A low groan from Cassius had her attention shifting back to him before Sorin said anything in reply. Fingers curled around her own, squeezing slightly, and her heart stuttered as the hope that he was ?nally waking grew in her chest. His eyelids were ?uttering, his mouth parting, and a few seconds later, a garbled, “Seastar?” came from his mouth.
Tears were instantly on her cheeks as she pushed up onto her knees to lean over him. “I’m here, Cass,” she whispered, trying to get her tears under control.
It took another minute before his eyes opened fully, his good eye darting around the room before settling on her. And the world seemed to still as they just looked at each other. Then Scarlett was laughing through her tears, and a smile was lifting up on Cassius’s lips as she was lurching forward and into his arms. She tried to be careful of where his injuries had been, but he pulled her close, his face burrowing into her hair.
“You held on, Seastar,” he whispered.
“So did you,” she answered into his chest.
Rustling behind her had her pulling back to look up at Sorin. He merely bent over her and pressed a quick kiss to her temple before he said, “I will let you two have some time. Let me know if you need anything.”
She smiled up at him with gratitude. He wasn’t even out the door yet when she was crawling under the blankets and settling into Cassius’s side, his arm wrapping tightly around her and holding her close.
“Tell me what happened,” he rasped, his throat dry from lack of use. “Let me get you some water,” Scarlett said, trying to pull away from him, but his grip only tightened around her. “In a moment. Just … In a moment.”
“Okay,” she whispered, relaxing back into him.
The minutes ticked by as they sat in silence, soaking in each other’s presence. She soaked in all of it— the unlabored rise and fall of his chest, the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his body against hers.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” she ?nally breathed.
“I did not think I would ever lay eyes on you again on this side of the Veil,” he admitted. “I suppose eye would be a better word choice.”
Scarlett tilted her head up to look at his eyes. One chocolate brown eye looked back at her, while the other was milky white and cloudy, the brown color so dull it was hardly visible. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“If that is the only permanent injury I am left with after all of that, I will not complain, Seastar,” he replied, squeezing her gently.
“I do not know which injuries are permanent and which will still heal yet. Your eye is permanent, yes, because of the blade used according to Hazel, but the others … She will know better than I will,” Scarlett replied, reaching up and running her ?ngers down the side of his face.
“Is Hazel a healer?” Cassius asked, shifting slightly.
Scarlett bit her lip before clearing her throat. “Hazel is a Witch. The High Witch. She is, for all intents and purposes, the queen of the Witches. And yes, she is a Healer. She actually trained Eliné.”
“She trained your mother?”
“Eliné is not my mother,” Scarlett answered. Then she took a deep breath before she added, “But Hazel is yours.”
“This High Witch is … my mother?” Cassius repeated.
Scarlett nodded. “She has not left your side since I brought you here.”
“And here is?” he asked, looking around the room.
“The Black Halls. I guess you could say it’s my palace or castle or whatever. It’s at the southern part of the continent. At the mouth of the Tykese River,” she replied, ?ddling with a loose thread on the blanket.
“This is not where Sorin brought me before?”
“No. That was his palace in Solembra. In the Fire Court.”
She felt him nod, and she glanced back up at him. “What are you thinking?”
He let loose a long breath, grimacing as he adjusted his body again. “I don’t even know where to begin to be honest. Just tell me … how you found her. Start there.”
Scarlett got up to get him water as she told him of Hazel, how they’d worked out who he was, and who he was to Hazel. She told him of the brief history Hazel had shared and how Eliné had apparently helped get him out of the Witch Kingdoms to save him.
“And my father?” Cassius asked when she ?nished speaking.
“Hazel has hinted at who he is, but she’s about as helpful as Juliette is sometimes,” Scarlett grumbled.
Cassius stiffened. “Juliette?”
And then Scarlett was telling him of how she had died but hadn’t died fully, of how she didn’t completely understand it, but that Juliette was now the Oracle that spoke in prophecies and riddles that were absolutely no help whatsoever.
“I don’t know what to say to any of this,” Cassius ?nally said. While she’d been speaking, she had helped him sit up, propping pillows against the headboard of the bed, and now she sat cross-legged beside him once more, holding a glass of water and making him take sips every once in a while.
“There is so much more, Cassius. So much to tell you, but it’s...a lot to take in. And, if you’re okay with it, I know Hazel would really like to see you,” Scarlett said, biting her lip as she watched him carefully. She would never force this if he wasn’t ready.
“The woman saved my life and hasn’t left my side in days. I suppose I owe her a thank you at the very least,” he said, but there was a touch of bitterness to his tone.
“Cass, you owe her nothing,” Scarlett said gently. “If you are not ready to meet her, then she will not enter this room without your permission.”
“I understand why she had Eliné take me away, but also … If she is this High Witch … She couldn’t order my safety? And why didn’t Eliné ever say anything? About any of this?” Cassius said.
“I don’t know,” Scarlett admitted. “I’ve found so many answers since coming here, but I’ve also gained even more questions.”
“You’ve gotten tattoos since coming here, too,” he said, nodding towards her left hand.
She smiled softly at the Mark that ran down her thumb and ?rst two ?ngers. “Tattoos. A crown. A husband,” she said casually with a slight shrug. “Nothing too exciting.”
“I heard,” Cassius said with a knowing smirk.
“Yes,” she said with an exaggerated sigh, “the Prick of Fire himself.”
“Gods, I hope you call him that to his face,” Cassius said with a chuckle that had him immediately grimacing.
“Not yet,” she mused. “But he did recently challenge me to come up with more creative names to call him.” He motioned her closer, and she nestled back into his side, slipping her legs under the blankets.
“I will meet Hazel in a bit,” he ?nally said when she was settled. “I just need a little time to adjust to everything.”
“You should eat something.”
“Are you going to feed me, Seastar?” he teased.
“No,” she groused, poking him in the rib. He hissed at her as she said, “But I know a prince who will bring food up here.”
“Aditya waiting on me?” Cassius mused.
“Mhmm,” she hummed.
“That is something I wouldn’t mind seeing.”
And a half hour later, Sorin was coming into the room, a tray of food ?oating along on a ?ame next to him, keeping it warm. The door clicked shut behind him, and he lowered it to a small table off to the side.
“How are you feeling, Cassius?” he asked, immediately beginning to ?ll a plate.
“I’ve been better,” Cassius answered. “But you got her out. That’s all that matters.”
“That is certainly not all that matters,” Scarlett cut in.
Sorin made his way to the bed, two plates in his hands. He passed one to Cassius before handing one to Scarlett. “You need to eat too, Love.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes but took a bite of the sandwich on her plate while giving him a sarcastic smile.
Sorin gave her an unimpressed smirk before he said, “You should also feed .”
“Godsdammit, Sorin,” Scarlett snapped, throwing the sandwich at him.
Sorin laughed at her, swatting the food aside before it smacked him in his face. It landed with a dull plop on the ?oor. “Maybe your Guardian can convince you if I cannot.”
Cassius was looking back and forth between them, a mixture of confusion and amusement on his features.
“You’re a prick. You’ve just been waiting to get in here to say something about this, haven’t you?” Scarlett seethed.
He just offered her another mocking smile that told her he was not even a little sorry.
“Something you need to ?ll me in on, Seastar?” Cassius asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“It can wait,” she replied with a pointed look at Sorin.
“Can it though?” Sorin asked. “Your eyes are almost back to blue.”
“I have blue eyes, Sorin.”
“When your power reserves are full, you do not.”
Cassius set his sandwich down. “I think you need to ?ll me in.”
“No. I am not going to sit here and let the two of you gang up on me about this,” she huffed.
Sorin shrugged. “You can tell him, or I will.”
“Sorin,” she snarled.
“Scarlett,” he parroted.
Stop this, she seethed down the bond. Stop this, and I will … ?gure something out tonight.
Sorin arched a brow. Not good enough, Princess.
She narrowed her eyes. If we don’t ?gure something out, I will … feed. Her lip curled up in disgust at the very thought of doing this.
“I’m not sure what I am witnessing, but it’s awkward,” Cassius said, continuing to glance between them.
Scarlett waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s our bond. We can speak to each other in our minds.”
“That’s weird and awkward,” Cassius replied.
“Even if that part of our argument is settled, Cassius still needs to know about feeding, Scarlett,” Sorin said pointedly. “He will be directly affected by such a thing in more ways than one.”
“I am aware, Sorin,” she sighed in annoyance. “I would have gotten around to it eventually.”
“Now seems as good a time as any.”
“And here I thought Cyrus was the busybody of the family,” she grumbled under her breath. She ignored Sorin’s droll glare, turning back to Cassius. “The things we need to discuss … They’re big, Cass. If you need to rest for a while, I understand.”
“I’m ?ne, Scarlett. Sorin appears insistent.”
“That’s because he is an overbearing ass, but it can wait if you need to rest.”
Cassius rested his head back against the pillows, his eyes drifting closed. “Speak, Scarlett.”
She scowled at him, but let the order slide, considering he’d just woken up from nearly dying.
“You asked about your father,” she started.
That had his eyes opening again, and his head snapping back up. “You said he was hinted at but did not know him.”
“I don’t,” she said quickly, “but I know where he is from. According to Hazel, he is from the same place my parents are— Avonleya.”
Cassius didn’t say anything. He just stared at her, not moving. Not even blinking.
“Cassius?” she ventured.
“You are saying that … my father is Avonleyan? That your parents … That you are Avonelyan?”
“Yes,” she answered. “My mother was not Eliné.”
“Who are your parents?”
“I don’t know. I just know they are Avonleyan. From what I’ve been told by various people anyway.”
Sorin had moved wordlessly back to the chair he’d previously occupied, casually watching everything play out.
And obviously making sure she didn’t omit anything.
Scarlett cleared her throat. “The thing that Mother Hen here is worried about, is that Avonleyans depend on Fae to keep their magic reserves fueled. The Fae re?ll their power like mortals recharge— through rest and food. The Avonleyans do so via the Fae. By feeding off of their magic.”
“And you are refusing to do this? To feed to keep your power levels full?”
“Yes,” Sorin cut in.
“ No ,” Scarlett growled, shooting him a glare. He arched a brow. “I mean, yes, but because I do not need to right now.”
“You mean you do not want to,” Sorin supplied.
“No, Sorin, that is not what I mean,” she retorted.
Cassius glanced between the two again before his gaze settled on Sorin. “Say what she isn’t, Aditya.”
Scarlett crossed her arms in a huff.
“She needs to ?nd a Source to draw from, but we do not know what that means. Until we ?gure it out, the only way to feed to keep her power fully replenished is to drink from a Fae. Like the Night Children do,” Sorin explained.
“Ah,” was Cassius’s reply.
“That is all you have to say?” Sorin asked, both brows arching this time.
“I can understand how that would be …”
“Gross? Disgusting? Repugnant?” Scarlett supplied.
“No one asked for a vocabulary lesson, Scarlett,” Sorin said.
“No one asked for your opinion on this matter, yet here we are.”
Sorin sighed, running a hand down his face. “Listen,” he said, addressing Cassius once more. “We are facing enemies we know nothing about. Her shadows and her white ?ames are Avonleyan gifts and are her greatest advantage in a battle. She needs to keep her power reserves full at all times, even if that means feeding like a Night Child until we ?gure out this Source issue.”
“I agree with you,” Cassius said.
“I do appreciate you two speaking of me like I am not in the room,” Scarlett cut in.
Sorin ignored her. “If she does not, if she lets herself get too weak, she will start drawing power from you which will impede your ability to protect her.”
“Sorin!” Scarlett cried.
Sorin leaned forward in his chair. “Everything is getting laid out here, Scarlett. This will not be like the border where you withhold information until you have everything ?gured out. Furthermore, all of this directly affects Cassius. He deserves to know.”
“You could be more tactful about it,” she muttered.
Sorin sat back. “He is a Commander in an army. I assure you, he prefers bluntness over tactfulness.”
“He speaks truth, Seastar. You know this,” Cassius said. “Why will you draw power from me?”
Scarlett ?lled him in on the Guardian Mark, how they got it, and what it meant for him. When she ?nished with the details, she added, “You made this choice as a child, Cass. If it is something you no longer want, we will ?nd a way to sever it.”
“Why would I no longer want it?”
“Because it requires you to keep me safe at all costs. To put my well-being above all others, above your own life.”
“How is that any different from the last ?fteen years?”
“Because it was not your choice.”
“Of course it was,” Cassius said, picking up a piece of cheese and taking a bite.
She shook her head. “Maybe it feels like it was, but it was this Guardian link all this time. Driving you to protect me.”
“I disagree. I think this Guardian thing simply made my job … easier,” Cassius said, popping the rest of the cheese into his mouth. “It certainly clears up a lot of things.”
“It is a job that was forced on you,” she argued.
“Doesn’t sound like it. From what you told me, I wanted this.”
“Of course it sounded exciting as a child , Cassius. You didn’t understand—”
“I didn’t understand that I was tying my life to that of a child I already ?ercely protected? I didn’t understand that I was being asked to give my life for yours should it ever be asked? Even though I was already willing to do just that? Even as a child ?”
Tears were pooling in her eyes, and Scarlett blinked them back, looking down at her hands. “You were forced into this, Cassius,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “You didn’t want to drink from that chalice, and they made you.”
“Would you like to do the entire thing again so you will know I am choosing to become your Guardian of my own free will, then?”
Her head ?ew up, her gaze meeting his. His face was hard, completely serious.
“You and I have always been more, Scarlett,” he said, his features softening. “We have always been more than friends. We have always been more than family. Even as children, even before this Mark, we were more.”
“We are soulmates,” she said, a tear slipping free. “Our fates have always been intertwined.”
“Then I fail to see why we are having this discussion,” he said, settling back into the pillows once more.
She opened her mouth to argue further, but Sorin cut her off.
“He prefers the darkness, Scarlett. Let him stay in it,” he said gently. “Let us stay in your darkness.”
“Okay,” she breathed. “Okay.”
“You’re sure you are ready?” Scarlett asked from her spot near the window in Cassius’s room. He was coming out of the bathing room, Sorin nearby in case he needed help. Yesterday Cassius had leaned on him every time he’d needed to walk. Today Cassius was insisting on doing everything himself.
Hazel had given Scarlett instructions on tonics to take to make sure he continued to heal, and Cyrus had delivered a small glass of blood for him. Scarlett had turned away while he’d drank that down.
As for her deal to “?gure something out” with Sorin … She’d conveniently fallen asleep before such a discussion could be had, but she knew he hadn’t forgotten. She knew he’d be bringing it up again, likely at the most inconvenient time.
“Yes, Scarlett,” Cassius sighed, pausing by an armchair and gripping the back. His breathing was heavy.
“You should let Sorin help you.”
“You should feed,” Cassius shot back.
“You should fuck off,” Scarlett parroted.
Sorin chuckled, stepping forward and letting Cassius throw an arm around his shoulders. “Do not worry, Cassius. She will feed by the end of the day. I swear it.”
“You can both fuck all the way off,” she muttered, going to the bed and adjusting sheets and pillows before Cassius was lowering back onto the mattress.
He had just gotten settled when there was a sharp knock on the door.
Scarlett glanced at Cassius. He swallowed thickly before nodding his head.
Sorin opened the door, and the High Witch entered, stopping just over the threshold. Her sharp, angular features were tight, but her violet eyes were bright when they landed on Cassius. She had stopped wearing her witchsuit after the ?rst few days here, opting instead for ?tted black pants and black tunics. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight braid that ran down her back. She stood rigidly, her hands at her sides.
Cassius had gone utterly still where he sat in the bed, and Scarlett had to wonder if he was even breathing.
“You good, Cass?” she asked quietly, reaching over and squeezing his hand.
The action seemed to jar something in him, and he pushed out a long breath before nodding mutely.
Scarlett cleared her throat. “This is Hazel Hecate, the High Witch.”
“You are my mother?” Cassius asked. She was sure no one else could hear it, but she heard the slight tremor in his voice.
“I am,” Hazel said.
“You … had me sent away.”
A slight wince crossed her features, but it was gone just as quickly. “For your protection, yes,” Hazel con?rmed.
“And my father?”
“You look like him,” Hazel said. That was a hint of longing in her voice, her eyes drinking in all of Cassius’s features. “You sound like him too.”
Scarlett squeezed his hand again. “He … Does he know?”
“He did not know of your existence until you were brought here, out of the enchantments that surround the mortal kingdoms. They veiled you in a way, but bringing you here alerted him. He sent Ranvir to con?rm,” Hazel answered.
“Then why didn’t he send Ranvir when Cassius was in Solembra?” Scarlett asked.
Hazel glanced brie?y in her direction. “When was that?”
“Months ago. He was there for a few hours.”
“Then likely not long enough for him to sense his blood across such a distance,” Hazel replied.
“Where is he?” Cassius asked.
“I would assume in Avonleya. If he were outside those wards, he would have come for you himself.”
Scarlett heard Cassius suck in a sharp breath. “He would have come if he’d known?”
“He cannot. Just as the others cannot leave that land, but yes, Cassius. If he could have come to you, he would have,” Hazel answered.
“And you?”
“I have wondered about you every day since you left my arms. I have waited for this day for twenty-?ve years. I could not be more proud of how you have survived, of the person you have become.”
“No thanks to you,” he replied bitterly.
“Correct,” she agreed. “I can take no credit for anything you are, other than for your immense gifts.”
“Because that is what the Witches place value on, right?”
Hazel was quiet for several long moments. “Yes. Witches value power above all else, like most magic-wielders of this world.”
“That is how you were able to justify abandoning a baby to the mortal kingdoms?”
“I will not apologize for saving your life.”
“Will you apologize for anything?”
Scarlett was about to intervene, but Sorin noticed because he spoke down their bond.
Let this play out, Scarlett.
I did not anticipate Cassius reacting this way. He’s always so … calm and collected. With you maybe, Sorin replied. He can be just as big of a prick as any of us, and his feelings on this are valid.
I’m not saying they aren’t, but—
“Do I wish things could have been different? I do,” Hazel was saying.
“You are the High Witch. You could have decreed such a thing,” Cassius retorted.
“Things are never that simple, Cassius,” Hazel replied. “Your own queen can attest to that.”
“You didn’t even try,” Cassius spat.
“What do you think I did while I carried you in my womb?” Hazel demanded.
Cassius fell silent, his tongue pressing into his cheek, and a thick tension settled over the room.
“So … Hazel needs to check some of your injuries,” Scarlett said when things started to become far too awkward.
Cassius nodded, and Hazel came to his side.
“The one on your leg. How is it feeling?” she asked, pulling the blankets back.
“Like there is still a dagger in it,” Cassius grunted.
“I was afraid of that.” Her hand hovered over the spot he’d been stabbed by both Veda and Alaric. Faint white light began emanating, and Cassius started at the magic.
“Can I do that?” he asked after another bout of silence.
“More than likely, yes,” Hazel answered. “When Avonleyan bloodlines cross with another magical bloodline, the offspring will have gifts from both. However, the more dominant power will be stronger.”
“You were more powerful than my father?”
Hazel glanced at him brie?y before focusing back on her magic. “It depends on what kind of power you value. In terms of healing and spell-weaving, yes.”
“What are the other gifts of the Avoneleyans?” Scarlett asked. She’d climbed onto the bed, sitting beside Cassius, Sorin having taken a seat in his chair.
“We are unable to speak of them,” she replied. “To speak of what we know.”
“Convenient,” Cassius muttered.
“It sounds similar to how we are unable to speak of the Fae Royals in the mortal kingdoms,” Sorin chimed in.
“Similar, yes,” Hazel agreed. “They wanted their secrets kept. This was how they went about it.”
“So it is more than the Bargain Mark on your arm?” Scarlett asked.
“Yes. The Bargain Mark was from your mother and relates to you speci?cally,” she answered. The light faded from her palm, and she turned her attention to Cassius’s side where he’d nearly bled out. “You need to ?nd a Source. You both do.”
“So I’ve been told,” Scarlett muttered.
“Why would I need a Source?” Cassius asked. “I’ve never exhibited magic like Scarlett.”
“The queen is different,” Hazel answered. “But you are still half- Avonleyan. You will have at least one of your father’s gifts, likely more, and will need full power reserves to utilize them. In addition, your Ward will draw on those power reserves if her life is in danger.”
Cassius looked to Scarlett, and she nodded in con?rmation.
“How does this Source thing work?” Scarlett asked at the same time that Cassius asked, “What were my father’s gifts?”
“Are,” Hazel corrected. “What are your father’s gifts. If Ranvir appeared, he still lives. Those are both excellent questions, and you would do well to ?nd the answers.”
“Helpful as always,” Scarlett muttered.
“Can you tell me his name?” Cassius asked.
Hazel pulled her hand from his side. Her ?ngers curled slightly at her sides, and her lips pursed. She exhaled sharply before she said, “Tybalt. Your father’s name is Tybalt.”
“And my parents?” Scarlett asked.
Hazel shook her head. “I cannot speak of them.”
The small kernel of hope that had sprung to life in her chest wilted, and she didn’t know why she’d even let it form. Cassius reached for her hand at the same moment she felt Sorin’s ?ngers brush along her lower back.
“Your eye will be permanent,” Hazel said, her gaze searching Cassius’s face.
“Scarlett told me.”
“The wound from your side will take the longest to heal completely. You will need to continue to take Fae blood until you ?nd a Source,” she continued. “And your leg will never completely heal, but it will get better. Your magic will stabilize it, however, when you use your magic too much, it will ache and could become a problem.”
“Thank you, Hazel,” Scarlett said.
“We should go prepare for tonight,” Sorin said softly.
“What is tonight?” Cassius asked.
“We are going to visit Callan,” Scarlett said. “We need his help to ?nd another one of the keys.”
This morning, she’d met with the others and Nuri to discuss the keys. They still had no idea where the Fae or mortal keys were, let alone the missing bloodline. But they knew where the Witch key had last been seen, so they could at least start with that one. The problem was that its last known whereabouts were inside the Lairwood Estate which was warded against her and the Fae. They wouldn’t be able to get in undetected, and if it had been discovered and Alaric now had it, she couldn’t risk going to the Black Syndicate right now.
“I’m coming with you,” Cassius said, immediately throwing back the blankets.
“No, Cass,” she said, grabbing his arm to keep in bed. “You cannot even walk to and from the bathing room by yourself. You cannot travel with us to the mortal lands.”
“What if you need me?”
“What I need is for you to heal completely before attempting to protect me,” Scarlett chided.
“She speaks truth,” Hazel said. “Pushing yourself will delay the healing and keep you down longer. I know the Guardian bond is driving you to protect her, but you will not be much help right now.”
“You are very blunt,” Cassius muttered.
“Feelings and emotions have no place in such decisions,” Hazel replied.
“Did you think the same thing when you sent me away?” he asked.
Scarlett had been climbing off the bed and getting to her feet, but she stilled at his words.
“Yes,” Hazel answered. “It was the only way I could let you go, and it is the only way I survived the last twenty-?ve years.”
“Yet you are here now. Because what? It is the best decision ?”
“Because a young queen reminded me that hope is for the dreamers, and while I will not ask for your forgiveness or apologize for my choices, I do dream of knowing my son.”