Chapter 38 Scarlett
CHAPTER 38
SCARLETT
H e was inside the fucking mirror, staring back at her. A faint smile of amusement played across his lips as he surveyed her.
“I have been waiting a long time for you to discover one of these mirrors,” the beautiful man said, adjusting the sleeve of the black jacket he wore.
“Why?”
“They do not require magic to operate, unlike when I seek you out in your dreams,” he answered.
“You have just been … what? Standing in front of a mirror for months on end waiting for me to appear?” she asked, tilting her head. “That seems like a rather dull use of your time.”
The man chuckled. “You spoke to me through the stone.”
She glanced down at the amulet she still held in her hand, Temural’s symbol hanging from the chain.
“You were serious about that?”
“Why would I lie about it?”
“I just thought you were being an ass.”
“Scarlett,” came Sorin’s tentative voice from behind her. “Is this …?”
“The man I see in my dreams? Yes,” she answered. “He is bonded to Altaria.”
“Who are you?” Sorin demanded, stepping to her side.
A dark smile curved up on the man’s lips. “Someone who does not answer to you, Prince of Flames.”
“Perhaps not, but you entering my wife’s dreams is a problem,” Sorin said darkly.
“Is it?”
A growl rippled from Sorin, and Scarlett sighed. “Stop acting like an overprotective animal. He’s never once threatened me or attempted to hurt me.”
“That is not in the least bit comforting,” Sorin retorted. “Are there more mirrors?” came Ashtine’s lilt.
Scarlett glanced back to ?nd Briar standing before her, hand raised and a dagger of ice grasped in it.
“There are, your Highness,” the man answered. “Before you inquire, I cannot reveal the locations. They can only be found by those who already know where they are.”
“That’s convenient,” Scarlett muttered.
“Did you not ?nd one?” he asked.
“By accident,” she drawled.
“Or by fate,” the man said with a shrug.
“ Fate ,” she spat.
His head cocked to the side as he took her in, studying her. “You do not believe in the Fates?”
“Does it matter?”
“Not really. The Fates do not care if you believe in them or not.”
Scarlett clucked her tongue, crossing her arms, and glared back at him. “So what? I can come to where you are through this mirror?”
“No. It is not a literal gate. It is a mirror ,” the man drawled.
“That is called a mirror gate ,” Scarlett retorted, really not in the mood to argue with him over semantics.
She had woken with a headache. She was exhausted. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Sorin that. It didn’t seem to matter how much sleep she got lately. She never felt fully rested. Even more so, she never felt like her power wells stayed full. She had been trying to conserve her magic the last two days, just to test a theory, but they seemed to slowly drain whether she released her gifts or not. She had no idea what to make of it.
The man shrugged again. “Fair enough, but no, it is not a door of any sort. I know some legends claim such a thing, but they are simply mirrors between different kingdoms. Nothing more. It is more of a communication method.”
“Great,” Scarlett muttered. “What message do you need to deliver this time?”
The man was silent, appearing to study her closer. “You are … unwell.”
“You don’t say?” she bit back. His brows rose at her address. “Since our last little rendezvous, I have found four of the seven keys you instructed me to ?nd. I still do not know where the lock is, and I have been practicing with my gifts. What more do you want from me? Because I do not have much left to give.”
“I know that a lot is being asked of you,” he started, his tone softening.
“Then stop asking!” she cried.
She felt Sorin reach for her down the bond, to try to comfort her, soothe her, but she shoved him out. She didn’t want comfort right now. She wanted answers. For once, just once , she wanted some straight answers. No riddles. No guessing games. Just a fucking answer.
The entire room had fallen silent at her outburst, but her eyes remained ?xed on the man in the mirror.
The man who had found her in her dreams.
“What are you leading me towards?” she whispered.
“Your destiny, Lady of Darkness. I am leading you towards your destiny.”
“And if I do not want it?”
“You sentence this world to a fate worse than death.”
“There is no one else?”
“I did not even know there was you until your gifts called to me. Until then, there was no hope. Learning of your existence gave an entire kingdom hope. Gave a world that does not even know they need it, hope,” he answered. He moved as if to step towards her, before remembering he stood before a mirror.
“A siren’s call draws unexpected attention,” Scarlett murmured.
“Indeed.”
“You are a Seer?”
“I am a dreamer.”
“Hope is for the dreamers,” she said softly.
Scarlett pushed her hair back out of her face, her tunic bunching as she did. She felt the cool air of the catacombs along the bare skin of her midriff as she blew out a breath. Her arm dropped to her side.
“Well, that explains a lot,” the man muttered. Then louder he asked, “Have you found a Source?”
“I don’t know what that means,” she replied, exasperated by this entire conversation.
“How have you replenished your shadows?”
“The only way I know how,” she answered, dropping down to sit on the ?oor.
“Can you tell us what a Source is? Or how to ?nd one?” Sorin asked. “We have been researching but have found nothing on the matter.”
The man nodded, understanding seeming to dawn in his silver gaze. His eyes shifted back to Scarlett where she sat on the ?oor. “You have a Guardian, yes? Ranvir reported that you do.”
“You know Ranvir?”
“I do. That is not important right now. You have a Guardian, yes?”
“I do. Cassius.”
“Cassius?”
“That is my Guardian’s name.”
“We did not know his name,” he murmured. A faint smile lifted on his lips before saying louder, “You obviously have a book of Blood Magic, yes? That is where you found the other Mark to block your bonds?”
“Yes,” she said, ignoring the way Sorin stiffened at the mention of Blood Magic.
“As soon as we are done here, you need to get that book and go straight to your Guardian. Show him the Mark right above your hip. As your Guardian, he will need to nullify it,” the man instructed.
“Mark above my hip?” She lifted her tunic slightly, seeing only bare skin.
“It was clever magic, but your Guardian will be able to see it,” the man said gravely. “You will ?nd many things much easier when it is taken care of. Until then, do not touch your power unless absolutely necessary. None of it.”
“Why?” she demanded, pushing back to her feet.
“That is a draining Mark. You have been exhausted lately, no? Your power wanes more quickly? You have been on edge? Yes?”
“That is why? Because he … Alaric placed a Mark on me?” The man nodded, his lips pressed into a taut line.
“The headaches?”
“From your Avonleyan gifts draining. The headaches are the ?rst sign of needing your Source.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, tears of utter relief welling in her eyes.
She reached out, laying her palm against the glass.
He brought his hand to hers. Her hand looked tiny against his re?ection. “When night and darkness meet, when dreams and stars collide, when ashes meld with shadows, you will ?nd me waiting. ”
They had stayed only another hour after the man had disappeared from the mirror gate. Scarlett had known better than to ask if she could borrow any of the books from that chamber, known Ashtine would decline. But the princess had said she would be happy to escort her to the chamber whenever Scarlett wished, so she had left that for another day.
Now she raced for the door the moment she stepped through the ?re portal Sorin had created. He’d brought them to their rooms in the Black Halls, and Scarlett was in the hallway before Sorin had even closed the portal.
She burst through Cassius’s door without knocking. Cassius shot up from the chair he’d been sitting in. Cyrus, Eliza, and Rayner did the same. She didn’t take the time to think about what they might all be doing in here. She was already pulling her tunic over her head, leaving just the band around her breasts.
Cassius and Cyrus had both been coming towards her, but Cyrus faltered as she dropped the tunic to the ?oor. Cassius, however, was unfazed by her utter lack of propriety as always.
“What is wrong?” he demanded, taking her shoulders and leaning back to inspect her.
“What Marks do you see, Cassius?”
Sorin had taken his time following, the door just now clicking shut behind him. He noted her shirt on the ?oor, but said nothing, leaning back against the door, crossing his arms.
“Sorin?” Cyrus asked, but the prince just shook his head before nodding to Cassius to answer her question.
“Like your twin ?ame Mark?” Cassius asked, his eyes dropping to her left hand.
“Yes, but more like this,” Scarlett answered. “Do you see this Mark?” She lifted her right arm, exposing her forearm.
“The three stars and triangle there? Of course I see them,” Cassius answered. “Why?”
Sorin pushed off the door at that. “You can see them?” Cassius looked over at him. “I take it that is of signi?cance.”
“No one else can see them, Cass,” Scarlett breathed. “Which others can you see?”
“This one,” he answered, brushing two ?ngers along her collarbone. “Yes,” Scarlett nodded. She twisted to show him her back. “And there?” His calloused ?ngers skimmed over the Guardian Mark along the base of her spine.
“You have that one, too,” she said softly, twisting back around. “More,” she urged. “Do you see any more?”
Cassius took a small step back to see her better, before reaching out with one ?nger and swiping it above her left hip. “This one.”
At his words, Scarlett summoned her shadows, shaping them into a panther who carried the book she’d kept most guarded. She took it from the panther’s maw, the shadows immediately dissipating. Her headache had only increased throughout the day. There was a throbbing behind her eyes, and she felt like she could sleep for days.
“Find it in here,” she said, shoving the book at Cassius. “Find that Mark and show it to me.”
Cassius studied her a moment longer, before moving back to the chair he’d been sitting in and beginning to thumb through the book. Scarlett made her way to the sofa, plopping down on her back and closing her eyes.
“So … who is ?lling us in here?” Cyrus asked.
Scarlett felt him lift her feet, settling them into his lap. A second later, Sorin was lifting her into a sitting position. He slipped her tunic back over her head before lowering her down onto a pillow against his legs.
“I met the man who visits Scarlett in her dreams,” Sorin answered.
Scarlett only half-listened, letting Sorin handle explaining everything they’d learned in the Wind Court today. Sorin’s ?ngers were moving soothingly along her hairline as they discussed the man, the keys, her. She didn’t offer anything to the conversation. No input. No insights.
They were going to ?nd the Contessa in two days. All she really cared about at this point was being able to hold her own and preserve her power levels so she could use them when needed. It was the main reason she had asked Nuri and Juliette to join her. It wasn’t that she didn’t think they couldn’t handle it, but if she wasn’t at full strength, they’d need more. She needed people she could work with seamlessly. There was really only Nuri and Juliette for that.
“Here,” Cassius said almost an hour later. “It is this one.”
Scarlett had nearly fallen asleep while they’d sat there, but she about fell off the sofa when she tried to get up too quickly at Cassius’s words.
“Easy, Love,” Sorin murmured, saving her from face-planting on the ?oor.
She moved, making room beside her so Cassius could sit, and she found herself squished between him and Sorin.
“It is this one,” Cassius repeated, pointing to a Mark that looked like a triangle with a line through it. It vaguely reminded Scarlet of a bell. “But I can’t read this.”
Scarlett pulled the book into her lap. “This is a draining Mark, just like he said.”
Sorin was looking over her shoulder. “What does this part say?” he asked, pointing at a small description beneath the Mark.
Scarlett skimmed the passage quickly. “It has various uses, but all of them revolve around essentially draining something of its power. It can be done slowly or quickly, depending on how it is drawn. It explains why I’ve been so tired. Why my power has felt off.”
“And you did not say anything sooner because?” Sorin asked tightly.
“Because I thought it was just everything going on, everything we are dealing with. Maybe my body adjusting to Avonelyan gifts,” Scarlett answered, continuing to skim the page. “I was just beginning to question it more.”
Sorin didn’t reply, and she didn’t have it in her to care if he felt slighted right now. Not with the headache and the exhaustion. None of them had experience with Avonleyan gifts. None of them knew if what she’d been experiencing would have been considered abnormal.
“I don’t understand how he hid it from me,” Scarlett went on. “I know why all of you cannot see it, but I should be able to …”
“Forget that,” Cyrus cut in. “How do we reverse it?”
“I’m looking, Darling,” Scarlett retorted. She turned a few more pages. “Why are you all in here anyway?” She felt a tense sort of silence settle over the room. Without looking up, she said, “Say it.”
“My spies reported movements of the mortal armies in Toreall and Rydeon,” Rayner said quietly.
“To the Earth Court border?” Scarlett asked, turning another page. “A portion of them, yes,” Rayner con?rmed. “But there is a greater number going north and south in Rydeon.”
Scarlett glanced at the Ash Rider. “To our borders?”
“It would appear so,” he agreed.
“Hmm,” she hummed, her attention returning to the book.
“This is the part where you ?ll us in on your thoughts, Darling,” Cyrus said from down the sofa.
“It would appear they are preparing an attack of some sorts,” she replied.
“Our Courts and the Earth Court?” Eliza cut in. “What of the Wind Court?”
“Talwyn is still a key player in all of this,” Scarlett said, her focus remaining on the spell book in her lap. “If they can sway her, the Wind and Earth Courts will likely follow.”
“What of Windonelle’s forces?” Cassius asked, settling back into the sofa and stretching an arm along the back behind her. “None of them are moving?”
“Not that we have seen,” Rayner replied.
“They are waiting for me,” Scarlett said simply. “And for this thing with Callan and Tava to play out.”
“Waiting for you to what?”
“She was the closely guarded weapon,” Eliza supplied. “She still is one.”
“It would be stupid to center their plans around her,” Sorin argued. “They cannot be doing that.”
“Alaric is always ten steps ahead,” Scarlett muttered.
“But he also trained you to think the same way,” Cyrus countered. “Which is how you always seem to ?gure all this shit out before the rest of us. This is the part where you say something .”
“I have no insights to share right now, Cyrus,” Scarlett said. “The mortal kings are puppets. I haven’t ?gured out how he is controlling them yet.” She turned another page and stilled. “Cass.”
Cassius and Sorin both leaned forward.
“Tell me what I’m looking at, Seastar,” Cassius said.
“This Mark will nullify the draining Mark, but it can only be done by the Guardian of the person af?icted,” Scarlett replied.
“What do I need to do?” Cassius asked.
“You need to use your blood to draw this Mark atop the draining Mark, but it needs to be precise, Cass. Perfectly drawn. Start practicing,” she said, nodding towards a small desk along the wall.
“Yes, your Majesty,” he teased.
She stuck her tongue out at him as he rose from the sofa, making his way to the desk to grab some paper and charcoal. He still had a limp when he moved, but he was adjusting to only seeing with one eye fairly well.
“When you do it, though, the draining Mark will resist,” Scarlett said, continuing to translate the text.
“What does that mean?” Sorin asked.
“It will drain as much of my power as it can before it’s nulli?ed. He will feel a strong urge to stop when the Guardian link senses he is harming rather than protecting. I might start trying to pull from Cassius.”
“That won’t be an issue. I’m here for him,” Cyrus chimed in. “I can be ready.”
“And I am here for you,” Sorin added. “This will be ?ne.”
“Come, Scarlett. Tell me what needs to be changed,” Cassius called from the desk.
“No,” she said immediately when she saw what he’d drawn. “This line isn’t straight enough. This angle needs to be sharper. This part smaller,” she added, pointing to various parts of the Mark he’d drawn.
“What happens if it’s not perfect?” Cassius asked, beginning to draw again.
“I do not wish to ?nd out.”
She made Cassius redraw the Mark for the next twenty minutes, and when it was perfect, she made him draw it ten more times exactly the same way.
She pushed out a long breath as she laid back onto the sofa, pulling the tunic up to just below her breasts. Cassius was kneeling on the ?oor beside her. Her head rested in Sorin’s lap, and everyone else was gathered around them.
“This isn’t awkward at all,” she muttered under her breath.
“We’re one big, happy family, Darling. It’s ?ne,” Cyrus replied with a wink.
“Whatever.”
“Ready?” Cassius asked, a knife poised and ready to slash along his palm.
“Whenever you are.”
A moment later, his ?nger was tracing along her hip, a warm, sticky substance running along her ?esh.
“You doing okay, Love?” Sorin murmured. “So far …”
Cassius’s ?nger left her skin, but when it returned a second later and began drawing once more, the ache in her head intensi?ed. A pounding began in her skull, and she squeezed her eyes shut against it.
“Love …”
“I’m ?ne. Keep going, Cass,” she ordered when she felt him pause.
His ?nger left again, presumably to dip into more of his blood, and when the third line of the Mark began, she felt as if ?ames and ice were being dragged from her very being. Burning cold ?ooded her veins, and she gritted her teeth, her shadows surging in a bid to protect her.
“Seastar,” Cassius gasped, his ?nger stalling. “I feel you—” “Keep going, Cassius,” she panted through her teeth.
The pressure in her head was making bright spots dance behind her closed lids. Or maybe that was her own white embers. Her back arched off the sofa when Cassius’s ?nger began moving again. She heard him suck in a sharp breath when her shadows reached for him, latched onto his arms, trying to protect her but also tugging at his own gifts.
“Scarlett,” he gasped.
“I know,” she panted. “Focus. It must be perfect.”
“Get cups,” she heard Sorin bark at someone. “They are going to need blood when this is done.”
His hands were on her shoulders, keeping her pinned to the sofa. Someone was holding her legs down. She assumed it was Cyrus. “This is the last of it, Love,” Sorin was saying.
“By the gods,” Eliza muttered. “Sorin … Her tears are red.”
“It is Blood Magic, Eliza,” Sorin snapped. “I do not know what else you expected.”
Scarlett felt it then. Blood trickling from her nose, her ears, her eyes. She could feel her shadows digging into Cassius, trying to drag his hand away. All of her strength went into holding back her magic, trying to convince it to let this happen.
“There,” she heard Cassius pant at the same moment the burning in her body stopped, but now …
Now the pain in her head was excruciating. She was exhausted. Her power reserves hadn’t felt this low since she’d fought at the Earth Court border.
“Scarlett. Look at me, Love,” Sorin said cautiously. She felt him wiping the blood from her cheeks, beneath her nose. “Open your eyes.”
“She’s still drawing from me,” Cassius rasped. “She’s too weak to stop it.”
“We’re working on it,” Eliza replied tightly.
The scent of blood hit her senses then, and she lurched up. Cassius was leaning against the sofa, his head hanging between his bent knees. Cyrus had a gash along his arm, blood trickling into a cup that Eliza was holding beneath it. Her nostrils ?ared, and she lunged forward, but an arm snaked around her waist.
“No, Love,” Sorin whispered soothingly into her ear. “One more minute.”
Her head whipped to him. His arm was bleeding into a glass that Rayner held. She wasn’t waiting. Not another second. Her power wells physically ached from the emptiness, and she was desperate to relieve any of the throbbing in her skull.
Scarlett twisted in his arm, grabbing his bleeding one and pulling it to her lips. She sucked hard on the gash, and she heard Sorin hiss, but her magic sighed deeply in relief. Her entire body relaxed as he pulled her against him, keeping his arm in place at her mouth. Her shadows ?owed around her like a mist, white embers drifting among them. It had never felt like this. Her magic felt … energized. Charged in a way she couldn’t describe. The power coursing through her with every pull from Sorin was enthralling, all-consuming. His ?ames feeding her shadows. Her focus was on needing more of that feeling. More and more and more.
“Enough, Scarlett,” she heard him say after some time, attempting to pull his arm away.
She moaned in protest, but hands were pulling her away from him. “You have to force it, Rayner,” Sorin said.
A hand gripped her jaw, making her release Sorin, and the moment she did, she was pulled back into his chest. Sorin held her there, stroking her hair, not letting her move.
“Relax, Love. Rest,” he murmured.
She melted against him, exhaustion settling into her limbs. Her ?re and ice were still depleted, but the power thrumming in her veins? Gods, it was exquisite. Was this what it was supposed to be like all the time? When she found a Source, would this be a constant?
“Sleep,” Sorin murmured again, his hand beginning to run up and down her spine.
And Scarlett let the darkness have her.