Lady of Ashes (Lady of Darkness #3)

Chapter 44 Sorin

CHAPTER 44

SORIN

S orin looked down at his wife. She was sleeping beside him, entirely bare, silver hair mussed and fanned around her against the dark bedding, and looking thoroughly and utterly sated.

Which had been the plan.

Scarlett had Traveled them straight from the Underwater Prison to the Wind Court. Princess Ashtine had been waiting in the grand foyer as though she’d been expecting them. Maybe she had been. Maybe Scarlett had sent her a message when she’d arranged that escapade with Briar. Scarlett had asked to go to the chamber behind the nightstone doors, and when Ashtine had led them there, Scarlett had spent the next half hour trying to call that man to appear in the mirror gate. He hadn’t seen her like that in … Well, not since she’d been a whirlwind of wrath when he’d told her he’d known she was royalty and kept it from her.

But that had been rage roiling off of her in waves when he did not appear. He hadn’t needed their bond to feel it. Apparently, neither had Briar or Cassius. They’d all hung back, watching as she became more and more agitated. Her voice had risen from annoyed to screams of frustration, but when she had thrown that amulet she’d manipulated from the Sorceress across the godsdamn room, Sorin had ?nally stepped in.

Or he’d tried to at least.

She’d brushed him off, ignored his questions, both the ones he’d spoken aloud and the ones he’d tried to ask down their bond. Cassius had shot him a look telling him to let her be, and while he’d hated it, he’d complied. She’d then proceeded to pull books off the shelves, lea?ng through them before tossing them aside. And seeing her handle ancient books like that was what had pushed Princess Ashtine over the edge.

In a hard voice he rarely heard from the Wind Princess, she’d informed his queen in no uncertain terms that should she throw one more item in that chamber, she would not be returning to the catacombs beneath her Citadel.

Scarlett had apologized in a hushed tone before lowering to her knees and scouring the books on the lower shelves with much more care. After three hours of seemingly nothing, she had risen and walked from that chamber without a godsdamn word.

And all he could think about for much of that time, was how he had just watched her go head-to-head with the Sorceress and come away the victor.

But she was also obsessing over something, or many things he supposed, the Sorceress had said. Something that was said was driving her to utter madness, but when they’d arrived back at the Black Halls, he didn’t have it in him to press her about what she was figuring out. Not when she went straight into the bathing chamber and shut the door behind her. When she emerged later with wet hair, he could tell she’d gone to that place though. That place where other voices threatened her stars, so he’d spent the next hour reminding her of who she belonged to. The clarity in her eyes as she drifted off to sleep had been worth putting off the conversation of what had set her on edge.

He bent, brushing a soft kiss to her temple. A small murmur was his only answer, and he pulled the blankets up over her shoulder before he slipped from the bed. He shoved his legs into some pants, not bothering to button them, and made his way to the sofa in front of the hearth. He pulled her notes and translations to him once again, running his hand down his face.

They’d had little time to speak privately since she’d woken this morning, after sleeping for nearly two days. Cyrus’s questions about the High Witch were the ?rst and only thing she’d spoken about in regards to the ?ght at the Contessa’s river front estate, and he had so many questions to ask her.

And these seraphs the Sorceress had mentioned? They were one of the biggest things they needed to ?gure out, but that wasn’t what he was looking for tonight. No, tonight he’d be looking for the same thing he’d been looking for since he got her back. She’d used so much of her power during that battle, and they’d only gotten her to drink a few sips of his blood before she’d fallen into one of those deep sleeps that would restore her ?re and water gifts. She hadn’t asked for more when she’d seen him, and he knew better than to push that right now, despite her eyes being more bluish-silver than the bright silver he’d begun to grow accustomed to. So here he sat, ri?ing through books he could hardly decipher, trying to ?nd the answer.

Three days later, Sorin woke to a cold bed, just as he had every morning since their visit to the Sorceress. He wasn’t concerned as he slid from the sheets, splashed cold water on his face, and dressed in casual pants and a tunic for the day. He knew where he’d ?nd her. Down on the beach where she had been the last two mornings. Cassius would be there, watching over her.

She’d been only half-present these last few days. She would train in the mornings, and then go straight to that chamber in the Wind Court right after lunch. There she would stay until Sorin would remind her that eating and sleeping were necessary. She’d pack up her notes with a small, wary smile and let him lead her from the Citadel catacombs, where they’d meet up with the others for a quiet dinner. They’d ?ll her in on various happenings in the Courts. She’d make any necessary decisions and update them on some of her own ?ndings. They tried not to push her to share more, trying to ?nd a balance between letting her ?gure out how to trust and depend on them, while also allowing her to make her own way as queen. She’d go back to their rooms and bury herself in books again, falling asleep on the sofa with a book in her lap and rising before the sun was fully up.

He’d left small glasses of his blood for her, and they’d be emptied when he checked, so he knew she was drinking them, but her eyes weren’t as bright. Not since that trip to the Sorceress. Maybe, he’d realized, she hadn’t come away the victor after all.

Sorin stepped from a ?re portal onto the beach, walking a few feet to come to a stop beside Cassius. Scarlett was walking barefoot through the surf as it rolled onto the sand, shadows trailing in her wake.

Neither male said anything for several minutes before Cassius broke the silence.

“Don’t say anything about it. Tell the others.”

Sorin’s eyes were ?xed on his wife as he asked, “What is the Guardian bond like for you?”

Cassius glanced at him. “What?”

“What can you feel from her? I can feel her emotions, feel her presence, speak down our bond into her mind. Can you do any of that?” Sorin clari?ed, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“No,” Cassius said. “None of those things. I guess I can kind of sense her presence. Not like I’ve witnessed between you two, but a smaller-scale version of that part maybe? But I can feel when she is hurt physically. When we are training and she takes a hit, I feel that. And I can feel when her power reserves are getting too low if it begins to become a threat to her wellbeing. It feels like a pull on my very soul when she draws from me.”

Sorin didn’t say anything. Just nodded in acknowledgment. Several more minutes of silence passed between them, the sun climbing higher.

“I have not seen her like this in a very long time,” Cassius said quietly, once again breaking that silence.

“She struggles with things Alaric has whispered into her ear for years,” Sorin answered.

Cassius nodded knowingly. “Yes, but this is … not that.”

At that, Sorin turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“This is …” He pushed out a long breath, running a hand through his brown hair. He’d cut it shorter a few days ago. It was shaggy, curling around his ears. “This is the calm before the storm, Sorin.” Cassius turned his entire body to face him. “I know you all wish she shared more, included you more on her scheming and planning, and while I agree that she does need to do that, you also need to let her … be her , Sorin. That brilliant, wicked, cunning thing you fell in love with? Let her be that.”

Sorin stiffened. “I do not wish to change her, Cassius,” he said defensively. “I never have. I just need her to recognize she is not alone, that she does not need to face this alone. That she has others she can trust.”

“I know that. And I know that she can be brash and reckless and so godsdamn infuriating. But I also know that as soon as everything clicks into place for whatever she is working out, she will bring you all in. I see it at our nightly dinners. I see it when she lets you read through her notes while she pores over books. She’s trying to include you all, but you know as well as I do that she’s the one who is going to ?gure this out. We can try to help, but honestly, the best thing you can do to help her right now is let her build up that storm. Because when she unleashes it?” Cassius shook his head, as if he couldn’t ?nd the words to ?nish his thoughts.

“When she unleashes it, there will be nothing left but ashes in her wake,” Sorin ?nished for him.

“I want to show you something,” Sorin said softly into her ear when they rose from the table after dinner that night. His Court knew what he had planned. He’d asked some of the staff to clean and prepare the room the day he’d found out what day this was.

Her head tilted quizzically to the side. “I hate to tell you this, Prince, but I’ve already seen everything you have to offer.”

He ?icked her nose, nipping at her earlobe when he murmured, “You really have not, Love.” He felt the small tremor run down her body, saw her limbs tense slightly at his tone, and he grinned against her skin. “Will you let me show you?”

She nodded slightly, and he brought his hand to her lower back, ushering her from the room. Cyrus caught his eye over the top of her head, sending him a knowing wink. When they were out of the dining room and walking down a quiet hall, he said, “Have I told you lately how absolutely stunning you are?”

She’d changed before dinner into a simple dress. It was a rose pink color and was so godsdamn feminine . He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her in a dress. He was certain he’d never seen her in pink of all colors, and it was so … unexpected. It had a wide neckline and scooped down the back, cinching at her waist before ?owing to the ?oor. He had nearly stopped breathing when she’d emerged from the dressing room to head down to dinner with the others.

“Mmm,” she hummed now, “you may have mentioned it a time or two this evening.”

A time or two was an understatement. She’d pinned her hair up, exposing the column of her neck. Dinner had, admittedly, been the last thing on his mind at that point. He’d hardly tasted the ?sh and vegetables that had been prepared.

“You act as if you’ve never seen me in a dress before,” she continued, her tone teasing. “You seem to have forgotten that dress from the pier.”

“Love, I could never forget that dress.”

She cast him a side-long glance, a soft smile gracing her lips. His ?ngers ?exed slightly where they still rested on the small of her back.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I know you have not had much time to explore the Halls with everything going on,” he replied. “But this room? You should de?nitely know of this room.”

She tsked softly under her breath. “You know how I feel about surprises, Sorin.”

“You will like this one. I promise.”

She pursed her lips slightly but didn’t argue further. Which he found oddly disappointing.

“I have missed you these past days,” he said softly, guiding her around a corner.

Her nose wrinkled, brow bunching. “I have been with you almost every hour of the day.”

“Physically yes, but …”

“Ah,” she said quietly. She lifted a hand, trailing her ?ngertips along the wall. “I …” She sighed heavily. “I do not know what you are asking of me here, Sorin.”

“I am asking nothing,” he answered, motioning for her to descend a small set of stairs. “Just making an observation. Creating an opening.”

A quick lift of lips before that small smile vanished from her mouth. “I have tried to …” She swallowed thickly before trying again. “I have tried to explain, to keep you all updated, but I do not understand what I am trying to ?nd. How am I to explain something I do not understand?”

Sorin kept his posture relaxed, but inside he was sitting up straight. She was actually speaking to him about this. Had it really been this simple all along? Get her alone and just … ask? He was so used to her keeping secrets that it had honestly never occurred to him that she just didn’t know how to tell him, how to include him.

“What did the Sorceress say to you that led to all of this?” he asked gently, hoping he’d chosen the right words. She was his twin ?ame. This conversation shouldn’t be this hard, this complicated.

“She said many things,” she answered quietly. “So many things.”

“Tell me one.”

“This thing with the keys and the lock. How they may not go together.”

“She was just trying to gain the upper hand, Scarlett.”

“I don’t think she was, Sorin. I don’t think—”

She stopped short when he pushed open a door, ushering her through. The ?re was burning steadily in the hearth, casting a warm glow around the room. A few candles had been strategically placed to add enough light to see by, but not brighten the room too much. A plush sofa sat in front of the hearth, and two wing-backed chairs were off to the side, a small table between them. A drink cart was on the back wall. But none of that was what had caused Scarlett to pause just over the threshold of the small lounge. No, that was caused by the piano in the center of the room. Black and gleaming, it had clearly been cleaned and polished. The bench was cushioned for comfort, and the keys were uncovered, waiting for her.

He wasn’t entirely sure she was breathing when he nudged her farther into the room so he could shut the door behind them. He brought his hands to her shoulders as he leaned in and whispered, “Go play, Love.”

Her ?ngers were resting delicately on her throat when she said, “I did not know there was a piano here.”

“I ?gured as much,” Sorin said, stepping around her to move to the drink cart. He nodded at the instrument again. “Go play, Love,” he repeated.

“I really should be going through more books,” she said quietly, but her feet moved forward as if she couldn’t help it. Her ?ngers brushed along the tops of the keys.

“You can take one night off, Scarlett,” he answered, ice clinking into his glass. “As you may recall, I once told you it is just as important to take the time to look at the stars. Or in this case, play the piano.”

Her lips twitched, and she looked up to meet his gaze. “You arranged this for me?”

“The piano has always been here. I used to play it every once in a while when Eliné lived here, but I made sure it was cleaned and tuned for you, yes,” he said, taking a sip of the liquor he’d poured. He slid a hand into his pocket, watching her eyes fall back to the piano.

“I have never played on one this grand before.”

“You are a queen, my Love.”

“That is what they say,” she murmured, ?nally sliding onto the bench. For a moment, he hadn’t been sure she was going to sit. Her ?ngers curled slightly over the keys, her foot hovering over a foot pedal.

And then she played.

Sorin moved to one of the chairs, his glass dangling from his ?ngertips as he watched her fall into the music she created. Her body swayed with each chord, breathing in each note.

For nearly two hours she played, before he pushed to his feet and moved behind her. His ?nger traced the scoop of the back of her dress. Still her ?ngers didn’t miss a note. Not until he bent to whisper in her ear, “Happy Birthday, my Love.”

Her ?ngers tripped over themselves, the music distorted by the mistaken keys. She scowled at him. “You just ruined this by making it a birthday present.”

“So much animosity over the day you entered this world,” he quipped.

“You know that is not why. I assume you spoke with Cassius about it,” she replied, her eyes dropping back to the keys.

“You may have denied your family the ability to celebrate you, but will you really deny my desire to worship you?” he asked, his ?ngers moving to skate up the side of her neck.

“If you’re going to consider it a birthday gift, then yes. I will deny you,” she bit back, her eyes coming back to his.

“But I have so much to give to you tonight,” he continued, ignoring her slight outburst. His other hand dipped into his pocket.

She rolled her eyes. “On this day I do not want anything from anyone,” she replied, turning back to the piano, but she stilled when he pulled his hand from his pocket and held the object he’d been carrying around with him all day before her eyes, pinched between his thumb and fore?nger.

“Sorin,” she whispered, her voice catching.

A gold band. A diamond in the center with two smaller rubies ?anking it.

“You never once asked of it,” he said softly. He leaned forward, his chest pressing gently against her back as he reached for her hand.

“I trusted you to return it when you were ready,” she answered, her voice hushed while she watched him slide the ring onto her ?nger. “After what I put you through … I did not have the right to ask for it back.”

“My love,” he sighed, his lips pressing a tender kiss to her cheek. She leaned back against his chest, studying the band back on her ?nger where it belonged. “I have more to give you.”

“I need nothing else, Sorin.”

“I disagree,” he murmured onto her skin. His hands slid along her sides, down to her hips before he whispered into her ear once more. “You need a Source.”

“What?” she demanded, her entire body twisting to face him. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him.

“I discovered what a Source is,” he answered, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. “And I found you one.”

“When? How?” she sputtered, clamoring over the bench to stand.

Sorin chuckled. “You are not the only one capable of working things out.”

“I know that,” she admonished with a frown. “When did you ?gure this out?”

“Two nights ago.”

“And you are just informing me now?”

“It seemed like a good birthday gift,” he replied with a slight shrug. “You are incredibly hard to buy for, outside of things that kill people.”

“Sorin!” she snapped. He just winked at her.

“Gods,” she snapped again, her ?ngers coming up to rub her temples. “I’ve been drinking blood for two days longer than I needed to be.”

“One day,” he corrected. “You have not had any today.”

“Semantics,” she grumbled.

He grabbed her hand, bringing it to his mouth, where he pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Come with me, Love.”

He led her from the piano lounge and while they were making their way down the various corridors, she asked, “What is it? A Source?”

“Someone for you to draw power from, to restore your Avonleyan gifts.”

“Which is what?”

“Not what,” he replied. “Who.”

“Who?”

“Yes, who. You know Avonleyans depend on Fae to feed their magic.”

“How is this any different than drinking blood?”

“Because a Mark is given. The Mark, when activated, allows you to draw the magic that feeds your gifts directly from your Source, rather than drinking it from their blood,” Sorin explained. “I suspect it will be similar to how you draw from Cassius when needed.”

“Why can’t Cassius just be my Source then?”

“Because he is a last resort. You only draw from him if you are in danger. Additionally, there is the fact that he is not Fae. He will not feed your magic properly,” Sorin answered. “Drawing from him is like using a dressing to cover a wound until it can be properly cared for.”

He’d ?nally found the text in a book he’d gone to Solembra to hunt down. The book had been referenced brie?y in passing in one of the other books he’d been painstakingly translating, and, against all hope, he’d gone back to that chamber in the Fiera Palace and went through a dozen shelves before ?nally ?nding it. Whether it was luck or an act of the Fates, he didn’t care. He’d found it.

He’d brought it back to the Black Halls, where he’d stayed up most of the night translating the chapter on Sources. They had been created when the Avonleyans began having trouble controlling themselves when feeding. Although, in the book, they were not called Avonleyans but Legacy. The Fae were beginning to be treated more as a commodity to be used when and however the Legacy wished. They had been on a path that would lead to glori?ed slavery, Sorin had realized as he’d read through the material. Many of the gods became angered, proclaiming that the Fae had been created to keep the balance, a check against the power of the Legacy. Feeding off their blood became forbidden, and a Mark had been created to bind a single Fae to a Legacy.

If that hadn’t been interesting enough, he had also learned another tidbit of information about the Night Children. It was common knowledge among magic wielders that the Night Children had descended from the Avonleyans. What was not known was that they had been cursed by Arius himself for refusing to take Sources and choosing to continue feeding as they do now. As punishment, Arius stripped them of their Avonleyan gifts and cursed them to weaken in sunlight and be driven by their bloodlust.

God of Endings indeed, if the Sorceress was to be believed.

Sorin pushed open the door to the queen’s chambers, stepping aside to let Scarlett enter ?rst. She turned to him as soon as he followed her through, her eyes brighter than they had been in days.

“Show me,” she said, practically bouncing on her toes in excitement.

Sorin huffed out a laugh, motioning to the sofa where all the books and papers were scattered about on the low-lying table. He grabbed the book, opening it to the pages he had marked before handing it to her. While she immediately started reading through it, he poured her a glass of wine from the bottle he’d had sent up after dinner. She murmured a thanks, not even looking up to take the glass, too engrossed in her reading. He took a seat beside her, slowly beginning to remove the pins from her hair. Soft curls fell along her shoulders, and when he had them all down, he began twining one around his ?nger.

“This is …” she ?nally said, worrying her lower lip. “This is a lot to ask of a Fae.” She looked up at him. “This is a lifelong commitment. Once the Mark is given, it cannot be removed.”

“That was my understanding as well,” he agreed.

“You said you found me a Source?”

“I did.”

“Do they truly understand what that means?”

“They do.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Who is it?” The corner of his mouth lifted into a half-smile.

“No,” she said decidedly, lurching back from him.

He only arched a brow at her, waiting for her tirade. He’d known she would object to this. He was also prepared with his own arguments.

“You cannot be serious, Sorin,” she said when he remained silent. “You cannot be my Source.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you are the Fire Prince for one,” she said, her tone ringing with disbelief.

“You are incredibly powerful, Scarlett. It would make sense for your Source to be powerful as well. You will draw more magic to re?ll your own,” he countered.

“You are the king, Sorin! If my power is depleted, it would be stupid to draw from you and weaken us both. Think of having to do that in the middle of a battle,” she argued.

“You mean how you fed from me in the middle of the ?ght with the seraphs and Night Children? That seemed to work out pretty well,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

“Sorin, this is serious! Don’t act so cavalier about it!”

“It is very serious,” he agreed. “That is why I have been searching for the answer for weeks for you.”

“And this is your solution? For you to become my Source? That is utterly absurd.”

Sorin barked a laugh.

“And so not funny!” she cried, smacking his shoulder.

“Scarlett, you and your antics are the de?nition of absurd,” he replied calmly, snatching her wrist when she drew back to hit him again. “May I speak now?”

She huffed, pulling her wrist out of his grasp and crossing her arms.

She threw herself back against the sofa, looking away from him.

“And you say I throw temper tantrums,” he tsked. She ?ipped him off with a glare.

He picked up the glass of wine she’d set on the table, pressing it back into her hand as he said, “Aside from the fact that I have, for all intents and purposes, been your Source since you returned, you are correct. It is a lot to ask of a Fae. It is a bond built on mutual trust. The Avonleyan puts their trust in their Source to be available at all times. They must become vulnerable and honest about their needs and weaknesses. The Source, on the other hand, must trust the Avonleyan not to take advantage of them. Not to drain their power reserves unnecessarily. It is a balance, Scarlett. It is a balance that will only work with trust and honesty.”

Scarlett had gone still, the wine glass frozen halfway to her lips. She slowly lowered it back down. “It still seems incredibly idiotic to bind the two ruling parties in such a way. Even more so for you. You rule both as a prince and a king. If something were to happen to me—”

“As has already been stated, repeatedly I might add, I do not wish to rule without you at my side. I do not wish to live without you at my side. If you leave this world, I will follow, whether I am your Source or not.”

Scarlett set the wine glass carefully back onto the table, reaching for the book that had been shoved to the side during their argument. She tapped one of the pages with her nail a couple times, mulling something over. “You are sure?” she ?nally asked. “I could ask Eliza if power is your argument. Or Cyrus. Or Sawyer.“

“I will, admittedly, become uncontrollably jealous if you create this sort of relationship with someone else,” he said.

She scoffed. “Your Fae possessiveness is the least of my worries here, Prince.”

His hand shot out, lightly gripping her chin between his thumb and fore?nger. He brought his face close to hers. “As has also already been stated, you are mine, Scarlett. Mine to claim. Mine to consume. So perhaps my Fae possessiveness should be a little more of a concern for you.”

“So fussy,” she murmured, her ?ngers coming up and brushing along his jaw.

He pressed a kiss to her lips before releasing her chin. “So we are in agreement?”

She bit her lip again, glancing back down at the text. “Okay,” she ?nally breathed. “Okay.”

For the next several hours, Scarlett studied that book. Sorin was fairly certain she had it memorized by this point, but she refused to go through with the Mark until it was perfect. It was well into the night when she ?nally said, “Are you ready?”

“When you are, Princess.”

She took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders back and stretching out her neck. The same mannerisms she did before going into a ?ght. The same things he’d watched her do when they were trying to get out of the Fellowship.

“Are you preparing for battle?” Sorin teased, watching her stand to collect a dagger from across the room.

She looked back over her shoulder. “You are the one so concerned about Blood Magic,” she retorted. “I am surprised you are not fretting like the mother hen you are.”

“Careful, Love,” he warned, his eyes narrowing.

He tracked her every step as she sauntered back to him. She was still in that dress, and he straightened when she hiked up the sides before straddling his hips and lowering onto his lap. Her empty hand came up, ?ngers gliding through his hair. His hands landed on her backside, squeezing gently and tugging her closer.

“You are sure about this, Sorin?”

“Yes, Scarlett. It will be an honor to be such a thing for you,” he said.

“You do not need to do this. I will not hold it against you if—”

He brought a hand up, pressing a ?nger to her lips. “You are mine, Scarlett, and I am yours. In every possible way.”

She held his stare for a moment longer before nodding once. “Where do you want the Mark?” she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

“From what I read, it needs to be easily accessible,” he answered, having put quite a bit of thought into this. “I was thinking my forearm.”

Scarlett considered for a moment before agreeing, leaning back slightly and reaching for his right arm. Her ?ngers ran along his skin, and he fought back the shiver that her touch always elicited. She raised the dagger, slicing a long, thin gash down his forearm, before setting it aside and dipping her ?nger into the welling blood. She began to trace a Mark along his ?esh. He wasn’t watching her ?nger move, though. Sorin’s eyes were ?xed on Scarlett’s face as she took such care, her brow scrunched in concentration.

When she had ?nished the Mark, she sat up, reaching for the dagger once more. She met his eyes, the question she sent down their bond evident in her own.

Are you sure? Last chance …

Sorin took the dagger from her hand himself then, and when she shifted her palm face up, he made the cut himself. She leaned forward, brushing her lips across his in the lightest of kisses, before she brought her cut hand down on top of the open wound in his forearm, over the Mark she’d just painstakingly traced onto him.

He had experienced his power mixing with Scarlett’s before. He had felt the euphoria of it when it had come together while he had driven into her body. But this? This was rawer. Rougher. So pleasurable it hurt .

He felt his ?ames rise up in a bid to protect him, ?ghting against the shadows and white ?ames she was forcing into him. His ?re seemed to sense what was happening, and her magic bore down on the embers, forcing them into submission. The pleasure turned into real pain then, as their magic fought for dominance in his very soul.

He hissed between his teeth, his entire body tensing. Scarlett’s fingers were digging into his arm as she held onto him, refusing to break the connection. If she did, they would have to restart the entire process.

Sorin was panting when her white ?ames began to win out. Burning raced through his veins. He’d never felt the pain of a burn. Not with ?re literally running through his blood, but he felt it now. And gods, it was excruciating.

“I’m sorry,” Scarlett was saying, tears slipping down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth. The sight of her crying for him made his chest ache more. And that pain? That was worse than the stars seeming to explode under his skin. Her shadows wound around his ?re, still struggling to ?ght against her.

A cord of ?aming orange seemed to vibrate up out of his skin beneath her palm, at the same moment a cord of black did the same from hers. They wrapped around each other, intertwining until they were so tangled together they couldn’t be separated. The cord ?ared bright silver before it settled back into them.

Scarlett released his arm, gasping, and Sorin collapsed back against the sofa. Her hands came up, framing his face. “Are you all right?” she asked, ?ngers smoothing down his cheeks.

“Fine, Love,” he muttered, his eyes falling closed. “Just give me a moment to catch my breath.”

Now that the searing burning had subsided, he didn’t feel … anything. No different than he had before. A little weaker maybe, as though he’d been training heavily with his power and needed to sleep to re?ll his reserves. He really did just need to catch his breath.

When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him, studying him anxiously, but her eyes were bright silver. They were practically glowing, like they got when she’d lost control and wouldn’t stop drinking directly from him.

“How do you feel?” he asked, reaching up and brushing back the hair that had fallen into her face.

“I feel ?ne,” she said quickly. “I am not the one who just became a Source of power.”

“It worked then?”

“Yes, Sorin, it worked. Are you all right?” she said impatiently.

His hand wrapped around the nape of her neck, pulling her mouth to his. She instantly melted against him, and he wasted no time pushing his tongue into her mouth. Her soft whimper vibrated against his lips, and he was shoving that dress up the rest of the way. She pulled it over her head for him, just as impatient, before her hands slid beneath his tunic, skimming his sides when she slipped it over his head.

She leaned in to bring her lips back to his, but he halted her, his ?ngers coming up to brush against her collarbone where a silvery Mark was visible. He heard her suck in a sharp breath when he reached for her arm. Three stars and an inverted triangle. Right there where she had once asked if he could see a Mark. The same place the Source Mark sat on his arm.

“You can see them,” she breathed.

His hands fell to her hips, and he rotated her until he found the Guardian Mark on her back. He traced it with a ?ngertip, goosebumps erupting along her skin when she shuddered slightly.

“I can,” he said in awe. “I can see them all. It must be because …” “Because you’re my Source,” she agreed. “You need to be able to see if there are any threats to my power. Just like Cassius.”

“Do you think I will be able to see his too?” he wondered, unable to pull his eyes from the Marks she had always insisted were there.

She shrugged slightly. “I suppose we will ?nd out tomorrow. Or rather, later today.” She looked over her shoulder at him, a slight frown tugging on her lips. “Gods, it’s nearly dawn. I’m sleeping until lunch.”

He chuckled softly. “Good plan, Princess. I have one more gift to give you anyway.”

Her eyes narrowed as he spun her back in his lap to face him. Her bare chest brushed against his. His hands instantly rose to her breasts, thumbs brushing over peaked nipples.

“I need nothing else, Sorin. Only you,” she replied, her lips finding his once more. He let her take control of the kiss, her mouth moving softly against his while his hands explored flesh he knew as well as his own. But he’d never get enough of this, of her, of feeling her beneath his fingertips. Her hands slid down his chest, her fingers tracing along the ridges of his muscles until they reached his pants. She deftly undid the buttons before rising and removing her undergarments while he quickly lost his own pants.

She slowly climbed back on top of him, her hands sliding back into his hair while his slid down her ribs onto her waist. His thumbs were making idle swipes on her hips as she straddled him once more, holding herself just above him. He could feel her heat on the head of his cock. His ?ngers ?exed into her skin as she dragged herself across him, her lips curving up in a smirk.

His head tipped back on the sofa, his eyes falling closed when she did it again. “It is amusing, you know,” he mused.

“What is?” she asked, her movements stilling.

“That you think you are in control here,” he said.

“What?”

Before she could say anything else, his hands gripped her hips tightly and yanked her down onto him. She let out a gasp that quickly became a moan. His lips began trailing down her throat, her collarbone, over that Mark he could see, down to her breasts.

“It is even more amusing that you thought you could tease me without any retaliation,” he murmured onto her ?esh, right before his mouth closed around a nipple. She sucked in a breath, arching into him, but when she tried to move against him, his ?ngers dug in even more, keeping her still.

“It’s my birthday,” she whined when he moved his mouth to her other breast.

He snorted a laugh. “First of all, that was yesterday,” he replied, one hand sliding around to grip her ass. “Second, you refused to let anyone even mention such a thing. How contriving of you to use it as an excuse now.”

“Sorin,” she pouted when she tried to move again, but he held her ?rmly, fully impaled on him.

His mouth trailed back up to her throat where his tongue had her writhing against him despite his efforts to hold her still. She pressed her forehead into his, her breaths short and sharp feathering across his lips.

“My name on your lips will forever be my weakness, Love,” he rasped, his hold loosening to let her rock her hips against him. A moan of relief left her as she did it again. The hand that had been holding her hip snaked in between them, his thumb dipping in to rub against her center.

His tongue darted out, gliding across her bottom lip. It was all she needed to bring her mouth back to his. Her hands were braced on his shoulders, her nails digging in when his hands moved back to her hips and began guiding her movements. Between her tongue in his mouth and being buried deep inside her, he let himself get lost in all she was, all they were.

When she murmured “more” onto his lips, it was all she needed to say. He stood, bringing her with him, never once breaking their kiss. He walked them over to the bed, where he gently laid her on her back. Her legs stayed wrapped around his waist where he still stood at the edge of the bed bent over her. Her arms had looped around his neck, and now she slowly unwound them, her hands sliding to his chest.

“You make my entire world a better place, Sorin,” she whispered.

“You have said you do not want a world without me in it, but I will simply not survive in a world where there is not a you and me.”

“There will never be such a thing, Scarlett,” he said, brushing kisses across her brow.

“I know,” she breathed, her back arching when he started moving inside her again, withdrawing slowly and dragging himself against her inner walls. “I just … You always ask if I am all right, but you, Sorin? As long as you are with me, I will always be all right. Your touch eases my fears, and your kisses are every star in my darkness.”

“Love,” he breathed, but her ?nger came to rest against his lips, and she shook her head slightly.

“You’ve brought me back. Every time,” she swallowed thickly, and he could see thin pools of silver glimmering in her eyes. “I need you to know that the world, my world, is a better place since you came along.”

A soft smile lifted his lips, and he pressed them lightly to hers. Then he did as he had promised in the piano lounge.

He worshipped her.