Chapter 7 Scarlett
CHAPTER 7
SCARLETT
S carlett crept along the trees as she trailed Ryker. He was on her favorite horse and had been riding along the river at a decent pace. She had to run to keep up, but now he was slowing. She braced a hand against a tree trunk as she worked to even out her breathing.
Scarlett had changed into a black tunic and pants after she’d deposited the book back in her room. She had planned to go and track down Ryker, but luck had been on her side. Ryker had been with Drake in the entry, and she heard him mention going for a ride before the weekly meeting Lord Tyndell held with his top generals, captains, and commanders. She was usually at the weekly dinners along with Tava. After the meal, they were dismissed so the men could discuss the week’s plans. She had followed Ryker in the shadows, and once she’d realized where he was going, she’d taken a few shortcuts she knew well to get ahead of him. He’d caught up with her quickly enough though, and now he was casually walking along the path.
The horse suddenly came to an abrupt halt, rearing back on his hind legs. Ryker pulled back on the reins to remain in the saddle. “Whoa,” he soothed, as the horse slammed back down on its front hooves. It pranced in a tight circle, and Ryker shifted, looking for the source of what had startled it.
Scarlett dropped to the ground to remain unseen, slicing her arm on a sharp rock. She hissed between her teeth at the sting, but it was quickly forgotten as a giant black wolf slunk out from the trees near the side of the road. It easily reached higher than Ryker’s waist. It growled low in its throat, and the horse stamped its hoof in response, backing up with a whinny.
Ryker quickly slid from the saddle and grabbed its bridle, making a soothing noise at the animal. The wolf tracked his every movement, its jade green eyes beginning to glow. Scarlett made to move, to do something to help him, but then she froze. Ryker did not seem at all concerned with the wolf. He watched it warily, almost as if he knew this wolf. The wolf padded forward, coming to stop a few feet from him.
“Maliq,” Ryker said, reverence in his voice, as he bowed to the wolf.
Scarlett could only watch, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her head whipped to the side as a cool, cultured female voice filled the air. She had a hint of the same accent Ryker had.
“You show my wolf more respect than you offer me. How amusing.”
Ryker stiffened at the sound of that voice and glared at the woman who stepped into view before him. She had long mahogany hair. It reached past her waist and flowed slightly around her on phantom winds, despite the calm day. Her eyes glowed jade green just as the black wolf’s eyes did. She was a couple of inches shorter than Ryker. Twin blades were strapped to her back. She wore a white tunic with fitted brown pants. Fighting leathers adorned her as well with various daggers in place.
But none of that was what made Scarlett stifle the gasp that escaped from her. Wind swirled at the fingertips of the woman’s left hand while sand swirled along the wrist of her right. Magic. The woman was somehow wielding magic here.
“You are dressed for battle,” Ryker said. He was clearly well-acquainted with the woman.
“Perceptive as always,” the woman said, rolling her eyes. She reached down and patted the black wolf on the head, scratching behind an ear. “You would not expect me to come to the human lands without being properly armed, would you?”
Scarlett thought her head was going to explode at the words ‘come to the human lands.’
“What is happening at home?” Ryker demanded.
“That is not your concern right now. Your concern is the task I gave you,” the woman replied snidely, her green eyes flaring.
“Not if my people are in danger,” Ryker snapped.
His people?
The wolf growled low. “Shh, Maliq,” the woman said, soothing the wolf as if it weren’t a giant terrifying predator but a puppy. “This is not the place for this, Sorin.”
Sorin? Why was she calling him Sorin?
“There is enough war on the brink of happening without adding your own pettiness to the matter.” The woman continued, turning back to Ryker. “Do you have such little faith in those in charge?”
“Why are you here?” Ryker asked tightly. Scarlett recognized that tone. He was leashing his temper.
“I am free to roam where I wish,” the woman answered. Then she angled her head to the side as she continued to speak. “But to answer your question more specifically, I am here to see for myself how your task is coming? Have you found the weapon which I seek?”
“If I had, I would have been home months ago,” he growled.
“Perhaps I should inquire after the missing Semiria ring then?” the woman said, a cruel smile filling her face.
“What of it?” he countered.
“You have found it.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Why else would you inquire of it?”
“As I told your prick of a Second, I came across some ancient texts regarding the rings. I thought they may help us locate the weapon,” Ryker answered, his grip tightening on the stallion’s bridle.
The woman tsked under her breath. “I know you better than that, Sorin. You may have lied to Azrael and think you had gotten away with it, but I never believed that crock of shit for one second.”
“What is the prophecy of the Oracle?”
“Where is my ring?”
“On your finger.”
Scarlett felt the earth shake and rumble underneath her. Her mind was racing. Semiria ring? Who was Azrael? And why did she keep calling him Sorin?
“Dammit,” Ryker swore, tightening his grip on the stallion’s lead as he glared at the woman. “I see you still cannot control your fucking temper.”
“I suppose I learned that particular trait from you,” she answered, sounding bored. Her eyes seemed to glow even brighter as she said with quiet rage, “Bring me that ring. It is mine.”
“It is not yours, and when I return to the Fire Court, I shall bring it with me.”
Scarlett almost shot up at the words. He was from the Fire Court ?
The wind picked up, whipping the woman’s hair behind her. “Return home, Sorin, and bring that ring.”
“I am not ready to return home,” Ryker replied through gritted teeth.
“Were you not just lamenting about your people?”
“I am entrusting you to help keep my people safe while I am away. If I return now, I cannot bring the ring.”
“And why, pray tell, is that?” she asked, her voice low and steely.
“You sent me on this ridiculous task. Now that I have found something, do not summon me home before I am ready.”
The woman stared at him, her jade eyes locked on his golden ones. “The people are growing restless, Sorin. War brews. Do what you must, but do so quickly. Your people will soon need you.”
Before Ryker could reply, the woman turned and strode back into the woods where she had come, her black wolf at her side. The horse huffed softly behind him, and he reached up absently to stroke his nose. He turned to mount the horse once more, and before Scarlett knew what she was doing, she was on her feet and striding to the edge of the trees.
“I suppose if you were going to convince me humans live among the Fae, she would certainly do the trick.”
Ryker whirled to find Scarlett leaning against a tree, her arms crossed over her chest.
“What the hell are you doing here?” He didn’t move, as if he were rooted to the spot by the horse. His body was rigid, and his golden eyes were luminous.
“I’m sorry. Were you having a secret rendezvous with a consort?” she asked, pushing off the tree and prowling towards him. Ryker watched her as she moved. He had been training her, but she moved like a predator now. She moved like a wraith. She had always held back in training, always kept this part of herself tightly leashed. He studied her like he’d never seen her before her. She stopped several feet from him and continued, “I hate to tell you this, but she didn’t seem all that interested, so I hope that wasn’t the case.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” he repeated.
“You first,” she countered.
Ryker let go of the horse’s bridle and stalked to her. “Do you have any idea what—” He cut himself off. Was that panic in his eyes? “How did you find me?”
“You took one of my favorite horses,” she answered, stepping around him and walking to the horse. She reached up and scratched the horse behind his ear.
“How did you catch me so quickly? We were running.”
She gave him a secretive smile. “I know a few shortcuts.”
“Shortcuts,” he repeated dubiously.
“Yes, shortcuts,” she replied. “I did grow up here, you know.”
His eyes did not leave her while she turned her attention to the horse. She was frantically sorting through everything she had just seen and heard. She laughed softly when the horse nudged her shoulder to continue with her attention.
Ryker’s jaw clenched. “How much did you see?”
“Of you and your consort?”
“She is not my consort, and yes, of that.”
“Enough that I have so many questions,” Scarlett said, finally turning to face him fully. “Starting with why the hell did she keep calling you Sorin and ending with how the fuck was she doing magic here?” A muscle feathered in Ryker’s jaw, but he didn’t answer her. “Do you need a treat to speak, Captain?”
His golden eyes snapped to hers and his nostrils flared. “Are you bleeding?”
“What?”
His eyes raked over her, stopping on her arm where the rock had torn her tunic sleeve and cut a decent gash up her forearm. He stepped forward, but froze when she stepped back from him. “You should wrap it until you can clean it when you get back. To avoid infection.”
“I know how to tend to my wounds. It is just a scratch.”
“It seems like more than a scratch. It is dripping blood onto the road.”
She looked down. He was right. It was doing that. “I don’t have anything to wrap it with here and that is—”
Her words left her mouth as Ryker reached for the hem of his tunic and tore a strip from the bottom. In doing so, he revealed a little of the corded muscles of his abdomen and damn if that wasn’t distracting. The tunic fell back into place, once again concealing that delightful sight as he stretched out his hand with the strip of fabric.
Scarlett’s mouth was dry as she reached for it, but he said, “Will you let me wrap it?”
“What?” she said again.
“Your arm? Will you let me wrap it? It will be hard to wrap your own arm, will it not?”
Scarlett’s eyes met his. “I suppose. If you answer my questions while you do so.”
Ryker stepped forward and gently gripped her arm to inspect the wound. “This really is deeper than a scratch, you know. How did you get it?”
“I got it when I dropped to the ground at the sight of a giant ass wolf prowling from the woods,” she snapped. “Stop trying to distract me.”
A faint smile played on Ryker’s lips. “But I have so many methods of distraction.”
Had he really just said that?
Scarlett gritted her teeth as he reached for the water skin he had attached to the saddle of the horse. He unscrewed the cap and dumped a little water on the wound. She hissed at the slight stinging. His eyes flicked to hers then returned to her arm. “She called me Sorin because that is my name,” he finally said as he patted her arm dry with the now torn hem of his tunic.
“What?”
Gods, is that the only word she knew right now? It was the only one she could think of to say every time he opened his mouth.
“My name is Sorin, not Ryker,” he answered, his focus on her wound. “I told you earlier today that I am not from these kingdoms. I am from the Fae Courts.”
“The Fire Court,” Scarlett said.
He stiffened almost imperceptibly. “Yes. I reside in the Fire Court.”
“Is she from the Fire Court, too?” she asked.
“No,” he answered.
“Then who is she?”
“A pain in my ass,” he muttered as he began wrapping the cloth around her arm.
“She seemed…formidable,” Scarlett mused.
“She can be when I—” He stopped himself again, and Scarlett raised her brows at him, waiting for him to go on. “When I am not prepared for her.”
“She can do magic.”
“She can.”
“How?”
He hesitated but then said, “There is always a work around when it comes to magic.”
“But humans do not have magic.”
“You also thought that humans did not reside in the Fae Courts,” he pointed out.
That was true.
“Why are you using a fake name?”
“Because there is a slight chance my real name could reveal where I am from, and I needed secrecy while I am here,” he said, gently beginning to tie off the wrapping.
“To find a weapon. For what?”
“To free my people from their oppressors.”
Scarlett wasn’t sure how to take that. “She sent you here. Is she your superior?”
“She thinks she is.”
“Aren’t there…Court Royals in the Fae lands?”
“There were, but they were all killed by Deimas and Esmeray after the war.”
“Well, yes, but new Royals have risen. Wouldn’t you answer to them?”
“Not necessarily,” Ryker, no Sorin , answered, lowering her arm.
“So you are here under a false name to find some sort of weapon to free your people from someone oppressing them?”
“So many questions,” he said, his gaze sweeping over her body, assessing for more injuries. “Are you using your four?”
“No,” she said quickly, glaring at him. Then she turned and lifted her foot to the stirrup.
“What are you doing?”
“I may know shortcuts, Captain, but you have my favorite horse. I think I shall ride back to the manor.”
“You are commandeering my horse?” he asked, his brows snapping up in surprise.
“No,” she said with a grin. “I’m going to ride back with you.” She swung herself gracefully up and into the saddle, sliding forward to leave room for him behind her.
“You cannot be serious,” Sorin said, studying her.
“I don’t see how anything I’ve said or done would imply that I am kidding,” she said. “On the way, you can tell me who that woman is.”
“Or you can tell me about your nightmares,” he retorted.
Scarlett’s lips thinned at his suggestion, and he smirked in satisfaction. He closed the distance between him and the horse and easily swung up behind her. She slid back, her hips nestling between his thighs, and she felt him stiffen as the contact sent a jolt through her entire body. “Are you sure you want to ride back?” he questioned.
“Of course,” she said, relaxing slightly. “I’ll just throw you off if you annoy me.”
Sorin huffed a laugh. “I’m sure you will.” He took the reins from her hands and nudged the horse forward in an easy walk along the path. They rode in silence for several minutes, and all she could focus on was how her back rested gently against his chest.
“What is his name then?” Sorin asked.
“Whose name?” she asked, pulling her thoughts from the wall of muscles at her back.
“The horse. You said he was your favorite. What is his name?”
“Eirwen,” she answered.
They fell silent again, and she found herself relaxing and settling into him even more as they rode. After several more minutes he said, “One would think you had fallen asleep, Lady.”
“Call me that one more time, and I will seriously knock you off this horse and leave your ass to walk back to wherever you’re going,” she murmured.
Sorin chuckled. “I am going back to the manor. I have the weekly assignment dinner. You and Lady Tava are usually at the dinners,” he replied.
“Yes, but I will not be there tonight. I had another obligation come up this evening,” she answered quietly.
“I thought you were going to sleep.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to take a nap when we get back as my obligation will run later into the night.”
“And your tonic?”
“Is also none of your concern.”
“I have shared some pretty big truths with you today. I am not entitled to any in return?” he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
A small grin spread across her own lips as she replied, “Your consort seemed upset with you. Trouble in paradise?”
“Refer to her as my lover one more time, and I will knock your ass from this horse,” he ground out.
She laughed, and it felt strange to do so. She couldn’t remember the last time she had genuinely laughed. “Fair enough, Captain.”
“It is General now,” he said casually.
“What?” Everything he said apparently seemed to elicit that response this afternoon. She twisted to see his face.
“I was made a General a few weeks ago.”
“So now you have a new title and a new name? Why didn’t you say anything?” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice.
He shrugged. “I am not from here, Scarlett. My title means nothing to me here.”
“Do you have a title where you are from?”
“Who trained you in stealth?” he asked instead.
Fine. She was probably pushing her luck with all the questions, especially if his task was as dire as it appeared.
“The same people who trained me in everything else.”
“So Cassius?”
“Some, but he was more for combat and weaponry training.”
“And the rest?”
“Now, now, General , I believe being this close on a horse together is as personal as we’re going to get today,” she chided.
He sighed. “Have I ever told you how incredibly vexing you are?”
“If people only knew the half of it, General,” she murmured, leaning her head back against his shoulder, thinking of how her stubbornness had landed her at the Tyndell manor. Her eyes fluttered closed as her mind raced. Wards and spells kept the Fae from coming here and oppressing them, but apparently there were humans in the Fae lands who were experiencing exactly what King Deimas and Queen Esmeary had sought to protect them from hundreds of years ago.
“If you are being oppressed in the Fae lands, why do they not just come here? To the mortal kingdoms?” she asked.
“Because the Fae would not be welcomed here,” he answered.
Scarlett sat up at that. “The Fae are being oppressed?”
“Many of them, yes, but they are not the only ones.”
Her heart was racing as she voiced her next question. “By the Prince of the Fire Court?”
Sorin stiffened behind her. “What do you know of the Fire Prince?”
Her body went cold, then hot, then cold again. “Not as much as I wish I did.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because the Prince of Fire is responsible for the death of my mother.”
“What?” It was his turn to be caught off guard by a revelation, apparently.
“The Prince of Fire is the reason my mother was killed,” Scarlett repeated, fury lacing her tone.
“Why would you think that?”
“I… I’ve been searching for answers for years. I have found various clues along the way that all point to him,” she answered. She couldn’t tell him how she had discovered such things. How the Assassin Lord had used many of his resources to gather information. How she had tortured answers from various Fae and men alike that she had been assigned to take out. “But from what I do know of the Prince of Fire, he seems like the sort of bastard who would oppress an entire kingdom.”
“How would the Prince of Fire have such power if they are ruled by the Fae Queen?” he asked.
“Is she the one who is oppressing your lands then?”
“I did not say that.”
“If you are from the Fire Court, and your people are being oppressed by the Fire Prince and not the Fae Queen, then why not go to another Court?”
“There is not enough room to relocate thousands of people, Scarlett,” he said quietly. “Furthermore, the Courts may all be Fae, but they are not exactly welcome in each other’s lands, especially when going from the western courts to the eastern courts and vice versa.”
She had not expected that. “It sounds like there are a lot of problems among the Fae Courts,” she said contemplatively.
“Indeed,” was Sorin’s reply.
“And you finding this weapon would ease some of them?”
“Finding the weapon would change everything.”
“What is it? This weapon?”
“That is what I am here to try to figure out.”
“You don’t even know what you’re looking for?” she asked, turning to look at him once more.
His eyes met hers in the briefest of glances. “I have no idea what I am looking for.”