Chapter 24 Sorin
CHAPTER 24
SORIN
A fter Cassius had left, Sorin carried Scarlett into his bedroom, laying her amongst the pillows and draping a quilt over her. She was sleeping soundly, color slowly returning to her face. That revealing dress couldn’t possibly be comfortable to sleep in, but given her sleep was induced by a tonic that apparently drugged her, he doubted she cared much at this point. She curled onto her side, her hair falling along her face.
Sorin moved to the chair opposite the bed, igniting flames at his fingertips and then extinguishing them. He did it over and over, gorging himself on the use of his magic while he could. He hadn’t planned on telling Cassius he suspected she was Fae, but he’d pushed him and pushed him. When he’d yelled at him about not caring about her safety, he’d exploded. But gods, that power? The most powerful of his kind didn’t display that kind of power. Talwyn maybe, but no one possessed…shadows. If that’s what they were.
“So tell me, fire prick, did you connect any dots after seeing her tonight?”
Sorin jerked his head to the doorway to find Nuri standing in it, her arms crossed over her chest. Her hood was pulled back and her ashy-blonde hair was unbound.
“You couldn’t have said something sooner?” he ground out in annoyance.
“And have done all the work for you? How would you ever learn?” Nuri said with an exasperated fake sigh.
“Was Eliné her mother?” Sorin asked.
“Did you know Eliné?” she countered.
“Cassius said her mother’s name was Eliné Monrhoe. I knew Queen Eliné Semiria,” Sorin replied. “Were they one and the same?”
“Her mother or the woman who bore those names?”
“Fuck, Nuri. The riddles need to cease.”
“I cannot reveal what I know,” Nuri bit back.
“Convenient,” Sorin retorted.
“No, you do not understand. I cannot reveal what I know,” Nuri said, as if he were stupid.
His gaze flew to hers. “You have a Mark? You made a bargain with someone?”
Nuri met his stare. She reached up and pulled back the neck of her tunic revealing a Mark inked upon the back of her shoulder. Three horizontal dark lines were indeed inked upon her skin. A Mark of secrecy that would only lift when the secret was revealed by the one who held it.
“I have been trying to give you as many clues as I can, but you’re incredibly dense for a Fae of the Fire Court,” Nuri sniped, pulling her tunic back into place.
Sorin’s eyes narrowed on her. “Tell me what you can.”
“Tell me what you know and maybe it will loosen my tongue a bit.”
Sorin sighed. “I know she is Fae and insanely powerful. She has gifts of both Anala and Anahita. The only others who have more than one gift are the Fae Queens. Queen Eliné disappeared from the Black Halls and our lands twenty years ago. Scarlett is nineteen. I know that Lord Tyndell knows she is Fae.” Nuri’s gaze had been fixed on Scarlett, but at those last words they flew to him.
“How? How does he know that?”
“There are wards around his estate that alert him when anything other than a mortal enters the grounds.”
Her eyes widened. “Just Fae? Or…”
“I do not know.” Sorin shook his head. “Cassius said anything not mortal, so I would assume that means more than just Fae. Whether or not he can tell what is crossing, I do not know.”
“So he may not necessarily know she is Fae, just that she is immortal?” Nuri asked. Sorin could practically see her mind working overtime to process this information with everything else she knew. He knew the power of a bargain Mark and that there was nothing she could do to break it, but fuck if it wasn’t incredibly inconvenient right now.
“I suppose so,” he answered slowly. “Your turn. Tell me anything you can tell me.”
Nuri shook her head. “I don’t know everything. I don’t know how she got here. I don’t know where her power comes from.”
“Do you know her father?” Sorin asked.
“No. I do not know who her father is.”
“Why did you panic when I said Lord Tyndell knows she is Fae?”
“Gods, you are dense,” she sighed. “You do know that your kind are not welcome here, don’t you?”
“I know that mortals fear the Fae, yes.”
Nuri smirked. “That’s cute. Fear the Fae. Mortals loathe the Fae, General. Every suffering, every evil, every bad thing that happens is because of the Fae.” Sorin clenched his jaw at the implication. “My sisters and I were trained extensively on how to catch, torture, and kill Fae. We are the ones who are hired to deal with them because of what we are, and their deaths are not swift nor painless.”
“Hired by the Assassin Lord?”
“By him. By the kings of this land. By the armies, the generals, the Lords. Only the Assassin Lord knows what we are though.”
“Her tonic,” Sorin said, changing the subject. “It drugs her.”
“Yes, in a way. Our tonics do more than that though,” Nuri answered.
“ You take a tonic as well?”
Nuri’s lips thinned. A question she couldn’t answer then. He was about to ask another question when a sharp, short knock sounded at the main door. “Sorin?” came Cassius’s voice.
Sorin rose and walked quickly to the door. He had barely unlocked it when Cassius pushed his way in, shoving an armful of feminine clothing into his arms. He had a bag in his hand as well that he set down near the door. “Where is she? Then we need to talk.”
He led Cassius to his bedroom, where he placed the clothing in the chair he had vacated. Cassius strode to the bedside. Scarlett was still curled on her side, her breathing soft and even. Sorin watched as Cassius gently moved a curl out of her face. He paused when his fingers brushed her skin and swore. “She always gets such a high fever with this stronger tonic.”
Sorin came up beside him and put a hand to her cheek. Her skin was sweltering and sweat lined her brow. “It is not a fever.”
“How is it not a fever? She’s burning up,” Cassius said, his eyes fixed on Scarlett.
Sorin turned to leave the bedroom, gesturing for Cassius to follow. The clock on the mantel above the fireplace told him it was well past dawn. He walked to a window, pulling back a curtain to peer outside. Clouds had moved in, casting the morning in shades of gray. The city was awake and bustling.
“Are you sure she can stay here?” Sorin asked, turning back to Cassius. “Won’t people wonder where she is?”
“Tava is taking care of it. Scarlett slips from the manor all the time. Tava is used to covering for her,” Cassius replied, going to pick up the bag by the door. He took a croissant from within and held it out to Sorin. Sorin hadn’t even realized he was hungry. He took it with a nod of thanks as Cassius pulled another pastry from the bag and took a bite of his own.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Nuri snapped. She had moved into the room and was seated on the sofa now, her arms crossed in front of her.
“I ought to wring your neck for suggesting to Sorin that he see what happens when she doesn’t take her tonic,” Cassius snapped at her.
“You could try,” she crooned with a vicious smile.
“Enough,” Sorin ordered. “A croissant is not what you really want, so why bother whining about it?” Nuri shot him a look. He returned it with a smirk and then looked to Cassius. “While her methods are not exactly pleasant, they are efficient and allowed me to figure some things out.”
“You figured out how to help her?” Cassius asked, his eyes still full of fury as he stared at Nuri.
“I did.”
“You’re welcome,” Nuri said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Cassius.
“I’m assuming she’s been sleeping soundly since I left?” Cassius said, finally dragging his stare from her.
Sorin nodded, finishing off his croissant. Cassius held the bag out to him, and he grabbed another. As he did, Nuri stood. “I’m going to get my own breakfast. I’ll be back in an hour to stay with her.”
“I would be happy to supply you with something fresh,” Sorin said wryly.
Nuri gave him a vulgar gesture as she pulled her hood up and slid out the window.
“What is that about?” Cassius asked suspiciously.
“Someone dishing back what Nuri so generously gives out,” Sorin answered darkly. “How did you create the wards?”
“I am not entirely sure. I was an orphan on the streets of the Black Syndicate when I was taken in by the Fellowship. In exchange for room and board and survival, I was to train to become an assassin. That’s where I met Nuri, Scarlett, and—” He paused, looking Sorin over warily. “And the third. When I was ten, the Lord of the Assassins called everyone in the Fellowship into the meeting arena and presented the three girls to us. He said Nuri was his daughter, explained who the other two were, and went on to inform us that if anyone inside the Fellowship or out laid a finger on any of them outside of training, he would deal with them personally.
“When I was twelve, I was sent to the Elite District on a training exercise. What I didn’t know was that the exercise was being ambushed by six other boys in an alley. I bested them all single handedly, and when I was finished, Lord Tyndell stood before me. He said the king’s army could use someone like me and if I wished it, I could come live with him at the manor.
“Nuri’s father wasn’t particularly pleased with the idea, but eventually decided having someone on the ‘inside’ would be beneficial so the Lord of the Assassins told me that my debts would be paid in full should I continue to train at the Fellowship and still take jobs when summoned. I moved in with the Tyndells and was raised alongside Drake and Tava. I continued to train in secret at the Fellowship, and when I was old enough, also trained as a soldier.
“As the girls got older, they were each assigned private trainers. I became Scarlett’s, but all three of them eventually surpassed our instruction. They brought in instructors and tutors from all over the continent and then across the seas. The girls were exceptional on their own, but extraordinary together. What you see between them is the result of that.”
“It is why you are such a lethal fighter,” Sorin said, more to himself than to Cassius.
Cassius nodded. “When I came of age and Drake was sent to begin training to follow in his father’s footsteps, Lord Tyndell asked if I would be willing to help with a new project he was working on for the king. I was eager to prove myself and show my gratitude for all he had done for me.”
“A new project? Like the High Force?” Sorin asked.
“No. I have no idea what your High Force does actually,” Cassius answered, going to the sofa and sitting. He leaned back into the cushions, spreading an arm across the back.
“He had me start drinking a tonic, and it’s like—” he paused, clearly unsure how to explain it. “The tonic gives me some sort of power? He gave me these books to study. They’re similar to spells or something. He told me to figure out how to protect the kingdom from outside forces.
“I studied the books for months, and while I did, he’d give me little things to master. The day I finally figured out the wards, Lord Tyndell was ecstatic, but it took a toll on me. I could hardly get out of bed for months. He tried giving me a stronger tonic, but it would make me pass out for days.”
“Like Scarlett does with her stronger tonic?” Sorin inquired.
“Similar in a way, I suppose,” Cassius replied. Extended silence hung between them, before Cassius added, “I didn’t understand what the wards were for, why he thought they worked. I would get this feeling, an alert of sorts, constantly, so I thought they didn’t work. Not until the day you told me you were Fae did I realize they worked.”
“Who were your parents?” Sorin asked.
“I don’t know,” Cassius answered. “I was an orphan on the streets as far back as I can remember.”
“There is no tonic or elixir that can give you powers,” Sorin said thoughtfully. “If there were, rulers would be creating them everywhere. That is one gift that was never granted to anyone. It would upset the balance. Magic is always a give and take.”
Cassius was quiet for a long moment, then said, “You think I am not human?”
“If you possess the raw power to create wards, I know you are not mortal,” Sorin replied.
“Do you think I am Fae?”
“It is possible, I suppose, that you may have some Fae blood, but I cannot say for sure without seeing your powers. Wards are spellwork. That is not specific to any Court or a gift granted just to the Fae.”
“If it’s not possible to give a person powers with a tonic, then why does Lord Tyndell give me one?” Cassius asked. He was still casually seated on the couch, no panic or worry lined his face.
“You do not seem fazed by this news,” Sorin commented, studying the man on the sofa. He couldn’t be Fae, not full-blooded anyway. Wards were powerful magic. It hadn’t surprised him in the slightest that Cassius said he had been so drained after completing them. Scarlett had mentioned she hadn’t seen Cassius much in the last year, likely for that very reason.
“I have always known I was different. We all have. We have helped each other search for answers. The things the girls encountered on their assignments had us all believing there was something else out there. That magic had to exist here in some shape or form. So no, I am not surprised by the news that I am likely not human. Nor were Scarlett and I particularly shocked at your own revelation,” Cassius said with a shrug of his shoulders.
That explained a lot, Sorin supposed.
“How did Scarlett come to live with you at the manor?” Sorin asked. He had taken a seat in one of the dining chairs. He hadn’t slept at all, and he should really be reporting to the castle soon.
“Ah,” Cassius said, his eyes seeming to darken. “That is a tale for Scarlett to tell, not me.” When Sorin didn’t say anything, Cassius said, “I should go see if her fever broke.”
“I told you it is not a fever,” Sorin said, his eyes going to the bedroom. They’d left the door open so they could hear her if she made any noise.
Cassius threw him a doubtful glance. “Then what, pray tell, is it?”
When it came to Scarlett, Sorin noted, that’s when he became protective. That’s when Cassius appeared worried or anxiety entered his eyes. The little regard he had shown for his own unknown heritage was made up for by the way he cared for Scarlett. ‘When it comes to her, I outrank everyone,’ he had snarled to him on the beach.
“It is part of her gifts,” Sorin answered. “One of her Fae gifts is flames. I think the tonic she takes somehow suppresses her magic. When she does not have her usual nightly one, her magic starts to come to the surface. Because she has never been taught how to control it, it is like it explodes from her. The stronger tonic she takes drugs her and instantly quiets the magic again, but at a cost. It is the give and take I told you about. She goes into such a deep sleep because her magic is still coursing through her veins. It wants out, but she is asleep so she cannot wield it. With fire magic, her body is holding in the flames and heat. It is her magic flaring until it dies out.”
“Fire magic like yours?” Cassius asked, his eyes fixed on the bedroom.
“Yes, but I am pretty sure her gifts exceed my own.”
“How can you know for sure?” When Sorin didn’t answer right away, Cassius turned to look at him. “I need to take her to my home, where her magic can manifest as it is meant to.”
“To your home? As in leave Baylorin? Leave Windonelle?”
“As in leave the mortal lands,” Sorin answered. He stood and gestured for Cassius to come over to the table. He unfurled a map, spreading it out along the table. Cassius helped him lay books on the corners to keep it in place.
“This,” Sorin said, pointing to Windonelle, “is where we are now. Here,” he moved his hand directly north, “is the Fire Court, part of the Fae lands where I am from.”
“How long does it take to get there?” Cassius asked.
“Traveling swiftly on horseback without stopping, I can get to the border in a day’s time,” Sorin replied. “Once I cross the borders, I can portal.”
“What are these other countries?” Cassius asked, noting the territories on the eastern part of the continent.
“Those lands are territories most mortals do not know exist.”
“What are Night Children?”
“They are called vampyres here,” came her voice from behind them, and they both whirled with daggers drawn.
“Dammit, Nuri!” Cassius growled. “This is not the time to sneak up on us.” He turned back to Sorin and asked again, “Night Children?”
Sorin glanced at Nuri, who gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “It seems all sorts of secrets are being shared this morning.”
“Night Children are vampyres,” Sorin said.
Cassius stared at Sorin as if expecting him to start laughing and say he was joking. When Sorin didn’t, he turned back to Nuri. “How did you know that?”
“I make it a point to know as much about myself as possible,” Nuri said, bringing a hand dramatically to her chest.
When Cassius still looked perplexed, Sorin supplied, “Nuri is a Night Child.”
“Bullshit,” Cassius breathed.
“It’s true,” Sorin said. With a mocking grin to Nuri he added, “And she looks a little peaked this morning. Breakfast not sitting well?”
“You are a bastard,” Nuri seethed.
“It is like a fine aged wine, isn’t it?” he purred. “You just cannot go back to the old stuff.”
“I have never hated someone more than I do right now,” Nuri said from between clenched teeth, her nostrils flaring.
“What is she talking about?” Cassius asked. Nuri’s gaze was murderous. “She looks as though she’s going to gut you.”
“She can’t,” Sorin said with a smile of satisfaction. “Dear Nuri here has developed quite the taste for Fae blood since I let her feed on me to heal after darling Scarlett pinned her down with a dagger through the arm.”
Cassius’s mouth dropped open. “You aren’t joking? She is a vampyre.”
“Oh, she most definitely is. I would not joke about her being a Daughter of the Night,” Sorin said darkly. “Hungry, Nuri?” He began to roll up his sleeve, and her eyes watched every movement. She began to tremble when he held out his wrist to her. “He does not believe us, you know?”
Nuri dragged her eyes up to his. “I am going to rip out your throat.”
“Not today you’re not,” Sorin said, his tone icy. “Or tomorrow. Or the day after that.” He sliced his forearm open with the dagger he’d been holding and slid the Semiria ring from his finger so he wouldn’t immediately begin healing. “Eat, Nuri,” he said, “before you faint from trying to restrain.”
Cassius’s eyes only widened further as Nuri walked slowly over to them. Her eyes were glazed as her fangs slid from their sheaths. With one last murderous look at Sorin, she sank them into his arm and drank. He felt her relax with each drink. After a minute, she pulled back, wiping her mouth with the back of hand.
“But, I’ve seen you eat. Real food,” Cassius sputtered.
Sorin slipped the ring back on, his arm immediately beginning to knit itself back together.
“I can still eat and drink regular food,” Nuri snapped. “It just doesn’t nourish my body like it does for you.”
“So cranky today, aren’t we?” Sorin crooned. Nuri swore, calling him some of the foulest names he’d ever heard. Sorin merely laughed.
“But…sunlight?” Cassius asked.
“I’m never directly in it,” Nuri said, her tone like poison. “My hood and gloves serve more than one purpose. Beyond that, it takes several hours for sunlight to actually harm us. It merely drains our strength more quickly.”
“You’ve known this whole time? Since that night they fought?” he asked now, turning to Sorin.
“I suspected earlier, but could never get her full scent,” Sorin answered, “until that night when Scarlett spilled her blood.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
“Bullshit,” Cassius spat again.
“Maybe we should be asking why Nuri here did not share that she has known for quite some time that Scarlett is Fae.”
Cassius whirled to Nuri.
“Don’t do this, you fire Fae prick,” she snarled at Sorin. “Don’t you dare turn us against each other.”
“You tend to do that well enough on your own, don’t you think?” Sorin mused.
A wicked grin of delight spread across Nuri’s face. “Have you told him just how powerful you are?”
“He has seen plenty of my power,” Sorin purred, flames engulfing the entire perimeter of the living area of the apartment. Nuri flinched back, hatred shining in her honey eyes as she glared at Sorin.
“Enough,” Cassius snapped. “This power struggle is ridiculous.”
“There is no struggle,” Sorin retorted, as the flames guttered out. “Not any more.”
“We shall play again some day,” Nuri said softly, “and it shall be most enjoyable.”
“I look forward to it,” Sorin retorted with a superior grin.
“Shifters,” Cassius ground out from between gritted teeth. “What are Shifters?”
“Beings that can change their form. Most only have one other form — a mountain cat or a wolf or a bird of some sort or some other type of animal. There are a few though who possess raw shape-shifting powers. They can make themselves look like you or me or any animal they choose. They can become as small as a fly or make themselves look like a king. They were incredibly valuable to the Courts and Avonleya,” Sorin said.
“Avonleya?” Cassius asked, his eyes going wide.
Sorin sighed. “I know these lands rarely mention Avonleya, but the war with that continent did happen, and that war affected everyone on their continent as well as this one. The Shifters were loyal to the Courts, and when Avonleya lost, their allies and armies were punished. They were allowed to live but were isolated.”
“Were you alive during that war?” Nuri asked suddenly.
“No. I was born after they were locked away,” Sorin answered.
Cassius was quiet, returning his attention to the map laid out before him. “Witches are self-explanatory, I’m guessing?”
Sorin nodded. “They are incredibly powerful. Masters of apothecary and healing and spellwork. The Witch Kingdoms are also where I suspect your bloodline is from.”
Cassius’s head snapped up. “You think I am a Witch?”
“No. I think your mother is a Witch. I do not know what you are yet.”
“Why not a Witch?”
“A Witch can only be female. You clearly are not,” Sorin answered with a shrug.
Cassius rolled his eyes. “Then what of my father?”
“That I do not know,” Sorin said, contemplating. “Possibly mortal, but then I do not think you would be so powerful. The Witches are very violent. Males in their realm are lesser beings. Male children are often killed, especially if they exhibit signs of powers. If I am correct, your mother attempted to save you by sending you here, far from the Witch Kingdoms.”
Cassius started, shock on his features. “You speak of this as if it’s nothing.”
“I have been alive for centuries. I have witnessed many atrocities,” Sorin said, his voice low and somber. “It is difficult for Fae, Witches, and Shifters to conceive children and carry them to term. The fact that Witches discard theirs so easily has always been something I have despised. I do not travel to the Witch Kingdoms often, and when I do, I make short work of my tasks.”
“I thought you said the other territories are isolated. How can you travel to them?” Cassius asked.
“Magic always has a work around. Always. How do you think I am here? Do your kings not tell you that the wards put in place to protect you are impassable? Yet here I stand,” Sorin answered.
Cassius returned his attention to the map. Sorin saw him swallow, keeping his emotions in check. “I should go to the manor. Lord Tyndell will be wondering where I am.”
“I need to report to the castle,” Sorin said.
“And I shall stay here with Scarlett, planning Prince Callan’s visit,” Nuri sighed.
Cassius’s head snapped to her. “What?”
“Did I forget to mention that? Prince Callan is coming to visit in three days.”