Chapter 34 Scarlett
CHAPTER 34
SCARLETT
S carlett watched as Callan looked over his shoulder at her one last time. She couldn’t read his eyes. They were full of not sadness or anger but a resolve of some sort. She held his gaze until he broke it, and Finn pulled the door closed as he followed his prince out.
She felt Sorin come up behind her and press something into her hand— a glass of wine. “I’ve never seen wine here,” she said with a raise of her brow. He waved his hand and a swirl of flames had a glass of wine in his own hand as well. “Handy trick,” she remarked, making her way back to the couch.
“One you could learn, you know,” he answered, following her.
She sat gingerly onto the sofa, tucking her feet underneath her. Whatever balm Sorin had rubbed into her stomach was phenomenal. There was still a dull ache, but the sharp pain whenever she took a breath was gone.
It was almost as phenomenal as it had felt to have his hand on her bare skin.
Almost.
“Stop bringing that up. It’s too much. I can’t process everything at once. I can’t… That was a disaster.” Sorin sat down beside her, setting his glass of wine on the side table. Scarlett drained hers as she replayed the last half hour, and everything that had happened. What had Callan been thinking?
A wine bottle appeared in a small burst of flames, and Sorin refilled her glass. She hadn’t even realized she had emptied it. “I would just like to point out,” he said, setting the bottle back down and turning to fully face her on the sofa. “That you are the one who brought it up last, and I was pleasantly surprised as it is something that needs to be discussed.”
“That was before a prince showed up at your door,” Scarlett replied dryly.
Something flashed in his golden eyes. Amusement maybe? Probably. Although the half grin that usually accompanied such amusement was not present.
Not that she knew what his facial expressions meant or anything.
“You handled that beautifully, by the way,” Sorin said
“I really feel like social interactions are very different in the Fae lands because that was a disaster,” Scarlett answered.
The missing half grin now made an appearance as the corner of his mouth kicked up. “Perhaps. Our…disasters tend to end with magic being flung around unnecessarily with buildings sometimes being destroyed.”
Scarlett’s mouth fell open. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am actually quite serious the majority of the time,” he supplied.
Scarlett blinked at him. That was a lie. Sure, he was serious when they were training, but even there, much of his words were teasing and flirting and—
She was pulled from her thoughts when he reached over and brushed some of her hair back over her shoulder. When he pulled his hand back, his fingers briefly traced her jaw before he brought that same arm to the back of the couch and propped his head on his fist, watching her.
“Do you really think we should tell them everything?” she asked, recalling what he had said to her in that little shield bubble he had created.
“We? Are you asking me to help you scheme?” he asked, his brows rising in surprise.
“You’re ancient. I’m assuming you have some ideas with all those years of experience,” she answered, taking a sip of the wine.
He gave her an unimpressed stare, but that half grin made a brief appearance before it was replaced by a contemplative look. “I think he does not trust me, obviously, and it is affecting his trust in you. If you are going to continue to ask him for help, you are going to need to include him and his guards because he is not going to be able to find what you need alone. He is royalty. I doubt he has ever had to get his hands dirty, so to speak.”
“You really want him to know about you being Fae?”
“I trust you enough to decide if you should tell him. I think you need to show that you trust him enough to tell him, especially since he sees you pulling away from him.” The last part of his sentence was said cautiously.
“Sloan wasn’t entirely wrong,” she said, fiddling with her wine glass and watching the liquid slosh along the sides.
“I know.”
“Thank you. For not trying to make me feel better about it,” she said, meeting his gaze once more.
“You made a choice to protect those you love. Maybe it has gotten messy. Maybe it was a bad call, but what is done is done. Now you decide how to move on from here,” he said.
“You speak as if from experience,” she said, bringing the glass to her lips.
“I am ancient, remember?” he said, flicking her nose. She hissed, batting his hand away. “I have made plenty of bad calls in my years.”
“Tell me of one,” she said, settling back into the sofa. She propped an elbow on the back, angling her body to face him as he was facing her.
Sorin’s face became serious. His gaze went to the fire in the hearth as he started to speak. “A group of my closest warriors and I went out on a mission to find a missing person. The queen had also sent two of her best warriors to aid in recovering her. We had been searching for her off and on for years, but we had been unable to find any clues as to where she had disappeared to. Many had given up, accepting she was gone, but I just couldn’t. Our people had lost so much, were experiencing too much other shit. I just… I needed something to go right.”
Scarlett watched him as he spoke. Real pain entered his eyes, and his jaw clenched, a muscle feathering. She shifted her wine glass to her other hand and reached across the small distance between them to place her hand on his arm. His gaze flicked to it, studying her fingers gently resting there, and she couldn’t read the expression that flitted across his face.
“We had set up camp right along our side of the border. The next morning, we were planning to cross over into another territory. A mortal one. According to the information we had gathered, she was nearby. We would not have access to our magic, but mortals were still inferior in every way when it came to strength and speed. I was not worried. My Second-in-Command, however… He had been wary of the circumstances the entire time we had planned the mission. He felt it was a trap. That the information seemed suddenly too easy to find and that she had been gone for so long, there was no way she was just on the other side of our borders. That we had brought too many of our most skilled and important people to have us all cross the border. He wanted two, an incredibly powerful female and one of the queen’s warriors, to stay on our side of the border for recon in case things went wrong. I insisted whoever had taken her was clever to hide her so close to our border. We would never think to look there. The female was just as furious at the idea of being sidelined.”
Sorin must have noted the look of surprise on Scarlett’s face because he said, “I told you when we first started training that females fight alongside males on the battlefields. When will you realize that nearly everything I have ever told you has been a truth?”
“You lied to me repeatedly about who the queen was,” Scarlett pointed out drolly.
“No, Love, I did not lie about who she was. I may have withheld information, but I have never spoken falsehoods to you.”
“Semantics,” Scarlett scoffed, taking a sip of her wine.
“Anyway,” Sorin went on, drawing out the word. “My Second and I had an argument, but I eventually pulled rank, something I rarely ever did. He was furious, but could do nothing. We crossed the border the next morning. All of us. We tracked the woman to a cave, but my Second had been right. It had all been a trap. She wasn’t there and instead we found ourselves surrounded by a small clan of Night Children.”
Scarlett started. “What?”
“I will come back to how vampyres were allowed to be here, because yes, Love, they were allowed to remain among the humans, but let me finish this story first. I had not been worried about mortal assailants, but Night Children are a completely different enemy. Their strength and speed are equal to the Fae, and Night Children have an ability called entrancing. They can use the ability to compel others to do their bidding.”
“But you cannot access magic in the mortal lands,” Scarlett argued.
“There is always a work around, Scarlett. Always. Night Children survive by drinking blood, the life forces of others. It is ancient, powerful magic that has been outlawed for centuries, but the Night Children exist, nonetheless.
“The powerful female that my Second had wanted to stay behind entered first with the two others. My Second, Third, and I were to wait for the all clear signal. We heard the clanging of swords and cries of pain from the men, and my Second rushed in. My Third tried to hold me back, but I broke his hold and raced in after him. Three of the vampyres had their fangs in the throats of the original three warriors. They were motionless on the ground as they drained them dry. My Second was fighting two of them and his rage was palpable. He killed them both before three more converged on him. My Third and I were engaged with two others. The three of us somehow, by the grace of the gods, made it out of that cave and across the border. The vampyres could not follow.
“We later went back and claimed every life of those other clan members. The revenge was not swift, and it was not merciful. It is acts like this that perpetuate the dark claims of our Court. But it was a bad call. I should have listened to my Second. Those lost were not just warriors, but dear friends. We were all incredibly close. We could have scouted more, verified more information, but I… I made a bad call, and it was costly. In more ways than one. The other two warriors lost were the Fae Queen’s, and it further strained an already fickle, unstable relationship with the Eastern Courts. Even more than that, our actions that day tipped off others that we were still searching for the missing female. A few weeks later we learned that she had been alive and well when we had come to ‘rescue’ her but that our actions had spooked others who had then killed her,” he finished.
Scarlett was quiet, unsure of what to say. Was there anything she could say? She knew there wasn’t. There was nothing anyone could say that would ease her pain and guilt, so she just said, “I’m sorry,” and gently squeezed his arm where her hand still rested.
Sorin swallowed, composing himself before he went on. “We make bad calls, Scarlett, but we can’t change them. If this turns out to be a bad call, then you deal with it. You learn from it. You become humbled by it. But you do not let it define you. You let it shape you,” he finished, reaching over and brushing his knuckles along her cheek.
She handed him her now empty glass of wine, and he set it on the end table beside his own. “I wasn’t lying earlier,” she said. He turned back to face her with a questioning look. “I told Callan that you have helped me in more ways than one, and you have. You…” she pursed her lips. “When I asked you to train me, I didn’t expect you to teach me about anything more than weaponry and combat.”
“I am old as dirt,” he said wryly, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “I have been known to offer sage advice from time to time.” Scarlett nudged him playfully with her hand, but he caught her wrist. His face shifted to one of contemplation. “What if I make another bargain with you?”
Scarlett cocked her head to the side. “What do you have in mind?”
“If I help you figure out what is going on in the Black Syndicate, you agree to come and see my home,” he said.
“In the Fire Court?” Scarlett sat up straighter. “I don’t know, Sorin. You may have proved to me that not all Fae are bastards, but the Fire Prince…”
“Is responsible for your mother’s death. I know. You would not need to stay. I just want you to see it,” he said.
“Why?”
He sighed, appearing to search for the words before he groused, “Probably because I enjoy torment. It would drag out having to say goodbye to you.”
A pit yawned open in her stomach. “Can’t you stay?”
“I have responsibilities at home. I have already been gone far too long,” he said, playing with her hair.
“Will you come visit me? After you’ve returned home?”
“If you wish,” he said, stroking a finger down her cheek. “You are incredibly demanding. I do not think I could say no to you.”
Scarlett shot him an unimpressed glare. “I was about to kiss you, you know. Now I don’t want to,” she said, sitting back and crossing her arms.
Sorin couldn’t hide the shock that flashed in his golden eyes before he closed them, wincing. “I do not know that I have ever regretted opening my mouth more than I do in this very moment.” Scarlett huffed a laugh, and his eyes flew open, snapping to her own. “You laugh? Kindly remember, Love, that I have never lied to you, and I did say earlier today that I enjoy kissing you.”
“Good,” she said, her voice sultry and soft, as she leaned closer to him. “Because I enjoy kissing you too, Sorin Aditya.”
She heard him suck in a breath as her lips met his, and she lost herself in the taste of him against her mouth and tongue. She relished the feel of his hands on her as one slipped into her hair, moving to cup the nape of her neck, holding her mouth to his.
Never. She had never been able to be unabashedly herself. When she was with Callan, she was always listening for danger, always ready to run. When she was with Nuri and Cassius, she was always training, always preparing, always protecting. But here, with him, she could simply be. She could breathe. Because he understood her. Understood her darkness.
Sorin pulled back, looking into her eyes. “I cannot keep kissing you, not like this, if you are his,” he said, his voice guttural.
“I am no one’s,” she whispered, bringing her lips back to his. His hands were on her hips as he gently pulled her into his lap, rotating her to face him, and a hand stroked up her back to her hair while the other gripped her waist. She slid a leg over, straddling him, and he deepened the kiss, taking control of it. She pulled back slightly. His golden eyes were nearly luminous as they took her in. “It’s a bargain, General,” she said, and brought her lips back to his.
At her words, his kiss grew hungrier. His hand slipped under her top, gliding up her bare back. His fingertips traced her spine. She brought her own hands into his silken black strands, and he pressed her into him. He groaned when her breasts pressed against his chest, and the sound made her core molten. “Scarlett,” he breathed.
Then he was kissing along her jaw, down her neck. She arched into him, a breathy moan escaping her. She felt his teeth scrape along her neck, and for a brief moment, she wondered what his Fae canines would feel like scraping along that same area. His hands were gripping the outside of her thighs now, and she shifted her hips so she was lined up perfectly with him, feeling his hardness press against her center. He hissed at the movement, and she smiled as he pulled back to look into her eyes.
“I am seconds away from lying you down on this sofa, Love,” he rasped, his eyes glazed with predatory hunger as they searched her face, questioning.
Not breaking his gaze, she gripped his shirt and slid off his lap, pulling him down with her as she laid back on the couch. She felt him shudder as he settled behind her on the sofa to avoid the bruises on her abdomen. His hand came up to cup her cheek as his other slid under her shoulders. She reached her own hand up, her fingertips tracing his lips. “What now?” she whispered.
“Now I make you forget every thought that went through your head when that guard said such awful things about you,” he replied softly. Her breath hitched when his fingers began trailing down her neck. There was heat as his fingers lingered along her collarbone then began to roam lower. “You are incredibly selfless, Scarlett.”
His hand skimmed over her breast, and the ache between her thighs intensified. His hand slid down her side to her hip. He paused, giving her a moment to stop him before his hand slipped under her top and slid over bare skin. She trembled slightly at the touch, and a smile twitched on his mouth. “My touch does such interesting things to you, Love.” His hand had stilled on her ribs. Her breathing was rapid as he leaned down and pressed light kisses to her neck. “So fucking stunning,” he murmured against her skin. He continued those soft kisses up her neck. “You are strong and clever and kind.”
She swallowed. “I am a killer, Sorin,” she whispered as his hand started to move again. “I am cruelty and wickedness and darkness. Don’t start lying now.”
“How have you not learned that I do not lie to you?” he replied. She could feel the slight frown against her neck as he said it. He pulled back to look into her eyes. “I watched you with those children today. I watched you tend to them. I watched you patiently teach them. I watched you love them. Then I watched you be physically hurt and bow before a cunt of a man to ensure my safety.” Anger flared in those golden eyes. “You are anything but cruelty and wickedness and darkness.” As he finished speaking, his hand finally reached her breast, and she gasped slightly as fingers grazed her peaked nipple. His lips were on hers at the sound, as if he were trying to devour it, and he did it again. She rotated slightly, pressing her hips into him, and he groaned against her mouth again.
He squeezed her breast one more time, then his hand was drifting lower again. His fingers explored her abdomen. Her navel. Her hip. Then they were grazing the band of her pants.
“Scarlett,” he whispered, his fingers playing with the band, gliding along it. She bucked her hips against him again, silently demanding him to bring that hand lower. He laughed darkly, the sound playing over her lips.
So different. His touches. His kisses. Everything was so different from Callan. So new. Her thoughts were bouncing around inside her head. How far would she let him go tonight? How far did she want him to go? She’d only done this with one other person. Well, sort of.
That one thought had her breathing turning ragged as memories surged up unbidden.
“Scarlett.” A glimmer of concern sounding in his tone. She tried to regulate her breathing. “Scarlett, open your eyes.”
She hadn’t realized she’d closed them.
She did so to find him studying her, watching her carefully. “What?” she managed to get out.
His fingers had stopped their perusal, and his hand now splayed against her stomach.
“Your breathing changed. Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
Something akin to wary confusion came over his features. “You know that I would never do anything you do not want to do, right?” he said slowly. “The second you say stop, we do.”
“Yes,” she whispered again. “I know.” He studied her a moment longer before he pulled his hand from beneath her top and sat up, grabbing her hand and tugging her gently up with him. “I’m sorry,” she said again, still trying to regulate her breathing.
His confusion deepened. “Why do you keep saying that? What could you possibly have to be sorry about?”
“I… We… I’m sure you thought… I thought…” She was stumbling over her words, trying to force more air into her lungs.
“Scarlett, you never need to apologize to anyone for telling someone to stop touching you. The moment you say stop, the second you say no, there should never be any question. You certainly never need to apologize or explain yourself. The fact that you think—” He stopped abruptly. She felt his fingers tentatively curl around her chin and lightly lift her gaze to his. “Did someone not stop? Did Callan—”
“No,” she said quickly. She tried to avert her gaze, but he gently held firm.
“But someone else did,” he said softly. She saw rage darken those golden eyes. A fury so vast and violent, her own eyes widened at it. “Who?”
There was a knock on the door, but Sorin did not move. His eyes stayed locked on hers as the knock sounded again.
“Sorin? Scarlett?”
It was Cassius.
“Does he know?” Sorin asked quietly. Even his tone was laced with anger.
“No, but he suspects,” she whispered.
The knock sounded again. “General!”
Sorin gave her one last look of deep concern before he rose and crossed to the door. She closed her eyes, forcing air into her lungs.
In and out.
In and out.
When she opened her eyes again, Sorin was at the door, his hand on the knob. “Are you ready?”
That one gesture, him giving her time to compose herself, him knowing she needed a moment, made her chest tighten in a way she wasn’t quite sure what to do with. She took one more deep breath, letting it ground her and steady her. “Yes,” she said quietly.
Sorin opened the door, and Cassius shoved past him into the room. “What the hell?” he growled. “I thought something had happened to you two.” He stopped short when his eyes met hers on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Scarlett answered, rising to her feet.
Cassius glanced between her and Sorin, who still stood near the door. She could tell he didn’t believe her one bit, but he didn’t push it. “You’ve been summoned by the Council. Tomorrow night.” Scarlett tensed at the words, but he wasn’t done. “And after that, he will see you privately.”
Scarlett sank back onto the sofa. She had been prepared for the Council. She had answered to them and faced their wrath plenty of times. She had been beaten and locked in cells for days, food being withheld.
The Council didn’t worry her nearly as much as being summoned privately by the Assassin Lord, especially after their encounter a few hours ago.
He knew her. His brands of punishment were carefully planned to inflict the most damage. The display today had been nothing. He had forced her to watch while he had beaten Cassius unconscious, then forbidden her to tend to him, chaining her to the wall while Cassius lay before her. He had dumped her into the icy sea waters in the middle of winter and made her find her own way back to the Fellowship in the dark and cold. He had shoved her into a cage of propriety, containing her wildness and forcing her to hide in plain sight. Again.
He knew how to break her, and doing so had nothing to do with physical pain. She had also shown him precisely who could be used against her on that deserted street today.
Gods, she was such a fucking idiot.
“Will you be there?” Scarlett whispered around the lump in her throat.
Cassius’s teeth clenched, and a muscle worked in his jaw. “No, but I am to remain within summoning range.”
Scarlett closed her eyes, swallowing again. Sorin remained silent.
“Come,” Cassius said to her. “I will escort you back to the manor. Lord Tyndell has inquired after you since you have not been at dinner the last four nights.”
Scarlett opened her eyes. “No. I am not ready to return there yet. Sorin and I need to discuss some things we learned today.”
Again Cassius glanced between her and Sorin before he said, “Lord Tyndell has demanded you return home, Scarlett.”
“That is not my home,” she snapped.
Cassius stilled. “Do not displease him. Not right now, Scarlett. Not when you are to see the Assassin Lord tomorrow. Do not make this worse than it already is.”
“Lord Tyndell does not own me,” she replied coolly.
“Of course he doesn’t,” he said slowly, “but you were sent there by the Assassin Lord who…”
He trailed off. Scarlett knew what he had been about to say. Who does. Who does own you.
“I will return to the manor at some point tonight,” she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m sure General Renwell will be happy to escort me.”
“I am fairly certain you do not need any type of escort,” Sorin murmured from his spot near the hearth that he had quietly made his way to, watching them carefully.
Cassius ignored him, staring at Scarlett. His eyes were assessing and calculating. He kept the distance between them as he ventured, “Scarlett, do not make the Assassin Lord come collect you himself. Again. If I have to watch—”
“He already beat her in the Syndicate today,” Sorin said flatly. “What more does he want from her?”
Cassius’s eyes widened as Scarlett whirled to face Sorin. “Stay out of this, General,” she seethed.
“Scarlett.” Cassius was already closing the distance between them. He reached for her tunic, already knowing exactly what the Assassin Lord would have done. Why he would have inflicted those exact injuries.
She jerked back from him. “I am fine, Cass,” she bit out. “They barely hurt.”
“Seastar,” Cassius said, his tone softening. “I know you miss her. I know you want retribution. I know that you feel guilt every day for her death. I know that you think by defying him you are—”
“You are dismissed, Cassius,” she said, cutting him off and jerking her chin to the door. “Take your leave.”
His eyes flew open wide in disbelief. “You cannot be serious!” When she said nothing, his tone turned slightly pleading. “Scarlett, talk to me. Please don’t do this.”
When she still said nothing, his face turned hard with frustration and anger. Cassius took a vial from his pocket and slammed it down on the table beside him. “Your tonic,” he seethed. Again, he glanced between her and Sorin. “Be aware that he has instructed Sybil to cease putting your daily contraceptive into it.” He raised a brow and gave a pointed glance at Sorin, as if he knew exactly what had been occurring before he arrived. He likely did. Sorin stiffened at the implication.
“Get the fuck out,” Scarlett said dangerously under breath.
“Gladly,” Cassius snarled, crossing to the door. He didn’t even look back over his shoulder as he slammed the door behind him.
Scarlett let her face fall into her hands, her elbows braced on her knees. What a huge godsdamn mess this had become. The silence was thick in the room. Sorin hadn’t moved from his place near the hearth.
“Have you and Cassius ever fought like that?” he asked quietly after several minutes had passed.
“We have fought, but this is definitely in the running for one of the worst we’ve ever had,” she replied, her face still in her hands.
“He is worried about you going before the Council?”
“No,” she sighed, finally lifting her head to look at him. He was studying her with those golden eyes, rolling his flames among his fingers. A small part of her marveled at the magic, and she secretly envied him for it. She would eventually learn about her Fae heritage, but not yet. Not now. She had too many other things to worry about. “This is not the first time I have been summoned and will not be the last. If they pass judgment, I will endure it as I always have.”
“And the Assassin Lord?” he asked. “The Commander seemed more worried about him than the Council.”
“As he should be. What he did to me today was… Let’s just say he is the embodiment of every wicked thing that is said about the Black Syndicate. If your Court is looked upon as being evil and cruel, he is a Dark Lord who would make your Court look like a land of flowers and rainbows.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently.
“No,” she said slowly. She shook her head, clearing her mind from what was to come tomorrow night. She patted the seat next to her on the sofa and took a deep breath. “I want you to come and sit while I tell you a story.”
Sorin seemed to freeze in place. “You do not need to tell me, Scarlett.”
“No, I do not,” she answered, slowly unlocking that place where those memories had been pushed so far down. “But you should know. If you are going to help me plan, you should have all the facts. You should know why I refuse some things so adamantly. You should know why that fight just happened. You should know why what happened before Cass showed up happened. But mostly…” She brought her eyes to his as he carefully sat back onto the sofa beside her. “I trust you, Sorin. I trust you with all of it.”