Chapter 35 Scarlett
CHAPTER 35
SCARLETT
A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO
C allan had convinced her to attend the feast by coming with Cassius who attended with the Tyndell family. As nervous as she had been to be seen publicly with him, the midnight blue dress she was wearing made her ridiculously happy. It was floor length with gold beading that sparkled when the light hit it just right. It had a wide neckline, dipping low in the back, tight sleeves, and a fitted bodice that flowed out from the waist. Her gold slippers were accented by the gold combs that had pinned her hair up. Kohl smudged her eyes and her lips were painted red. Gold had been dusted across her eyelids, and gold earrings hung from her ears. Her spirit amulet hung at her throat.
“Once you are queen, you’re going to let us in the castle the normal way, right?” Juliette asked with a wink as she helped finish dusting on cosmetics.
“I’m not going to be queen,” Scarlett scoffed, sliding a gold bracelet onto her wrist.
“You would be an excellent one, you know,” Juliette replied, her voice softening.
“I am Death’s Maiden. I cannot be queen.”
“I think the Crown Prince would say otherwise,” Nuri countered from where she lay sprawled on the bed.
“Maybe someday you will think differently,” Juliette offered with a shrug.
“I may care deeply for the prince, but not enough to bind myself to a throne,” Scarlett said, getting to her feet.
“So you will be content to just be his mistress on the side?” Juliette asked sarcastically as Scarlett slung her cloak on and threw her a vulgar gesture. “He’s going to need to marry sooner or later, you know. If it will not be you, I suppose you should enjoy it while it lasts.”
“I will,” Scarlett retorted snidely. “Maybe the two of you can keep your noses out of my godsdamned business. I’ve never said a word about the men you parade through your beds.”
Things had been off and tense between them all for months, ever since their fight. It was affecting everything.
“That’s not what I meant—” Juliette started.
“I will see you in the morning,” Scarlett said with a wave of her hand, and she left her room without a look back.
She danced the first dance with Cassius, but then was intercepted by the heir of the King’s Hand, Mikale Lairwood. His sister had been dancing with Callan since she arrived, and Finn and Sloan had given Scarlett glares when she’d entered with the Tyndells on Cassius’s arm. Their eyes had been on her all night. She curtsied to Mikale, and he began leading her through the steps of the dance.
“You finally make a public appearance then?” he said. She stumbled at his words, but he held her upright and a low laugh escaped him. “My sister has been dying to meet you, you know.”
“You know who I am?” she asked, keeping her tone neutral and conversational.
“Easily the most beautiful woman in the room who has never been seen here before without a mask? Yes, I know who you are. You are the secret the prince has been keeping,” he said. She didn’t know what to say as he spun her around to the music. “Do you know who I am?” he asked when she remained silent.
“Yes. You are the son of the King’s Hand,” she answered, lifting her chin higher.
“I am. Which means I will be the hand to the Crown Prince when he takes the throne.”
“And your point is?” Scarlett asked through her teeth, but keeping a smile on her face.
“You do know you could never be his bride, don’t you? A woman of no royal or noble blood? A woman raised in the Black Syndicate?” His hands tightened on her as he said the words, anticipating her pulling away.
“How do you know that?” she hissed, looking around for Cassius, but she couldn’t immediately spot him anywhere.
“I am to be the hand to the king. It will be my job to know who he is keeping company with. You were quite hard to track down so know that your training was thorough.” There was a bitterness in his voice that brought a satisfied smile to her lips.
“Congratulations then, Lordling,” she said mockingly. “Would you like perfect marks on such a test?”
A cold grin filled his face. “I am not yet finished,” he said and subtly tugged her closer to him. “I have known you were alive for a few years now, but just recently learned you were the one the prince has become enamored with, and for good reason. You could never be his bride, but you could be mine, if power and status are what you desire.”
Scarlett barked a laugh that had several of the other people on the dance floor turning to look at her. She kept her voice low as she whispered, “You are proposing a marriage to me? When you know I warm your prince’s bed?”
“I am offering you an…ultimatum.” His voice went low and dangerous.
“A dangerous choice of wording, Lordling, if you truly know who I am and where I come from,” Scarlett answered, her eyes narrowing.
He bent down to whisper into her ear as the song came to an end and others on the dance floor applauded for the musicians. “I am certain you will think differently when you discover some dear sisters missing.” He straightened, and she saw Callan making his way towards them.
“What have you done?” she hissed, using all her self-control to maintain her composure.
His eyes raked over her slowly. “I will have you one way or another. You can decide how it shall come to pass.”
He held her gaze as Callan stopped beside him. “Mind if I steal your dancing partner, Mikale?”
“Of course not, my Prince,” Mikale replied with a bow, and he sauntered away.
Scarlett hardly noticed when Callan drew her close to him. “What is wrong?” he said gently as he began to lead her through the steps of the next dance. “You are trembling, Scarlett.”
“I—” She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. What had Mikale meant? “I need to find Cassius.” She spotted Lord Tyndell’s son and daughter across the room in the shadows conversing with a tall, muscled man with dark hair who had to be part of the king’s armies, but Cassius was nowhere in sight. Where was he?
“Scarlett,” Callan said, concern growing. “Tell me what is going on.”
She was whipping her head from side to side, scanning faces on the dance floor, along the edges, and on the upper level of the hall. She must have looked half mad, but she didn’t care. Her gaze fell on Lady Veda, who was smiling fiendishly at her as Mikale stood by her side, a drink in his hand. Her only weapon was a dagger strapped under her dress to her thigh. She’d brought nothing else because Cassius had come with her.
“There. He is there, Scarlett,” Callan said, turning her so she could see him standing against the doors that led to the western gardens. His eyes met hers, and she nearly lurched from Callan’s hands, racing as gracefully as she could across the floor to him. His eyes had widened as he beheld her, and he slipped out into the gardens. It would be no use for her to fall into his arms in front of all these people.
She flung herself around the corner, and he caught her. She squeezed him tight, her arms looped around his neck. “Scarlett,” he said, the surprise evident in his voice. “What is wrong?”
Tears were burning at the back of her eyes, and she blinked them back. “You must go check on Nuri and Juliette. Now.”
“What? Why?” he asked, alarm replacing the surprise.
She shook her head. “There is no time to explain. They are in danger. Go find them.”
“But you—”
“I will stay with Callan. No one will attempt anything in his presence. Go, Cass!” He looked her over gravely as Callan came up behind her.
“What is going on?” Callan demanded, looking from her to Cassius, whose arms were still around her protectively. She saw Finn and Sloan appear at the doors, watching everything from a few yards away.
“I need Cassius to go and check on something for me is all,” she answered, stepping away from him. “I’m sorry to have run off. It is extremely important.”
“I will be back to escort you home,” Cassius finally answered, a muscle feathering in his jaw.
“The usual place then,” she answered. Cassius only nodded as he left down the garden path that would lead out of the grounds. She turned to Callan, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she said gently. “Can we take a little walk before we go back in? I need some air.”
Callan studied her face before he slid a hand to her lower back. “Of course.” He nodded to his guards and began guiding her down a path.
“Tell me of Mikale,” she blurted suddenly, unable to help herself.
“Mikale?” Callan asked in surprise. “His father is the hand to my father, and Mikale shall be mine I suppose.”
“You do not wish that?”
“I would rather Finn or Sloan be my hand but tradition and all,” he said with a shrug.
“You will be king. You can change things if you wish,” she said, stepping closer to him for warmth. The spring weather had taken its time coming in this year, and the night air was chilly on her exposed skin. “And Lady Veda?”
“What of her?”
“What will she become?”
“A fine wife for someone, I suppose,” Callan said, tucking her in closer as they strolled.
“Not for you?”
“What is all of this about?” Callan asked, stopping and turning to face her.
“Come now, Callan. You have to know this thing between us can never be anything more.”
“I do not have to know such a thing,” Callan replied coolly.
“I am not of noble blood nor royalty. You have to realize that. You shall be required to marry—”
“I shall be required to do nothing,” Callan interrupted her.
“Your father would never approve of you marrying anyone less than noble, Callan.”
“Then I shall wait to marry until he is dead,” he bit back in reply.
“So you will follow the tradition of the king’s hand, but not of marriage? How absurd,” Scarlett scoffed, working to keep her voice low.
“Are you wanting a marriage proposal tonight? Or a vow to not take Mikale as my hand?” Callan asked.
“Of course not. Neither of those things,” Scarlett hissed.
“Then what has brought up such subjects?” he asked sharply.
Finn and Sloan had stepped closer, their hands casually in reach of their weapons.
“Nothing,” Scarlett answered, stepping back. “I just don’t want to be distracting you from the inevitable when you could be spending time with and building a relationship with someone more suitable.”
“You are anything but a distraction, Scarlett Monrhoe,” Callan said, stepping towards her and erasing the space she had put between them. She made to step back again, but he caught her waist and tugged her close to him. “I love you.”
“Don’t be stupid,” she replied, her eyes widening.
He laughed. “I tell you I love you and that is your response? I do not know why I am surprised.”
“You don’t mean it.”
“If you would have asked for a marriage proposal, I would have gotten onto one knee in this very spot,” he said softly and leaned in to kiss her. He lingered on her lips until Finn cleared his throat from behind them.
“Your mother is inquiring after you, Cal,” he said. “She means to dance with you.”
“Speaking of princely duties,” Scarlett said with a knowing look.
“This discussion is not over,” Callan said, pressing a kiss to her cheek and leading her back to the hall.
“I’m sure not, Prince.”
“Do not call me that,” he growled.
“One of us needs to remember what you are, and apparently it is not you,” she replied.
He said nothing in response, and when they reached the doors, he turned to Finn. “Keep her company, will you?” he said, and he went to find Queen Meredith.
“Well, then,” Scarlett said, turning to face Finn. Sloan had moved into the crowd to keep an eye on Callan. “Shall we dance?”
“What? Absolutely not,” Finn stammered, glaring at her.
“Why not?”
“Because it is not my job to dance,” Finn said.
“No, but it is your job to obey an order, and Callan said to keep me company. Come on,” she replied, tugging on the sentry’s arm. He sighed and allowed himself to be led to the dance floor. Scarlett was pleasantly surprised at how deft he was on his feet.
“You’re not wrong, you know,” he said, as they moved among the other dance partners.
“Hmm?” Scarlett asked, her eyes going to Callan, where he danced with his mother.
“About you and him. You’re not wrong,” Finn said, bringing her eyes snapping back to him.
“I know,” she said grimly, pressing her lips together.
“When you came to the Samhain ball, I told you not to hurt him,” Finn continued harshly.
“I know,” she repeated quieter.
“What were you thinking?”
“You do not get to scold me,” she snarled. “I did not expect him to fall in love with me. He has to know it could never work.”
“He was already falling for you that night and yet you returned, night after night,” Finn answered, his features severe.
“I know. I didn’t plan for this.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Finn demanded.
“I don’t know,” she admitted quietly.
“Do you love him?”
“I don’t know.” Finn’s mouth formed a thin line. “I care for him. I do. If that is love, then yes, I love him. But would it be unbearable to live without him? No. Would it hurt? Like hell, but I could do it. Would I risk everything to be with him? No.”
Finn studied her. His dark brown eyes were hard. “For what it’s worth, you could do it.”
“Do what?”
“Be his queen. You make him different. Better.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why does this keep coming up tonight?”
But before she could say more, they were interrupted.
“Mind if I cut in?”
Mikale stood before them as the song came to a close. Finn’s eyes darted to Callan, who had been intercepted by Lady Veda. “Of course, Lord Lairwood,” Finn said, stepping back and bowing to the young Lord.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes at Mikale as he once again took her hand and began leading her around the dance floor. “Well, have you considered my proposal?”
“Of marriage? You can shove it up your ass,” she answered sweetly.
Mikale clicked his tongue. “You know, when you become a Lady, you will need to learn to control that language.”
“I am no Lady,” Scarlett sneered.
“Not yet,” Mikale said unfazed, spinning her around. “But you could be. Leave his side, Scarlett. Come to mine, and let my sister take his.”
“So that’s what this is about?” Scarlett said. “Your sister cannot compete with me?”
“Let me make something very clear,” he said, pulling her roughly to him so there was little space between their bodies. She could feel his muscled chest beneath his tunic, and his breath was hot on her face as he whispered into her ear. “There is no competition. Veda will be his queen. This is your chance to step back or force our hand.”
“Are you threatening me, Lord Lairwood?” she hissed back to him.
“I do not make threats, only promises,” he replied. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and left her standing on the dance floor by herself.
Callan found her a moment later, and they spent the rest of the night dancing together, the prince refusing to dance with anyone else. Shortly before midnight, they snuck from the Great Hall and made their way to his suite. The door to his rooms had barely shut before he had scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Their time together that night had been desperate and full of all the unsaid words between them. It was tongues clashing and teeth scraping. Her dress was stripped from her in a matter of seconds, and she couldn’t unbutton his tunic fast enough. He set her on the bed, his pants and boots being flung across the floor.
She lay with her head on his chest afterwards, letting the rise and fall of it steady her. His fingers stroked her hair, and he kissed her brow. Some time later she rolled from his embrace and found her dagger discarded near her dress, pulling her tonic vial from where she had stashed it next to the sheath. She swallowed it, but instead of going back to the bed, she went to the window, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself as she looked at the dark sky. There were so few stars visible tonight.
“I will never tire of seeing you in my chambers,” Callan said, coming up behind her. He had slipped into loose pants, and his arms came around her waist.
She swallowed, her eyes fixed on the endless night sky. “Callan, about what we discussed earlier tonight…”
She felt him tense behind her. “I do not care what my father or mother say. They do not get to decide whom I love nor whom I marry.”
“But they do,” she said, turning to face him. “I know you are not this na?ve. You are too well read now that you’ve been provided proper reading material.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Then I shall marry in secret before they have a chance to stop it should it come to such things,” he answered.
“I cannot be your queen, Callan,” she said, bringing her hand to his cheek and running a thumb along his cheekbone.
“You are already my queen,” he replied, gripping her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm.
“You know what I mean. I am not made to sit on a throne and hold court. This would be a cage for me.”
He pursed his lips, stepping back from her. “You would find a marriage to me to be a cage?”
“I would find being bound to a throne to be a confinement I do not wish for,” she argued in response.
“To have the world laid at your feet? You would find that confining?”
“I do not wish to have the world laid before me! I wish to be in the world, in the shadows. I wish to be free.” Tears were slipping down her cheeks.
“I told you this evening that I love you. Do you return the feeling?” Callan demanded now.
“You do not love me, Callan. You love the idea of me,” she answered gently.
“You do not get to tell me how I feel about you, Scarlett,” he snapped. “Enough people tell me how I should feel or act. Do not become one of them.”
“I should go,” she said, making to step around him and find her dress.
“Go? You just took your tonic. You cannot go,” Callan said, stepping into her path.
“Do not push me into a cage, Callan,” she whispered.
He said nothing as she stepped around him and began gathering her dress, dagger, and undergarments. She turned to go to his bathing room to get dressed, but he was again in her path.
“You do not want to be bound to a throne? Then fine. We won’t be.”
“You are to be king, Callan!”
“Then I will abdicate to Eva. She can be queen, and we can disappear into the shadows.”
“Oh, Callan,” Scarlett sighed, new tears wetting her cheeks. “You are not made for the shadows. You are made for the light.”
“You asked not to be pushed into a cage. Now I am asking you not to let me remain in one.” He gripped her elbows, her arms full of her belongings.
“I am not your salvation,” Scarlett whispered, something in her chest cracking slightly.
“No, Scarlett,” he replied, “you will be my greatest regret if I let you slip away.”
His lips were on hers again, and she dropped everything she was holding, the blanket slipping from her shoulders. He backed her up against the wall, his lips moving down her jaw, her neck, to her breasts. She moaned as he palmed her breast while sucking the other into his mouth. Her hands were roving over his back, his chest, into his hair. All of it so familiar at this point. All of it drawing her to that cage.
His hands gripped her backside and hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, gasping as he held her aloft while he slipped his loose pants off. He took her against the wall, and she buried her face in his shoulder when she went over the edge this time. Then he carried her to the armchair before the fireplace, where he sat and held her to his chest before the fire. He stroked lines up and down her back, soothing and lazy, until she fell asleep breathing him in.
When she awoke a few hours later, a blanket was draped over them, their naked bodies still wrapped around each other. The fire had died to embers, and Callan was breathing deep and steady in his sleep. She studied his features, the cheekbones and jawline, his lips and the way his hair fell into his eyes.
The number of children going missing had nearly stopped this past year. Their plans of moving them and guarding them seemed to be working. They only lost one every couple weeks now. One too many, but still not nearly as many as before. Yesterday Callan had directly asked his father’s council about the missing children. He didn’t say where they were disappearing from, just that he had heard rumors and wanted to know what was being done. No one had seemed to know anything, but it would be looked into. She could go back to the shadows. She could go back to leaving notes and trailing him in the trees. She could go back to that so he could find someone who could be what he needed. She could do this. She loved him enough to do this.
She leaned in and brushed a feather-light kiss to his cheek. Then, using every stealth technique she had ever been taught, she slipped from beneath the blanket. Silent as the wraith she was, she strapped her dagger to her thigh and slid her undergarments and dress back on. She found a pen and paper on his desk and wrote a note that she left on his pillow.
Find someone to help you shine, Callan, not someone to bring you into the dark.
The dress prevented her from leaving through the windows, so she slipped from his rooms. Finn was on guard outside his door, and she paused when she saw him, tears shimmering in her eyes. His lips formed a thin line at the sight of her.
“He shall rage when he wakes,” she whispered, her lip quivering.
“He is not the only one who will miss you,” he answered with a deep bow to her.
“Don’t let him wait for me,” she said, going to Finn. He drew her into an embrace and held her tight. “Encourage him to find someone else.”
“I will do my best,” Finn answered as she stepped back from him.
She was down the hall in a flash, two lefts and a right, and she ducked behind a tapestry that concealed a secret passage to a set of catacombs and tunnels beneath the castle. She could find her way in the dark by this point and didn’t even bother bringing a match with her. Tears fell from her cheeks as she hurried along the passage, her slippers and hair combs in her hand. Thoughts were whirling in her mind as she absentmindedly navigated the passageway. She was nearing the end when she ran headlong into someone else.
“Cassius?” she gasped.
“No, but you did send him straight to us, so thank you for that.”
A cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth before she could react. She lost consciousness seconds later.
Scarlett’s head throbbed as she cracked her eyes open. Her ankles and wrists were bound with heavy chains, not of iron but of shirastone. They were the same type of manacles they used to restrain Fae beneath the Fellowship. She still wore the dress from the feast. Her throat was dry, and she blinked against the low candlelight in the room.
“There she is,” the same voice who had spoken in the passage crooned. She whipped her head to the right to find Mikale leaning against the wall, his arms crossed before him.
“Where am I?” she rasped, looking around the room, trying to get a layout of her surroundings, but her head was pounding. Everything was swimming in and out of focus.
“That is not important right now,” he answered with a wave of his hand. “Have you given any more thought to my proposal?”
“If this is you trying to woo me, it’s a pretty shitty attempt,” she said, working her wrists to see if there were any weaknesses in the chains, knowing it was likely futile. She was right.
Mikale quickly crossed the room and gripped her face with his fingers so hard it hurt. “Again with the language,” he chided, clicking his tongue. He released her and stood, looking down at her. “My sister was most displeased to see you leave with Callan tonight.”
“Then she will be even more displeased to know what we did in his chambers after we left. Twice,” Scarlett replied with a sneer.
She saw rage flash in Mikale’s eyes. He seemed to take a breath to calm himself, then said tensely, “How unfortunate for you that is.” He crouched before her once more. “This shall be my final offer, Scarlett. Agree to come to my side, let Veda go to Callan, and we all leave here safe and sound.”
“Why do you desire me so much? Because of Callan?”
Mikale laughed humorlessly. “Callan is na?ve with visions for this kingdom far too small. He shall learn his idealism will not rule a country soon enough. But you, Scarlett Monrhoe, are indeed beautiful and a rare prize.” He ran his finger lightly along her bare collarbone and down her arm. She fought every urge to jerk away from him. “Imagine what you could be with a little refinement, my pet,” he murmured.
“I am no one’s prize, nor am I anyone’s pet,” she spat at him.
“Imagine what you could be if that darkness were truly unleashed,” he continued, as if she’d said nothing.
“You do not wish to see me unleashed.”
“We shall see about that,” he said with a soft chuckle.
Mikale stood and left the room, the door clicking shut behind him. She looked around the space. It was a cell of some sort in a dungeon. There were no windows in the stone walls. Only a small set of bars on the door. No furniture. Not even a place for her to relieve herself should she need it. The shackles on her ankles prevented her from standing. She scanned the floor, looking for any loose stones or rocks she could crawl to and use as a weapon, but there was nothing.
Mikale returned a few minutes later. Scarlett had managed to maneuver her way against the back wall she now leaned against. The throbbing in her head was growing worse, and she had closed her eyes against the candlelight.
“Open your eyes, my pet. I have something for you.” Mikale’s smooth voice made her blood curdle.
She winced, cracking her eyes open, then they flew wide as she beheld who filed in after him. Cassius, Nuri, Juliette, and a little girl with blond curly hair no older than three. All were in the same shirastone shackles with gags. The little girl had tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes were wide with fear, and behind them was Veda. She strode straight across the room and slapped Scarlett hard across the face.
“Now, now, Veda,” Mikale chided. “She has refused us numerous times tonight. Let us see if her friends can persuade her otherwise.”
“I am told she is quite persuasive,” Veda said, stepping to her brother’s side. “But I think she will find me just as compelling.” Her voice was high and grated on Scarlett’s ears, her cheek burning from the slap. Mikale drew a dagger from his hip, and Veda took it with a smile. She crossed to the others and began walking a slow line in front of them.
“Who should we pick to convince you first, Death’s Maiden ?” she purred. “Decisions, decisions.” She stopped in front of Cassius, dragging her dagger lightly along his torso and up to his heart.
“No!” Scarlett cried. “I left him tonight. I left Callan a note on his pillow, telling him I was done seeing him. I swear it. Go ask his guard outside his room. We are done! Do not hurt them!”
Mikale raised a brow at Veda. “Well, sister, would you like to go see if this is true before we continue?”
“Not really. She did leave with him tonight,” Veda replied, her dagger poised over Cassius’s heart.
“Veda, we should at least see if she is telling the truth,” Mikale said calmly.
Veda sighed deep. “Fine. I shall send one of ours to see.” Then, before Scarlett could see it coming, she dropped her arm and thrust the dagger into Cassius’s thigh. He bellowed in pain around his gag as Veda twisted the dagger, digging it in farther.
Scarlett screamed. “I swear it! Do not hurt them any further!” Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Lord Lairwood, I swear to you!”
Mikale crossed to her and rubbed her back as if to soothe her. “Time will tell, my pet, time will tell.” He jerked his chin to Veda, and she left the cell, wrenching the dagger from Cassius’s leg. Blood gushed from the wound.
“You need to bind it!” Scarlett cried.
“Let’s discuss my proposal again, shall we?” Mikale said instead.
“Let them go, and we can discuss whatever you wish.”
“I cannot do that,” Mikale said, sounding as if he were indeed sorry about it. “You see, they seem to be my only bargaining chips.”
Scarlett could hardly think around the throbbing in her head. She closed her eyes against the light. “Oh yes, that,” Mikale said, somehow sensing her discomfort. “That is from the counter-tonic I forced you to swallow while you were unconscious. I suspect you will start vomiting within the hour.”
Cassius shouted around his gag, outraged by what he had heard. “How could you possibly know about my tonic?” Scarlett asked, her eyes cracking open once more.
“My dear Scarlett,” he said, cupping her cheek with his hand. “Need I remind you I’ve been watching you? I have had eyes on you for, well, years. Even when I did not know where you were.” Before she could even begin to comprehend that bizarre statement, there was blinding pain as his fist went into her stomach. Cassius bellowed again. Scarlett could not speak around the wind being knocked from her. “Now,” Mikale said, his tone severe, “you need to keep your mouth shut while I explain a few things.”
Tears leaked from Scarlett’s eyes, and she looked at Cassius. His eyes were wide and frantic. Beside him, Nuri was paler than usual. Juliette was focused on the little girl, trying to soothe her as she cried and trembled.
“Should Veda return and confirm your story, her demands will be that you forevermore stay away from Prince Callan. Should you decline, you can pick which of your friends here gets to die for such a refusal.”
“Done,” Scarlett gasped around the pain in her gut. “I will stay away from him.”
“I am not done yet,” Mikale said. “Should you go near him, we will secure them again, and you will find them in pieces throughout the Black Syndicate. The second part of this deal,” he continued, cutting her off as she again tried to agree to the terms, “is that you shall indeed agree to be my wife and show me your good intentions tonight.”
“I will provide whatever proof you wish,” she gasped out trying to force air into her lungs.
“I was hoping you would say that, but what I will require is what you have been giving Callan so freely for a year now.” Her eyes widened at what he implied he wanted from her. He stood at the words. “Tick-tock by the way,” he added, crossing the room to Nuri. He lifted her black tunic to show a gaping wound sliced up her side. She was slowly bleeding out. That’s why she looked so much paler. “I do not think she has much time left, unfortunately.”
Scarlett’s eyes locked onto Cassius, and he shook his head back and forth. No , he screamed with his eyes. Her eyes slid to Nuri who barely looked conscious at this point. Cassius was trying to support her while his own wound was dripping steadily onto the ground.
The minutes seemed to drag until she finally heard footsteps outside the door. Veda slipped in. “She is telling the truth,” she said, a smile spreading across her lips. “Poor Prince Callan is beside himself. You have told her of my demands?”
“I have,” Mikale replied. “She has agreed to such.”
“I am going to take my leave then and see if I can be of any comfort to his Highness,” Veda said, her chin lifting. Instead of leaving the cell though, she crossed it and stopped in front of Scarlett. She crouched before her, her eyes full of hate, as she beheld her. “If you have ruined him, I will ruin you,” she whispered, then stood and kicked her solidly in the torso. Scarlett was sure one, if not two, of her ribs cracked at the impact as the air was knocked from her again. How did the Lady have such power behind her kick? Veda strode from the cell, handing the dagger back to Mikale on her way out.
“Well, now that that’s settled,” he said casually, stooping before her once more. “What of the second part of this deal?”
“Let them go, and you can do what you will with me,” Scarlett gasped. Cassius screamed around his gag, but Scarlett held Mikale’s gaze, unable to look at him. She didn’t care what was done to her. Mikale could do whatever he wanted with her body as long as her family was released and safe.
Mikale seemed to consider her concession. “I shall let the two injured ones go and tend to their wounds, but I keep the others until you have held up your end of the bargain.”
“You will release them after we are finished tonight, or I shall find a way to tell Callan everything that happened here,” Scarlett snarled, working to take deep breaths around the pain in her abdomen.
“You are in no position to make demands tonight,” Mikale purred.
“I’m willing to bet I know his guards better than you,” Scarlett answered. “I can get them messages in ways you can’t even fathom.”
Mikale paused at what she implied, before he stood, crossed to Cassius and Nuri, and took a key from his pocket. He undid their shackles. Cassius ripped the gag from his mouth. “Scarlett, no!”
“Take her and go, Cass,” Scarlett said.
“Scarlett!”
“It is not a request,” she snarled.
Cassius glared at her. He scooped the now unconscious Nuri into his arms, grunting at the extra weight on his leg. He looked over his shoulder once at her, and when their eyes met, tears pricked her eyes once more. She could see the agony as he left her in that cell with Mikale.
Mikale was once more before her, the dagger at her throat. He gripped her chin hard between his thumb and forefinger. “If you try anything,” he hissed into her ear, “I have a guard on standby who has orders to come in here and slit their throats. Do you understand?”
Scarlett gave a slight nod of her head. He unlocked the chains around her ankles with the key and jerked her to her feet. “It’s going to be okay,” she said to the little girl as she passed by her. “Juliette will take care of you.” Her eyes locked onto her sister where she saw nothing but steely resolve. “You’ll be okay, I promise,” she said to Juliette as much as the little girl as she was led from the cell.
Mikale took her down a stone hall and shoved her into a room. It must have been a guard’s sleeping quarters or an old office. There was a small bed against the wall and a desk along the opposite with a small fireplace. She stumbled over her own feet and fell to the stone floor, her knees scraping open. With her hands still bound she couldn’t catch her balance quick enough. She cried out at the pain around her ribs as she landed.
“Get up,” Mikale snarled.
Scarlett pushed to her feet and held out her hands to him. “The least you could do is release my hands,” she snapped back.
“I am no idiot,” Mikale said. “I know how lethal you are. I know exactly how you were trained.” He grabbed her and yanked her dress up, snatching the dagger from where it was strapped to her thigh. He gave her a knowing smile, cutting the sleeves off the dress. Then, pointing her own blade at her, he said, “Take it off.”
His eyes glazed over as she slid her dress to the floor, and he took her in. He set the dagger on the desk and brought his hands to her, running them proprietarily down her sides, up her front. His words were cold and rough, and she fought every urge to flinch and jerk away from him. “May you always remember,” he whispered into her ear as he pulled her to him, “I get what I want.”
She closed her eyes while he did what he wanted. As she felt him press himself against her. As he laid her on that small, hard bed. She let her mind go anywhere but where she was as his hands touched and grabbed and took. As more than his hands did the same. There was nothing loving or gentle about what he wanted from her. She thought of walking along the beaches with Cassius. She thought of laughing and sparring with her sisters. She thought of dancing the nights away with her friends, carefree and happy. She thought of Callan and how it felt to be loved and in someone’s arms who cared for her not just because of what she was capable of, but because of the pieces of her she’d let him see.
When Mikale was done, he took her dress and chucked it into the fire burning it in the hearth. “To ensure you do not get any ideas,” he sneered, leaving the room. She managed to work the blanket around her shoulders and cover herself by the time he came back in. He grabbed her arm and dragged her back down the hall to the cell she had been in. Juliette and the little girl still stood, bound, but their gags had been removed.
“You got what you wanted,” Scarlett snarled. “Release them.”
“Not quite, my pet,” he said with a cruel smile. “To ensure we understand each other, only one of them shall be leaving here alive tonight.”
“No! I did as you asked,” she whirled to him.
“And I am holding up my end by releasing them. Come now,” he said, leaning against the wall. “I shall even give you a choice as to which one gets to live— your sister or the innocent you are trying so valiantly to save.”
“You son of a bitch,” Scarlett seethed. She whirled back to Juliette and the girl. Tears were streaming down Juliette’s face. “I know, Scarlett,” she choked through her tears. “I know.” There was a serene understanding on her face as they held each other’s gaze.
“I cannot do this,” Scarlett whispered. “I cannot make this choice.”
“You will, or I shall kill them both,” Mikale sneered.
“Kill me instead,” she begged.
“No. You are too valuable for things to come.”
“Why?” she asked, turning to Mikale. “Why? I have done all you have asked. I will stay here with you.”
“Because a broken pet is better than a wild one,” he said with deadly calm. “Choose, and since you are taking so long, you can do it as well.”
“What?” Bile rose in her throat at his new demand.
“Scarlett, it is all right,” Juliette said. Scarlett turned her eyes back to Juliette. “It is all right.”
“I will do anything, Mikale,” she said, turning to him and dropping to her knees, begging. The pain in her abdomen was nothing compared to the pain in her heart at the thought of this. “Please do not make me do this!”
Mikale stalked to her and crouched before her once more. He brushed back her hair from her face. “I am already getting everything I desire.” He pressed her own shirastone dagger into her hand. “You have one minute, or I kill them both,” he whispered into her ear.
“Do it, Scarlett,” Juliette said.
“I can’t,” she breathed, pushing to her feet, tears coursing down her face.
“You will take her life?” Juliette snapped, jerking her head to the little girl. “I will gladly give my own for hers. Do it.”
“I am so sorry,” Scarlett whispered as she took a few steps towards her, stopping a foot away from her sister.
“I love you,” Juliette whispered. “Tell Nuri I love her, too. Tell my mother—” Juliette’s voice broke. “Tell my mother that she raised me for such a time as this, and I am so proud to be her daughter and that I love her very much.”
“You have seconds,” Mikale snapped, striding across the room and gripping the little girl’s arm, pressing another dagger to her throat. She cried out in terror.
“It’s all right, Scarlett,” Juliette whispered again.
But nothing about this was all right.
Scarlett raised her dagger and placed the tip at her sister’s heart. Juliette brought her own hands up, still bound, and clasped them around Scarlett’s. “I love you,” she whispered again.
“I love you, too,” Scarlett whispered
And plunged the dagger into her heart.
Scarlett screamed as she yanked the dagger back out. It clattered to the floor, and she awkwardly caught Juliette in her shackled hands. The blanket fell from her shoulders as she gently eased her to the ground. Her breathing was rattled, and Scarlett lifted her head into her bare lap and stroked her hair. “I’m so sorry, Juliette. I’m so sorry.” She sobbed, bringing her head to her sister’s cheek and kissing it. She had played this wrong. She should have negotiated her freedom before giving in to Mikale. She should have done this so differently.
“You will make a magnificent queen someday,” Juliette rasped into Scarlett’s ear.
“I am not to be queen,” Scarlett sobbed.
“Remember that you, too, were made for such a time as this.” Her eyes fluttered closed, and her chest stopped moving.
Rage and hate and wrath bubbled to the surface. The iciness of the cell suddenly overwhelmed her, and Scarlett snatched the blanket from the ground. Mikale merely crossed the room and yanked her head back by her hair. She cried out at the pain, and Mikale dumped a vial down her throat. Her tonic.
“I would hate for you to get ill,” he said snidely, jerking her to her feet.
“We had a deal,” she seethed, looking down at Juliette’s still body on the floor. “I did what you asked!”
“And this was a reminder, my pet, that should you fail to follow through, I do not,” Mikale snarled. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. Keeping a firm grip on her elbow, he led her down the hall and up a few flights of stone stairs. A guard had entered behind them and was escorting the little girl who was sobbing behind them. There was nothing Scarlett could risk doing without endangering the little girl any more, so she allowed herself to be led along.
They came up through a door into the main level of a large manor. It must be the Lairwood house, Scarlett realized. He led her down another hall and through the front foyer. It was pitch black, as starless as the sky had been hours earlier when she’d been with Callan. He shoved her into a carriage and warm hands caught her. She stiffened at the touch, but then a voice whispered in her ear. “Act like there is no one else in here.”
Cassius.
It took every ounce of her not to sob in relief.
The little girl was thrown into the pitch black carriage after her. Cassius caught her and clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her before quickly passing her to Scarlett. Mikale climbed in, and once the door had been shut and the carriage lurched into motion, Cassius spoke.
“You made a grave mistake coming after one of us,” he said coolly. Mikale stiffened at the words. “You have nearly declared war with the Black Syndicate.” Cassius was calm and collected, speaking as though he were discussing a dinner invitation.
Mikale lurched forward as if to jump from the carriage, but Scarlett was quicker. She brought her leg up, landing a blow between his legs. He doubled over, and she brought her foot up again, catching his throat and thrusting his head back against the wall of the carriage, pinning him in place. He struggled to breathe around the pressure she exerted in the small space. She steeled herself against the burning pain in her ribs. She could feel the little girl trembling violently beside her.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Cassius said, reaching over and plucking the key to her chains from Mikale’s pocket. He unlocked them, and she clutched at the blanket around her shoulders as she slowly lowered her foot from Mikale’s throat. Cassius’s dagger replaced it faster than she could blink. “We are going to come to a truce right here and now, or you shall find yourself dealing directly with the Assassin Lord, whose daughter you nearly killed tonight, along with the rest of the Black Syndicate. Scarlett has already ended things with the prince. She shall stay clear of him, and you shall stay clear of us.
“As for her second deal,” he spat, the rage filling his tone unyielding. “Consider that deal null and void. She shall not be your wife. Should you come near her again, you shall find yourself in the presence of the Assassin Lord.”
“I have the crown behind me,” Mikale sneered, but something in his face had shifted, barely visible in the dark.
“Then by all means explain to the crown prince, explain to the king , how your actions ignited a war between the crown and the pit of hell,” Cassius replied with deadly calm.
Mikale said nothing, rage rippling off of him.
“Do we have an understanding?” Cassius asked coldly.
“Yes,” Mikale answered through gritted teeth, the carriage lurching to a stop. The door was pulled open by someone outside, and Cassius put a hand to Scarlett’s back. Lord Tyndell’s son appeared in the doorway of the carriage and motioned for her to come to him.
“It’s fine, Scarlett,” Cassius said softly. “It’s Drake Tyndell. You can trust him.” Her legs were shaking so violently she could hardly stand. “He will help you into the manor. There is someone from the Syndicate waiting to take the girl back.”
Cassius helped her to her feet, and she nearly fell out of the carriage into Drake’s waiting arms. A freezing rain had begun and her trembling only increased at the icy drops on her face and body. They were around the back of the house, Scarlett realized as Drake held her to his chest. A man in all black, although Scarlett recognized him as Maximus, stepped forward and grabbed the girl, disappearing into the night.
She heard a grunt of pain, and Cassius emerged from the carriage, limping heavily on his injured leg. “Find your own way home,” he snarled, and he held the door open for Mikale. He emerged, holding a hand over his eye, where apparently Cassius had punched him. Drake and Cassius stood facing him, and Mikale had no choice but to turn and walk down the drive in the drizzling night.
When he had disappeared from view, they both turned and walked towards the manor. They reached what had to be a servant’s entrance. Cassius knocked once, and the door was opened by a young woman with golden-blonde hair. “This way,” she whispered, allowing them to push past her. She led them down a hall to a room where a healer was waiting for them.
“Nuri?” Scarlett asked when Drake gently set her onto a bed.
“She is with Alaric,” Cassius said grimly. “Sybil was being summoned when I left to get you.” His eyes widened when they landed on her hands and bloody thighs where Juliette’s head had rested as she had died. The red against her skin was illuminated by the low candlelight in the room. “Are you bleeding?”
“No,” she answered, her voice hollow and distant. “He forced me to choose. Between Juliette and the girl.” The young woman who had let them in put a hand to her mouth at the words. “Then he made me do it.”
Cassius swore colorfully and gripped her hand. “Scarlett, look at me.”
But she couldn’t. Juliette’s face flashed in her mind.
Over and over and over and over.
“I am fine,” Scarlett said, waving off the healer who had stepped forward. “Look at his leg.”
Cassius grimaced as the healer unwrapped the makeshift bandage around his thigh and cut the leg of his pants open to get to the wound. The healer pursed her lips and set to work on him. The young woman who had let them in, the Lord’s daughter, Tava, tried to get Scarlett to come to a bath, but she refused to leave Cassius’s side. In truth, she didn’t think she’d be able to walk anywhere right now.
When the healer was done with him, Cassius made Scarlett lay back on the bed so the healer could assess her stomach where she had been hit and kicked. Scarlett hardly noticed as the healer felt her ribs. Two were for sure cracked, if not broken. She instructed Cassius to summon her after she had bathed to put a binding on them.
“Come,” Tava said, “I have a bath being drawn for you.”
Scarlett hardly heard them. There was a loud roaring sound in her ears. Cassius tried to get her to stand, but her body was still trembling too badly. He didn’t miss a beat, sweeping her into his arms. He hissed under his breath at the weight on his leg. “Let me take her, Cassius,” Drake said, reaching for her. He reluctantly let him do so.
She was still wrapped in the blanket as Tava led them up to what eventually became her room. A bath was indeed steaming. Scarlett let the blanket fall from her shoulders, and Drake flushed slightly at her nakedness. “Come, Lordling,” she said flatly. “You’re handsome enough. Surely you’ve seen your share of women?” Cassius huffed a dry laugh and motioned for Drake to lower her into the water. Cassius sat on the edge of the tub and gently began washing her back. Tava seemed as uncomfortable as Drake. Scarlett rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes. “Do they know who I am?”
“They know very little. There wasn’t much time to explain,” Cassius said quietly, moving to wash the blood from her hands.
“They know where I am from?”
“Yes.”
“Do they know who my sisters are?”
“Yes,” he whispered
She supposed she should have said was.
Who one of her sisters was .
“Why did you bring me here and not the Syndicate?” she asked.
“Because Alaric is in a rage like I’ve never seen, and Lord Tyndell is out of the manor for the next few days. Away on some business,” Cassius answered. “You can rest here until shit settles down there.”
She slid under the water without another word. Her eyes closed tight, she held her breath.
One. Two. Three. Four.
She counted until her mind wandered to Callan. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Callan holding her close while they danced. Callan saying he loved her. Callan sleeping in an armchair before a dying fire. She could feel his arms around her, his lips on hers.
Her thoughts turned to Juliette. She could feel the dagger pushing through skin and tendon and muscle. She could feel her blood coating her now clean hands. She could hear Juliette taking her rattling last breath.
She had made a bad call. She had done this. She should have done things differently. She should have—
And then there were hands under her arms, hauling her up. She gasped as her head broke the surface, her eyes flying open, pain flaring in her abdomen at the jerking motion.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cassius growled, pushing her wet hair from her face. Tava was pale behind him, and Drake was wide-eyed.
“I just needed a minute,” she mumbled. Her ribs burned as she gulped down air.
“You were underwater for nearly four,” Cassius snapped. “Up.”
He reached behind him, and Tava handed him a towel. Scarlett said nothing as Drake and Cassius helped her up and over the lip of the tub. “Sybil is going to hate me,” she whispered while Cassius toweled her off and squeezed the water from her hair.
“She isn’t,” Cassius said. Tava had left and returned with a silk nightgown and silk undergarments of some sort. Cassius helped her slip them on. The nightgown was sleeveless and cool against her skin.
“How am I going to tell her?”
Cassius had made her sit on the wide edge of the tub, and Tava was running a comb through her hair while he supported her there. She was numb. All over. And this godsdamned roaring in her ears was giving her a headache. She brought her hands to her ears, halting Tava’s movements with the comb.
Veda stabbing Cassius. Nuri bleeding out. Mikale taking her in an old office. Plunging a dagger into Juliette’s heart, feeling her fingers wrapped around hers. The images flashed on replay in front of her, one after another.
Drake was suddenly the one supporting her while Cassius was kneeling before her. She could see his lips moving but couldn’t hear what he was saying. The roaring was deafening in her ears. Cassius brought his hands up, gently gripping her wrists and prying her hands from her head.
“Scarlett, the healer needs to bind your ribs,” he said gently. “Please stop screaming.”
Had she been screaming? She swallowed, her throat raw.
Then the healer was there, and her nightgown was lifted as her torso was wrapped tightly.
Veda stabbing Cassius. Nuri bleeding out. Mikale taking her in an old office. Plunging a dagger into Juliette’s heart.
She stared straight ahead, not seeing anything. She could hear someone calling her name, but it was as if she was still underwater. The sound was muffled and far away. She couldn’t hear anything over that deafening roaring.
Veda stabbing Cassius. Nuri bleeding out. An old office. Plunging a dagger into Juliette’s heart.
She made to move her hands back to her ears, but Cassius caught her wrists once more. “No, Scarlett.”
“It’s so loud,” she rasped. “Make it stop, Cassius. Make it all stop.” She strained against his grip on her wrists. “Make it stop,” she cried, her voice rising, becoming shrill. Her chest ached as if when she had stabbed Juliette there, her own heart had been pierced, too.
“Scarlett.” Her name was a desperate plea on his lips.
“Make it stop!” she screamed. “Make it stop!” She lashed out, breaking Drake’s supportive hold on her and freeing her wrists. She slid to her knees, heard them slam to the floor of the bathing room. Tava gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
Scarlett brought her hands to her ears. “Make it stop, Cassius!” she cried, screamed. “Please make it stop!”
Sobs were racking her body as she rocked back and forth on the ground. She could hear Cassius calling her name. She felt him trying to pull her hands from her ears, but she thrust back with her elbow, catching him in the throat.
“Dammit!” he gasped as his head snapped back. “Scarlett! Stop!”
Maybe she was screaming again? From the color drained from Tava’s face, she guessed so. Drake took a step back unsure if he should aid Cassius or not. Unsure if he should touch her.
Cassius wrestled her onto her back as she fought against him, kicking and thrashing. Finally he managed to straddle her, trying to avoid her wrapped ribs, pinning her wrists above her head. “Stop, Scarlett,” he panted. “You’re going to injure yourself further.”
“Make it stop, Cassius,” she sobbed.
“I can make it stop, Scarlett. I can make it stop,” he managed around his labored breathing. “But I need you to stop screaming and stop fighting me. Please, Scarlett. Please.”
The desperation and pain in his voice made her pause a moment. She took in his face full of fear, his eyes wide with panic. “Can I let you go? Can you sit up?” he asked softly.
Her silence was good enough for him. Apparently anything that wasn’t her screaming was answer enough. He eased her into a sitting position, and a cup of hot tea was pressed into her hand. She blinked. Drake, Tava, and the healer were all staring at her, looking terrified.
“Drink,” Cassius said, gently touching her hands. She brought the cup to her lips and took a long sip. It tasted like licorice and ginger and orange. “Again,” Cassius ordered. She took another long sip. Her eyelids began to droop.
“She will sleep for several hours,” she heard the healer say.
A sedative. They’d drugged her.
Good.
She didn’t want to feel any more.
The roaring in her ears was lessening. She took another drink of the tea, soothing against her ravaged throat.
Someone, Drake, swept her into his arms again and carried her out to the bed. “Cassius,” she whispered.
“I’m here,” he said. She felt the bed shift as he lay down beside her. “I’m here. Sleep, Scarlett. You’re safe.”
Safe? She’d never known the meaning of that word, and she certainly wasn’t safe now.
Veda stabbing Cassius. Nuri bleeding out. An old office. A prince sleeping peacefully before a fire. Plunging a dagger into Juliette’s heart. Hearing her say I love you.
She let the sweet drugs sweep her away, her head finally going utterly and blissfully as silent as the grave she wished she were in.