Chapter 39 Scarlett
CHAPTER 39
SCARLETT
S carlett stood in a room decorated in bronze and black. What little decor there was anyway. The small room was nearly bare. The bed was hard and uncomfortable. There was a small bath attached. A dresser and armoire stood on one wall. A nightstand was on either side of the bed. She walked to the window and found herself well above the ground. She’d figured as much. She’d walked up four flights of stairs and a spiral staircase for several minutes before she’d been shown into this room in a tower of some sort.
She’d snuck back into the manor easily enough and had quickly changed into a simple grey dress. She had hardly finished changing when a maid knocked on her door and handed her a note from Lord Tyndell, summoning her to his study. When she arrived, though, Lord Tyndell was nowhere in sight. She entered to take a seat and wait for him, going over how she would apologize for not returning last night and to beseech him to help her.
“I asked him to let me speak to you privately first.” Mikale’s voice came from behind her, and she jumped to her feet. He had shut the door to the study, a cold grin on his face as he now leaned against it, crossing his arms. “I knew, you know. I knew it was just a matter of time until one of you would slip up. Veda began suspecting a few weeks ago when she went to see the prince, and he quickly dismissed her as he used to do a year ago.”
Scarlett swallowed, trying to cease the trembling she could feel starting. “Where is Nuri?” she growled.
“Oh, yes. Her ,” Mikale said, as if delighted. “Our eyes have always been on you, watching you, even after our little truce was struck. The dinner here last summer was most entertaining, by the way. Dear Cassius, trying to protect you. Poor Callan trying to catch your eye all night, not knowing why you had stopped spreading those beautiful legs for him.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Scarlett snapped. She had carefully positioned herself behind Lord Tyndell’s desk. She ran her hands over it, searching for anything to use as a weapon.
“I think it is time for a new little deal to be struck, don’t you, my pet?” Mikale asked, pushing off from the door to come across the room. He braced his hands on the desk, leaning across it towards her.
“You will risk a war with the Assassin Lord?” Scarlett ventured, wondering how much he knew. “You barely avoided one after taking the High Healer’s daughter.”
“We both know the Assassin Lord has given you to me,” Mikale said, a smile curling the edge of his mouth. He knew everything then. Her face paled as he continued. “We have our own deal. It is why you have been denied retribution for your sister’s death, and if you continue to be this difficult, you will lose more than the little brats you are trying so valiantly to protect.”
Scarlett sucked in a breath. Tula and Malachi and Lynnea flashed through her mind. “You leave them out of this,” Scarlett said with quiet rage.
Mikale straightened. “I am glad I finally have your attention.”
“What do you want?”
“What I have always wanted. You,” Mikale said with a shrug.
“And should I agree, should I consent to such a thing, you will leave them be? You will stop whatever it is you are doing with the children?”
“Ah, that is not my doing,” Mikale said. “They are not my responsibility. They are someone else’s.”
“What?” Scarlett asked, her head tilting to the side.
“You would have to bargain with someone else to effectively stop that from happening. I am just carrying out orders on that front.” His smile grew, became colder and crueler.
“Who’s orders?” Scarlett breathed.
Mikale clicked his tongue. “I am not here to divulge information to you. Today’s deal will either save or damn your dear friends. One would think after Juliette, you would be eager to make a deal that does not involve death. Although, should you refuse, I can easily have access to others. What is that darling little blonde girl’s name I had my hands on a year ago? Tula?”
Juliette’s amber eyes flashed in her mind.
“What are the terms?”
“Quite simple, my pet. You agree and willingly accept my marriage proposal, tell Lord Tyndell as much, and I leave your dear friends alone.”
“I will see that Nuri is perfectly fine and watch her release before I will agree to such a thing,” Scarlett answered, lifting her chin.
“That seems acceptable,” Mikale replied indifferently.
“Arrange for Cassius to receive her and consider this deal agreed to.”
“Delightful,” Mikale said. “Come, my pet, I have a carriage waiting for us out front. We have so much to discuss, what with a wedding happening in a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?” Scarlett had felt like she’d been punched in the stomach, the air whooshing from her lungs. She couldn’t draw a full breath. She could hear Sorin commanding her to breathe, but she couldn’t draw the oxygen in. She couldn’t make her lungs expand.
“I knew you would be thrilled,” Mikale said, the smile on his face saying he knew he’d finally won their game. He opened the study door and waited for Scarlett to step to his side. He slung a cloak over her shoulders, allowing him to discreetly grip her elbow hard enough to bruise.
No one had noticed as she’d allowed Mikale to lead her out of the study through the entry and out to the waiting carriage that frosty footprints were left in her wake. She made no scene, said not one word as she’d followed Mikale to the carriage, allowing him to place his hand on the small of her back as they approached.
A footman helped her into the carriage, Mikale climbing in after her. To her surprise, his father was waiting inside, and the look of displeasure on his face had her wondering if she maybe had an ally to fight against this union. Mikale had tried to pass a blanket to her, saying that he had noticed she was freezing to the touch when he’d escorted her out.
“I want nothing from you,” Scarlett had snapped as the carriage lurched into motion.
“ This is what you want?” Mikale’s father finally spoke, his eyes widening at her tone.
“I swear to you, she will be under control, Father,” Mikale replied coolly, his eyes filling with rage as they fixed on her. “When we arrive home, she and I will have a discussion. I am sure we will reach an understanding.” A knowing smile crossed his lips as he studied Scarlett. Every inch of her.
“You know I am not fond of this union, Mikale—” his Father started.
“You and me both,” Scarlett cut in, scowling at Mikale.
His father cast her an incredulous look before turning back to Mikale and growling, “Get it under control. I will be damned if you allow her to embarrass our family or jeopardize our position in the royal household more than you already have.”
The rest of the carriage ride had been in silence, and she had planned. She’d get the layout of the house as quickly as possible, try to learn the servants’ schedules and changing of any guards. Then there were Nuri and Cassius and the orphans to worry about. She looked up to find Mikale watching her, that knowing smirk on his lips saying he knew exactly what she was thinking. She threw him a vulgar gesture to which his father huffed a laugh of disbelief and stared out the window for the remainder of the ride.
The carriage had dropped Lord Lairwood off at the castle before bringing her and Mikale to the Lairwood Estate. The carriage had gone around back, and she saw Cassius waiting for them. Her stomach dropped. She longed to run to him, to hear him call her Seastar, but she wouldn’t show that weakness in front of Mikale.
Mikale exited the carriage first and reached to help her down. Cassius’s eyes widened when she emerged, and she willed the tears not to come. A guard came from the house, Nuri with him. She was clad in her usual black.
“What is this, Mikale?” Cassius growled, taking a step towards them.
“Stop, Cass,” Scarlett said, her voice ringing with command.
“Scarlett?” he questioned, his eyes on her, but he stopped where he stood.
She turned to Mikale. “I am here. Release her to Cassius.”
Mikale jerked his chin at the guard, and he practically threw Nuri at Cassius. “You will regret this,” Nuri seethed from beneath her hood.
“Oh, I do not think I will,” Mikale answered, his tone annoyed and bored. “Scarlett knows the consequences of such a thing. Don’t you, my pet?”
She gritted her teeth, drinking in the details of her friends, her family. She could do this for them. For those children. “Take her and go, Cassius,” Scarlett said. “Do not retaliate.”
“ What ?” he demanded.
“You heard me,” she said, her voice going cold. “If you do, it is not you or Nuri who will suffer but those who cannot defend themselves.” She saw the understanding pass over his face, and Nuri stiffened at her words. “Take her and go.”
Cassius made to move towards her, but Mikale shoved her behind him. “That is close enough, Commander,” he sneered. “Take that one and get off my property.”
Scarlett looked at the ground, at the ruts in the dirt from the various wheels that came around the back of the house to deliver food and goods. She could not bring herself to watch as Cassius led Nuri from the grounds.
Veda stabbing Cassius. Nuri bleeding out. Mikale taking her in an old office. A prince sleeping before a fire. Plunging a dagger into Juliette’s heart. A friend stroking her hair to help her sleep. A dark shadow leaping the rooftops with her. Golden eyes staring into hers. A star going out.
The images flashed in her mind, over and over, her heart cracking further with each image.
She felt Mikale’s hand on her back again, and he steered her to the house. The house was black stone, several stories high, with rows of rose bushes surrounding the entire base. Guards met them at the servant’s entrance; and he’d instructed a guard to take her to the West Wing and that he’d be along shortly. As they’d climbed the stairs, she had politely asked the guard his name and about his family. He’d seemed surprised at her interest in conversation, but he said nothing. By the time they’d finally reached the room, he cast her a tentative smile when he closed the door behind her. She heard the lock click, as she’d suspected it would, and here she was.
If the decor was cold and unwelcoming, the actual temperature of the room was just as cool. The fireplace was not lit, and she found her mind back on Sorin wishing he were there to start a fire.
Sorin. He’d practically begged her to let him help her, offered to flee with her, and she’d refused. She’d walked out of his apartment, knowing it would be the last time she’d see him. She couldn’t bring one more person into this. She should never have allowed him so close the way it was. She could save him at least.
Two tears escaped down her cheeks, and she let them fall. She had thought she’d have time before Mikale arrived. She had planned to find Tava and Drake and figure this out. She had thought Lord Tyndell would be there to somehow help her.
She rubbed her arms, trying to warm up in the frigid room. The sleeves of her dress did little to keep the chill at bay. There weren’t even logs to try to start a fire. Scarlett walked back to the window. The black stone of the house would be decent for climbing, but the rows and rows of thorny rose bushes below would prove an issue. She’d have to climb up.
She turned abruptly as she heard footsteps outside the room, then the click of the lock. Mikale entered the room, a cocky smile on his face. He locked the door again before turning to fully face her.
“Tell me, my pet, are these accommodations to your liking? At least until we are wed?” he sneered, leaning against the door and crossing his arms.
“I am not staying here until we are wed,” she retorted. “That would be most inappropriate.”
“Your personal belongings are already being transferred. Some are already here,” he replied casually. “Lord Tyndell is delighted with the match by the way and was more than happy to fulfill your request to come to live here so you can be near the wedding plans, since it is to happen so quickly.”
“You son of a bitch,” she seethed. Her voice was low and steely, dangerous. She casually planted her feet in a defensive position.
Mikale clicked his tongue. “Again with that language. Is that any way to talk to your future husband?”
“I may have agreed to this union, but I will make your life a living hell.”
Mikale, unfazed, simply shrugged his shoulders. “I figured as much.”
“Where are my things? The items that have already arrived?” Scarlett demanded.
“They are here.”
“Where, you prick?”
“Sweet Scarlett, do you really think you deserve such things after all the trouble you put me through this last year?” he asked, picking at his nails.
Anger rose up in Scarlett like a wave. She felt as if the very blood in her veins was boiling. “I am not a child,” she seethed. “You do not get to withhold my own things from me as a punishment.”
“Then stop acting like a child,” Mikale snapped, pushing off from the door. He stalked over to her, stopping a foot in front of her. “This is the world you live in now, Scarlett. Your worth lies in your bloodline, whether you know what that bloodline is or not. That is it. No one cares about a damn thing you have to say otherwise. You will be kept in my coffers as a prize. The only thing I need from you at the end of the day is an heir who exhibits that magnificent power you have running through your veins.”
A fire exploded in the hearth. The flames were so hot they were blue. Scarlett turned and ducked, covering her head as Mikale instinctively threw himself over her. “There it is,” he whispered, delight in his voice.
“Get off of me!” She shrieked after the shock of the small explosion wore off. She pushed him off with all her might, but Mikale caught her wrist.
“I should have known,” he sneered, looking down at her leg. “Give it to me.”
Scarlett had worn the grey simple dress for more than the drabness of it. It was very loose and flowing, perfect for hiding the dagger strapped to her thigh. Mikale must have felt it when he’d thrown himself on her to keep her from the flames.
“Oh my dear Lordling, you must wait until the wedding night to have it,” she replied, sarcastic sweetness in every word.
Mikale brought his face inches from hers, but she refused to back down. In a whisper of deadly calm, he said, “My sweet pet, rest assured I could take it whenever I would like. That has already been proven, hasn’t it?” Scarlett’s eyes went wide as she stumbled back a step. He looked at her with pure amusement. His dark eyes were dancing in victory. “You do recall that night, don’t you, my pet? Can you still feel her blood on your hands?”
Scarlett couldn’t speak. Words escaped her and her thoughts swirled. Mikale advanced on her. She took step after step backward until she was against the wall. Mikale braced his hands on either side of her head, then brought his mouth close to her ear. She could feel his breath on her skin, and she winced.
“That fucking prince chose you over my sister. Then that bastard of a commander had the nerve to try to blackmail me,” he crooned in a cruel whisper into her ear. Scarlett stilled, not daring to move. “Of course, I could not tell anyone about the events of that night without risking the wrath of the prince, but this, Sweet Scarlett? This seems like far better revenge, does it not?”
“How does forcing me into marriage get revenge on Cassius and Callan?” she asked. Slowly, so slowly, she started gathering the fabric of her dress in her hand. If she could just get her hand on that dagger…
“Oh, this is the perfect revenge on everyone, even those you know nothing of,” Mikale continued, his voice still low and cruel. “In fact, I find this far more fitting than death. I will take them from you and you from them. You, his Seastar. You, his most loved. You, the one he seeks. They shall rarely see you, for you will rarely leave this house, Scarlett. But they will know you are here. They will know that you are mine for the fucking whenever I wish.”
“You intend to lock me up here? People will surely notice. My friends will surely call on me. What shall you do when they come for me?”
Keep him talking , she thought as she continued to slowly inch the fabric of her dress up. It was almost to her knee now.
“Oh yes, but that awful ailment you have may suddenly take a turn for the worse. You might find yourself unable to get out of bed for days, and company might just become too much for you,” he crooned with mock sympathy.
“How do you know of my magic?” she breathed.
“The same way I know that Nuri desires to feast on blood and that sunlight weakens her over time,” he sneered. “The same way I know that the sister you killed was a Witch.”
She was about to reach for the hilt of the dagger, but his words clanged through her. “What?”
“You do not even know what you are, do you? Do you know what lurks beneath your skin?” Without warning, Mikale grabbed her wrist, bringing it up and slamming it against the wall. Scarlett grimaced at the force but bit down on her yelp of pain. Grabbing her other wrist, he brought it up above her head as well. He held them both with one hand while he jerked her dress up and slid the dagger from its sheath. “Do you think me an idiot?” he clipped out.
“Most definitely,” she spat. “Along with a bastard, a coward, and an ass.”
He glared at her, an unamused smile on his lips. He twirled her dagger in his hand, his other hand still pinning her wrists to the wall. “I have studied you, Scarlett. I have studied you and planned for this exact moment. I know how you think, how you will react. I know how you work. I know things about you that you do not even know about yourself.”
“You know nothing about me,” she answered, her tone vicious. She jerked a knee up in an attempt to hit him in the groin, but the dagger came to her throat in a flash, faster than he should have been able to move. She stopped short as the point dug ever so slightly into her neck. She felt a pinpoint of blood well.
“You will find out just how wrong you are,” he whispered. “For example, I know that had I waited much longer to put this plan into action, you and Renwell would have run off in a few days.” He gritted his teeth at the thought, and his eyes flashed his fury.
“We were not planning anything of the sort,” she snapped back.
“Not yet,” he answered, that knowing smile returning. “But it was coming. There were rumors of him returning to whatever Fae pit of hell he came from soon, and I highly doubt he would have left you behind.”
“What would I matter to him?” she breathed, the dagger still at her throat.
“Do not act so na?ve,” he snarled. “Everyone knows how he feels about you. How you feel about each other. You made it perfectly clear at the Pier a few nights ago. Word has even gotten back to dear Callan that you have found someone new.”
“Apparently, I am a better actress than I thought. I feel nothing for him,” she retorted.
Mikale merely stared at her, amusement on his features. Then he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. She struggled, but despite all her training, he was still bigger than her and a highly trained soldier. He pulled back, laughing to himself as he released her and stepped back, striding for the door. He pulled the key from his pocket, and as he unlocked the door, he threw her a victorious grin. “You lost, Scarlett. You get to decide how to handle the defeat. It can be easy, or it can be dreadful. Consider it a courtesy you get a choice at all.”
The door clicked shut behind him. She heard the lock slide into place. She listened until his footsteps had faded, and she was sure he was gone. Then Scarlett slid to the floor and sobs wracked her body. Her hands covered her face as she tried to stifle the sound. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Alone.
She was completely alone.
Locked in a room.
Locked in a cage.
The tears kept coming. She was crying so hard, her stomach twisted, but she couldn’t stop. She vomited into a wastebasket near the nightstand, convulsing with the sobs. When there was nothing else to vomit up, she laid down on the floor, the stones cool against her cheek. She forced herself to take deep, steadying breaths. In and out. In and out. But there was no one here to match her breaths. Tears continued to fall, although the wracking sobs eventually subsided. Minutes, then an hour. Two hours. Three. She traced the stones on the floor with her finger.
Alone.
Trapped.
She could do this. To keep her family safe. She would do this. To protect those who could not protect themselves. She would use this to her advantage. She would find out who was targeting the orphans. She would get the information to Nuri. This wouldn’t be for nothing.
Veda stabbing Cassius. Nuri bleeding out. Mikale taking her in an old office. A prince sleeping before a fire. Plunging a dagger into Juliette’s heart. A friend stroking her hair to help her sleep. A dark shadow leaping the rooftops with her. Golden eyes staring into hers. A star going out.
Servants came in to bring her food, but when she wouldn’t answer them, when she looked through them, they left. A few minutes later, Mikale strolled in, took one look at her on the stone floor and smiled one of the cruelest smiles she had ever seen. He had called for her tonic then, but she had refused to take it. She’d rather go into whatever state her body would go into without it. She didn’t care anymore.
But Mikale would have none of that. She thrashed and kicked at him, catching him in the stomach. He called for two guards to restrain her while he forced the tonic down her throat. She could feel where her arms would be covered in bruises where they’d held her down as he’d straddled her. After she had swallowed it, Mikale had dismissed the guards. She had still lain on the floor, rolling onto her side to feel the coolness of the stones on her cheek once more. He leaned down, running his hands down her arm, her hip, her ass. Then he whispered into her ear, “Who would have thought breaking you would be so easy, my pet?” before striding out of the room again, the lock clicking into place behind him.
Alone.
She was exhausted. Her body was so weary. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she didn’t move for the bed. She didn’t move at all. She stayed there, on the cold hard floor, in that dreary grey dress. She thought of Tava and Drake. Then Nuri. Then Cassius. Finally Sorin.
If you go to him, the stars will go out.
And they did. The last star, the last light in the shadows, went out. Darkness enveloped her wholly, and she sighed as it caressed her soul, as it pulled her down, down, down, and sleep found her.
And as she slipped into that dream state, the beautiful man stood before her entirely in black, his silver hair flowing around his shoulders. He smiled at her as she laid on that cold stone floor, even here, in her dreams. He looked regal in such finery. He crouched before her and that Darkness that had enveloped her reached for him, twisting around his arms in greeting. He reached for her arm. The same arm he had healed a few months ago. She didn’t move when he drew a shirastone dagger and once again sliced her palm and his own. He mixed their blood, swirling it in his palm. With his finger, he drew on her forearm. Three stars.
“Get up, Lady of Darkness.” His voice was wicked delight and his silver eyes glimmered. “Get up and play.”