Chapter Forty – Scarlett
Chapter Forty
Scarlett
I sensed my cousin before I saw her.
It was different to the awareness I had when Lillian was close – more like a tether. The same tether that had drawn me out of the icy void Velanthe had condemned me to.
For two days, I had been conscious but unable to move, anchored to life only by that tether.
By her .
My cousin, my rival, my . . . saviour . How strange it was to think of Mira that way.
I could hear her now, speaking with the guards stationed outside my chambers. It occurred to me that Mira could have summoned me to her. A barbed reminder that she was the ruler here and I was nothing.
It was what I would have done. Instead, she had come to me.
Not alone – no, that would have been too much to hope for.
Cassius and Lillian flanked their precious queen as she stepped inside, and I suspected Mira had doubled the warriors outside the door.
Something indefinable shadowed Cassius’s gaze as he took me in, his eyes lingering on the scars marring my arms. Fully visible thanks to the dress I wore.
The smile I gave him was barbed. Doubtless he believed I had gotten exactly what I deserved.
I looked past Cassius and Lillian, but there was no sign of Aric.
He knew everything now – and his absence felt pointed.
Anger and hurt, demands for the truth – those responses meant that he still cared.
T hat I had been more than a consolation prize to him, a way of forgetting Mira. Outright dismissal, however . . .
‘Forgive me if I don’t get too close,’ Mira said, leaning against the window and folding her arms as she regarded me.
I crossed the receiving room in a few easy strides, ignoring the way Cassius tensed protectively at my approach. No doubt Aric and Lillian had shared all my secrets – including what they knew about my death magic. But I had no intention of harming Mira. At least not right now.
‘Apparently I have you to thank for saving my life,’ I replied. ‘Killing you would be a poor way of expressing my gratitude.’
Mira didn’t seem convinced. Fair enough; trust didn’t come easily to me, either. ‘And what of your deal with Roran? Your life – in exchange for mine?’
I blinked. ‘How did you–’
‘I saw some of your memories when I brought you back.’ Mira’s tone was carefully unreadable.
‘Which ones?’ It was difficult not to feel violated. How could she have intruded so deeply into my mind without me sensing it?
‘I didn’t see very much. Given your in-between state, your mind was disorganised – the memories were more like flashes. But I did relive your last interaction with Velanthe.’
I went still. If she had relived that, then she would have experienced my fear. My vulnerability. Worse – she would have heard my last thoughts about her . The regret I had felt over my betrayal.
But perhaps that would engender some much-needed trust. Mira hadn’t locked me up, after all. Instead, she had come to my chambers in person – a decision my brother clearly didn’t agree with, given the open suspicion in his expression.
‘I had the opportunity to kill Mira at that treetop village,’ I reminded Cassius. ‘I chose to offer her a truce instead. A truce that I haven’t broken.’
‘ Yet ,’ Mira said, sharp and clipped.
‘Yet,’ I agreed, suppressing the urge to smile. My gaze went past her – to the beautiful, cloudless day beyond the windows. ‘How about we take a walk? I’m interested to explore the Temple. I might have been here for over a week, but I’ve spent most of that time unconscious.’
Mira frowned at me. I could tell that she disbelieved my flippancy, and she was right to. But I didn’t want to think about how hopeless I had felt when Velanthe and her priestesses had cut into me, and I didn’t want to think about the emotions Mira’s presence had stirred to life.
I just wanted to walk . To burn off the reckless energy coursing through my veins.
When I looked up, I saw that Mira’s eyes were on my forearm – where my fingers were tracing the raised scars. It was an unconscious gesture, and I was surprised Mira had noticed it.
Irritated with myself, I let my hand fall.
Mira’s voice was oddly hesitant. ‘What Velanthe did to you . . . no one deserves that. No one .’
Not even you. That was what she really meant, wasn’t it?
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I said tightly. ‘My mother always told me it’s better to be feared than to be loved. I suppose I can finally test that theory.’
‘You’re still beautiful–’
‘Don’t lie to me. And don’t you dare pity me.’ My voice was filled with enough warning that everyone in the room tensed. I barked out a soft laugh. ‘Now, how about that walk?’
Mira glanced at Lillian – who nodded, apparently satisfied that I had no immediate plans to murder her best friend.
Cassius moved to follow as we left my chambers, but Mira shook her head. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she told him with unexpected softness.
There was nothing soft about the stare he levelled on me. A warning – and a threat.
I brushed past him without a glance. It hardly seemed necessary for him to be so concerned for Mira’s safety; fighting leathers covered every inch of her skin, leaving only her face exposed. I doubted I would be able to touch her before the clansmen cut me down.
Four of them fell into step behind us as we walked, and I resisted the urge to make a quip about how much security she seemed to need. It was flattering, really, that she considered me so dangerous.
‘I meant what I said the last time we met,’ I said conversationally. ‘I want to work with you to kill Roran. He forced me to make that deal – if I hadn’t signed it, he would have killed me along with Aric and Lillian. As it was, he still let General Harte brutalise Aric’s face.’
Mira’s gaze hardened as it met mine. ‘Is General Harte still alive?’ At my nod, she smiled. ‘Good.’
I knew she was already planning what she wanted to do to him. All the ways she wanted to make him suffer.
She would have to get in line.
But all I said was, ‘I can’t kill Roran myself, but you can. Once he’s dead, I won’t have to uphold my end of the bargain. You and I can–’
‘Go our separate ways?’ Mira asked, with a faint, sceptical smile.
‘I suppose that depends.’
‘On . . .?’
‘On whether you have designs on the Ravalian throne.’
Silence descended, broken only by the distant hum of conversation drifting from the main courtyard. Mira’s silence told me everything I needed to know. A pit grew in my stomach.
What I had told her was true – I didn’t want her dead. I never had, and now that she had saved my life, I was even less eager to think of her as an enemy. There was so much that we could achieve together.
But the Ravalian throne was mine .
‘I am willing to sign a treaty that gives you absolute control over Kalure,’ I said. ‘I have no interest in fighting you for this country. My only interest is Ravalia. My birthright.’
‘And Cassius’s.’ Mira’s voice was mild, but her words were not.
I stopped in my tracks, forcing Mira to turn and look at me.
‘I don’t want to be your enemy. I don’t even want to be Cassius’s enemy.
But you have to understand – I’ve bled and sacrificed and killed for this.
I’ve also proved myself to my people. I won a victory in the Western Lands, and my mother has the court onside.
If Cassius returns to Ravalia with the intention of usurping the throne, he will die. ’
Mira’s mouth twisted – in something close to disgust. ‘And to think,’ she said, her voice cutting, ‘that Cassius chose to give you a second chance at life. The very brother you’re talking about killing.’
Irritation warred with surprise. I hadn’t expected Cassius to advocate on my behalf, and it unsettled me.
Clearly, he had made that decision before he knew of the deal I had made with Roran – but I wondered why he would make such a decision at all.
Surely he knew he would never claim the throne with me alive.
I shook off the inconvenient thoughts. I had loved Cassius once. I had loved him and fought for him and protected him, and he had thrown that love back in my face. His motivations were no longer my concern.
‘Let’s focus on the present, not the future,’ I said to Mira after a pause. ‘At least for now, we all want the same thing.’
‘Roran’s death,’ Mira murmured. I followed her over to the walls of the Temple and braced my arms against the sandstone as I peered over.
An army was out there: thousands of clan warriors and hundreds of shifters, all readying themselves for battle. I glanced sideways at Mira, who smiled faintly at the look on my face.
‘If Roran wants a war,’ she said, her voice fierce, ‘then I intend to give him one.’
Mira didn’t bother assigning guards to watch me.
Maybe she realised how pointless it was to try and contain me – or maybe she was trying to establish some goodwill between us. If it was the latter, she should have invited me to join her strategy meetings. What use was an asset if you refused to use it?
Still, I knew that Mira’s people were reporting my movements to her spymaster – and I knew Cassius wouldn’t hesitate to act if he believed I was a threat. But I felt certain my brother had more pressing matters on his mind.
My lips curved. How it must irk him to have Aric back in the picture, and to be unable to dispense with his rival without losing Mira completely.
It was almost worth relinquishing Aric to see Cassius in such an irritating predicament.
By the time I turned my attention to taking the Ravalian throne, at least I wouldn’t be facing off against Mira and Cassius together.
What a challenge that would have been.
I walked idly through the Temple, curious about Mira’s life here. But the opulent surroundings held no answers. There was nothing of my cousin in the elaborate tapestries and stone carvings of the Sorceress.
Nothing of my cousin – but plenty of Selussa.