Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 5 Scarlett

CHAPTER 5

SCARLETT

S he wasn’t sure if Sorin was breathing when she met his gaze. He just stared at her, a mixture of horror and regret in his eyes. “Why? You act as if you cared for her. You say she was your closest friend. So why would you have her killed?”

“Gods, Scarlett.” He ran a hand over his face. “I did not have Eliné killed.”

“You’ve said yourself that the Fire Prince was responsible for her death. That sounds like you killed her to me,” Scarlett bit back, her shadows darkening around her.

“I am responsible, yes, but I did not order her killed,” Sorin replied.

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

Sorin pressed his thumb and forefinger to his brows. “Your mother left the Black Halls in the middle of the night. She left nothing behind indicating where she had gone or why. No clues and no way of tracking her down. Talwyn was still young by Fae standards. She had assumed her throne by this point, but Eliné was still highly involved in the affairs of the Eastern Courts. She was still heavily guiding her. When she left… Things slowly deteriorated between the Western Courts and the Fae Queen.

“We searched. For years, we searched for her. Many gave up hope, but I didn’t. Talwyn didn’t. We both believed she was still alive, and ten years after she left, we got a random tip that she was alive and being held just over the border of the Fire Court. That she had been there the whole time, right under our noses. We planned a rescue mission. It was a small group of my own most trusted and best warriors and two of Talwyn’s. My Second was wary though. He thought it was a trap and that the information had been too easy to find—”

“Oh my gods,” Scarlett whispered, lifting her head from her knees. “That story you told me, of the time you made a bad call, that was an attempt to come for my mother?”

The grief and pain that filled Sorin’s eyes was gut-wrenching. “Yes, it was,” he said quietly. “And because of our actions, my actions that day, whoever knew your mother’s true identity had her killed. I don’t know who had her killed or why us attempting to come for her suddenly made them decide it was too much of a risk to let her remain living, but my actions that day caused the order to be given. I am responsible for your mother’s death.”

When she had been told years ago by the Assassin Lord that the Prince of Fire had been responsible for her mother’s death, she had naturally assumed the Prince had hired Dracon to kill her. But if Sorin hadn’t been the one to do so, who did? Then her mind drifted to what her payment would have been if she’d completed her last assignment and killed Sorin. The Assassin Lord had said he knew how to find the Prince of Fire and would aid her in ending him.

“Oh my gods,” she whispered again, her hand coming to her mouth.

“Scarlett?” Sorin asked cautiously, and her shadows receded.

Her eyes snapped back to his. She realized she had dropped her feet to the floor and her other hand was gripping the arm of the chair. Frost was slowly creeping along the fabric. She quickly released the chair, bringing both her hands to her lap. “The Assassin Lord knows who you are.”

“What?” Shock filled his features, but he shook his head. “No, that’s impossible. Do you remember what I told you right before we came to the border? Our identities have been kept a secret in the mortal lands. There are so many enchantments in place. There was no way I could have even told you I was the Fire Prince, Scarlett.”

“He knows, Sorin. I don’t know how he knows, but he does.” Sorin started to argue again, but she pressed on. “My task was to kill you. Not Ryker Renwell. Sorin Aditya. He knew your name, and my payment for the job was information he had. Information including that he knew how to find you and that he would aid me in killing you; but if I had completed the task, both of those things would have already been accomplished.”

“I don’t know, Scarlett. I don’t know how he would have learned any of that.” She could hear the doubt in his tone, see it in his eyes.

She shook her head in frustration, launching to her feet and beginning to pace. “You don’t understand, Sorin. My mother was very close to the Assassin Lord. There may be a Black Syndicate Council, but the Assassin Lord and my mother were the king and queen of the Syndicate. He may not have known how to get to you, but that is why you were my assignment. He also believes you were responsible for my mother’s death. He knew with that kind of motivation I would have gone to the ends of the world to find you.”

“But Lord Tyndell said he was the one who put the hit on me,” Sorin said, his eyes tracking her as she paced.

“Alaric would have seen it as an opportunity. A chance to get rid of you without having to show how invested he was in the mission,” she answered, waving her hand dismissively.

“Alaric?”

Scarlett stopped pacing, her eyes widening. Holy fucking hell. The beating she would endure in the Syndicate for uttering his name aloud would leave her unable to get out of bed for a week.

“Scarlett, he can’t touch you here,” Sorin said slowly, cautiously. “No one lays a hand on you here. No one.”

A breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding whooshed from her lungs. “Games, Sorin. The Assassin Lord likes to play games. My last assignment was a giant game to get me to come back home.”

“This is your home, Scarlett. You belong here,” Sorin said softly.

Scarlett was quiet for a long moment before bringing her eyes to Sorin’s. “I do not belong here.”

“You’re Fae. You’re a princess, a Fae Queen. You’re with— Of course you belong here. This is where you were always meant to be,” Sorin replied.

And his response was so simple, so matter-of-fact, so decided , that Scarlett wanted to scream.

“Don’t you get it?” she asked, her voice rising. She ran her hands through her hair. “I do not want this! You took me from the only place I’ve ever known. You took me from one world where I was expected to be one thing to another world where even greater expectations are shoved on me. I do not want this! I do not want to be a princess. I do not want to rule. I do not need another master or cage, no matter how pretty it looks.”

Sorin stood now, coming toe-to-toe with her. Her shadows lashed at him, but he did not back down. “Don’t you get it, Scarlett? This is your escape. This is your chance to do something. This is your chance to make your own choices. This is your chance to be free.”

“I do not want it!”

“You do not want it?” He huffed a laugh of disbelief. “I offer you freedom and you turn it down? You want that cage, don’t you, Scarlett? You want to—”

But he was cut off.

He was cut off by a powerful surge of water that came straight from Scarlett’s palms as she reached up to shove him. He flew across the room, surprise on his face. He hit the wall with a sickening thud, sliding down to the floor. He leaned against the wall, rubbing the back of his head.

Scarlett stood frozen to the spot.

Breathe , her shadows whispered to her. Breathe.

She closed her eyes. When had her life become such a godsdamn mess? Every time she turned around, something else was added to the storm. Every time she took a breath, another wave crashed into her, pushing her under. Shoving her down into the darkness.

There were hands on her shoulders gently brushing down her arms. He did it again and again. Finally, she opened her eyes and met his.

“Hey, Love.” When she didn’t say anything, when she didn’t move, he said softly, “Come here.”

Sorin tugged her gently, a little hesitant at first, but when she didn’t resist, he pulled her into his arms. Her whole body relaxed into him. The power she could feel roiling in her veins, her gut, quieted. Even her shadows seemed to dim. She leaned into him, her head on his shoulder. She felt him press a kiss to her temple.

She didn’t know when or how he did it, but she found herself sitting in his lap as he sat back in his armchair by the fire. They sat in silence for long minutes, and all Scarlett could think about was how impossibly she needed someone who had lied to her over and over again. He could wrap it up as nicely as he wanted by saying he withheld information, but he had lied to her. About her mother. About who he was. About who she was.

“Does she know?” she asked quietly.

“Does who know what?”

“Does Talwyn know what I am? That I’m her cousin? That I’m here?”

Sorin's hand had been gently stroking her hair and continued to do so as he answered. “She knows your power is here. When this kind of power enters our lands, we know it. Does she know who wields that power? Likely not yet. Does she know you are her cousin? No. I do not think she could possibly know that.”

“But you must answer to her. She will wonder why you have returned without completing your task. She will wonder why you have returned without her weapon.”

Sorin rubbed a thumb gently along her cheekbone. Her shadows trailed it. “She told me to return home weeks ago. That day you saw us in the woods.”

“You defied her?”

“I told you. Talwyn and I do not always…agree on matters. My allegiance, Scarlett Monrhoe, is to you, as it was to your mother. I told you I would not leave you alone, so I did not return without you. If you do not want to rule or be queen, that is fine. The choice is always yours, but I will always stand in your court. Always.”

“What if I do not want a court? What if I do not want to stay here?”

“Then it will be just you and me.”

“You and me? There is no you and me. There’s you and there’s me,” Scarlett replied.

“You know that’s not true, Scarlett,” he said, his voice low. “That hasn’t been true for quite some time now.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. His hand still stroked her hair and his other arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. “You’re touching me,” she said from where her head rested against his chest.

“If I could lie to you, I’d tell you it was a necessity, but it’s not. I just wanted to hold you,” he answered.

“And if I told you I wanted you to touch me more?” she whispered. She started tracing one of those tattoos on his chest with her finger, slowly following the swirls and whorls of it.

His hand stilled on her hair. After an extended silence, he pushed out a long breath. “I would kick myself for it, but I would gently remind you that you hate me.”

Scarlett lifted her head from his chest. His eyes were on her, a mixture of agony and desire glimmering in them. She shifted slightly, and his hand skimmed over the bare skin on the small of her back. She tilted her head to the side so that her mouth was perfectly lined up with his, and he sucked in a breath.

“Scarlett, what are you doing?” She could hear the restraint in his voice.

“I’m going to kiss you,” she breathed as she slowly brought her lips closer. “Are you going to stop me?”

“I should.”

But when her lips met his, he didn’t. No, when her lips met his, that hand that had been stroking her hair slipped into it, fisting and tilting her head back to where he wanted it so he could deepen that kiss. The hand on her lower back slid to her hip where his thumb began making small circles. When Scarlett opened her mouth to him, he groaned, and the sound rumbled through her as his tongue swept in, and she tasted his cloves and honey flavor. Again, that lush smokey smell mixed with his ash and cedar scent.

She pulled back, breathless. “You said Fae can scent emotions and other things.”

“I did.” His voice was gruff, and he was breathing as fast as she was.

Then the scent that sometimes mixed with his was…arousal. A slow grin formed on her mouth. “That could be a useful tool, Prince,” she crooned.

Sorin closed his eyes, sighing in relief. “Gods, I never thought I would be so glad to hear your wicked tongue.”

Scarlett pushed herself from his lap. “So do I have shoes here or am I required to walk around barefoot in such a fine palace?”

“I have more clothing and options coming for you, but for now, I believe Camilla left a pair of silk slippers by the main door for you,” Sorin answered, getting to his own feet. “What would you like to do, Princess?”

Scarlett scowled at him. “I was going to say I wanted you to show me around a little, but now I want to learn how to control this damn magic so that I can knock you on your ass on purpose when you call me such things.”

“Is that so?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, an amused twinkle entering his eyes.

“Yes,” she answered, turning to walk to the sitting room.

“If that is what it takes to get you to start acknowledging and wanting to master your magic, I will call you Princess all day long,” he taunted, striding past her to open the door. When he reached for the handle, though, she spotted the tattoo on his left hand again. It snaked down his thumb and forefinger, and it seemed incomplete somehow, like he’d had to leave in the middle of it.

“You never told me the story of this,” she said, reaching out and running her fingers along the dark lines etched into his skin.

Sorin stilled, watching her trace them. “It is a Fae Marking, a tradition of ours.”

“It seems unfinished,” she replied, leaning forward to study it more.

“I suppose it does.”

“Why?” she asked, her eyes flitting up to his.

“Because I do not know how it will look in the end.”

Scarlett’s nose scrunched in confusion. “Aren’t you its creator? Don’t you get to decide how it will look in the end?”

“Yes, but it’s not the end yet, is it?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “These Fae customs are extremely profound.”

Sorin only leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her brow. “Let me show you your home, Love.”

S ORIN

Sorin led Scarlett through the various halls and chambers of his Fiera Palace. He showed her the meeting rooms where they met for councils, and the offices where he normally worked. Although, he admitted, a large majority of his work was done in his chambers at night. He showed her the grand hall where they held festivities and balls. He took her out to the grounds and showed her the soldiers’ quarters where some of his men stayed. He took her to the training rings and the stables. He took her through the gardens and the kitchens. He took in her delight that the flowers still bloomed way up in the mountains and stared at her in wonder as she greeted each servant and asked their name. He had no doubt she would remember each and every one.

“This is the guest wing,” he explained, leading her down a hall in the eastern side of the palace.

“The rooms are huge,” Scarlett exclaimed as they passed by one with an open door. She paused at the threshold. “May I?”

“Of course,” Sorin replied, gesturing for her to enter. She turned slowly in place, taking in the sitting room, game room off to the left, and the door leading back to the bedroom.

“You certainly know how to treat guests,” she said, her hands going to her hips. He tried not to notice how her fingers grazed the strip of midriff her top left exposed or how his hand had been on that skin while she sat in his lap kissing him earlier. He tried to forget that he had turned her down when he’d wanted to carry her to his bed and touch her anywhere she asked. Gods, she had figured out the scent of his arousal faster than he’d expected. Not that he should really be surprised by that, he supposed, but if his mind lingered on that idea too long…

“Can I have this one?” she asked, jerking him from those thoughts.

“Can you what?” He blurted out, unable to hide his shock. She couldn’t be serious. Sleep in the guest wing?

“Well, I’m assuming I get a room,” Scarlett said slowly, watching him carefully.

“You have a room. You’ve been sleeping in it for days.” Fuck propriety. She wasn’t sleeping on the other side of the palace. It was out of the question.

Scarlett tilted her head to the side, her long hair swaying over her shoulder. “I am a guest, am I not? Besides, isn’t that your room?”

“This is your home, Scarlett,” he replied. She still had those damn hands on her hips, standing there like the princess she was.

She pursed her lips, contemplating his words. She was standing near one of the room's armchairs, and she ran a finger over the ornate embroidery of the fabric, tracing one of the gold-threaded designs. Finally, she said quietly, “I do not know what it is like to have a home any more. I have not had one since my mother died. Not really.”

“This can be your home, Scarlett. If you want it to be.” He tried not to shift under her scrutinizing stare as she brought her eyes back to his and her shadows stretched towards him.

“Live here? With you?”

“That is your choice,” he said. “If you’d rather a place in the city, I can arrange that, too.”

“In the private wing of the palace? Where your chambers are?”

He couldn’t decide where she was going with this. He had learned where to look to read her emotions over the past few months. How her fingers curled when she was irritated. How her nose scrunched when she was confused. How her eyes narrowed when she was not impressed. How they shone when she was blissfully happy, although he’d only seen that a handful of times. Her face now, though, was nearly unreadable, like it had been since she’d awoke, as if she were somewhere he could not reach. “I can find you another suite in the private wing, or you may live in my chambers if you wish.”

“Then where will you live?”

“I will live wherever I need to live so that you are not alone,” he replied, stepping towards her. She looked up at him, the golden flecks bright in her icy blue eyes today.

“Hmm,” she said dismissively, stepping back after a moment. “I do rather prefer the sofa in your chambers. Besides, I’d hate for you to be alone in that big wing all by yourself.” He saw it for what it was. She was trying. She was trying so damn hard to dredge up who she was, who she had been.

“What makes you think I live here by myself?” he asked, following her out of the guest chamber and taking the lead once more.

“Others live here? Besides the help?” she asked, peering at him as they walked side-by-side. His hand brushed hers, and she didn’t yank it back. The closeness of her made his blood hum. While he could have throttled himself for turning her down earlier, he knew she would have regretted it. She’d wanted a distraction from all the trauma she’d repressed for years. That he’d only added to. No, he didn’t deserve to touch her at all.

He laughed at her questions now, though. “Yes, Scarlett. I am not some solitary prince living in a huge palace by himself.”

“Who else lives here?” she demanded. “I mean, if I have roommates, shouldn’t I meet them?”

“They don’t live in my chambers,” he answered, flicking her nose. “They have their own quarters in the private wing.”

“You have family here?”

“Not blood relatives. Gods, no. But they are family, yes,” he replied.

“But do you…” Her eyes went wide as she stopped walking, and he knew what she was working out as he paused beside her. “You saw your parents killed by King Deimas and Queen Esmeray.”

“I did,” Sorin answered softly. “I was in the crowd when they… Well, when they were killed, yes.” He didn’t need to go into details and tell her exactly how they had been slaughtered in front of their people.

“Oh my gods, Sorin… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. It was a long time ago, Scarlett.”

“I still… I’m sorry. No child should ever have to see their parent be killed, let alone in such a gruesome way. What that does to a child…” She trailed off again.

“I wasn’t exactly a child,” he replied, brushing his knuckles down her cheek. “Yes, I was young by Fae standards, but I was several decades old.”

“Still… I’m sorry.” She bit her lower lip, and the action erased any lingering thoughts of his parents. She cleared her throat after a moment. “So who exactly does live here with you, then?”

“I’m sure you will meet them at dinner. Briar had a heck of time keeping them at bay while you were getting your beauty sleep,” Sorin teased as he began leading her to the bridge to cross the river.

“At dinner?”

“Yes, at dinner. If you want to, of course,” he answered. “I would like you to meet them. Eliza will be there. And Briar.”

“But I already met Briar, and I sort of already know Eliza,” she crossed her arms, stopping once more and tapping her foot. “I don’t know, Sorin. How many people are going to be at this dinner?”

“Only my Inner Court. You’ve sort of already met them. They met us at the border.” Her lips pursed at the recollection, and he reached for her hand, tugging her towards the bridge that was a few feet ahead of them. “As for Briar, he’s not part of my Inner Court.”

“Then who is he?” she asked, and he couldn’t help but smile as her nose scrunched at the question.

“Briar is the Prince of the Water Court and one of my closest friends.”

“Oh my gods,” Scarlett moaned. “I attacked a prince today?”

“One, you did not have control over your magic. Briar knows that. Two, you attack me on a regular basis,” Sorin retorted with amusement.

“Well, yes, but you deserve it because you’re an arrogant ass,” she snapped, snatching her hand from his. “Doesn’t he have his own Court to tend to then?”

“He does. He has his own Court and Inner Court, but I expect there to be some…push back with you being at dinner,” Sorin replied cautiously.

“Why?” she asked, stopping in the center of the bridge to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows. They overlooked the Tana River as it flowed down the mountainside, right through the middle of the palace.

Sorin rested his arms on the railing of the bridge, leaning on his elbows beside her. “You are unexpected, Scarlett. I was sent to find a weapon I did not believe existed. Queen Talwyn invoked something called the Blood Vows of the Courts. During a queen’s rule, she is allowed to use the vow once with each Court she rules over. The vow requires the prince or princess to obey a command of her choosing without question. I was forced to go. You know our relationship with Talwyn is strained and when they learn that you are that weapon, when they learn what you are…” Sorin sighed. “I could need Briar there as a buffer is all. My Inner Court is family, and I rarely have to enforce rank. But two princes may indeed be needed this evening. However, if you do not want to come to dinner, I understand. The choice is always yours.”

“A choice.” She said it so quietly, he barely heard her, even with his full Fae hearing back intact. Her shadows seemed to flicker, as if they might go out. “I am truly free to go wherever I wish?”

“You are free to wander wherever you feel led. Leave the palace. Go to the city. Although maybe have an escort the first time, so you do not get lost,” he added.

“An escort? You mean you?”

“Me. Briar. Someone from the Inner Court.” He shrugged again, but added with a wry smile, “Or go yourself. If I recall correctly, I am not your keeper.”

She threw him an unimpressed glare. “I hardly know Briar and have only met your Inner Court when I was being chased by vampyres.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will get to know them well enough,” he chuckled. “They are obnoxious, cavalier, and intrusive. Come to think of it, you will fit in well.”

She gave him a light shove as she muttered, “Prick.”

He merely turned, now leaning back against the railing, and pulled her to him. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she leaned into him. Again, those shadows flickered. She pulled back to look into his eyes, and he reached up to stroke her cheek, but he was met with a burning, biting swirl of shadows as they darkened around her.

“Scarlett?” Her eyes were wide as she stared back the way they had come.

Where Prince Callan was walking towards the bridge.

He had planned to visit the prince tomorrow, but apparently it was to be now. There was a problem, though.

He leaned over to speak into her ear. “Scarlett, if you do not want to talk to him right now, I understand. I can summon Briar, and he can take you back to our rooms.”

She shook her head, her eyes still on the human prince.

“The thing is, the moment he steps foot on this bridge, my entire Inner Court will be summoned. One will be here almost instantaneously. The other two will not be far behind.”

She turned to him. Her eyes were dark, as though her shadows had infiltrated them. “Can you tell them not to come?”

He grimaced. “I could, but they will not listen.” The look of bewilderment caused him to add, “You will understand when you meet them tonight. But if you do not wish to meet them here, I can request Briar come and escort you back, and I will talk to Callan.”

“If he does not step onto the bridge, will they still come?”

“No, not unless he takes that step. It is part of the wards and protection spells to the private wing.”

“Can I talk to him first?”

“Of course, Love. You are free to do as you wish. Always.”

She looked at him, almost as if seeing him for the first time. Those shadows of hers stroked down his cheek. Then she took a step forward, and they speared from her towards the end of the bridge.