Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 13 Scarlett

CHAPTER 13

SCARLETT

S carlett stood in front of the mirror. The teal color of her dress was so dark it was almost black. There was silver along the bottom that faded as it moved up the skirts. The sleeves and bodice were fitted, leaving an open back and deep plunging neckline. Her mask was a beaded beauty of silver and teal. Camilla had curled her hair and pinned it half up, leaving the rest to cascade down over her shoulders. Then she had twisted tiny black orchids into her hair.

Scarlett stared at her pointed ears and longer fingers and limbs. She examined her elongated canines. Her shadows were slight and loose around her. She had been here three weeks, and each day she fell more and more in love with all of it. She actually looked forward to getting out of bed for the first time in a long time. She looked forward to bantering with Cyrus. She loved the food and exploring the palace library. She didn’t even mind her magic lessons, despite the frustration they wrought.

She hadn’t seen much of Callan except at the lunch meetings they had a few times a week. Sorin was making an effort to include him as much as he could, and Scarlett was content to let Sorin handle things. She’d meant what she said. She had no desire to rule. She was enjoying not having expectations and demands shoved on her.

She adjusted the mask on her face. She hadn’t been lying either when she’d told Sorin she didn’t want to sit alone all night in his rooms. She might not believe in the Fates or Samhain legends, but she certainly believed in the thoughts and nightmares that would plague her were she left alone for an entire evening. She studied her image another moment and was about to turn and leave when she found herself staring into dark eyes.

Scarlett whirled around, but there was no one behind her. When she turned back to the mirror, Mikale’s image remained, staring back at her, an amused expression on his face.

“My pet,” he said with a slight smile, “how lovely you look this evening.” Scarlett looked behind her again. Was she hallucinating? Had she finally gone so mad she was seeing things? “Look at these delightful talents I am learning.” Scarlett slowly turned back to the mirror. “Tell me, Scarlett, where in his Fire Court has Sorin Aditya hidden you?”

Scarlett watched as her shadows darkened and swirled faster around her, flowing through her hair and around her skirts. “I am not hidden well if you are speaking to me, am I?” she finally managed to say. If she had finally gone mad, it didn’t much matter what she said to him, did it?

“If only that were the case,” Mikale answered, his smile turning into a sneer. “My source in the Black Syndicate has a few ideas and has heard several rumors, but we are unable to confirm any of them. I am assuming he is responsible for that.”

His source in the Black Syndicate?

“I have no idea about what kind of defenses he has,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I highly doubt that is the case,” Mikale retorted, his face taking on a hard edge. “My source is also most upset about the updated wards around the children. However did your beloved prince manage that from so far away?”

“Shall we make a trade, Mikale?” Scarlett asked sweetly. “You tell me who your source is, and I shall reveal how he enhanced his wards.”

Mikale glared at her in the mirror. He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek in the reflection, and Scarlett could feel it on her own skin, as if he were indeed standing behind her. “Do not worry, my pet. Soon enough you shall be back where you belong, and we will move forward with our plans.”

“Who is we?” she asked, trying to hide her shortness of breath.

He leaned down and whispered into her ear as that hand slid along her throat, down the front of the plunging neckline of her dress. “When you learn who had your mother killed, then you will know the answer to that.”

Then he was gone.