Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 23 Sorin

CHAPTER 23

SORIN

“W hen are you going to tell her?” Rayner asked, his voice as smoky as the ashes that obeyed him.

They were on the upper decks of the library, and from where they stood, Sorin could see Scarlett sitting with the mortal prince a few levels below. Hidden by shelves and alcoves, the two had no idea they were there. He’d had to check on her, though. He’d just spent two hours of magic training with her, but he had still found himself needing to lay eyes on her. After the words she’d said a few days ago, after it had taken him all damn day to reach her wherever she’d retreated to inside her soul, he found himself needing to check on her and reassure himself she was all right.

Scarlett was bent over a book, a finger absent-mindedly twirling her hair that was unbound since bathing after their training session. She chewed on her bottom lip as she read. What she found so fascinating, what she was researching, he didn’t know. Across from her, Callan was bent over a book as well, but Sorin saw the glances he’d make at her every now and then.

“I don’t know,” Sorin finally answered his Third. “She is trying to figure out who she is. She is facing traumas she has repressed. She is working through truths hidden from her. I would be a prick to lay this in front of her now as well. To add one more thing to what she is already processing.”

“Is this not another truth being hidden from her? Isn’t the fact that you kept so many truths from her to begin with the reason there are trust issues now?” Rayner asked from where he stood at his side.

“There are not trust issues now,” Sorin snarled.

Rayner arched a brow at him.

Sorin turned back to watching the princess and the human prince. He wasn’t lying to himself. She did trust him. Had she been furious when she’d woken? Yes. Had she put walls back up? Yes. But she’d also taken them back down. Each day she was here, she let more and more of herself out. Let him see more and more of her. He woke up next to her each morning and found himself counting down the hours until their magic training when it was just the two of them up in the Courtyards. He loved having her beside him at dinners amongst his family and delighted in how she’d fit right now, just like he’d known she would.

“She will not reject it, Sorin. You have to know that,” Rayner supplied after another bout of silence.

He knew that, too. Deep down in his gut, he knew how she felt about him. Despite her threat to break him. No, he knew she wouldn’t reject it. But would she view it as another cage? She was so adamant about not being chained to a throne. Would coming to his side not be just that, even if she chose to renounce her own birthright?

Callan said something he couldn’t hear, but it had her looking up over her book and giving him a cautious smile. She didn’t say anything in response, just slid her eyes back to her book.

“If you know she will not reject the twin flame bond, if you know she will choose you, then why not tell her?” Rayner pressed quietly.

Sorin sighed. “Do I deserve her, Rayner? Do I deserve to call her such a thing? After how I failed Eliné? After how I failed her ?”

Rayner leaned on his arms on the railing overlooking the balcony of their level. “Eliné was not your fault, Sorin.”

“She says the same.”

“Accepting forgiveness offered when it is not requested is often harder than asking for it. Or do you not want to accept it as a way to continue punishing yourself?”

Rayner, his quiet, observant, peace-keeping Third, could be more of a busybody than Cyrus.

“We should go. I want to bathe before dinner,” Sorin said, pushing off the railing.

Rayner didn’t move to follow, his eyes still fixed on Scarlett below. “You need to tell her, Sorin.”

“You need to stop meddling,” Sorin muttered. He heard Rayner’s dark chuckle as he left the library.

He walked back to his chambers, stripping off his tunic while he crossed the sitting room. He bathed quickly, and when he came out of the bathing room, he scented her and followed it until he found her laying on the sofa, a book propped above her.

Leaning over the back of the couch to peer down at her, she didn’t look at him but a small smile graced her lips. She wore fitted, black pants and a red sweater that made her hair shine like starlight.

“Did you not read enough in the library today?” he asked.

She frowned slightly as she met his gaze. “Is there really such a thing as reading too much?”

“For you? No, I do not think there is.”

She closed the book, reaching over her head to place it on the end table. “Are you ready to go then?”

“We still have a little time. Can I take you somewhere first? I have something for you,” he said as she rose from the couch as graceful as a dancer.

“What is it?” She crossed to the door and slid on silver, silk slippers. The portrait of casual ease. A picture of what he’d one day envisioned sharing his life with someone to look like. Simple conversations. Comfortable give and take.

He closed the distance between them, opening the door for her. “Come now, can you not just wait and see?”

“No,” she chirped. “I’m not big on surprises, as you are well aware.” She turned and smirked at him.

He gave a long-suffering sigh. “Cruel thing, there’s that wicked tongue again.” She said nothing, but the smile he had only ever seen her give to him had returned. “How was your day?” he asked as he led her up several flights of stairs to the seventh and top level of the palace.

“It was good,” she answered. “Eliza taught me a new move with twin short swords.”

“A move I have no doubt you have already mastered?” he asked with a raised brow.

“I’m good, but not quite that good,” she laughed, reaching the top landing. He turned left down a hall. “The blades on many of your weapons are so dark. What are they made of?”

“There is a steel mined from the Fiera Mountains. It is the strongest steel on the continent and is said to only be rivaled by steel found in Avonleya,” he answered.

“But they cannot kill a Night Child?”

“No. You still need shirastone for that. Shirastone nullifies magic. That is why it is effective against the Fae.” He stopped in front of a glass door, and she looked at him expectantly. “Have you been here before?”

She shook her head, curiosity all over her face.

He pulled open the door and let her go in first, following behind her. The inside was warm, and plants and flowers grew and bloomed all around them. The walls and ceiling were entirely of glass to allow in maximum sunlight. Scarlett had stilled, her mouth slightly opened in awe. She turned to him. “It’s a glass greenhouse,” she breathed.

“That it is,” he said with a smile. He took her hand and led her along a path that wound through the various trees and vegetation. She stepped closer to him, her eyes wide in wonder as she took everything in.

“It’s like stepping into another world.”

“My mother had it built,” Sorin said, and she turned to face him at that, to give him her full attention. “She loved her people and loved ruling by my father’s side, but she was from a small village near the Xylon Forest in the southern part of our territory and missed the forest terribly. So my father gave her this space to build her own little forest. He called it the Princess’s Garden. It spans half the roof of the palace. The other half of the roof is the private training pits we use.”

Scarlett stopped and stooped down, brushing her fingers over the petals of a vibrant red and orange flower. He crouched beside her and snapped one off, handing it to her. “The fire rose,” he said. “It only blooms in the Fire Court.”

She took it gingerly and tucked it up into her hair near her ear. “What was her name? Your mother?”

Sorin stood, pulling her back up with him. “My mother’s name was Elliya, and my father’s name was Branton.”

He led her farther along the path in silence, letting her take in all the beauty his mother had cultivated here. They came to a small pond in the center that had a bench beside it. He saw her sniff the air then ask, “Is that salt water?”

He smiled. “It is. It didn’t used to be, but I had to make modifications to it.”

“Why?” Her nose was scrunched as she looked at him, confusion in her tone.

“Because I wanted that to be able to survive and thrive here.” He pointed down into the pond at a vibrant multi-colored sea star in the center of the sandy bottom. It had taken him nearly an entire week to figure out the spells to keep this section of the garden in tropical warmth. Briar had come and told him exactly what he’d need to do to keep that sea star alive and had searched the Water Court for this particular one.

Scarlett dropped to her knees beside the pond. Her hands were clutched to her chest as she watched it move along the sandy bottom, fish darting to and fro around it. He slowly lowered himself down beside her, and when she met his gaze, silver pooled in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say, Sorin,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.” She looked back at the sea star, reaching out and skimming her fingers over the top of the water. Rings rippled out under her touch and seemed to shimmer. “Thank you for bringing me here. And for…” she trailed off as she stared at the sea star.

She faced him once more. “For everything, Sorin. Thank you for all of it.”

He cupped her cheek, his thumb wiping away the stray tear that had slipped free. “It is my pleasure, Scarlett.”

She leaned against his shoulder, and he tucked her in tighter. Quiet fell around them while they watched the small pond life. After several moments she said quietly, “I wish I could have met your parents.”

The statement startled him a little, and his chest tightened at the thought of his lovely mother who had walked these very gardens with him so often when he was a child. At the thought of his father who had made time to personally train him a few hours every week, not just in weaponry, but in running a Court. He swallowed thickly. “Me too, Love. Me too,” he said, pressing a featherlight kiss to her cheek, but he stilled when she brought her fingers to his own cheek.

Holding his gaze the entire time, she brought her lips to his, and he couldn’t suppress the slight shiver it sent through his body. It was a short grazing of lips on lips. She pulled back just far enough that he could feel her breath on his lips as she spoke. “They would be so proud of you, Sorin.”

He didn’t know what he’d been expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that. The emotion that flooded through him at the words had tears burning at the back of his eyes. His hand slipped into her hair, and he pulled her lips back to his. She immediately opened for him, and his tongue swept in, tangling with hers. Her hand was still on his cheek, and the other came up and gripped his side, fingers digging in slightly.

“Dinner,” he murmured when they both came up for air. “We need to go to dinner.”

“Dinner is highly overrated,” she hummed back onto his lips.

He smiled against the kisses she was gently gracing one corner of his mouth with and then the other. “Overrated, but essential,” he replied, disentangling himself from her. “Especially with the magic you have been practicing every day.” He stood and extended a hand down to her, wiggling his fingers. “Besides, I can hear your stomach, Princess.”

“You cannot,” she snipped, slipping her hand into his. He interlaced their fingers as he led her from the garden and back to the stairs. He could have portaled them down to the den, he supposed, rather than taking the seven flights of stairs, but he didn’t think she’d keep her hand in his once they were with the others.

And he was right. When he pushed open the den door and the others all turned to them, she dropped his hand and strode for her seat, throwing a flirty grin at Cyrus. Rayner, however, gave Sorin a pointed look over his glass while he sipped at some liquor.

“Drink, Love?” he called to her, ignoring his Third.

“Wine, please.”

He set her glass down before her and slipped into his usual seat to her right. The food appeared before them, and they all scooped noodles and sauce and salad onto their plates.

They’d only taken a few bites when Cyrus sighed slightly. “Talwyn sent a message right before dinner, Sorin.”

“Did she now?” He glanced at Scarlett out of the corner of his eye. She was spinning noodles on her fork, acting uninterested, but he knew better.

“She summoned the Royals for a meeting in two weeks,” Cyrus continued.

“For?” Eliza demanded.

“She’s not really known for sharing things in advance, is she?” Cyrus replied bitterly.

“She is not, but it usually has to do with something Ashtine has picked up on her walkings,” Rayner cut in.

Sorin sighed. “No use in worrying about it tonight.”

Scarlett had set down her fork and picked up a piece of bread. As she took a bite, her right hand came up and brushed down his forearm, giving it a quick squeeze before she reached for her wine glass.

Conversation ebbed and flowed some more until Eliza said, “Did you hear that Lord Winston’s son is trying to regain their lost seat?”

“Lord Winston? Isn’t he the Lord that was killed a few years ago in Rydeon?” Cyrus asked, dessert appearing before them. From the variety of fruit tarts, Sorin searched for two pear ones and scooped them onto Scarlett’s plate. She gave him a little smile, picking up her fork.

Rayner huffed softly. “For good reason. He was selling women and children out of his estate for horrific purposes. The Rydeon king stripped the family of their council seat after it was all revealed.”

“That man actually deserved to have the Wraiths of Death sent after him,” Cyrus commented.

“Do we know it was the Wraiths?” Eliza mused. “Was that ever confirmed?”

“From the rumors of how he was carved up and clearly alive for all of it, there is no way it couldn’t have been them,” Cyrus answered, leaning back and sipping at his liquor. “You said you have friends in the Black Syndicate,” he said, eyes sliding to Scarlett. “Did you ever hear of the missions the Wraiths of Death were sent to carry out?”

Scarlett had been silently eating her pear tarts. She brought another bite to her mouth as she said, “I’d hear of them here and there.”

“Did you ever travel to the other kingdoms? Do you know where the Black Syndicate is?” Cyrus asked.

“Do you?” she countered.

“No, but I am not the one who supposedly has friends there.” He took another sip of liquor. Sorin wasn’t sure if he should intervene here or not, so he let Scarlett handle his Court unless she looked to him for help.

Scarlett leaned back against her chair, swirling the last of her wine. Sorin’s arm was draped along the back as it usually was during the dessert portion of the evening.

“Supposedly? You doubt my words, Darling?” Scarlett said with a soft, wicked smile curling up the side of her lips.

“It is incredibly improbable,” Cyrus returned. “Weren’t you living in a noble household? How would you have met people from the Black Syndicate?”

That smile on her lips grew wider, and Sorin watched as a mask slipped over her features. “How did you become the Second to the Prince of Fire? You weren’t born noble.”

The entire table stilled.

Cyrus's face was hard as he held Scarlett’s stare. She merely sipped her wine once more, waiting. “What would you, a Fae princess hidden away in the human lands, know of my history?” he asked too quietly. Sorin tensed at the tone. The violence dancing on the edge of it.

“Down, kitty,” Scarlett purred. “No need to get your claws out.” She took another sip of her wine, clearly unconcerned. “I can smell an orphan from a mile away, Darling. I can tell someone who wasn’t raised by nobility but has found themselves living in such a world of propriety and politics. So tell me, Second of the Fire Court, did you not befriend anyone that could benefit you? That would ensure your survival to see the next sunrise or next meal in your belly?”

Cyrus was utterly still as he surveyed Scarlett with a new understanding. When he did not answer, Scarlett’s tone was hard as she continued, “It seems we have more in common than you thought, hmm?”

“It would appear we do, Darling,” Cyrus finally answered. He raised his glass to her from across the table, and Scarlett inclined her head.

“Do you know the Wraiths then?” Rayner asked quietly.

Scarlett’s eyes slid to him. “Everyone knows of the Wraiths.”

“Yes, but did you ever meet them?” Eliza pressed.

“If I had, would you like me to arrange a meeting?” Scarlett mused, draining her glass.

“Badass women who are feared amongst the entire continent? Yes, I would love to meet them,” Eliza said, a thread of wistfulness in her tone.

“Should I ever see my friends again, I’ll see what I can do,” Scarlett replied, setting her empty glass down. She turned to Sorin. “I’m tired. I’m going to head back early tonight.”

“I will walk you back,” he replied, getting to his feet.

They said good night to the others, and he followed her from the den. They had walked the steps up to their floor in silence and had entered their rooms when he gripped her arm to stop her as she made to move to the bedroom. She turned a questioning glance to him, and he pulled her to him. “Hey, Love.”

The mask was gone, and the corner of her mouth twitched. “Thank you. For not saying anything about…all of that tonight.”

“Your story is not mine to tell,” he answered, his hands sliding down to her waist.

“Sorin, I…” She closed her eyes and huffed out a breath, a stray piece of hair fluttering. He waited, brushing that hair back from her face. She opened her eyes again and met his. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve all that you’ve done for me.”

“Who says? Who decides what we deserve? Do I deserve to be touching you right now after all I kept from you?” he countered, voicing the same thoughts he’d said to Rayner earlier that evening.

“I told you that my mother’s death was not your fault,” she argued, her tone hardening a touch.

“Do I deserve such forgiveness?”

“Of course you do. You deserve happiness, Sorin.”

“My Love, so do you. You deserve every happiness.”

He didn’t know how long they stood there, eyes locked on each other, before she rose up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Whether I deserve you or not, Sorin, I’m grateful you came into my life.”

She freed herself from his hold and crossed to the bedroom, presumably to get ready for bed. She did look tired. She wasn’t resting enough as she dove deeper into her magic. He crossed to the hearth, giving her a few minutes of privacy to change and wash up. He stood, watching the flames flicker. He would never cage her. He would never ask her to assume a throne, either as queen or at his side, that she did not want. But he also knew that if she returned to Baylorin to stay, he would follow her there. He would follow her to the farthest star.