Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)

Chapter 56 Sorin

CHAPTER 56

SORIN

S orin could not have possibly heard her right. He stood, looking down at her. “You are going to go and ask Mikale,” he repeated.

“Yes,” Scarlett said. “Our twin flame Marking will be glamoured in the mortal realm. He won’t know of it or know that we are married. I am going to return to him.”

Sorin just blinked at her. She bit her bottom lip, holding his stare. She was serious. Completely serious. “No,” he said tightly. It was all he could think to say around the rage roaring through his veins.

“It is the only way, Sorin,” she started.

“No.”

“Sorin—”

“No.”

She crossed her arms, leaning back against the table. “I’m going to need you to use more of your big boy words, Prince.”

“Fuck no.”

She huffed a soft laugh, and the sound of it, along with the sight of the slight smirk that accompanied it, had him fighting every urge to lie her on the floor and bury himself in her right here.

“No,” he breathed, not trusting himself to move. “He has nearly destroyed you in so many ways, Scarlett. No. We will find another way.”

“If you have a better idea, I am all ears,” she retorted, remaining in her seat on the bench. “But he is not going to reveal anything to me if he does not believe I have come to his side. It is just a game that we will resume playing.”

“No, it is a game we nearly lost a few months ago,” Sorin argued.

She couldn’t be serious. Not after everything they had gone through. Not after what he had pulled her out of. Not now that she was finally with him, had claimed him. There was no way he was letting his wife, his queen , go into enemy hands. Absolutely none. She would literally have to kill him first.

“Come up with a better plan, Sorin, and we can talk about it, but if not…”

“And what? You just claimed your throne, and now you will do exactly as Nakoa said and abandon your people? What if this goes badly, Scarlett? Because we both know this could go very, very bad, and then your lands, your people, are left with no one,” he growled.

He felt something in her shift, but he couldn’t quite read it. She didn’t meet his gaze as she said softly, “They wouldn’t be left with no one, Sorin. If I am a queen, then you are now a king and are far more qualified to lead these people anyway.”

Sorin froze. She couldn’t mean that. She sounded as if she had planned…

“Scarlett Aditya Semiria, look at me right now and tell me you did not choose a marriage before the Anointing for the purpose of making me a king.”

Her eyes snapped to his and something akin to hurt flickered across them. “You know that’s not true. How can you even say that to me?”

“Because you have been keeping secrets, Scarlett. Big secrets. And now you drop this bullshit about me being king—”

“It is not bullshit,” she shouted, jumping to her feet. “And you are a king. You may be the Fire Prince, but you are also, as of this marriage, a godsdamn king of the realm.” She spat the word ‘marriage’ at him like it burned her tongue and held up her left hand. “And if you honestly think that I only accepted the bond to make you a king and avoid my responsibility, then you do not know me at all.”

Sorin couldn’t tell if the rage he was feeling was his or her own echoed down the bridge. He growled, prowling back to her. She held his gaze the whole way, and he could see the storm in her eyes. A wild storm of ice and rain and wildfire and darkness. A storm his heart skipped a beat at and always made him wonder if he would survive this whirlwind that she was.

“You know,” she chided when he stopped directly in front of her, “you’re looking at me like you did when we first met.”

“Like I want to throttle you?” he ground out.

“Yes,” she snapped.

He tugged her to him as he said gruffly, “Travel us up to our room.”

“Why?”

“Because there are too many ancient books on this table to shove them to the floor so I can properly fuck you.”

“You think that we are going to go from fighting about this to that in a matter of seconds?” Her voice was calm, but he scented her. He heard her heart rate pick up.

He smirked at her and whispered into her ear, “Yes, Love, I do because I do in fact know you that well.”

With no small amount of satisfaction, he heard her swallow. Her voice was quieter, breathless, when she said, “We cannot Travel or portal into this room. There are some kind of wards or enchantments around it.”

“Really?” He hadn’t felt them. Not a hint of any type of magic down here at all other than the small amount that Scarlett had displayed.

“Yes. I tried to Travel here earlier, when you were in the bath, and I couldn’t get in. You could try to portal, but I don’t think it will work.”

He did try, and she was right. He ground his teeth together, and grabbing her hand, he began tugging her towards the stairs. “Sorin,” she protested, “we need to talk about this.” But he smiled as she followed him without any type of resistance.

“We will,” he replied as they started climbing the stairs.

“Sorin, we have much to do and prepare for.”

“We will,” he repeated.

“Sorin—”

But he cut her off. He turned and pushed her against the stairwell wall, his lips crashing onto hers. Surprise sparked across her face, but then she was kissing him back, her tongue tasting his. He pressed himself against her, lining himself up with her, his hand sliding down to her breast. She moaned softly and her hips arched into him, grinding against his hardness. He hissed at the movement and pulled back from the kiss. “Keep that up, Princess, and we’ll be doing this right here in the stairwell.”

A rough laugh escaped her. “We’re almost at the top. I’d hate to fall down these stairs.”

He kissed her again, a quick brush of lips, before he turned and began leading her up the steps once more. She pulled the lever to open the passageway door. As soon as the bookcase was back in place behind them, her lips were back on his, and she Traveled them to their room. Had the feel of her body against his not been his sole focus, he would have been impressed at her ability to land them directly on the bed.

Her hands slipped under his jacket, slipping it down his arms. Then she pulled his shirt from him. His hand went up under her tunic, his fingers grazing over her peaked nipple. She groaned at the contact, nipping at his lower lip, as his other hand went down and cupped her over her pants.

She had just reached for the buttons on his own pants when there was a knock on the door. Scarlett froze, her head jerking towards the sound.

“Unless death is on our doorstep, I highly suggest you leave and pretend you were never here,” Sorin snarled at the door.

“Well, death may actually be on our doorstep,” came Cyrus's voice. “We’ve been trying to find you two for nearly an hour.”

“Apparently, we should have opted for the stairwell,” Scarlett grumbled. “A last tumble before death would have been nice.”

Sorin growled in frustration as he rolled off of her and stalked to the door. He jerked it open. “What exactly is the issue?”

Cyrus winced as he took in Sorin’s bare chest, his eyes flickering to where Scarlett sat on the bed, straightening her tunic.

“What kind of death are we talking about here, Cyrus? Are we dying? Is someone else dying? Am I killing someone? What’s happening?” she asked flippantly, rising from the bed.

Cyrus smirked at her while Sorin shrugged his shirt back on. “The borders. There are messengers at the borders. Night Children.”

“Both borders?” Sorin questioned as they followed him from the room.

“Yes,” Cyrus confirmed. “Sawyer sent word while we were trying to find you. Why couldn’t we send fire messages to you?”

Interesting. Apparently that chamber below the library kept out more than just Travelers and portals.

“What do they want?” Scarlett asked.

“To speak with the princes.”

“The princes?” Sorin questioned. “Not Talwyn?”

“No,” Cyrus answered, his tone grim. “They know you have not turned over their…weapon to Talwyn.”

Sorin felt Scarlett still beside him, and he halted his own steps, turning to her. “They’re here for me?” she asked.

“It would appear so,” Cyrus replied.

“They cannot cross the borders, Scarlett,” Sorin said, bringing his hand to her cheek. “You are safe. They cannot touch you.”

“That’s not… Where are the others?” she asked Cyrus.

“Eliza is at the border with a small unit of soldiers. Rayner is scouting, waiting for orders,” he answered, reaching up to tie his shoulder-length hair back with a strap of leather as they continued on down the hall.

“Have we heard from Briar?” Sorin asked.

“Sawyer said he’s at his border with Nakoa and Neve monitoring.”

“Has anyone told Talwyn?”

“I believe she remains unaware. For how long that remains the case, I don’t know,” Cyrus replied, and they turned into a council room.

Scarlett had fallen completely silent. Sorin glanced at her, and he knew she was only half here, half listening to what they were discussing. “We should go to the border. See what Eliza has learned,” Sorin said, watching Scarlett while she stood before a window, looking out at the mountains.

“Agreed,” Cyrus said with a nod. He, too, glanced at the queen and then back to Sorin with a raise of his brows. And he didn’t know. He didn’t know what to tell his Second. He didn’t know what she was thinking through. Was she thinking of Mikale? Had her mind gone to Cassius? Or was it back in that chamber beneath the library and something else she had learned?

“Scarlett,” he ventured hesitantly.

“Hmm?” She didn’t even turn to them as she bit her bottom lip.

“We are going to go to the border to check in with Eliza.”

“Okay.” She made no move to come to them, though. Flames were dancing along her fingers and swirling among the shadows she had called forth. He had watched her do so much of the same on the balcony. Lost in her own thoughts and contemplations.

Sorin opened a portal and jerked his chin to Cyrus to go through. He merely nodded once, cast another furtive glance to Scarlett, and went through. Sorin crossed the room. “I would think you would want to go with us,” he said when he reached her side.

“What?” She looked at him, her nose scrunching in confusion.

“To the border. I told you we were going to the border to check in with Eliza. I am assuming you would want to come.”

“Yes, of course,” she said quickly.

Before he could say more, she grabbed his hand, and he felt the familiar sensation of Traveling. Then he was blinking in the midday sunlight in the middle of a small camp on the edge of the border. The way the wards were set up, they could see across to the mortal lands, but they couldn’t see in from the other side. It simply looked like a continuous field.

But before them was indeed a small camp of forces, and three Night Children stood on the other side waiting. They clearly knew exactly where the border demarcation line ran. Scarlett let go of his hand, walking right to the edge, and had Sorin reaching out to her before she crossed over.

“Are they the only Night Children here? Just those three?” she asked him. Her shadows were hovering at her shoulders and snaking down her arms. He had gotten used to seeing her without them, and he didn’t know if she had summoned them or if they had arisen unbidden this time.

“They are the only ones currently visible, yes,” he answered, a hand sliding around her waist.

She tilted her head to the side, studying them. “How can you tell? Other than scent?”

“They do not have physical characteristics like the Fae do,” he answered. “They are protected from the sun, though. The others I see have exposed skin.”

“Other than that, though, there is no way to tell? If they were all dressed the same, covered, would you be able to tell who was a Night Child and who was mortal if they were standing side-by-side?”

“No.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “How do you send those fire messages? I want to know how many are at the Water Court border.”

“You could summon Briar here,” Sorin answered. “Speak with him directly.”

“No, he needs to be in his Court until this is resolved,” she said, her tone was distant once more. Sorin sent her request though, the fire message flaring before disappearing.

“Do you recognize any of the mortals? Are any from your High Force?” Scarlett asked suddenly.

“No,” he answered, scanning the small camp before his border quickly. “No one from the High Force is here.”

“What’s the plan here, Prince?” Eliza came striding up to them, Cyrus on her heels.

“Has anyone spoken to them?” Sorin asked, watching Scarlett as she began pacing in front of the border, her eyes fixed on the three Night Children. What was she working out?

“No. They have spoken, but no one has responded,” Eliza answered.

“What did they say?”

“Only that they wanted to talk to you.” Eliza’s eyes were now on the queen as well. She had dropped to the ground and begun drawing in the dirt. She drew and wiped the symbols away and drew again. After the third time, Sorin dropped down beside her.

“Love, what are you doing?”

“Did Briar answer? How many are there?” she asked, beginning to draw the symbols again. They were stars and varying shapes and swirls. They were like Marks but sharper, not as elegant.

“We have not heard back from him. Scarlett, what are you doing?”

But she kept working, kept drawing. “You said the mortals were moving forces around. What about the other borders? The Earth Court?”

“I don’t know. We are not exactly on friendly terms with the Earth Court,” he said slowly, trying to keep the frustration from his voice.

She wiped the symbols away once more as she said, “Do you not have eyes there? Where is Rayner? Doesn’t he know?”

Sorin reached out and put his hands over hers. She finally brought her eyes to his, the icy blue paler and nearly silver. “Love, what are you doing?”

“I need… Can you see this Mark on my arm?” she asked suddenly, extending her left forearm to him. Her bare left forearm.

Sorin shook his head. “I see nothing, Scarlett. There is nothing there.” She peered down at her arm, her other hand coming up and drawing there now, as if indeed tracing a Mark he could not see. “Is there a Mark there?”

But she said nothing. Her eyes turned back to the three Night Children. “Go talk to them. See what they have to say.” She was again extending her hand to him. In her palm lay her Semiria ring. To give him access to his magic across the border.

“You will remain on this side?”

“Yes,” she replied, pushing to her feet.

“Why?”

“That would seem obvious, Prince. I’m what they presumably want,” she said with a raise of her brow.

“Yes, but I would expect you to taunt and tease them about that, not stay safely behind a magical border like I would prefer.”

“If it’s what you’d prefer, why are we arguing about it?” Her hands went to her hips.

A flurry of snowflakes appeared at his shoulder, and he reached up to pluck Briar’s response to his message. “Briar says there are three.”

Her shadows darkened as she shoved her hands in her pockets. “Go talk to them, Sorin,” she said with a jerk of her chin. “Take Cyrus and Eliza with you.”

“Yes, let’s please do something other than stand here,” Eliza drawled, practically hopping from foot to foot with bloodlust shining in her eyes.

“Give me a minute and then we will talk to them,” Sorin said with a pointed look at his Court. Cyrus and Eliza nodded and went to wait for him. Scarlett’s eyes were back on the three vampyres. He reached for her, turning her to face him. When she finally met his gaze, he said softly, “Hey, Love.”

He could have sworn grief flashed across her features, but it was gone instantly as she whispered, “Hey, Prince.”

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Besides the fact that I’ve been a queen for what? Two days? And I have already brought death to our doorstep?”

“Let’s try again,” Sorin replied, reaching up and tucking her hair behind her ear. “What have you been figuring out since Cyrus said they are here for you?”

A small smile tugged on the corner of her mouth. Her arms came up and looped around his neck. “That a siren’s call draws unexpected power,” she murmured, rising up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“I find your vague answers extremely worrisome,” he replied, pulling back from her.

“I find your role of mother hen to be extremely tiresome, but here we are,” she drawled. He gave her a pointed look, and she merely kissed him once again before she said, “Go see what those bastards want, then tell them to go to hell.”

“Do not think I am going to drop this matter,” he answered, nipping at her bottom lip.

“I would expect nothing less.”

She dropped her arms and turned to face the border once more, to watch everything from the sidelines. He knew there was more. He knew she was working something out, had figured something out, but Eliza and Cyrus were waiting.

He double checked his weapons and buckles as he walked to his Court, unable to shake his feeling of unease.

“Is she all right?” Cyrus asked.

“No, but I cannot get her to talk to me here,” Sorin bit back, taking the bow Eliza extended to him and slinging the quiver over his shoulder. It was fully stocked with black ashwood arrows.

“Let’s find out what these pricks want and then you two can go somewhere,” Cyrus answered.

Sorin only nodded, casting one last look at Scarlett. She met his eyes and gave him a soft smile. It was one he rarely saw. It was the smile that graced her lips on the rare occasions she spoke of Juliette.

Yes, he’d deal with this, and then he’d take her out to the city. Just the two of them. And he’d coax out whatever was threatening her stars.