Page 54

Sorin gripped his arm, but Cassius stopped cold as Death’s Shadow crooned with absurd laughter. “There you are. Welcome back, Sister.”

Scarlett brought her fist back and punched her hard in the face. Death’s Shadow merely laughed again from under that hood. “How dare you send me back there, Nuri! How could you do that to me? To him?”

Cassius sucked in a breath as the name crossed her lips. His wide eyes came to Sorin’s face, confirming he had in fact heard it. So Death’s Shadow indeed had a name.

“He became a distraction,” Nuri spat. “He distracted you, and it laid the groundwork for you to be shoved into a cage. They didn’t even have to shove you in. You stepped in willingly. When the time came, they just had to close the fucking door. I opened that door back up for you, but you stayed. You wouldn’t come out. Not until you took that first step two nights ago with Callan.And you tasted that freedom once more, you tasted him—”

“Stop!” Scarlett screamed.

But Nuri had twisted, and quicker than he could register it, Nuri had Scarlett pinned below her. This time, it was Cassius holding Sorin back. “Do not interfere with this,” Cassius murmured. “She will spill your blood in more ways than one.”

“I am not afraid of Death’s Shadow,” Sorin snarled.

“I am not the one you need to fear tonight, Fae Warrior,” came Nuri’s cunning voice from below that hood. “Death’s Maiden is before you, and my sister is ten times as terrible as I am.”

Sorin froze. Scarlett was Death’s Maiden? Scarlett was one of the Wraiths of Death? He looked to Cassius, who gave him an affirming nod.

Of the three Wraiths of Death, Death’s Maiden was the most feared. Death’s Shadow tracked you, and Death Incarnate ended you, but in between those two things, you dealt with Death’s Maiden. She was the one who executed whatever ministrations were included in the job. She was the one who bloodied you, the one who knew how to torture and keep you alive and conscious while she did so. They all knew how to do those things, he supposed, but that was her job in the trio. You begged for Death Incarnate by the end.

He looked down at Scarlett and recognized little in those eyes, but what he did recognize was purely Fae. Primal and wild and savage and lethal.

Nuri’s attention was back on Scarlett now. “Ilet you out, Scarlett. I heard it in every note that flowed from your fingers tonight. I felt it as you breathed in that freedom. We need information, yes, but that was secondary to what I needed him to do to you.I needed you tofeel.”

Without warning, Scarlett lunged with everything she had and flung Nuri off of her. Nuri went flying across the room. Scarlett snatched up her weapons, and Nuri barely had time to raise her own sword. She was fast enough to block the blow, but not fast enough to register the dagger that pierced her forearm. She screamed,and the smile that spread across Scarlett’s face was one of wicked delight.

“You let me out, Nuri, but who shall rein me back in?” Scarlett whispered quietly as she dug that dagger in a little deeper.

“That,” Nuri gasped out around the pain, “is why I made sure he was here first.”

Scarlett cocked her head in surprise, but her hand twisted the dagger in deeper. “Cassius cannot stop me.”

Nuri screamed again, and Sorin glanced at Cassius beside him. The color had drained from his face as he’d watched the exchange, clearly not knowing what to do.

“Do something,” Sorin said.

“She is right. I can’t. I’m not authorized to interfere with them,” he replied.

What the fuck did that mean?

“Fae of fire,” Nuri hissed from under that hood, and Sorin’s eyes snapped to that figure pinned to the floor. Her voice was unearthly, not mortal in the slightest.

Scarlett pushed on that dagger again, and the tang of Nuri’s blood filled his nose, her scent clinging to his nostrils. Moonlight and blood and snow. His eyes widened as more pieces clicked into place. “I tire of your riddles, Sister,” Scarlett said, her voice deadly calm.

Sorin shook off Cassius’s grip beside him and took a step forward. “Scarlett.” Her name was a command on his lips.

She dragged her gaze to him, and the smile on her face was so cruel his pulse quickened. “If memory serves me correctly,General,” she sneered, “we are no longer training, nor are we in a training ring, so I suggest you stay the hell out of this.”

Sorin put his hands into his pockets and took another step towards them. She swore viciously at him.

“The string of profanities that comes from your mouth sometimes is truly astounding. Such vulgar words coming off the tongue of a Lady.”

Scarlett glared at him, her nostrils flaring. “How many times do I need to tell you, General? I am no Lady, and my tongue is still none of your concern.”

“Are you sure?” he asked with a tilt of his head. “I am sure I could find a much better use for it.” Scarlett’s eyes narrowed at him as he took another step closer. “No, you most certainly are not a Lady,” he said, crouching before her. “But it begs the question then, doesn’t it?”

“What question?” she snapped.

“Who are you?”