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The server gave a bow of his head and went on to help the next person in line. Scarlett took a drink straight from the bottle then said, “Lead the way, General.”

CHAPTER 22

SCARLETT

“You are a wicked thing, aren’t you?” Sorin chuckled under his breath as he led her down the stairs of the Pier to the beach.

On their way out of the party, Scarlett had again found Mikale scowling in their direction. She’d sidled up a little closer to Sorin and thrown a wink at Mikale…who ran right into someone and spilled his drink all over her.

“He’s a bastard who can’t take a hint,” Scarlett muttered. She stumbled slightly in the sand, but strong hands caught and steadied her.

“Maybe we should take a break from the wine?” he suggested, trying to reach for the bottle.

Scarlett jumped out of his reach, taking another drink. “You do realize the only reason I’m even out here with you isbecauseof the wine, don’t you?”

Sorin considered for a moment then said, “Fair enough.”

They walked in silence along the shore, the Pier getting smaller and smaller in the distance behind them. The only sounds were the waves gently crashing onto the sand. Scarlett relished the feel of the coolness on her feet as the waves rolled in and out. The party had been stifling and outside wasn’t much better.The end of summer mugginess had lingered this year.

The moon was full and bright, and its reflection off the sea lit up their path. Scarlett had slipped her light slippers off as soon as they’d reached the sand, and they now dangled from her fingers. Her dress clung to her figure even more so, if such a thing was possible, from the sweat of dancing. Several curls had slipped free of their pins and hung loosely down her back.

“Scarlett, I—” Sorin began, but Scarlett cut him off.

“Not here. Not yet,” she said, continuing along the beach.

They walked for another few minutes in silence before Sorin said, “You are not leading me somewhere to kill me, are you Death’s Maiden?”

“Hmm, as tempting as that is,” Scarlett said contemplatively, “I don’t want to tarnish my favorite spot in Windonelle with your blood, and Nuri would be so disappointed if she didn’t get to be involved in such an activity.”

“You and Nuri have an interesting relationship,” Sorin said too casually.

“Nuri and I are two sides of the same coin,” Scarlett replied. “We clash a lot but unify when needed.”

“She manipulates you.” She could hear a hardness in his voice.

Scarlett sighed. “No. It may appear that way, but we feed off of each other. Push each other when required. What she asked of me was cruel, yes, but things just as wicked have been asked of her.”

“She plays on your emotions,” he said flatly.

“She is not the only one who uses such techniques to get things accomplished,” Scarlett answered darkly. Then she added quietly, “There used to be someone who balanced us out, but there isn’t any more.”

There was another beat of silence before Sorin asked, “And how does Cassius fit in this mix?”

“Cassius has always been the calm to my storm,” Scarlett answered simply.

They walked another hundred feet when Scarlett stopped near large rocky cliffs that now towered behind them along the shore, one curving out into the sea,blocking their path. Scarlett continued towards it.

“You cannot possibly climb that right now,” Sorin said, gazing up at the towering, sharp, rocky side of the cliff.

“And why not?” she huffed, continuing to the cliff wall.

“One because you are drunk,” Sorin said. She started to protest, but he cut her off. “Two, I do not think that dress would lend itself well to climbing.”

Scarlett looked over her shoulder and again found Sorin drinking his fill of her with his eyes. “You do seem to have an obsession with this dress,” she said thoughtfully, turning to hand the half empty bottle of wine to him. As his hand clasped around the bottle, his fingers brushed hers, and she mused, “You’re almost as obsessed with it as you are with my ring.”

Sorin started a little, and the slightly glazed look left his eyes. Scarlett laughed under her breath, turning back to the cliff before her. “I may be drunk, Sorin, but I still remember you are keeping so much from me.” Vines clung to the side of the cliff wall, thick and snaking up from the water. She stepped into the small pool of an inlet, the water coming to her ankles.

“Scarlett, I—”