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“Scarlett, let’s go discuss this in another—”

Scarlett held up a hand to silence him, and her shadows twined around his throat. Her eyes remained on Briar.

“I served in her Inner Court alongside Sorin, yes,” he answered.

“And has he always been a secret-keeping bastard?” Scarlett asked, now leveling a cool stare at Sorin. She could have sworn he winced slightly.

“A secret-keeper only when necessary,” Briar answered. “But he has always been a bastard,” he added with a wink.

“Thank you for that,” Sorin interjected with a roll of his eyes.

Scarlett’s full attention turned back to him. “All I want you to do is tell me real or dream. I don’t want your ability to conveniently leave out important information to get in the way. Do you think you can do that?” When Sorin nodded, she continued. “You came for me, and we fled Baylorin.”

“Real,” Sorin answered.

“Lord Tyndell is working with Mikale. They know I am Fae and knew my mother.”

“Real.”

“Callan and I kissing on the journey here?”

“Gods, I hope that was a fucking dream,” Sorin muttered.

“Me and you kissing on the journey here?”

“Real, Scarlett. That… By the stream was very, very real,” he whispered.

“The Fae Queen is searching for a weapon. You figured outIwas this weapon and kept it from me.”

“Scarlett, that’s not—”

Her shadows tightened around him. “Real or dream?” she hissed.

“Real.”

“My mother… She was a Fae Queen.”

“Real.”

“I was stabbed.”

Sorin shuddered imperceptibly. “I thought you were going to die.”

“The man with the black eagle and the…” She looked down at her forearm where the three stars were inked on her skin. She had wanted to ask about the panther, but didn’t want to appear as if she’d completely lost her mind. She was sure she sounded half-insane.

Sorin’s brows bunched. “That was a dream, Scarlett,” he said softly.

The tenderness in his voice made her heart squeeze in her chest. She brought her eyes back to his. “You are the Prince of the Fire Court and are responsible for my mother’s death.”

Briar sucked in a breath. “Scarlett, he is not—”

“It’s fine, Briar,” Sorin cut in. “I can handle it. I can handle what she needs to say to me.”

Scarlett fought back the tears stinging the back of her eyes. “Real or dream?” she demanded.

Sorin swallowed. “Real, Scarlett. That is real.”

Scarlett jerked back a step from him.Real.That had been real. He had been her mother’s closest confidant. He had been her Cassius. And he was responsible for her death.