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CHAPTER 35

SCARLETT

Scarlett sat across from Sorin at a small table in a little restaurant along the Tana River. Since most of the residents of the Fire Court possessed fire magic, the city was kept as warm and toasty as the palace by the various business owners and patrons. The hostess had greeted Sorin by name, addressed as Prince Sorin of course, and immediately taken them to this table. Scarlett hadn’t asked if he sent notice ahead or if he just always had a table on stand by.

Eliza, of all people, had helped her get ready for the night. For a female who was more comfortable on battlefields and with books in her hands, she certainly knew fashion well enough. Scarlett wore a tight forest green dress that made her hair shine in the setting sun. It boasted sheer panels that ran along her midriff, and the sleeves were sheer as well. The back was open and exposed. Tiny beads of silver adorned the whole thing. Eliza had used two ornate floral hairpins to sweep half of her hair up. The rest she had curled down her back. Then she’d sent her on her way to meet Sorin at the palace entrance, promising to join them for dancing later in the evening.

“I’ve heard him talk about this city so many times I could recite everything he’s going to say,” she’d said with a wave of her hand.“Let him show you Solembra. We will show you the nightlife.” The feral gleam in her eyes had Scarlett laughing as she’d sauntered down the hall.

The guards had given her appreciative glances when she’d passed, and the look on Sorin’s face when he’d seen her would forever be etched in her memory. How he had stilled. How his eyes had swept her up and down. Twice. How, when he finally began moving again and reached her side, her toes had curled when he had whispered directly into her ear, “You shall start rumors tonight in that dress, Princess.”

They had walked the half mile or so to the City. With Sorin beside her, the biting cold of winter was stifled. She didn’t even need her cloak, and Sorin had sent it to whatever pocket between the realms where he stored everything else it seemed. He had pointed out various places on their way to the restaurant. Next time, he promised, he was taking her to the artist’s district.

The sun was setting as they sat beside the Tana River. Despite it being winter, the magic of the Fire Court kept the river from freezing, and she could hear the rushing sounds of the water. Not quite the waves of the sea, but they quieted her soul nonetheless. They had already ordered, and she sipped at her wine. He studied her, taking a drink of his own, before he said, “You were back earlier than usual from the library today.”

She paused, slowly setting her goblet back onto the table. She leaned back in her chair, her eyes gazing out at the Tana. “We weren’t in the library long today. Callan was restless and wanted to walk the gardens. It was freezing, so it did not last long.”

“Let’s try again,” he said gently. “You were upset when you came back to our rooms earlier than usual today.”

She brought her eyes back to his where he was patiently waiting for her. “He grows restless and is ready to return to Baylorin.” Sorin was silent, waiting for more. She sighed. “I told him that while I will return to Baylorin, I likely will not stay in Baylorin when everything is taken care of. He did not take it well.”

“I am sure he did not,” Sorin said, taking another drink of his own wine. She couldn’t read the expression on his features.

“We argued.”

“I am gathering that.”

Her gaze slid back to the river, and she strained to hear the waters over the din of the restaurant. “About more than me not staying in Baylorin.”

“Oh?”

“He still holds out hope that I will be his queen, that we will be together. No matter how many times I tell him or reasons I give him that it cannot be so.”

“Do you want it to be a possibility?” Sorin asked evenly.

“No,” she answered softly. “I still do not desire to be chained to a throne.” Sorin was quiet, letting her ponder, letting her volunteer whatever was on her mind. “He questions what you are to me,” she ventured carefully.

“Does he now?”

“He thinks you are my soulmate.”

A faint, almost sad smile crossed his lips. “I am not your soulmate, Scarlett.”

“Because you were my mother’s?”

“No. You can actually have more than one soulmate, but I am not yours.” He paused a moment before he added, “Cassius, however, is your soulmate.”

Her brows rose in surprise. “How do you know?”

“I am ancient as hell, remember?” he said with a wink.

Cassius was her soulmate. She let that truth plunk into her soul and sink to the bottom. Now that it was said, the obviousness of it stared back at her.

“Do you wish you were my soulmate?” she asked, picking up her wine glass just to have something to do with her hands.

He was quiet, contemplating. “No, Scarlett, I do not wish I was your soulmate.”

She was both crushed and relieved at his answer. Soulmates were intimate friends, but nothing beyond friendship. She had stared at her hand clasped in Callan’s when he told her he would be fine with Sorin being her soulmate, and she had realized the truth.