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“You think that we are going to go from fighting about this tothatin 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.