Page 192

Story: Lady of Shadows

The man laughed again. “Hasn’t Aditya taught you how to properly pull up your magic safely? You have been with him for months now.”

Aditya. He knew who Sorin was.

“Who are you?” she rasped. Her throat was dry and hoarse and a coppery yet almost earthy taste coated her tongue.

The man flipped his dagger again, studying her. “You are not the queen I was expecting to show up here. An unexpected but pleasant surprise.”

“You were waiting for Talwyn?”

“The Earth Court is her jurisdiction, is it not? I was not anticipating you leaving the side of your Fire Prince,” he answered simply, flipping that damn dagger again. “The Assassin Lord will be quite pleased to have you returned home.”

Alaric?

That had her forcing her arms underneath her and pushing up into a sitting position. The world spun before her, but she managed to get upright, pulling her knees to her chest. “You…” she panted. “You know the Assassin Lord?”

“I am wounded, your Majesty,” the man said with a fake pout as he leapt down from the rock. “You do not recognize me from the Fellowship?”

“I generally don’t remember forgettable wannabe second rate assassins,” Scarlett managed to get out around her breathing. She was fairly certain she was going to vomit.

“I have never understood what he finds so endearing about that godsdamn mouth,” the man snarled. “Although he did not find it so amusing the last time you were in his presence, did he?”

That was when she’d brought Sorin to the Black Syndicate. He must have been one of the men holding her before Alaric. She swallowed thickly. Gods, she needed some water.

“Who are you?” Scarlett demanded hoarsely again. She couldn’t hold her head up any longer. It fell forward, her forehead resting against her knees.

She saw his boots stop in front of her. An earthy smell of forest and soil filled her senses…and power. Some type of magic. She lifted her head and found his pale green eyes watching her. His mouth was tilted up in a cruel, amused smile.

“You are not a Night Child,” she ground out, again trying to summon any bit of her own magic to put a shield around herself,but there was nothing. She was completely and utterly drained.

“Don’t bother,” the man said again with annoyance. “You arrived here without your ring so I cannot access my magic like any other immortal being in the mortal lands.”

She sniffed again, taking in his scent once more. She could almost taste it on her tongue. Soil and trees and sand and—

“You are Fae,” she murmured. “You have earth magic.”

“Very good, your Majesty,” he purred.

“You are working with the mortals?”

Her head went back to her knees. Too much. It was too much information. She couldn’t process everything with the pain in her head.

“I am working with the Lords,” he said coolly.

“The Maraan Lords?”

There was a long pause of silence. “How do you know of the Maraan Lords?”

“My cleverness is why the Assassin Lord puts up with my godsdamn mouth,” she mumbled back.

The man chuckled. “And also why he kept you so sequestered for so long, I imagine.” He crouched down before her and waited until she lifted her head once more to meet his gaze. “Since you have figured out so much, Majesty, I think it is high time we are introduced. After all, we were almost family.”

The confusion must have been evident on her face because the small tilt of his mouth became a full, sneering grin. “I am Tarek. Queen Talwyn’s twin flame and rightful heir of the Earth Court.”

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