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Sorin did not say a word as he stared back at her.

“Why is the mortal prince here?” Rayner posed quietly.

“Because his life is at risk, and this was the only place to keep him safe until the danger has passed,” Scarlett cut in, lifting her chin as she spoke.

“Is he your lover then, Darling?” Cyrus asked casually, taking another bite of his own pie. He reminded Scarlett vaguely of Nuri.

“Are you asking if I am available?” Scarlett asked, her tone sultry as she leaned back in her chair. Sorin’s fingers brushed across her shoulder.

“If you’re offering, I certainly would not object,” he replied with a fiendish glance to Sorin.

“I assure you,Darling, you wouldn’t know the first thing to do with me and my darkness,” she purred. As if in emphasis, her shadows reached for him, caressing down his cheek and neck.

He froze as they trailed along him, then a feral grin crossed his lips. “Intimidating indeed,” he crooned.

“Told you,” Briar quipped, picking up his drink and knocking the rest of it back.

Scarlett picked up her wine glass, twirling the stem between her fingers. She had originally been willing to leave, to not intrude on their little family squabble, but now that she had been brought into the conversation, she could play. She turned to Briar and smirked. “I now understand what you meant about his whiny Court.” Briar laughed, his icy eyes twinkling.

“I’m glad you two find this so amusing,” Eliza spat, “but the fact remains that we have no idea what is going on and why your arrival has made our prince, who has never withheld anything from us, suddenly start keeping secrets.” Everyone went silent. Scarlett glanced to Sorin, and Eliza continued with soft venom. “Do you need permission to speak?”

“Enough,” Sorin growled. He looked murderous as he glared at his general. “She does not need permission to do anything, Eliza. You will not speak to her like this, and you will remember that I am your Prince.”

“Do not pull rank on me, Sorin,” Eliza hissed, and Scarlett had to admit, she admired the female for her gall.

“Then let’s discuss matters, shall we?” Sorin said. He spoke with a calm, lethal rage, and Scarlett froze. She had never heard him speak like that. His tone was uncompromising and threatening. The voice of a ruler. Every one of his Inner Court sat up straighter in their chairs, their eyes slightly widening. It was clear he rarely spoke to them this way. The gold in Sorin’s eyes had turned to flame, and it took all of Scarlett not to flinch from him.She looked to Briar out of the corner of her eye. His face was severe, a fellow prince standing in solidarity with his friend. “Let’s discuss the fact that she is more powerful thananyonein this room. You have all witnessed, in one way or another, just a fraction of what she can do.”

All eyes slid to her, and she tried not to shift uncomfortably in her seat. She held their stares and mustered up her bored, uninterested mask, taking a bite of her own dessert like what was being said didn’t matter to her.

“She is here because she is Fae, and this is her home,” Sorin continued. “The mortal prince is here because she has a heart and a threat was made against his life. She is ridiculously selfless and sought his safety until he can return home. Furthermore, she is Eliné’s daughter.” All their eyes widened at that revelation, and Cyrus started to say something, but Sorin was not done. “As to whether or not I found the weapon Talwyn so desperately seeks, you are looking at her, and Talwyn cannot have her. Should Scarlett decide to take her throne, our allegiance lies with her. Should she decide not to, our loyalty still lies with her.”

Her eyes slid to Sorin at the words. She had told Sorin she didn’t want the title. She had told him she didn’t want the responsibility of ruling. She had told him she didn’t want any sort of Fates deciding her future. As if reading her mind, Sorin continued.

“This information goes nowhere. Briar knows and will tell his Inner Court, but no one else learns this information unless Scarlett decides to share it. The choice is hers, but this is her home, and she belongs at this table.” He paused, a long, tense moment of silence, then asked, his words laced with poison, “Anything else you wish to discuss this evening, Eliza?”

Eliza actually seemed like she was going to say more, but Rayner gave her a warning glance. “No, Prince,” she conceded, with a bow of her head.

Scarlett met Sorin’s gaze then. Her shadows brushed along his fingers, and his eyes softened, the flames lessening.

Too bad Tula isn’t here to give you a cookie. You deserve a treat after that little speech,she thought, tilting her head. As though he had heard her thoughts,he smirked at her. She didn’t notice the glances that his Inner Court shared. She didn’t notice the smile that crossed Briar’s face when he reached for her glass to refill her wine. Her eyes were fixed on the golden eyes of the Prince of Fire, where she saw nothing but home.

CHAPTER 9

SORIN

Sorin sat in his chambers, sipping at a glass of amber liquor, Cyrus and Rayner doing the same. Eliza had gone to her own chambers when they’d finally retired long into the night, saying she wanted to finish her book and didn’t need to sit around listening to ‘you three idiots relive memories.’ He knew her, though. He knew that despite her hard exterior, she was sorting through everything that had happened the last few weeks. She had been carrying the secret of his Mark since the mortal kingdoms. In the morning, he would find her, and they would sort it all out.

Scarlett had looked exhausted by the end of the night. He hadn’t intended on keeping her up that late, but after everything was settled about who she was, games of billiards had ensued. Scarlett had taken every one of them for all they had, other than Eliza, who rarely deigned to play.

“Friends from the Black Syndicate, of course,” Scarlett had replied when he’d asked where she had learned to play.

Cyrus had completely missed his shot at the words, cursing as the cue ball flew from the table. “You have friends in the Black Syndicate?” he had asked, his mouth gaping open.

“I am just full of surprises, aren’t I, Darling?” Scarlett had chirped with a wild grin,sauntering past him and proceeding to clear the remainder of the table.

“How did you befriend people in the Black Syndicate?” Cyrus asked, as she sank her final shot.

“My winning personality,” she said with a smirk, holding out her palm. “Pay up.”