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He groaned softly, pressing kisses along her jaw. “No, but Cyrus will come looking for us and not care what he is interrupting.”

“Cyrus is a busybody,” she murmured, tilting her head back to allow him access to her neck once more.

“That he is, and he enjoys being one. If he knew what we were doing up here right now, he would show up just to tease us,” Sorin answered, obliging her silent request and sliding those lips down to her throat.

“I totally would,” came an amused male voice.

A string of curse words came from Sorin’s mouth as he pushed himself off of Scarlett and took her hand, hauling her into a sitting position. She glared at Cyrus from atop the rock.

“Darling, if I knew that was the kind of magic training you were doing, I’d have offered to train you myself,” Cyrus smirked as she adjusted her top and smoothed out her hair.

“Darling, if I thought you had anything to teach me, I’d have asked,”Scarlett retorted as Sorin hopped down from the rock and reached a hand up to help her down as well.

Cyrus burst into laughter. She leapt down, landing before him, and Sorin’s arm came around to rest casually on her hip. “What exactly are you doing here?” Sorin asked, not even trying to hide the bite of annoyance to his tone.

“Checking on my prince, of course,” Cyrus answered, trying and utterly failing to act innocent.

Sorin sighed as he pressed a kiss to her temple and a fire portal appeared before them. He nudged her forward, but Scarlett dug in her heels. “Wait. That’s it?”

Sorin raised a brow in question. “What do you mean?”

“He didn’t even give you a reason as to why he’s up here,” Scarlett replied, glaring at Cyrus.

Cyrus's own brows rose in surprise. “But I did. I was checking on my prince.”

“Mhmm.” Scarlett crossed her arms.

“Come, Scarlett,” Sorin urged, again nudging her towards the waiting portal.

“He must have neededsomethingto come all the way up here,” she protested.

Cyrus exchanged a look with Sorin, and Scarlett glanced back and forth between them. The realization drove any lingering desire from her as she stepped out of Sorin’s reach. “He actuallywaschecking on you?”

“As we have already established, Cyrus is a busybody,” Sorin said, stepping towards her and reclaiming the space she had put between them.

She whirled on the Second. “You don’t trust me alone with him? You are aware we share chambers, right? That we sleep in thesame damn bed?”

Cyrus's face hardened slightly. “I am well aware of your sleeping arrangements, Darling,” he drawled. “I am also well aware of your extreme lack of control when it comes to your power and your delightful temper. So, yes, I am not entirely happy with the idea that theprinceis up here,isolated from everyone, teaching you to try to control your unknown well of magic.”

An icy smirk curled up her lips.

“You find this amusing?” Cyrus asked, his brows rising once more in surprise.

“No, Darling. What I find amusing is that your fear is of my magic.” A tendril of her shadows curled towards him and slid along his jaw like a finger. She walked towards the fire portal as she said over her shoulder, “My magic should be the least of your concerns.”

CHAPTER 13

SCARLETT

Scarlett stood in front of the mirror. The teal color of her dress was so dark it was almost black. There was silver along the bottom that faded as it moved up the skirts. The sleeves and bodice were fitted, leaving an open back and deep plunging neckline. Her mask was a beaded beauty of silver and teal. Camilla had curled her hair and pinned it half up, leaving the rest to cascade down over her shoulders. Then she had twisted tiny black orchids into her hair.

Scarlett stared at her pointed ears and longer fingers and limbs. She examined her elongated canines. Her shadows were slight and loose around her. She had been here three weeks, and each day she fell more and more in love with all of it. She actually looked forward to getting out of bed for the first time in a long time. She looked forward to bantering with Cyrus. She loved the food and exploring the palace library. She didn’t even mind her magic lessons, despite the frustration they wrought.

She hadn’t seen much of Callan except at the lunch meetings they had a few times a week. Sorin was making an effort to include him as much as he could, and Scarlett was content to let Sorin handle things. She’d meant what she said. She had no desire to rule.She was enjoying not having expectations and demands shoved on her.

She adjusted the mask on her face. She hadn’t been lying either when she’d told Sorin she didn’t want to sit alone all night in his rooms. She might not believe in the Fates or Samhain legends, but she certainly believed in the thoughts and nightmares that would plague her were she left alone for an entire evening. She studied her image another moment and was about to turn and leave when she found herself staring into dark eyes.

Scarlett whirled around, but there was no one behind her. When she turned back to the mirror, Mikale’s image remained, staring back at her, an amused expression on his face.