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“They can clearly see that, although Eliza might take that title this evening,” she said with a small smile, her eyes snagging on the female dancing with Callan on the other side of the hall.

“No, she doesn’t,” Sorin said, his voice low and husky.

Her eyes went back to his, where she found him looking at her like she was the only person in the room. She felt her cheeks flush and was suddenly glad for the mask, but she held his gaze. They said nothing for the rest of the dance, and their eyes did not leave each other. The world melted away, as though it were just them. The only two stars in the sky.

When the song ended, she went onto her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “When you are done with your princely duties this evening, come find me.” She let her shadows curl around his ear as she stepped from him, turning to make her way to the doors.

She was nearly to them when Cyrus fell into step beside her. “Leaving so early?”

“Stay, Cyrus. Enjoy yourself. As I’ve repeatedly told your prince, I do not need a keeper,” she replied, the guards opening a door for her.

“Perhaps not, but I’d love to keep you company,” he said coyly, his tone becoming sensuous and flirty, attempting to lighten her mood as he followed her through the doors.

She paused in the hallway, looking over her shoulder at him. She smiled, a cruel thing, as her shadows darkened around her. She sent them swirling to him,and the guards at the doors shrank back, looking to Cyrus for orders. “Show me your darkness, and I’ll show you mine, Darling.”

She saw Sorin emerge from the doors, Eliza and Rayner coming up behind him a moment later, but Cyrus held up a hand to halt him. Sorin signaled the guards to close the doors, which they promptly did. Cyrus stepped farther into her shadows, flames wreathing his own wrists and winding through his hair, swirling with her shadows. “Darling, my darkness was left in a clearing, exacting revenge for my love, who was slaughtered in front of me. I can certainly dredge it back up if that’s what you desire, but I find it much more fitting to unleash it on my actual enemies.” Scarlett saw the others stiffen. Her own shadows seemed to freeze in place. He took another step towards her. “We all have shadows, Scarlett. We all have nightmares. We all have regrets. We all have darkness. You get to decide how much control that darkness gets over you.”

Scarlett held his eyes. “What was her name?” she asked softly.

“Thia.” The pain that flashed across his face was heart-wrenching.

“How?”

She could tell he understood the question. Not how did she die, but how did he continue to laugh? How did he continue to put one foot in front of the other? How did he not let the darkness win?

“Time. It’s hard to see a way out,” he said softly. “Most do not understand that the darkness can be beautiful, but you don’t learn that until you’ve come to understand that the darkness is not something to defeat but something to befriend. All stars are born in the dark, Scarlett. The darkness allows us to see them. You decide if they are worth fighting for.”

Her shadows swirled, and Cyrus let his flames mingle with them. She held his gaze as she said quietly, tears glimmering in her eyes, “My mother was slaughtered in front of me when I was nine. Slowly. I hear her screams of pain in my sleep, but they get overshadowed by the constant replaying of when I was forced to kill my sister by plunging a dagger into her heart to save a little girl after I was raped in exchange for the freedom of my family.”

“Holy fuck,” she heard Eliza mutter in horror.

“Mikale visited me tonight, before the feast, touching me. His hands roaming where they willed. He told me that if I figured out who had my mother killed, I would figure out who is behind the attacks on my people in Baylorin. I either feel nothing at all or I feel everything all at once, and I can’t decide if it’s truly worth it any more, Cyrus. I sometimes don’t believe I will find my way back.”

Sorin began striding to her in an instant, but Cyrus gripped her hands first and replied, “I’ll let you in on a secret, Darling. The stars are always worth fighting for.”

A fire portal burst to life behind her. Sorin scooped her into his arms and stepped through.

CHAPTER 15

CALLAN

Callan watched the Prince of Fire finally coax a small smile from Scarlett and tug her closer to him. He watched her hold his gaze, as if there were no one else in the entire godsdamned world.

“You need to let her find her way, Princeling,” Eliza said, clearly noting where his attention still lay.

“What?” he asked, pulling his gaze from Sorin and Scarlett to the female he was dancing with.

“She is sorting through a lot of new information right now. You need to let her do so.”

“You mean I need to lethimhelp her sort through it all.”

“Sorin. Cyrus. Prince Briar. The cook. The shop clerk in the city.” Eliza shrugged. “Whomever she turns to, not whomever shoves themselves into her path every chance they get.” She gave him a pointed look. “You could have just danced with her, but instead you pushed her. She will come to you. When she is ready. She cares too much about you to just walk away.” The song ended, and Eliza stepped from him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but her attention snagged on the entrance doors. Callan followed her gaze to see Cyrus and Scarlett walk through the doors.A moment later, a flash of shadows.

A flame had Eliza reaching up and snagging a note from it. Her lips formed a thin line, and she muttered a curse under her breath. She had pulled a lethal-looking hairpin from her hair as she incinerated the note and strode quickly for the doors. Rayner was already there as Sorin casually walked through, following Cyrus and Scarlett. Whatever had happened would apparently take all five of them to deal with it.

Callan turned and walked in the opposite direction, out through the mezzanine doors. Stone steps led from the balcony and wound down to a path that led to the main gates of the Fiera Palace. He found himself striding quickly down the path. He had been to the city with Finn and Sloan a few times and could find his way, even if it was dark. He would find a tavern and drink himself into oblivion for the night.

“Maybe we shouldn’t leave the palace at night,” Finn suggested, falling into step beside him, Sloan on his right.