Page 95

SORIN

Sorin was no longer standing before the Sorceress’s cell but in his old bedroom in the Baylorin apartment. Callan had been right. This was the only place she had ever felt safe in the mortal kingdoms. His apartment. With him.

Sorin turned to Briar and was about to speak when he realized all was not quiet here. He froze as sound drifted into the room. Not sound.Music.Piano music. On Fae silent feet, he went to the doorway leading out to the main room and braced himself against the door frame, trying to steady his breathing. Briar came up behind him and stilled.

Scarlett sat at the piano playing with all the passion and abandon Sorin had seen those months ago in this same place. She had been a wraith then. A hollow shell, lost in her own dark hell. Her music then had been sadness and sorrow, and today it seemed no different.

But it was.

There was a fragile hope as she moved along those keys, her eyes closed, and her entire body feeling every single note. Her silver hair flowed around her as she moved her fingers over the keys of ebony and ivory.

When she came to the end of one of her songs, he nodded to Briar and pushed off the doorway.

“Be swift, Sorin,” he whispered. “We do not have magic here, and we do not know how or when the Sorceress’s enchantment will bring us back.”

Sorin nodded and began walking towards Scarlett, Briar closing the door behind him until it was only open a crack. Sorin added extra force to his steps to make sure she heard him as he approached, unsure if she knew he had been standing there listening. He had expected her to immediately stop playing, but she opened her eyes, hardly glancing at him. She gave him a sad smile and continued to play, not missing a single note. In fact, she scooted down the bench a little ways, making room for him to sit.

Tentatively, he sat beside her, and her eyes closed once more. He could see her eyes were puffy, and her face was splotchy from crying, but tears no longer wet her cheeks. She inhaled deeply and then began a new song. She began a piece so moving Sorin could hardly breathe. It sounded ancient and young all at once. A movement of notes so intricate and precise with no room for error. The piece seemed as if it held every emotion possible— joy and grief, sorrow and hope, fear and courage, dark and light. He watched as those small delicate fingers flew over the keys, then he looked at Scarlett. Silent sobs were shaking her shoulders, and yet she somehow managed not to miss a beat, and he knew in that moment exactly which song she was playing.

The song crescendoed as it reached the end, as if in triumph over whatever the composer had been battling. The final notes rang in the empty room, and Scarlett was breathing hard, her fingers still pressing down on the final chords. He looked down to see her hands trembling slightly.

After nearly a minute, she whispered, her breath shaky, “That was the piece that…” Her voice caught.

“I know what piece that was, Scarlett,” he replied gently, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her.

“You remember?” she asked in surprise.

“It is the piece that made you want to learn to play. The piece you heard the first time your mother took you to the Theater District.”Some of the tension in her body seemed to relax a bit at his words.

“You came for me,” she whispered, her eyes fixed down on the keys. “I… I don’t know how I got here. I didn’t know how I would get back to you, but… I was hoping you would. Come for me, I mean.”

“I will always come for you,” he said carefully.

“I told myself…” She swallowed, brushing her fingers along the smooth ivory, not playing any notes, but as if relishing the feel of them under her fingertips. “I told myself that if you came for me, I would play that song. That even though you have the power to utterly destroy me, I would still give you this piece of my soul. I told myself that—” Her voice cracked again before she swallowed thickly and went on. “I told myself that even if you did not want it, there is still no one else I want to share it with. I do not care if that makes me stupid or naïve, but even after everything you said to me, I still want you to be that person for me. I still choose you.”

He felt wetness on his own face. “I am honored, Love. I am honored and humbled that you still offer me something I do not deserve.”

Her eyes finally met his. They were the palest blue as she looked at him. “You deserve happiness, Sorin. You deserve love and joy and hope and happiness. You deserve it as much as I do.”

Slowly, to allow her time to refuse, he brought his hand to cup her cheek. “I am so, so sorry, Scarlett. You are my equal in every way. You are my mirror.” He felt her lean ever so slightly into his touch. “You are not a punishment. You are not a burden. You are the brightest star in my darkest of skies. You are my necessity.”

She held his stare as she said, “You know every part of my soul, Sorin. You’ve seen every dark corner and every cracked crevice, and you have not once balked. You have not once looked away. You have sat in the pits of hell beside me, telling me the light still existed even though I could not see it. You have rescued me from the river in every way that counts. The least I can do is show you that I am not all darkness.”

“I have always known you were more light than dark, Scarlett,” he said softly.

“You have. Even when I have not,” she replied. “But you do not get all of me, if I do not get all of you. You do not get to shut me out. You do not get to tell me to leave. There does not get to be a you and a me. There must be a you and me.”

“I am yours, and you are mine,” he whispered, not breaking her gaze.

She leaned forward then, stretching up to press a light kiss to his cheek. Her soft lips on his skin sent heat rushing through his veins despite his lack of magic here. She pulled back, stopping inches from his face, their breath mingling. He was going to kiss her. He wasn’t going to be able to stop himself. His last bit of self-control was dissolving as she said softly, “I meant what I said on the beach last summer, Sorin. I hope you find your twin flame some day, but until then, I claim you.”

“What?” he started, jerking back from her.

She smiled softly, turning back to the piano, her fingers beginning to play another piece. “Whomever takes you from me shall have to prove she’s worthy of you, Sorin Aditya. Until then, I claim you. As my mirror. As my kindred soul. If you will have me as yours.”

Her mirror. Her kindred soul. The words clanked against his heart, grating down his bones. She seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for his answer as she played a slow ballad along the keys.

“Scarlett,” he said, swallowing. Her fingers stumbled at his tone, and she sucked in a breath. He gently gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning her head to look at him. Dread shone in her eyes, as if she were anticipating him saying no. As if he could ever say no to her. “It would be my greatest joy to have you as such a thing. But there is more that needs to be said on this subject, and here is not the—”