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Sorin chanced a glance up at her and found her staring straight at him. Her crown of shadows and starfire sat atop her head, that same wicked grin in place.

And he grinned back as a crown of flames flared above him.

“Drop your shield, Rayner,” he ordered.

“Sorin—”

“Do it.”

His ashes disappeared, letting Sorin clearly see the beings remaining. He yanked on the flames, and he saw her stumble a bit before she tipped her head back and laughed again. She let him have control of the shadowfire, giving him free rein of her shadows, and as he dragged it around and finished off the few remaining beings, she spun atop her stage of frozen starfire, dancing to a dark song only she could hear.

His breathing was ragged as the last being was burned among shadow and fire. The air was filled with ash that did not belong to Rayner. It drifted down to the ground like gently falling snow, and Scarlett was floating amongst it all atop one of her frozen flames. She was still ten feet in the air when she leapt from the ice and into his arms.

“Fucking hell,” Rayner muttered when Sorin caught her with a bark of laughter that mixed with her own. They were covered in a fine layer of ash, but her mouth crashed into his. Her legs wound around his waist, and she was pure darkness as her tongue met with his.

You planned this,he said down the bond.

She pulled back, unable to hide her smirk.You wouldn’t let me near when you were using your power. You left me no choice, really.

How did you know it would work?

She shrugged.I didn’t, but I had a backup plan.

His brow arched as he slowly lowered her to the ground.

We’ll save it for another time,she said with a wink.Wouldn’t want you to get bored.

Sorin shook his head in awed disbelief, but he couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he tugged her back to him and kissed her deeply.

“Why didn’t you do that in the crevice?” Rayner asked when they finally broke apart.

“I didn’t know how much space we would need in case things got out of control,” she answered. “And I wanted to know if combining our power would work on these beings. I could kill the other creatures on my own.”

“It is why you didn’t take more power when I tried to fill your reserves,” Sorin said as Scarlett nudged one of the golden swords with her boot.

She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “I knew you’d only access it around me if my life was in danger.”

Cunning, wicked goddess, he sent down the bond, feeling her desire spike at the words.

“That was…” Rayner trailed off, still surveying the destruction they’d wrought. Finally, his grey eyes settled back on them. “The two of you can bring this world to its knees.”

“This world doesn’t have to worry,” Scarlett said darkly. “Only those who should have never come here.”

Chapter20

Cyrus

Cyrus refilled his glass with liquor after knocking back the first. He sipped on the second, aimlessly pacing back and forth in his bedchamber. This was the longest he’d been awake at one time since returning. He’d bathed and cleaned up a bit, ate some food, and now here he was. Just being.

He wished he were still sleeping.

In sleep, he couldn’t dwell on the promises he’d made and the vows he’d broken.

Then again, in sleep, his nightmares found him more easily. The memories the Sorceress had altered played on repeat, one after another. He suspected it was her, making his life a living hell from thousands of miles away. Reminding him she was waiting for him to fulfill his bargain with her. It had to be her because the last memory, the final nightmare that always jolted him awake, was the one memory she’d altered of Cassius. Cyrus knew it for the threat it was. If he failed in this, she would take every memory he’d sacrificed so much to save and ruin him.

He knocked back the liquor again, his fist clenching around the glass so tightly it was a miracle it didn’t shatter.

Someone had cleaned up the glass on the bathing room floor. It had been gone when he’d awoke the first time. A new mirror had not appeared yet, and he was secretly grateful for that. Although, he had a feeling the male who rarely left his rooms was responsible for both cleaning up his mess and making sure he couldn’t see the mess he’d become.