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“Keep the lock safe, and do not touch your power again,” Sorin growled at her.

And as Sorin erupted with power, she knew she hadn’t been too far off that night. Saylah had said she may as well be a god in this world, and Scarlett was staring at another. He may as well have been flames himself with the way the fire moved with him. He kept a wall of flame around her, while he sent fire into the sky. The seraphs that made it to the ground met his short swords wrapped in wildfire. And this? This was the general who had trained her in Baylorin. This was the Fire Prince that made his Court feared. This was what she’d needed him to know he could harness.

He moved faster than Scarlett could track. Whips of fire wrapped around wings and throats, taking seraphs to their knees before his blades went through their chests. He left the bodies burning in his wake as embers trailed behind him. A few of the seraphs, those who also had fire gifts, made it to him. She felt each hit Sorin took, her grip on the lock tightening as she forced herself to stay put. She couldn’t touch her magic. Not yet.

Until her name being bellowed from the sky changed everything.

Cassius was there, diving for her. Panic was clear on his face, even from this far away. Before she could argue, he was scooping her off the ground and hauling her up.

“No!” she cried. “Go back! We can’t leave him there!”

“Scarlett, Alaric is here,” Cassius hissed.

“I know! We’re coming! Go back! Now!” she commanded, trying to wrestle out of his hold without dropping the lock.

“He has Cyrus and Kailia atop the cliffs, Scarlett,” Cassius snarled.

She went utterly still. Because Sorin was fighting alone, but Alaric had Cyrus and Kailia. And she had the one thing that would convince him to let them go.

Sorin…

What is going on?he demanded down the bond. He was breathless, even in her mind.

Alaric has Cyrus and Kailia atop the cliffs.

There was a long pause where he said nothing, and then,I will come for you.

She felt him take another hit to his side, a piercing, sharp strike that had her screaming his name as Cassius continued to haul her higher up the cliff-side.

Listen to me, Scarlett,came a snarled order down the bond.I will come for you. Do you understand? We follow the plan. Go do what needs to be done, and I will come for you.

I love you.

All the way through the darkness. He does not own you, Scarlett. Remember who gets to consume you. It is not him.

Cassius must have felt the shift in her demeanor, because his bruising grip on her lessened as he landed on the hidden balcony where Rayner was waiting. Ashes were drifting around him, and his eyes were moving mildly, not the violent swirl they usually were.

“Do you have enough left to get out?” she asked.

Rayner nodded, eyeing her closely. “Where is Sorin?”

“He will come. He’s following the plan. Briar got out.”

His brows rose. “You found him?”

She nodded. “Tell me what is happening.”

“Cyrus and I went to the top when we got Rayner’s signal,” Cassius said. “But Alaric somehow knew we were coming. They had a trap set for Rayner, but they caught Kailia instead. And Cyrus…” He clenched his jaw, a muscle ticking. “He shoved me out of the way and took an arrow to the shoulder. Whatever it was, it’s stifling his magic.”

“And he demanded to speak with me?” Scarlett asked, tossing the lock to Rayner as she allowed shadows to coat her hands like gloves. They seemed to shudder at finally being fully let out, and she gritted her teeth with the effort of holding them back.

Just a little longer.

“Keep that hidden,” she said to Rayner, the lock a lifeless grey sphere once more. “I do not care who falls today. I do not care if everyone lies dead around us. I do not care if Alaric has me and does not release me. Keep it hidden and get it out of here. Take it to Cethin and no one else.”

His eyes went wide. “Scarlett—”

She shook her head. “I would tell you to leave now, but he will be suspicious if you do not appear with me.”