Page 30

Chapter 29

Scarlett

S carlett stepped from the air with Cassius beneath the largest arch of the castle. She knew where Tybalt was waiting, butshe hadn’t been expecting to be the one to accompany Cassius here. Not with how close he and Cyrus had been getting, and certainly not when they’d arrived at the arena to ?nd the two with their lips locked together.

“Cass?” she asked tentatively. “Are you sure you want me here with you?” Instead of Cyrus . She didn’t add it, but he would know that was what she was asking.

“I did not mean to kiss him,” Cassius said, looking past her out at the ravine that separated the castle from the other side. “My magic was just so... out of control, and I knew if I didn’t, I would hurt him, and gods...” He met her gaze, his eyes still red, and pupils vertical. He still had his wings. They’d felt leathery and were almost iridescent when the sun hit them just right. “I would not be able to live with myself if that happened.”

“Oh, Cass,” she said, looping her arm around his and resting her head against his shoulder. “It is okay to want something for yourself. You do not have to justify—”

“I do need to justify it, Scarlett,” he said. “He is working through his own shit, and instead of giving him the time and space to do that, I... ”

“Listened to him? Was there for him in his darkness?”

“Scarlett,” Cassius sighed. But before she could argue further, he said, “Let’s get this over with.”

“Yeah, all right,” she said, unwinding her arm and taking a step back from him. She was looking forward to this as much as he was. Commander Tybalt hadn’t known of Cassius’s existence until a few months ago, so ?ne, she was willing to excuse him for not being there for Cass. But they had been here for ?ve days, and he was only now seeking out his long-lost son?

Her own family discoveries had been pushed to the side after everything that had happened with Mikale. How he had trapped her in that dream, touched her, been about to do more when she’d heard Sorin calling for her, pulling her from that dream like he had a year ago. She’d spent the entire next day wrapped up in him, in their bond. She hadn’t cared about anything else. Not about her new brother, her parents, anything she’d learned lately. It had been just him and her and the calm that came from being in their own little world.

They’d talked some the next day, but more so about Sorin’s waning power levels and what they were going to do about it. Sorin had told her all about how Cethin had dream-walked beyond the Veil, begging Sera?na for help. Then he had told her what the cost of coming back likely was.

They had been sitting on the sofa in their sitting room, -Scarlett wrapped tight in a blanket as she’d listened to him. His face had fallen into his hands, and it was perhaps the first time Scarlett hadever seen him so vulnerable. She’d unwound the blanket fromherself and crawled into his lap, straddling his hips, and taken his face in her hands. Tears had glimmered in his eyes, and she’d leaned in, brushing her lips against his.

“I am so sorry, Love,” he’d whispered against them.

“Sorry for what?”

“I promised you there would always be a you and me.”

“Are you planning on leaving me?” Her head had tilted, a kiss landing on one corner of his mouth.

“Of course not.”

“So there will still be a you and me, even if we do not ?nd an answer.”

“Scarlett, I will not have any magic. You will not be able to take another Source as long as I live.”

“But you will live, Sorin,” she’d interrupted, hands sliding into his dark hair and tilting his head back even more so she could look down at him. “If that is the cost of having you here with me, then we will pay it. I am not in love with you because of your power. I do not love you because a bond requires it of me. I love you because you saved me from myself, Sorin. I love you because you pull me from the river when all I want to do is drown. I love you because you came for me, and I will always come for you. I love you all the way through our darkness, even if you cannot light it up with your ?re any longer.”

There hadn’t been much more talking after that.

“Fuck it. I can’t ?gure out how to make them go away,” Cassius muttered, turning to stride up the steps. Scarlett hadn’t realized he’d been trying to banish his wings.

She snapped out a hand, catching his and pulling him to a stop. She moved up a few steps so she was eye level with him. “Close your eyes. Deep, even breaths.”

“Cyrus tried this,” Cassius said, closing his eyes anyway. “It did not work.”

“Because you have control issues,” she chided.

“ I have control issues? Look in the mirror, Seastar,” he said, his eyes opening back up.

“We both have control issues,” she amended. “It was ingrained in us to always be in control. Alaric made sure of that. But your control and my control are very different. You like to be in control of yourself to make sure everyone else is safe and taken care of. I like to be in control of myself to make sure I do not make everyone else unsafe with my daggers. There’s a difference.”

“By the gods,” Cassius muttered.

“Stop speaking and close your eyes,” she commanded again.

Cassius sighed but did as she ordered, glowing eyes falling closed once more.

“Focus on your breathing. Your magic is as much a part of you as your arm, your leg. You control it just as much as you control your body, but it works best when you let it do what it was made to do,” she said, her voice soothing and coaxing. Her gaze was ?xed on his wings, knowing how much it was going to bother him if he had to meet his father with them still visible. “Picture them gone, and see it in your mind. When that ?lls your vision, reach out and take it.”

It took several minutes after she fell silent to give him time to concentrate, but eventually those wings disappeared. There one moment, gone the next, as if they’d never been there at all. When he opened his eyes, the glow had dimmed, the color and pupil returning to normal. He pulled his patch from his pocket, and suddenly appeared to realize he was still shirtless.

He sighed in resignation, sliding the patch on and grabbing her hand, led her up the steps and into the castle. She took over then, taking him to a small sitting room near the back that looked out at the Nightmist Mountains. She pushed open one of the double doors, stepping through to ?nd Cethin near a window, speaking with another male.

They both looked up when they entered, but her eyes were on the other male. He was tall and had the same brown hair that -Cassius and Razik had but shorter, and his eyes were the same warm, chocolate brown as Cassius’s. He was broad and muscled and appeared no older than Cethin, which suddenly had her wondering if Cassius would go through a Staying like she would or if he would age but slowly like the Witches.

She snuck a glance at Cassius to ?nd his features cold and impassive, his eye ?xed on his father.

“Scarlett,” Cethin said, moving towards her. “This is Commander Tybalt Greybane. Tybalt, my sister, Scarlett Aditya.”

“Princess,” Tybalt said, his head bowing. His voice was deep and gruff, and Cassius’s hand tightened around hers. The ?rst time he had heard his father speak.

“Queen,” she returned brightly, her smile wide and sharp. “Queen of the Western Fae Courts, and this is my Hand-to-the-Queen and Guardian, Cassius Redding.”

“Cassius,” Tybalt repeated, a look of awe settling over his features. He took a step towards them and seemed to falter. “I did not know. I did not know until Ranvir sensed you.”

“That’s what she said,” Cassius said tightly.

“I would have come for you. I would have found a way. I would have... ” He trailed off, staring at Cassius as though he were afraid to blink, afraid he would disappear from his sight.

He did not look like a male who was indifferent about his son. He looked like a male full of regret at not knowing. He looked like a male who was beating himself up over something he had no control over. She knew that look on his face because she had seen it on Cassius’s so many times.

When Cassius didn’t say anything, Tybalt cleared his throat. “I wanted to be here when you arrived. I am sorry I was not.”

“You could not ?nd a way to be here, but you think you would have found a way to get to me across the sea?” Cassius asked coldly.

Tybalt looked taken aback by the comment, but quickly schooled his features, and Scarlett couldn’t help but feel sorry for the male. She knew Cassius’s defenses were up, especially after Hazel, but this all felt so different from that.

“You are a Guardian. You know that when your Ward needs you, you cannot ?ght that call,” Tybalt replied, his shoulders squaring.

“But Razik said you were with Saylah,” Scarlett said, wincing at intruding on the moment.

Tybalt’s gaze cut to her. “I was.”

“You are her Guardian? She is a goddess.”

“I am well aware of what she is,” Tybalt said, irritation ?ickering in his eyes. “I am also well aware that she gave you two the Guardian bond all those years ago.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Scarlett asked.

“Because that means your mother knew of my existence, and, if he is to be believed, did not tell him,” Cassius answered.

Tybalt nodded slowly, his eyes back on his son.

It took everything in Scarlett not to ask the male about her, about how to go and see her. She had questions of her own that needed answering, but this was not her time. It was Cassius’s. She squeezed his hand again, willing to do whatever he needed from her right now.

“Are you Avonleyan then?” Cassius asked.

“No,” Tybalt answered, clasping his hands behind his back. “My mother was mortal, but my father is Sargon.”

“So you are a demigod?” Scarlett asked.

“I am.”

“How did you meet the High Witch?” Cassius asked.

Tybalt blinked at the question before he gestured to some armchairs before a hearth. “That is quite a tale. Can we sit?”

Cassius released her hand, letting her move to a chair ?rst before slowly lowering into one beside her. Tybalt took one directly across from him, while Cethin remained standing near the window.

“When the Wards went up, I was on your continent. We were trying to get all of our people back home safely, but we ran out of time. I still had warriors in a few territories, including the Witch Kingdom. One of them was a male, and you know how the Witches can be about males,” Tybalt said, his eyes rolling slightly as if annoyed. “They get that from the goddesses their powers come from. They never once took a male as a lover.”

“Wait,” Scarlett interjected, tossing Cassius an apologetic look. “The Witches’ gifts came from the Sorceress.”

“Who is a descendant of one of those goddesses,” Tybalt agreed. “The High Witch at that time was no different. She had detained my warrior. I offered myself in exchange.”

“You became a prisoner so that one of your men could be free?” Cassius asked, his grip on the arms of his chair slackening some.

“Of course I did. What honor is there in abandoning your own warriors?” Tybalt answered, and from the ?erceness in his tone, Scarlett knew he believed that wholeheartedly. “I was a captive there for centuries, but they made good use of me. Made me train their covens. How do you think they became so skilled and ruthless? One of the High Witch’s daughters was particularly dedicated. She was always early to training and stayed far later than the others. Her sister wasn’t as skilled and was always annoyed when she would stay late.”

“Hazel,” Scarlett said softly.

Tybalt nodded, clear fondness crossing his features. “She was ?erce and strong. She was a warrior through and through. If I had not known she was a Witch, I would have sworn she was a descendant of Sargon. It was she and I that ?gured out how to catch and harness the grif?ns they now ride. All under the guise of imprisonment, of course. But when she became the High Witch after her mother Faded, I was no longer a prisoner. Just her secret.”

“What happened?” Cassius asked.

“I am bound to Saylah. My Guardian Bond still supersedes all else other than a twin flame bond, and Hazel and I were not that. We were just two warrior souls who found each other on this side of the Veil. Ranvir came for me, delivered a message that they had found a way to get me back inside the Wards. I had to go, but it killed me to leave her.” Tybalt’s gaze darted to the darkened hearth. “I suppose after me, she went back to believing males were useless, only ever wanting one thing. That they become a weakness to be exploited.” He looked back at Cassius. “There was no way for her to tell me of you, but if she could have, I am not entirely sure that she would have done so. The Witches are spiteful enough that she would punish me with such a thing, but I would like to think she is still different from the rest.”

Cassius stared back at his father, and Scarlett was inclined to do the same, even though she had a million questions swirling in her mind. She glanced at her brother who had been silent this entire time. His attention remained ?xed out the window.

Tybalt shifted in his seat. “I understand you learned who I was and who Razik is in a way I did not intend, and for that, I apologize. It was never my intention to keep information from you. I assumed you would have questions, and after all this time... Perhaps it is sel?sh of me, but I wanted to be the one to answer them, to tell you your history. And Razik can be rather dif?cult at times.”

Scarlett snorted. “At times?”

A small smile tilted up on Tybalt’s lips. “Point taken, your Majesty. However, I would be remiss not to come to his defense. Razik has faced his own trials and hardships. We were separated for centuries when I was trapped beyond the Wards, and his mother and father sacri?ced much, including being here to raise him. He has not had an easy life, as I am sure yours was not.”

The pained expression on the male’s face as his attention settled back on Cassius had Scarlett falling back into her chair. He was not what she had expected at all. She had expected a male as arrogant and stand-of?sh as Razik was. A harsh Commander like Lord Tyndell had always been to everyone aside from her and Tava. A male who did not care that he’d sired a son across the sea. But Tybalt... He seemed to truly care.

“I will answer any questions you have,” Tybalt was saying. “As best I can anyway, but I am hoping to also hear tales of your own.”

“The only good memories I have involve the woman—sorry, female— sitting next to me, and very few of those memories are happy ones,” Cassius said.

“Anything you are willing to share, I want to hear,” Tybalt answered. “I understand there is a dinner happening in a few hours, but I will be home for the foreseeable future. I will be around the estate, and I do not wish to have to avoid my son for the sake of avoiding awkwardness. I will, however, do as you wish and will understand if you wish to relocate to the castle or another manor.”

“You want us out?” Cassius asked.

“By the gods, no,” Tybalt said, bolting forward in his chair. “That estate is your home, Cassius. You will always have a room there. I told Magdalena to prepare a suite for you in the private wing the moment Ranvir reported of you to me. All I am saying is if you need time, I understand. I do not want to do anything to make you unduly uncomfortable.”

“Scarlett, can I show you more of the castle?” Cethin asked suddenly. “This is, after all, your home, just as the estate is his.”

“Oh, I... ” She bit her bottom lip, looking at Cassius. She didn’t want to leave him. She was here for him, but he already looked far more relaxed than he ever was when Hazel was around.

“It is ?ne, Seastar,” Cassius said. “I think... this will be ?ne.”

“If you need me—” She paused as she got to her feet. “Actually, I do not know how you would send a message.”

“The same way your husband does,” Tybalt said with a smile a moment before there was a burst of dark ?ames near her head.

She reached up, plucking the parchment from the center and opening it to read:

Thank you.

She smiled softly, nodding once. Squeezing Cassius’s shoulder as she passed, she followed Cethin from the room.

As her brother pulled the door closed quietly behind them, he asked, “Is Sorin going to be upset that you are with me by yourself?”

“Probably,” Scarlett said with a shrug. “He will get over it.”

Cethin shook his head, guiding her to a set of stairs. “I feel con?icted at the moment, wanting this time with you while -simultaneously understanding how he is going to feel when he learns of this.”

“Because you are just as much of an overbearing ass?”

“Says the female who was literally going to burn the world to ashes when her mate had a foot beyond the Veil,” Cethin said, a teasing note to his voice. “You are as overbearing and possessive as we are, Star?re.”

“I am not,” she scoffed, but yeah, she could see that she supposed. “Where are we going?” she asked when he motioned down a long corridor.

“I thought I would show you your chambers. Should you ever wish to stay here,” Cethin said.

He stopped at the end of the corridor in front of two large double doors. The wood was etched with silver stars and ?ames. “The entire ?oor above this is the king’s private ?oor, but this entire wing is for the princess.”

He pushed the doors open, and Scarlett stepped in and stilled, her mouth falling open. This was a receiving room, beautifully decorated in soft greys and a blue so dark it was nearly black. Silver accents were scattered throughout and when she moved beyond into the sitting room, it was all warmth and comfort and casual ease. Elegant and somehow simple all at the same time. Two sofas faced each other in front of a hearth, a set of four armchairs off to a side with a low table between them. Through another doorway she glimpsed a dining table.

“This is stunning,” she said, ?nally ?nding her voice as she moved further into the room.

“The staff did excellent work,” he agreed. “I do not know you well, so I had to guess on what you would prefer.”

“It is wonderful, Cethin,” she assured him, moving over to a bookshelf to look at the titles.

“There is a small washroom off this room,” he said, then pointed through a doorway in the back. “There are two bedrooms and a bathing room down that small hallway along with the master chambers and a private bath at the end.”

He was quiet, letting her explore the space, and when she came back out from the bedrooms, he was lounging in an armchair. He stood when she entered the sitting room. “Anything you would like changed or added?”

“No, Cethin,” she said with a huff of disbelief. “It is beautiful and perfect and completely unnecessary.”

“Of course it was necessary. You are the princess of this kingdom,” he replied. “I do not know if you and Sorin have discussed your plans for when this is all over, but as Tybalt said to Cassius, you will always have a place here.”

“We have not discussed the future much,” Scarlett admitted. “There are so many pressing things in the present that have demanded our attention. Surviving this war. Sorin’s gifts. What to do about everything we have learned.”

She sank into one of the grey armchairs, Cethin lowering back to his. “How do you feel about everything you have learned?”

Scarlett propped her head on her hand. “I have answers, but so many more questions,” she admitted. “Thank you for not throwing it all at me at once. For letting me ask and process at my own pace.”

“I will tell you now I will not be able to answer all of your -questions,” Cethin said. “Saylah may be our mother, but she is still a goddess. She can be as uncaring and cold as the rest of them, even if she does love us in her own way.”

“That is not even remotely comforting.”

“I was not trying to comfort you. I was being upfront and honest. Qualities I know you value,” he replied, his posture mirroring hers.

“I do,” she agreed. “I have had enough secrets about myself kept from me.”

“From my understanding, that was to protect you, despite my efforts to convince her otherwise when I learned of you.”

“You can visit her?” Scarlett asked, sitting up straighter.

“Not whenever I wish. Twice a year. When she can ?ll my reserves,” Cethin said. “The last time I saw her was right before you became bonded with Shirina. It took much of my magic to stay with you that long and see that through. Although she did exhaust herself by lending me more to go bargain with Sera?na and Arius on her behalf. Without her, he would not be here, Scarlett. Remember that when you do ?nally get the answers you seek from her.”

“And when will that be?”

“When her reserves have re?lled enough.”

“Vague as usual.”

Cethin winced slightly. “Not intentionally. I swear, Scarlett.”

She hummed in response, her eyes falling to the thread she was twirling between her thumb and fore?nger. “Why haven’t I seen Shirina since coming here? I haven’t seen any of the spirit animals since Altaria.”

“They rest and prepare for war like the rest of us,” Cethin answered.

“They will ?ght with us?”

“As much as they can, yes. But they are separated from their true bonds and thus are weakened.”

“The gods and goddesses?”

“Yes, they became trapped here when the Wards went up. The Sorceress’s doing,” Cethin explained.

“Other than Saylah, you mean?”

A sad smile formed on Cethin’s lips. “Saylah severed her bond with Shirina to make sure you could be bonded to her, to help protect you.”

Scarlett felt the shock of that statement ripple through her. “Why would she do that?”

“Whatever else you may learn while here, remember that she does care, Star?re. In her own way, our mother still seeks to protect us, no matter the cost.”

It was an hour before dinner when Scarlett and Cassius were walking down the hall back at the estate, each weighed down with their own thoughts after more family time than either of them had ever experienced in their lives. They each went to their own doors, but they both paused when they heard laughter coming from Cyrus’s room. Sorin’s laugh to be exact.

“What the... ?” she murmured, abandoning her door and moving to Cyrus’s, Cassius right behind her.

She didn’t bother knocking, pushing the door open to ?nd Sorin and Cyrus seated at the small table along the wall. Silver and gold marks were scattered across the table, playing cards forgotten in a pile on the ?oor.

“Hey, Love,” Sorin said, a huge grin on his face. “You look pretty.” Her brow furrowed. “What is wrong with you?”

Cyrus laughed, raising a glass to her in a cheers motion. “He likes you. What is he supposed to say?”

She had nothing to say because she had no idea what was going on here.

Cassius, however, seemed to have a pretty good idea. “Did you take my mugweed?”

Cyrus sat up a little straighter. “Do you have some you’ve been keeping from me?”

“You know I have some for my leg when it gets too bad,” Cassius said, his eye narrowing.

“Mugweed,” Scarlett repeated. “Like the plant people smoke?” Cassius nodded, eyeing the males warily.

“Sorin!” she admonished, whirling back to face him. “We have dinner in an hour. With my brother and our Court and everyone else, and you two are... ” She waved a hand at their current state, words failing her.

“We’re relaxed and ?ne, Darling,” Cyrus drawled lazily.

“This is all your doing.” She glared angrily at the Fire Court Second. Cyrus just laughed. “It’s not though. He brought it to me.”

“I did,” Sorin said matter-of-factly.

And Scarlett didn’t know what to do or think. Sorin Aditya, responsible and steadfast Prince of the Fire Court, sitting here high on mugweed before dinner with a foreign kingdom.

For the love of Arius , Sorin, she sighed down the bond.

“Did you tell her about the Tyndells?” Cyrus asked.

“What about them?” she demanded, turning to Cassius.

Cassius pushed out an exasperated breath. “We went to the castle library earlier today, and we found a book of mortal bloodlines. There is a picture in there of the last Queen of Rydeon. She looks like Tava and Drake’s mother.”

“She is their mother,” Cyrus cut in.

“She cannot be,” Cassius gritted out.

“You went to a library without me?” Scarlett asked in outrage.

“I just told you that Drake and Tava are likely related to Rydeon royalty, and that is the ?rst thing you say?” Cassius asked in disbelief. “Are you sure you didn’t smoke any mugweed while you were off with Cethin?”

“What?” Sorin demanded, pushing to his feet, his eyes instantly darkening. “You were with him by yourself?”

Scarlett glared up at Cassius. “Yes, Sorin,” she answered. “Cassius needed some time alone with his daddy.”

“Fuck off,” Cassius snapped.

“You deserve it for telling him that,” Scarlett retorted.

“Wait. You left Cassius alone with his father that he just met? What the fuck, Scarlett?” Cyrus barked, now on his feet and glowering down at her.

“Oh my gods,” she moaned, dragging a hand down her face. She turned back to Cassius. “This is your fault.”

“Can we focus on what is actually important here?” Cassius asked.

“Which is what? The fact that Sorin and Cyrus are apparently smoking mugweed while we were being emotionally pummeled?”

Sorin’s brows knitted together, worry creeping across his features. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she snapped.

“Psh,” Cyrus said, waving him off. “She’s just mad we didn’t save any mugweed for her.”

“Of course I am upset about that,” Scarlett said. “But that is not the point here.”

“No,” Cassius said, his voice rising to be heard over the squabbling. “The point is that Drake is likely the heir to the Rydeon Kingdom, even if Queen Octavia was his aunt. They are likely the closest living relatives of King Dalton.”

“That is not the—” She grabbed Cassius’s forearm, gripping tightly, her nails digging in. “Drake is the rightful heir to the Rydeon throne?”

“We cannot know for certain, but it would seem that way,” Cassius said slowly. “If, by some chance of the Fates, they are direct descendants of Dalton and Octavia, he would be the prince. If Octavia is of another relation, most likely an aunt, he would still likely be the next in line.”

“Callan in Windonelle. Hale in Toreall. Drake in Rydeon,” she breathed. “A mortal king for each of the mortal thrones.”

“Yes. I suppose that would be the case,” Cassius said.

She turned back to Cyrus, a grin spreading across her face. “Darling, I expect a very nice summer solstice gift for what I am about to give you.”

“Darling, your twin ?ame is right here,” Cyrus said slyly with a wink. Sorin immediately reached out and punched him in the arm.

“Jackass.”

Scarlett snapped her ?ngers twice in their faces. “Can you two focus for two seconds?”

“Literally no,” Cyrus answered. “Why do you think the cards are on the ?oor?”

She gave a frustrated growl, turning to leave the room. Before she left, she looked over her shoulder and said, “Fine. When I go to take down the wards around the mortal lands, you two can stay here and enjoy your mugweed.”

“What?” Cyrus said, his face falling slack at the same time that Sorin yelled, “Scarlett!”

She shut the door in their faces and looked up at Cassius. “You need to work with Razik and get that magic under control. We’re going to make a move against Alaric.”

“There is no way they are going to let you go without them,” Cassius replied, the door ?ying open behind them, Cyrus and Sorin practically falling out of the doorway. They were both demanding explanations, but she ignored them.

“Show me this book you found,” she said to Cassius, following him across the hall and into his room. Her shadows shoved Cyrus and Sorin back so she could shut the door, but not before she said, “Next time, save some for me, you pricks.”