Page 3 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

“And you do not know where she went?” Sorin repeated, memories of the last time she had disappeared flooding up. When Alaric had been holding her prisoner in Baylorin. When it had taken them weeks to get to her.

When she hadn’t been the same as when she’d left.

“Kailia has been searching—”

“You said that already.”

Cethin tried to hide his grimace. He brought a hand up as if to rake it through his hair again before he rubbed the back of his neck instead. “I have …an idea of where she likely went.”

“Spit it out, Sutara,” Sorin snapped, any measure of respect and decorum between the two kings gone. This was not two rulers discussing policy. This was brother-in-laws discussing where the fuck his wife and Cethin’s sister had gone to.

“She went to Saylah.”

Sorin lurched forward a step. “Why do you think that?”

“She kept saying that she makes her own fate,” Cethin said, his gaze fixing on the flickering hearth.

“I begged her not to go. I begged her to wait until I could come and get you, but she …” Cethin sank down onto the sofa.

“I have seen her broken, Sorin. I have seen her hopeless and broken in her dreams. I have seen her angry with you. With me. With the world. I have never seen her like that.”

“You do not know her, Cethin,” Sorin retorted.

“I know you wish you did, but you do not know her. You lured her here, threw a bunch of family history at her, placed demands upon her, and then expected what? That she would fall in line and follow the plans you have? Plans that you have not entirely shared with us, I might add.”

Cethin was quiet for a long moment, hands clasped loosely in front of him.

There was a thread of defeat in his tone when he said, “I thought she would burn the world down when you nearly died, and maybe she would have, but this was not that. She was in all black. She was eerily calm. She did not even sound like herself. Her shadows … My darkness is different. It writhes and kills and strains against my control at all times.” His eyes slid to Sorin.

Silver irises that matched Scarlett’s. “My darkness does not sing to me like hers does.”

“Her darkness loves her, and she has learned to love it in return.”

“She will not burn the world to nothing, Sorin. The way she moved? How she spoke? What I felt emanating from her? She will bring the beings who seek to use her to their knees, and then she will take whatever she wants.”

But Sorin got caught on the words ‘seek to use her.’

“Who?” he demanded, his tone going as cold as he felt. “Who wants to use her? And for what purpose?”

“We cannot go to the Shira Forest of our own volition, but she did,” Cethin replied as if the statement answered the question. “Saylah will not like this.”

Sorin could hear the dread in his voice, and he didn’t know how to react to it.

“Saylah is her mother,” he said. “She has not seen her since she was five. One would think she would be happy to see her. Why do you sound anxious about this meeting? Frankly, it is one that should have happened as soon as we arrived here.”

“She is a goddess,” Cethin said, dragging a hand down his face this time. “She is a goddess first and a mother second. She is not used to being disobeyed. She has her own plans, her own ends to meet, and Scarlett going there before she is summoned is not part of those plans.”

“I think you better start explaining these plans of hers that involve my wife,” Sorin said, his tone going dark and steely.

“I do not know them all. She confides in no one. Not since the last Fae Queen died.”

“Talwyn lives.”

“She is not one of the original queens. Saylah does not care for the daughter of Henna.”

“But you know some of Saylah’s plans?” Sorin pushed.

“I know that the fate of not only my own kingdom but this entire realm depends on Scarlett,” Cethin answered.

“Why? Why would she place that kind of burden on Scarlett without preparing her for any of it?”

“It is my understanding that Eliné was to prepare her for her destiny. Why do you think she was raised in the Black Syndicate? Eliné knew exactly what she was doing when she had her trained to take life. Whether or not she knew the master she was entrusted to was a Maraan, I do not know. Saylah has never divulged that information to me,” Cethin said.

“She was a godsdamn child ,” Sorin seethed. He knew if he’d still had his magic there would be embers in his vision and flames winding around his arms. “In the life of a Fae, of an Avonleyan—fuck, in the life of a god —she is still a child.”

“You think I do not know that?” Cethin snapped, getting back to his feet. “I am older than you are, Fae King.”

“And yet you could not solve the problems of your own kingdom without placing the burden on someone who has scarcely lived,” Sorin spat in derision. “She has sacrificed more than you ever will.”

Darkness exploded out of Cethin, stinging cuts welling with blood instantly where it touched Sorin’s skin. He brought up an arm to protect his face. There was nothing he could do except stand there and allow the magic to have its way. It was not as if he could shield against it.

But there was a shield surrounding him. One of ashes and smoke.

Sorin lowered his arm a fraction to find Rayner at his side, his hands raised and ashes pouring out of them.

His role of personal guard had been ingrained in him in the Southern Islands.

He’d been employed by Sorin’s father off and on before Sorin was born and even a few times when Sorin was a child.

That was before Rayner had gone back to seek his revenge.

It was how Sorin had known of him to seek him out when he was having issues with a thief in the Fire Court.

Rayner’s jaw was tense as he worked to shield against Cethin’s magic.

“What the fuck is going on?” Rayner gritted out.

“We are having a disagreement.”

“No shit,” the Ash Rider muttered.

“How did you know to come here?” Sorin asked.

“Scarlett sent me a fire message in the night.”

Sorin jerked his head in his direction. “What?”

“She said she was going to see someone and wasn’t sure when she’d be back, but she asked that I watch out for you as you adjust to being without your magic.”

Sorin blinked, reaching to rub at his eyes. The smoke and ashes swirling around him were causing his eyes to water and itch. Now he’d made it worse by rubbing them, and they burned.

“But I was on my way to speak with you anyway,” Rayner continued. Then his voice dropped so low Sorin could only catch bits and pieces of what he was saying without his Fae hearing. “I …following Queen …like you … We need …discuss …hunts in the night.”

“When Cethin is gone,” Sorin gritted out, raising his hand to swipe it down his face again before stopping himself at the last second.

Where the fuck was Scarlett?

It was another few seconds before he saw the tension ease on Rayner’s face. Cethin was clearly getting himself under control, and a moment later, Rayner lowered the shield. Smoke still swirled lightly around them though.

“What the fuck was that?” Sorin demanded.

“I apologize,” Cethin said tightly.

“I do not want your apology. I want an explanation, and your sister will demand one when she learns of this.”

“You speak as if you know any of what I have done for my kingdom, for this realm,” Cethin retorted, his back straightening.

Darkness flowed from him again, pooling around his feet, but he kept control of it this time.

“You think I did not try to fix this myself? You think I wanted this all placed on her shoulders? Do not speak of the sacrifices I have made when you know nothing of them. When you know nothing of the guilt I carry because I added to her responsibilities. When my choices put the people I love in danger daily. When my choices put my own kingdom in danger daily.”

Sorin stared back at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means if I could take her place, I would, Sorin,” Cethin said, his shoulders dropping a fraction. “I would trade places with her in a heartbeat.”

“That does not answer my question. We have been here for weeks. You have had every opportunity to tell us these things. Furthermore, my people are here, and you are just now speaking of a danger to your kingdom? We were under the impression we were safe here,” Sorin said, taking a few steps towards the Avonleyan King.

Rayner moved with him, staying at his side, his shield of smoke still swirling.

“I did not wish to add to the weight she already carries,” Cethin said. “Defeating the Maraans and finding the lock will fix everything. It did not seem necessary to add to her burden.”

“You mean you did not wish for her to know of your mistakes.”

Cethin’s lips pressed to a thin line, his gaze darting back to the fire for a moment before he nodded sharply. “Perhaps that was part of it. But I must also continue to protect my people and the ones I love. My Inner Court has kept these secrets for years. It is second nature to us.”

Sorin could understand that to an extent.

There were plenty of things his Inner Court had kept from their people, taking care of business without ever needing to worry or involve them.

Allowing his people to simply live their lives and let him take care of their safety was one of his greatest missions in life.

But this was clearly bigger, and the moment it had involved Scarlett, it had involved him and their Courts by default.

The darkness suddenly thickened around them, tendrils of shadows reaching for him. Rayner’s shield swirled faster, ashes drifting among it again, but the shadows brushed them aside.

“Get control of it,” Rayner growled at Cethin.

But even before Cethin said, “That is not me,” Sorin already knew.

He could tell by the way the shadows slowly coiled around him, stroked down his cheek, drifted through his hair.

His eyes widened as the shadows swirled and converged until a figure stepped from them.

The shadows clung to her, white embers flitting through silver hair.

She was all in black, just as Cethin had said she’d been, but she was barefoot.

Her crown floated above her head, and her silver eyes were glowing.

Shirina, the black panther that was the spirit animal of Saylah, was at her side, and Sorin suddenly wondered how that worked.

How had the animal bonded with Scarlett when Saylah had been in this world this entire time?

But perhaps even more perplexing was the phoenix at her shoulder.

Amaré, the spirit animal of Anala, goddess of day, sun, and fire.

The spirit animal that had been bonded to him when he had been the Fire Prince.

They had not seen much of the spirit animals since coming to Avonleya.

Cethin had said they were resting, preparing for war like the rest of them, but Sorin had assumed this would be another cost of coming back from the After.

He assumed his bond with the phoenix would be another sacrifice he would be forced to make.

But the bird cooed softly, nipping affectionately at Scarlett’s ear before taking flight.

He naturally lifted his arm as he had done thousands of times in the past, the phoenix’s taloned feet clamping lightly around his forearm.

He swallowed thickly, unable to say anything around the lump in his throat.

“Prince,” Scarlett said, her voice a sensual purr that skittered along his flesh, making him shiver for an entirely different reason than the cold he’d woken up to. Now he was suddenly too warm as he met her gaze. Before him stood Death’s Maiden.

No.

Before him stood a queen.

The Queen of the Fae Courts even though she was not Fae.

Not just the Western Courts. Not since she had stripped Talwyn of her crown.

But even ‘queen’ did not do her justice. Not with the way she held herself. Not with the look in her eyes. Not with her shadows and fire and ice worshipping her as they moved around her.

She looked every bit a goddess. Sorin had never seen one. But if he had, he imagined one would look exactly as his wife did in this moment.

Then her eyes slid to her brother. Her features sharpened, her eyes hardening, and her voice was that of death itself when she said, “I met our mother.”