Page 31 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Sorin

T hey made their way up the path to the front gates of the castle.

Kailia and Cassius had met them when Cethin had Traveled them all here, but the Avonleyan Queen had been watching him with Talwyn for the last two hours.

It was one of the compromises he had made with Scarlett.

She would concede to him going to speak with Talwyn, but only if Kailia would be guarding him from the smoke and ashes she moved among.

That and the nightstone had to stay in place on her wrists.

Considering Scarlett had not demanded to join him, he counted only two conditions a win.

He still wasn’t certain if she had not made such a demand because she didn’t wish to see Talwyn, or if it was because she was saving her strength for when she faced Alaric tonight.

He did not need their bond to know how she was feeling.

She hid it well enough, but he knew her tells.

It was in the way she carried herself, more tense than usual.

It was in the tight way she spoke. It was in the way she was with them physically, but her mind was elsewhere.

Planning. Scheming. Preparing. Riding an edge where her control was stretched tight and Death’s Maiden prowled just beneath the surface.

He knew her mother showing up was the last thing she wanted or needed right now, but she would deal with it.

She would keep going, and when things were all said and done tonight, when she returned with Cyrus and fell into bed exhausted and spent, he would be there.

He would be the one place she did not need to keep her masks in place.

The one place she could breathe while saving the world.

Together. Always together. If Saylah could not fulfill what Scarlett demanded of her, being that place for Scarlett would be enough. It would have to be.

Talwyn was being escorted by a guard behind them.

He had promised she would not return to a cell, and he would not break another one to her.

Her fate had not yet been decided, and Sorin had not broached the subject with Scarlett since their fight about it the day Scarlett had nearly killed her.

Too many other things demanded her attention, but giving her back to Alaric?

He knew it was their only option. Talwyn had said she wished to help, that she would not fight against this, but would the others trust her enough to believe she was on their side now?

And after this was over, if she survived, he did not know what Talwyn’s future would hold.

When he had said Talwyn was to come with them and not returned to the cells, Scarlett had held his stare for a long moment, fire dancing in her silver eyes as she pursed her lips. But then her gaze had slid to Talwyn, who was still kneeling before them.

“You once told me I needed to prove myself to my Courts,” Scarlett had said coldly. “You were right, and I have. Now you need to prove yourself to me , Talwyn Semiria. Prove you are worthy of his mercy.”

Talwyn had not faltered, poised and unreadable as she had been taught and trained to be.

She had held Scarlett’s stare, only nodding sharply once in response.

Scarlett hadn’t said another word. She’d just turned her back on Talwyn, grabbed his hand, and jerked her chin at her brother to Travel them out.

Their small group strode through the main doors and into the entrance hall at the same moment several others stepped from the air. Sorin froze, and Scarlett did the same beside him. Luan. Razik. Rayner with …Tula? Where was Ashtine? Sawyer? Callan? Where the fuck was his Fire General?

Razik’s eyes ran over them all. The dragon shifter looked irritated. “Cethin, we need to talk. Now,” he barked, already moving towards a side hall.

“Saylah is here,” Cethin answered.

Razik stopped, his entire being going rigid. “Why?” The question was a gritted growl.

“Better question,” Scarlett interrupted, her voice low and eerily calm. “Why have you again returned with fewer people than you should have?”

Razik turned, his eyes shifted and glowing as faint scales rip pled across his visible flesh. “This was not my mission, princess,” he sneered. “I was sent for the Traveling. That was it.”

“Raz,” Cethin warned.

The dragon’s glowing stare shifted to Cethin. “And what the fuck happened to you? Why are you trying to draw power from me?” When Cethin didn’t answer, his attention shifted again. “Lia?”

“He dream walked and drained himself,” Kailia said simply.

“Where is Ashtine?” Scarlett demanded sharply.

“She cannot leave the continent,” Rayner answered. Tula was hiding behind his legs looking unsure and slightly terrified. “Eliza and Sawyer stayed behind to guard her. They are all in Siofra with the Shifter siblings.”

“Callan?”

“Stayed behind as well. We ran into a unit of seraphs, and Nuri was with them. She relayed some information to him about his people,” Rayner explained.

“Saylah is waiting,” Cethin interrupted.

“Saylah can keep fucking waiting,” Scarlett snapped at her brother before her attention went back to Rayner. “Why can Ashtine not leave the continent?”

“Apparently, Alaric has placed a Mark on her. Razik could see it, but it was not visible to the rest of us.”

Scarlett was quiet, taking in the brief report Rayner was giving her. Cethin and Kailia had moved closer to Razik, the three of them having their own quiet conversation. Azrael hadn’t said a word since appearing, but his gaze was locked on Talwyn.

“Why was Tula with you?” Sorin asked.

The Ash Rider’s eyes flicked to the Avonleyans before he answered. “She caught a ride with Callan.”

Scarlett’s nose scrunched as she was pulled from whatever thoughts she was working through. “What does that mean?”

Rayner’s lips pressed into a tight line. “She shifted and hid among Callan’s things. To go with me.”

“She shifted?”

“She is a Power Shifter. We can discuss this more later,” Rayner said in a way that left no room for debate.

Scarlett’s brows shot up at his address, but Sorin knew him well enough to understand the implied warning. He brought his hand to the small of her back and leaned in to whisper, “There is more to say, but he does not trust everyone in this room.”

She nodded once, attention still fixed on Tula. “You are all right, Tula-Bug?” she asked, her tone softening.

The little girl peered out from behind Rayner, and she nodded. The Ash Rider reached back, gently ruffling her curls. His eyes met Sorin’s again. “The Alpha and Beta know what she is.”

Fuck.

Sorin expelled a harsh breath. That explained a lot of his hesitation at the moment. With the current accords and charters in place, they could demand that Tula be given over to them. She was an orphan Shifter.

“Tonight, when I return, I will need that explained to me,” Scarlett said, her spine straightening. “But I need to deal with Saylah before we go get Neve and Cyrus.” She glanced at Rayner once more. “Are you all right to go with me and Cassius?”

He nodded. “Let me get Tula settled, and I will rest. Unless you need me for—”

But Scarlett was already shaking her head. “Go. I need you prepared for tonight.”

Rayner gripped Tula’s hand in his, then hesitated. “Scarlett. Ashtine said that Cyrus is with—”

“I know where Cyrus is,” she interrupted again, her tone strained and agonized. “We go at sundown.”

Rayner nodded again before leading Tula to the stairs that would lead up to the guest rooms on their level of the castle.

Cethin cleared his throat. “It truly is unwise to keep her waiting, Scarlett.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes and waved her hand dramatically in a gesture for him to lead them along.

Sorin kept his hand on her lower back as they followed down a hall. He bent to murmur, “Whatever information she has, whether or not this will work—”

“It will work,” Scarlett interjected. “She knows what is at stake if she does not come through on what I have demanded.”

He wanted to say more. He knew there were things she had left unsaid about her visit to Shira Forest, but now was not the time to push her. So instead, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple as they came to a set of closed double doors.

Cethin looked at Scarlett. “Are you ready?”

She tossed him a mocking smile as her ornate crown of shadows and starfire took shape atop her head. “Of course.”

Her brother seemed to hesitate, but then he pushed open the doors.

They all filed into a grand sitting room.

Tybalt stood near a window, and next to him was a goddess.

There was no mistaking what she was. Unworldly beauty.

A circlet of stars sat on her brow, and shadows flitted around the stars as if they were in the night sky itself.

Long silver hair that matched her children flowed down around her shoulders, reaching to her waist, and misty shadows drifted around her, just as they often did her daughter when she let them out.

Saylah’s silver eyes took them all in as they entered, and as one, they all dropped to a knee, bowing their heads.

Everyone except Scarlett.

If he could, he would be hissing to her down their bond and telling her to get on her godsdamn knee before the goddess of night and shadows, but when he chanced a glance at his wife, she stood there with her arms crossed and a bored look on her face.

“At least your company knows how to show respect to a goddess,” Saylah said, her voice as cold as the shadows around her.

“Seeing as I am your god these days, perhaps you should be on a knee before me then,” Scarlett retorted, and Sorin could hear the wickedness in her voice.

“Scarlett,” Cethin hissed at her above the collective sharp inhale from several others in the room.

“Rise,” Saylah said tightly.

They all got to their feet, and Scarlett moved in front of him and Cassius protectively. Two shadow panthers appeared, snarling softly while they prowled around the Fae. Tybalt’s eyes widened, his fingers flexing as he watched the shadows.