Page 33 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

“If it were not for me, you would not be facing this decision,” Talwyn said. “So let me make it for you. I stole from you. From both of you. Let me give it back.”

“Talwyn, we need to think about this,” Luan said, stepping to her side. “You do not understand everything this entails.”

She tipped her head back to look up at him, a brief glimpse of sadness crossing her features before she wiped the emotion away. “I think I do, Az.”

“Talwyn—”

“It is stupid to keep debating this,” Talwyn said, cutting Luan off and turning away from him. “This needs to be done before I am returned to Alaric.”

“You cannot go back there powerless,” Luan snarled. He turned to Sorin, helpless fury etched along his features. “You will allow this?”

“Stop, Azrael,” Talwyn said coldly. “This is what is best for everyone.”

“Except you,” he countered.

Scarlett was still buried in Sorin’s shirt, listening to the debate around her. She was still, scarcely breathing. He knew she would not contribute to the conversation. She did not need to. They all knew what she would say. Knew that, in this, she would side with Talwyn.

“This is my cost to bear. Not theirs,” Talwyn replied. “You know this, Az. This is what is best for the Courts, the continent, the entirety of the realm.”

“This is the sacrifice of a queen,” Sorin said quietly.

“It is my choice what to do with the mercy I have been given,” she replied. Her voice did not tremble. She did not flinch or show an ounce of hesitation.

Still holding her jade green stare, Sorin said, “So be it.”

“You must maintain physical blood contact the entire time,” Saylah said, drawing Marks into the dirt around Sorin and Talwyn.

They had moved to one of the training arenas in the mountains.

Saylah had told them they needed to be somewhere the power could manifest. It would fight being taken from one source, and because it would be stronger than his prior magic, he might not be able to completely control it right away.

“It will be painful for you, Daughter of Henna,” Saylah continued, working her way around a circle. “A piece of you will be cleaved away. You must not lose contact with him.”

“Understood,” Talwyn answered. She was still shackled, Luan standing close to her.

The others were all gathered throughout the ring.

Rayner had also caught wind of what was happening and had left Tula with the other children to be here.

He and Cassius stood a few feet away while the Avonleyans stood on the other side of the arena.

Sorin turned to Scarlett who was hovering near him.

She was fidgeting, shifting her weight as her eyes tracked Saylah and the Marks she was drawing on the ground.

“You are anxious,” Sorin murmured.

Her eyes flicked to him before going back to her mother. “Of course I am anxious,” she clipped out. “If this does not work …”

“It will work,” he said softly. Then he gripped her chin and brought her gaze back to his. “And when it does, this is enough, Scarlett. She will no longer rule, and she will no longer have her gifts. She has given enough. Her debt has been paid. Swear it.”

Scarlett rolled her lips, but she gave a curt jerk of her chin. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and pulled her close. “I love you, Sorin,” she whispered.

“All the way through the darkness, Love.”

“You two cannot be in the circle,” Saylah said, and Scarlett pulled back to look at her mother. “If you remain, the power could try to come to one of you instead of him. It will draw out the process.”

Sorin glanced at Talwyn, who was nodding at something Luan was murmuring to her, but her gaze connected with his. Still not a hint of regret or hesitation.

Scarlett pushed up onto her toes, kissing him softly and drawing his attention back to her. His hand slid into her hair, and she murmured onto his lips, “Soon we set the world on fire together, Prince.”

He crushed his lips against hers once more as her shadows brushed along his throat, curling around his ear.

She pulled back, a wry tilt to her lips as she walked backwards from him.

She did not break his stare as she stepped out of the circle and to Cassius’s side, her Guardian’s arm dropping around her shoulders.

Sorin tore his eyes from her to look at Talwyn, who had moved to the center of the circle and was waiting for him.

When he moved in front of her, she raised her hands, and Sorin reached into his pocket for the key that would undo her shackles.

No one said anything as he fitted it into the lock, the shackles falling open.

He tossed them outside the circle of Marks along with the key, and Talwyn turned her palms up, just as Saylah had instructed.

Sorin drew a dagger from his side, slicing across both her palms before doing the same to his own.

Then he placed his hands atop hers, gently squeezing her fingers.

“Thank you for this, Talwyn,” he said quietly.

“It is the very least I can do,” she replied curtly, eyes fixed on their joined hands.

He saw it then. Her chest began to rise and fall more rapidly.

Her breaths became small, controlled gasps as she worked to keep control over herself.

A gust of wind tore through the arena, but the Marks around them were already flaring.

Saylah had already spilled her blood along them.

She was speaking an ancient language Sorin did not know, but his entire being was fixed on the female before him.

“Little whirlwind,” he said softly, and her eyes snapped to his. Tears pooled there. “Henna and Eliné would be so very proud of you.”

A tear spilled over, sliding down her cheek.

And then she flinched.

Sorin felt it. The prickle of power that hit his palm at the same moment that Talwyn sucked in a sharp breath.

He tightened his grip on her hands as more power flowed, small trickles of it that crawled along his palm as if seeking.

Their mixed blood was seeping between their fingers, dripping onto the earth.

“Do not let the connection break,” he heard Saylah warn. Then she spoke again in that ancient language, and Talwyn screamed.

He heard a roar echo around the arena, but he could not focus on it because his knees were buckling as power poured into him.

He was gripping Talwyn’s hands, lowering to the ground as she sank to it, still screaming in utter agony.

The ground was trembling beneath them, small rocks shaking and the dirt swirling, and that was fire sparking in his veins.

He may have been completely powerless for only a few days, but his power had been slowly waning since he had been brought back from the After.

He had not had a full well of power since before that throne room. But this? This was staggering.

The sparks became embers, and the embers became fire.

Pure wildfire that sang as it raced throughout his being.

No longer a trickle of power moving from her to him, but a crushing wave of it.

It was unyielding. He was sweating, this heavier tunic suddenly sweltering with the heat flooding his veins.

His magic had been great, the strongest fire gift in this realm, but this power?

If this was Talwyn’s power, he could not fathom the power that flowed in Scarlett’s veins.

He could hear the commotion going on around them, but he couldn’t focus on it. It was a dull afterthought compared to the all-consuming power rushing over him, seeking a way out while simultaneously sinking deep into his soul.

And breaking through all of that was a hope that was not his. An anxiousness that was scarcely being suppressed. It was shadows and white flames, wildness and darkness. It was a star shining brighter than any other.

Sorin?

Her voice echoed in his mind, so tentative and full of hope.

He whipped his head to her, finding her just outside the circle, two tears tracking down her cheeks.

Her hands were clasped beneath her chin, but on one of those hands, stark against her ivory skin, was a Mark that flowed down her fingers.

Another burst of power surged into him, and he could not control it as flames flared out from him.

But Scarlett had a shield of shadows up in the next breath, keeping his flames away from them all.

He tried to pull them back, but they raged and burned and only flared brighter.

So he let them burn. Let the magic get to know him, and when the last of it left Talwyn, and she sagged against him, he pulled her close while the fire burned.

She was shaking violently, her palms still bleeding while his were already healing. He ripped a section from the hem of his tunic, making two strips of fabric that he tied around her palms, all the while trying to rein in this mighty power.

“What do you need?” he asked gently as he tightened the second strip of fabric around her hand.

“I’m fine,” she rasped. “Just get me Az.”

It took another few minutes, but the raging flames finally died down. He suspected Scarlett was using some of her own magic to help. He could faintly feel it brushing up against his, but she was conserving most of it for later when she faced Alaric.

The others were all gathered around the edge of the circle, and Scarlett and Luan rushed forward.

Luan dropped before Talwyn, pulling her away from Sorin.

He smoothed her hair back, bringing his brow to hers, brushing tears away with his thumbs.

She murmured something that was too low for Sorin to hear, even with his enhanced senses restored.

Whatever she’d said had Luan’s eyes closing briefly, a look of grief crossing his features as he gathered her close to him.

She was still trembling. Luan rested his chin atop her head, and when he opened his eyes, they met Sorin’s.

And in that moment, Sorin understood just how much Talwyn had sacrificed.

Sorin?

He looked up to find Scarlett standing over him, watching him carefully. Pushing to his feet, his left hand caught his eye as he did so. His twin flame Mark back in place, exactly as it should be. He looked at his right arm where a Source Mark had returned. His gaze lifted to Scarlett.

Hey, Love.

She leapt at him with a breath of laughter. He caught her as her arms looped around his neck, and she pressed her lips to his. Her legs wound around his waist, and he clutched her to him.

“It worked,” she rasped onto his lips. “I cannot believe it worked.” Another kiss. “How do you feel?”

“Tired,” he admitted, and she pulled back with a frown. “Not a mortal kind of tired,” he clarified. “The kind of tired you feel when you need to fill your power reserves.”

He could still feel it all beneath his skin. A great well of power that he barely had leashed. He did need to rest, to get to know his magic in this capacity.

“You can rest while we go to the continent,” she replied, lowering her feet to the ground.

He nodded in agreement. His attention went back to Luan, still holding Talwyn in the dirt. “Take her to your rooms, Luan. Let her rest as much as she can.”

Luan did not look at them. Just Traveled from the arena without a word.

“Do you need to worry about them trying to run?” Cethin asked from where he stood next to Saylah.

“No,” Sorin said. “Luan is loyal to Scarlett, and Talwyn will insist on going back to the continent.”

Cethin nodded, but Sorin could tell he wasn’t so sure. He turned and said something to Razik, who Traveled out a moment later.

Saylah stepped forward, and Sorin bowed his head while Scarlett stiffened and turned to face her mother. “I have fulfilled my end of our agreement. Can I trust you to now fulfill yours?” Saylah asked, keen silver eyes watching her daughter carefully.

“Are you questioning my word?” Scarlett asked, head tilting in that calculating way of hers.

“No more games, Scarlett,” Saylah warned, taking another step towards her. Cassius was at Scarlett’s side in an instant, and the goddess smiled in approval. “Remember what I told you must happen to save this realm.”

“You mean what must happen to fix your mistake,” Scarlett countered.

Saylah’s lips pursed in disapproval. “Call it what you wish, Daughter. It does not change fate.”

“Lucky for me, I make my own fate,” Scarlett purred.

“This is not a game—”

“I know what this is,” Scarlett snapped, cutting off the goddess. Sorin reached for her, but she shrugged out of his grip. “Do not speak to me of games when I am the center of so many. I gave you my word. It will be done. You are no longer needed here. I will send word when it is done.”

“One would think gratitude is appropriate in this situation,” Saylah said coldly.

“Do something worthy of my gratitude that is not done merely to fulfill a deal to further your own purposes, and I will consider it,” Scarlett retorted.

The goddess stared her down for a long moment before her shadows rose up around her, and she was gone.

“Scarlett …” Sorin started.

“Later, Sorin,” she sighed, her shoulders sagging. “I need to prepare for Alaric, and you need to rest.” She grabbed his hand, preparing to Travel.

You have secrets , he sent down the bond.

She tensed but did not reply as she pulled them through a rip in the air, taking them to their rooms.

Still holding his hand in hers, she looked up at him and said, “When I return, I will tell you all of it. I just needed time to come to terms with what I have learned.”

He slid a hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head. “We will face it together, Scarlett.”

She smiled weakly, and he felt her dread down the bond before she blocked it. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”