Page 89 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Sorin

S orin sat back in the chair he’d been sitting in for the last few hours, rubbing at his eyes.

He’d been studying the few books and papers he’d taken from the cliffs, but it was slow going.

Half of it was written in a language he didn’t know.

The part he could translate wasn’t much help.

The books Scarlett had taken would probably be of use, but he couldn’t access them until she woke up.

Six days.

It had been six days since they’d gone to the Southern Islands. Niara insisted she would wake. The Healer told him multiple times a day that her body would let her wake when it was ready. But six godsdamn days?

He’d given her power when they got back.

She’d already been unconscious, and he’d fallen into a deep restorative sleep as soon as he’d given her his last ember.

He’d woken fully restored two days later.

It was odd, in a way. He had all the power of an Avonleyan with these gifts but didn’t need to depend on another to refill his reserves. The best of both worlds.

He assumed the Traveling gift had transferred from Talwyn.

She had been able to Travel, a gift separate from her wind and earth and shifting.

It was the best explanation they’d been able to come up with as they’d all conversed in these rooms. He still didn’t know how he’d managed to do it in the air.

He’d been planning to catch them on his fire dragon, but instead, he’d found himself on the islands outside the Wards.

It had been quiet the last few days though.

Cethin and Kailia had been scarce. Cethin only stopped by once a day to check in, and Cyrus and Cassius had left for the continent yesterday.

They’d all agreed he needed to start looking for this thing the Sorceress wanted, and it was wasting valuable time to just sit around here.

He knew they’d finally completed the Source Mark.

That eased his mind a bit, but he still didn’t like them going back to the continent alone.

He absent-mindedly rolled flames along his knuckles while his other hand tapped the pencil he held against the desk surface.

Cyrus had also promised to check in with Eliza when he got to the continent.

It had been far too long since they’d heard anything from her and Razik.

He was about to send Rayner over there to track them down just to make sure they weren’t in trouble. He’d be the fastest one to find them.

Eliza had been with Sorin the longest. He’d never forget when he’d received a message from the border patrols telling him about a female they’d detained.

He’d portaled straight to the border to find an abrasive, ill-tempered female with fire gifts who’d been raised in the Earth Court.

She’d tried to hide it, but panic had filled her eyes when she saw him.

He didn’t realize why until later. That she had thought he’d want to use her for her power.

She’d kept the true strength of her magic a secret for quite some time.

He tossed his pencil onto the desk a little too hard, watching it bounce off the surface and roll across the floor.

“Am I interrupting a tantrum, Prince?”

Sorin bolted from his chair at the sound of her voice. How had he not heard her? Felt her?

But there she stood, leaning against the doorway of their bedchamber with her arms folded across her chest. She had on one of his tunics, the garment hanging nearly to her knees.

Silver hair hung loose and lank around her shoulders.

Her eyes were glowing a bright silver, but she still looked tired.

Not in a physical sense, but in a soul-weary way.

He was across the room in a few long strides, pulling her into him, breathing in the scent of her—citrus and embers, lavender and night.

“Why are you acting like I was dying?” she murmured into his chest, but her arms were wrapped just as tightly around his waist.

“You were plummeting to your death after you destroyed the cliffs.”

“Yes, but then this beautiful creature saved me.”

He leaned back, pushing the hair off her brow. “Beautiful now, am I?”

“I meant the fire dragon, but you’ll do.”

He flicked her nose, leaning down to brush his lips against hers. She obliged him, but only for a moment before she asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

“Six days.”

“That explains the urgent need for the bathing room,” she mumbled. “Which is why you didn’t feel me when I woke up,” she added. “I didn’t need a mother hen running around the room.”

“For the love of Anala,” he muttered. “Six days, Scarlett. I have been going mad.”

“And throwing things,” she added, crossing the room and retrieving the pencil, his shirt riding up her thighs.

“Pants,” he growled. “We need to work on this no-pants issue.”

“If memory serves, your master plan was to burn all my clothing,” she replied, tossing the pencil onto the desk. Then she noticed what he’d been poring over these last few days. “Did you learn anything?” she asked, flipping open one of the books.

“Not really,” he answered, watching her flip pages. “You should eat.”

She hummed in response, closing the book and opening another. “Does Rayner still have the lock?”

“Yes. He has been keeping it hidden.”

“Who else knows we have it?”

“Only those of us who went to the Southern Islands.”

She glanced up at him. “Cethin hasn’t asked about it?”

Sorin shook his head. “Not once.”

“Interesting,” she murmured, closing the book and shuffling through the pages of Moranna’s notes. Then she was pulling one from the stack, eyes moving rapidly over the page. “Sorin?”

“What is it?” He came up behind her, peering over her shoulder.

“Cethin said when we got here that the spirit animals are not from this world, and Saylah told me when she left to get help, she came back with them.”

“Yes,” Sorin said slowly.

“Why would she go get them to aid in a war against Deimas and ultimately Achaz? Why the spirit animals?”

“I am going to need more to go on here, Scarlett. What are you figuring out?”

“He thought they were myths,” she murmured, flipping the paper over to find the other side blank. “But they weren’t. They’ve been here the entire time. It fits. If I’m reading this right, and if what I found in the Elshira catacombs is true … It all fits.”

“Love …” Sorin said, reaching out and tipping her chin up to get her attention.

“They’re World Walkers, Sorin,” she said excitedly. “Callan read about them in passing in the libraries at the Fire Court. He thought they were myths, but this?” She held up the parchment. “They weren’t always animals.”

“Are you saying that Amaré and Shirina once had another form?”

“Yes,” she said, stepping around him and heading back to the bedchamber. “We need to go to the catacombs. Then we need to go see Saylah.”

Sorin dragged a hand down his face, glancing at the clock on the desk.

Thirteen minutes.

She had been awake for a whole thirteen minutes and had already figured out something profound.

He followed after her. “Scarlett, you need to bathe and eat.”

“This is important, Sorin,” she called out from the large closet.

“Important, yes, but not time sensitive.”

She came out of the dressing room, a pair of pants and tunic in hand. “It is kind of time sensitive,” she argued.

“Not as time sensitive as a bath and food,” he countered, pulling the clothing from her hands and setting it on the bed.

“Are you implying that I smell?”

“Six days, Love,” he answered, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before steering her towards the bathing room. “Not to mention you are covered in dirt and debris from falling through the sky. We could only get you so clean.”

She gave a disgruntled sigh but pulled the tunic over her head as she moved, giving him all that bare skin to look at.

By the gods.

She glanced over her shoulder, giving him a coy smirk. “Come tell me what has happened these last few days while I bathe.”

“I still think you should have given her some warning we were coming,” Cethin muttered as he led the way through the Elshira Castle. Sorin and Scarlett had really only seen the catacombs of the place, Scarlett having no desire to explore the building.

Scarlett waved a hand dismissively. “She’ll be fine. She loves it when I just drop in.”

Sorin and Rayner exchanged a look. They’d only had one experience with the goddess, and it hadn’t exactly been a pleasant one.

“What does she do all day anyway?” Scarlett went on, her shadows drifting around her.

“Guards the mirror gate,” Cethin answered.

“Hmm,” was her only response.

“If the realm is locked, what would she need to guard?” Rayner asked.

“It is the main way into the realm,” Cethin said. “If someone is going to find a workaround, it would be there.”

“And?” Scarlett pressed, lifting a hand and watching snowflakes drift above her palm.

“And what?”

“She speaks to others through it.”

Cethin stopped mid-stride, turning to face her. “You cannot speak through the mirror gates.”

“We did,” she countered.

“But we were in the same realm.” His eyes narrowed as he studied his sister. “What do you know, Scarlett?”

“More than she should.”

They all turned to find Saylah at the end of the corridor. Everyone dropped to a knee.

Everyone except Scarlett, of course.

“Saylah,” Scarlett said tightly.

“If you are here, I assume you have found the lock,” Saylah said.

“Or we just came to chat,” Scarlett replied.

Saylah leveled her daughter with a silver glare before her gaze shifted to Cethin. “I will meet you all in the council room.”

She was gone amidst her shadows as everyone got to their feet.

“She would be more amenable if you at least tried, Scarlett,” Cethin chided.

“I highly doubt that,” Scarlett retorted. “You bend over backwards for her, and it does not seem to make a difference.”

“I would mind how you speak to him,” Kailia said calmly, step ping to the side so Cethin could open a set of doors they had come to. “I have killed others for less.”