Page 93 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Sorin

H e’d Traveled them the moment Scarlett had touched the lock with her blood. She’d done it. Shown the Chaos within what she could give it. How much power she had to offer. What they could create.

Because at its core, that’s what Chaos did. It created and shaped, broke and remade.

Scarlett had found texts about it in the catacombs, but it wasn’t until they’d learned of the World Walkers that they had figured out what the lock was. Why it could unlock the realm. What Scarlett could do with it—a secret not even Saylah knew.

Saylah had been right. The Chaos in the lock was drawn to Scarlett more than her.

Scarlett carried Chaos from multiple different magical bloodlines.

That alone made the lock seek her out more than others.

It was why Alaric wanted her so badly. The power she could not only wield but create—just like she created shadowfire and a new Mark to take her to Shira Forest. It was something written in the pages Sorin had grabbed from the cliffs that made them come up with the idea of showing the Chaos all the power it could have to shape and break and create.

But the lock would also be drawn to her because the Chaos within recognized its own. Because while Scarlett had Chaos from Fae and Witches and a god, she also had Chaos from a World Walker.

Shirina had breathed it into her one day on a beach when Sorin had had a foot in the After, and Scarlett had screamed to the stars that she was done.

She and the others had assumed it had just made her sleep so Cethin could dream walk to her, but it had done more than that.

According to the research Scarlett had translated, Shirina had been the daughter of a powerful high ruler.

Whether or not that had been Korra, they couldn’t know for sure, but still the panther was powerful.

How she had transferred the Chaos, they did not know, but Sorin ventured to guess it had connected to Chaos that Scarlett already possessed.

Whether Scarlett wanted to admit it or not, the Fates had been walking beside her in more ways than one.

Now he and Rayner stood dumping a small vial of her blood atop the spot where Scarlett had summoned an ancient city.

The same city a High Queen had once inhabited after she’d created this world.

The three of them had Traveled here before they’d gone to Elshira to meet with Saylah.

Scarlett had marked the spot that neither of the Fae could see.

They didn’t know if their plan would work. They didn’t know if she’d be with them or not. It ended up being not. When her blood had touched the orb, darkness had erupted, throwing them all back from her. When it had receded, the lock was gone and so was Scarlett.

If the Chaos had taken to her like they’d thought it would, she was likely between worlds right now.

Among the stars.

“This is going to work,” Sorin said, the ground trembling beneath them as he and Rayner raced for the descending bridge that would lead to the mirror gate below.

Rayner didn’t reply because they had no idea if this was going to work or not, and if it didn’t …

They ran down the winding bridge, grateful to not find any of the feline creatures waiting for them.

Hopefully that remained the case when they left.

By the time they reached the base, the world had stilled.

Sorin drew another vial from his pocket, smearing Scarlett’s blood across the doors, and when they creaked open, he was shoving inside.

He threw flames into the air, casting the entire room into a soft glow and rushing to the other end of the chamber where the mirror gate stood.

Pulling the final vial of her blood from his pocket, he studied the symbols and Marks around the mirror.

The symbols of the gods, yes, but there were others.

Scarlett called it the Runic Language, but they both knew it was more than that.

“Which one?” Rayner asked, coming to a stop beside him.

That was the real question.

Which symbol would call her back to this world?

He could still feel her down their bond. She was alive. That fact alone was keeping most of his panic at bay. As long as she lived, he could find her.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “It can’t be one of the gods. It would call to the wrong being.”

“So one of these then?” Rayner asked, brushing fingers along various symbols Sorin did not recognize.

Sorin nodded, pulling paper from his other pocket.

Scarlett had listed out various symbols and their meanings, but none of them surrounded the mirror.

Learning that an actual World Walker’s essence was inside that lock had altered things.

He’d promised he would not fail her, and he wouldn’t, but they were running out of time.

It would only stand to reason that the longer she was gone, the harder it would be for her to find her way back.

Scarlett? Love?

There was no arrogant voice replying in his mind.

“Can we eliminate any of them?” Rayner asked, crossing his arms while he continued to study the symbols. “Maybe process of elimination can help us narrow it down.”

Sorin passed the paper to his Third. “None of these are listed there,” he said, looking helplessly around the room for anything that might help.

“She gave you nothing else?” Rayner asked, flipping the page over and finding the back blank.

“This book might help.”

They both whirled to find Cethin and Kailia at the chamber entrance. Cethin held a book in his hand, and he was flipping pages as they closed the space between them.

“It is one we used when trying to find this city. Razik had figured out a few things, but most of the knowledge evaded even him,” Cethin explained, holding the book out.

“What is this?” Sorin asked, reading through words Razik had translated.

Devram.

Nordrir.

Orlandria.

Waelore.

Siadrin.

“The best we could come up with was that they are other worlds,” Cethin answered. “But some symbols appear to correlate.”

Sorin glanced up to find he was right. There were several symbols around the mirror that matched the ones in this book. The problem was, none of them were translated. Rayner and Cethin crowded around him.

“This is not going to help,” Sorin said in frustration, continuing to study the book, hoping something would jump out at him.

He had an entire vial of blood. Maybe he simply needed to start trying symbols, and pray to— Well, maybe not the gods.

Not anymore. But pray to the Fates that he didn’t summon something he shouldn’t.

“Perhaps she can help,” Kailia said.

They all turned to the Avonleyan Queen, who perched on the table that ran the length of the room. She nodded towards the mirror, and Sorin slowly turned back.

There was a female standing there. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but that didn’t mean anything if she’d gone through her Staying.

She had arched ears, and long red hair so dark it was more burgundy than red.

It was pulled back and tied high on the top of her head.

She was of average height, and she was sipping something from a cup as she studied them.

Her blue pants hugged her legs and hips, and the tunic she wore was too short, exposing her torso.

She had Marks along her arms and across her chest, and what appeared to be some type of jewelry in her navel and nose, as well as her ears.

But none of that was what had Sorin taking a step back.

No, that was her honey-colored eyes.

Eyes that he would recognize anywhere. The female he was staring at might be shorter and have a different hair color, but those eyes danced with the same amusement and slight insanity of another.

The female smiled at him, and that was the same as another too. She pulled something from her pocket. It was a small box of some sort, her thumb moving rapidly across it. Then she held it up.

Sorin stepped closer. There was an even smaller screen on the small box, and he peered closely to see what was on it. A Runic Symbol, if he was seeing it correctly.

His gaze darted back up to the female’s. “How do you know where she is?” he asked, not sure if she could hear him or not. The last being they’d seen in this mirror hadn’t been able to hear them.

She could though. Not only that, she could understand him.

“She has taken from him. He is not very pleased,” the female said, casually taking another sip from her cup. It looked like it was made of paper.

“You speak of Achaz?” Sorin asked.

The female nodded. “I hear he is in quite the rage.”

“How does he know already?” That panic he’d been keeping at bay was starting to surge up.

The female scoffed at the question. “When a power like that is released, the entirety of the universe knows it. Hope she is strong enough to harness it.”

Sorin shifted uncomfortably at the words. “What world are you in? His?”

She shrugged. “The Light King thinks they’re all his.”

The small box in her hand suddenly lit up, and she glanced down at it. Her smile fell, replaced with something akin to dread. Her thumb moved quickly across the box again. Then she held it back up, showing him the screen once more.

“This one. It will call her to this gate,” she said. “But hurry. He knows too.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

That manic grin returned. “You don’t, but you called me here, so …”

“How did we do that?” Sorin asked, his brow furrowing. “How do you know all this?”

“Not important. What is important is that more than her blood will be needed to call her back.”

Then with a wink, she was gone, as though she had Traveled. His own reflection once again stared back at him. He turned back to the others. What the fuck did that mean?

“She could be lying. What if she works for Achaz?” Rayner said immediately.

“I do not think we have much of a choice,” Sorin replied, turning back to the mirror. It took a moment, but he found the symbol near the bottom on the left side of the mirror.

“And if you summon something else?” Cethin asked.