Page 193 of Lady of Starfire

“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, stepping to the side so Cethin could open a set of doors they had come to. “I have killed others for less.”

The Avonleyan Queen swept into the room, Cethin behind her.

“I really do like her,” Scarlett said after a moment.

“Of course you do,” Rayner muttered. “She has a penchant for stabbing first and asking questions later.”

“Nuri and Juliette would like her too,” she added, heading into the room.

Rayner and Sorin exchanged another look.

“She is not herself,” Rayner said in a hushed tone.

“I am aware,” Sorin answered.

“How did she react to hearing Cassius had left?”

“She didn’t,” Sorin muttered, stepping into the room and moving to sit by his wife.

Who had made a statement by taking the seat at the head of the table.

Something had been off since she’d woken, and Sorin couldn’t quite place it. She’d been quiet while he’d filled her in, hardly commenting on the fact that Cyrus and Cassius had left. That’s when he’d known something was wrong. Perhaps not wrong per se, but she was lost in whatever she was working out. She’d shared a little more with him, but that had left him with as many questions as she had.

“Have you heard anything from Razik?” Sorin asked the Avonleyan royals.

“Communication with Razik has been limited since he left for the continent,” Kailia answered, attention flitting to the window at the cry of an eagle. Altaria appeared a moment later, his beak clicking as he landed on the back of Cethin’s chair.

Scarlett’s head tilted, studying the eagle. “He is Temural’s, yes?”

“Yes,” Cethin said slowly, still studying her suspiciously.

Scarlett hummed, her fingers drumming on the table.

Before anyone could say anything more, the doors opened again, and Saylah strode in with Tybalt at her side. The Commander smiled warmly at them all before taking a seat next to Kailia.

Saylah did not sit, but stood opposite Scarlett at the other end of the council table. “Do you have my lock?”

Scarlett’s brow arched, her chin resting lazily in her palm. “Yourlock?”

“You know what I mean,” her mother answered.

Not breaking her stare, Scarlett said, “Rayner.”

The Ash Rider reached into an inner pocket on his cloak, ashes and smoke obscuring the orb he pulled free. He leaned over Sorin, stretching to hand it to Scarlett.

“Give it to me,” Saylah demanded.

Rayner ignored the goddess, placing it in Scarlett’s outstretched hand. The moment Scarlett touched it, Altaria gave a shrill cry that had all of them flinching.

“You defy a goddess?” Saylah asked, her voice as dark as the shadows drifting around her.

“He obeys his queen,” Scarlett replied in a tone that matched her mother’s.

“Scarlett,” Cethin said in a tense whisper.

“Who created it?” Scarlett asked, ignoring her brother’s warning.

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