Page 107 of Lady of Starfire

“There are not twin flames here because we are separated from the Fae,” Razik replied, rubbing his jaw in thought. “But I suppose you could be right. There is not much research on the twin flame bond. The gods keep the specifics of it hidden from most.”

“Why would it matter that you are separated from the Fae?” Cassius asked, and Cyrus felt his stomach plummet.

Razik paused, his drink halfway to his lips. “Because a twin flame bond occurs between a Legacy and a Fae.”

“What?” Scarlett asked, lurching forward and nearly falling over the back of the sofa. Sorin reached out a hand and grabbed the back of her tunic.

Razik sighed heavily, as if having to explain this to them was the worst thing to happen to him all day. “The basic history is that the twin flame bond was given to the Legacy and Fae as a gift. A gift to the children of the gods, and a gift to the Fae who watch over them and provide them with power.”

“So that’s why it is so rare to find your twin flame?” Scarlett asked, her nose scrunching. “Because the Avonleyans were separated from the Fae?”

“Yes and no,” Razik answered. “Finding your twin flame is still rare, but not as uncommon as it is here in this world. It was another cost of the Wards.”

“But you wouldn’t need to be full-blooded Avonleyan, right? To have a twin flame.”

That question came from Cassius and had Cyrus averting his gaze to the night sky out the window.

“The pull is not usually felt right away or as strongly when the Legacy line is not pure, but no. Any amount of Avonleyan blood would allow one to have a twin flame.”

“How do you know all this?” Scarlett asked, falling back down onto the sofa, her head once again resting on Sorin’s thigh.

“I read a lot,” Razik muttered. Then he added, “I need to go find Cethin and Lia.” He paused, looking back over his shoulder and catching Cyrus’s gaze. “They are going to want to speak with you. About your time with the Sorceress and what you learned of these Hunters.”

“I already told you everything she said.”

“Regardless.”

“Another day,” Cassius said curtly, sending a solid yellow ball into the pocket.

Razik nodded once before he left the den, leaving Cyrus alone with his family, minus Eliza.

The quiet was thick and uncomfortable. Cyrus was about to announce he was going to return to his room when, in usual fashion, Scarlett broke the tension with an absurd statement.

“I just want you to know that if I had met Rayner first, you and I would likely not be together.” Everyone’s head whipped to her. She was looking up at Sorin, batting her lashes.

Sorin blinked back at her.

“All I am saying,” she went on, “is that Death’s Maiden and The Reaper sound like they belong together.”

Cassius chuckled as he went back to clearing the table yet again. “How long have you been contemplating this, Seastar?”

She shrugged. “It just fits. Don’t you think?”

“I find myself suddenly suspicious of all these murmured conversations the two of you have been having as of late,” Sorin said nonchalantly, his fingers winding into her hair, clearly unfazed after the initial shock of what she’d said.

“Maybe after we save the realm, I’m ready to explore more of yourexperiences,Prince,” she replied innocently.

Sorin’s amber eyes darkened, and Cyrus saw Rayner’s lips twitch as he took a sip of his liquor.

“You lie,” Sorin retorted, his voice gravel.

“Me?” she teased, pushing up to a sitting position. “I would never.”

Then her cheeks flushed bright red, and a satisfied smirk tilted on Sorin’s lips that had Cyrus chuckling as Sorin clearly spoke to her down their bond.

She cleared her throat, getting to her feet, and there was a slight quiver in her voice as she said, “I believe I called next game.”

Cyrus teased her relentlessly over the next hour, Sorin sipping his alcohol and smirking every time her cheeks went red again. It was well into the dead of night when they started the trek up to their wing of the castle.

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