Page 163 of Lady of Darkness

“How?” she breathed.

Sorin seemed to hesitate before saying, “That is a tale to tell when we are out of here.”

“We cannot leave. You should not have come.” Scarlett pushed away from him, crossing to the door and listening carefully.

She felt Sorin behind her, and he gently turned her towards him. He took her face in his palms, not flinching once at the shadows that swarmed his hands. “Scarlett Monrhoe, I would cross deserts and oceans for you. I would cross the realms for you. Did you really think amortalman could keep you from me?”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes once more. “Cassius?” she choked out.

“Everyone is fine. Nuri moved the orphans. Cassius put protection wards around them. Cassius and Nuri wait with Callan and the guards for us. Everyone is safe. He will not touch them,” Sorin said gently. He leaned in and kissed a tear on either cheek, then whispered, “You are not alone.”

Scarlett threw her arms around him once more, tears soaking his shoulder. He embraced her for a few seconds before asking, “How much time do we have?”

“Minutes, if that,” Scarlett answered, pulling back and wiping her eyes quickly. “I thought you were them.” When she met Sorin’s gaze again, it was full of rage. His eyes were fixed on her wrists and arms.

In the sleeveless dress, the bruises on her arms from the guards restraining her when Mikale was forcing the tonic down her throat were on full display. The black and blue marks on her wrists, though, were from Mikale. She rubbed them gingerly. “I tried, Sorin. I tried to fight. But he has studied me. He’s watched me. He knows that I am Fae, and that Nuri is a child of the night. He even claims Juliette was a Witch. You told me to fight. I tried to refuse my tonic. I tried to, but he…” she trailed off.

He reached for her, again taking her face in his large hands. “He did not break you,” he said with steely resolve.

“I do not know that that is true,” she whispered in return.

The feel of his lips on hers as he pressed them to her mouth was almost more than she could take.It was a torture. A taste of what she had almost had and would soon have to live without once more. That kiss is what she imagined an opium addict experienced when they were trying to break the habit and fell off the wagon.

When had his kiss, his mouth, his mere presence become a godsdamn drug to her?

Sorin pulled back first. “We will need to continue this conversation later,” he rasped out gruffly.

“Which one?” she breathed, wondering if he meant that kiss or her being broken.

A flash of a grin appeared on his lips. “Both, Love. Both of them.” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Are you ready?”

“Sorin—”

“Do not finish that sentence,” he growled. “Do not say what you were about to say.”

Scarlett pursed her lips. “I’m sorry. You appear to keep forgetting thatyou do not get to give me orders.”

Sorin’s eyes flashed with irritation as he gave her a pointed stare. “Would what you were about to say have been helpful?”

“Would it be helpful if I punched you in the face?” she retorted.

“Keep this resolve up, and we will have no problem getting out of here,” Sorin muttered, tugging her towards the door. Before she could spit out a response, he said, “The fact that he does not have guards outside your room tells me he does not know the full extent of your magic.”

“He forces me to drink my tonic. It feels stronger than my usual one,” she answered. “It makes me more tired.”

She saw a muscle feather in his jaw as he pulled a dagger from his belt and handed it to her. “I don’t suppose you have anywhere to stash this?”

Scarlett took the dagger, shaking her head. “He took everything upon my arrival.” The dagger was the same metallic black as his sword blades had been.

“We leave together,” Sorin said, taking her hand once more. The other rested on the door handle.

Scarlett gave a slight nod, swallowing the lump in her throat.She palmed the dagger as Sorin opened the door and stepped onto the landing. They crept down the spiral stairs until they came to a hallway.

“I came up the servants’ passageways. It is our best chance of not meeting anyone who would recognize you,” he whispered. Scarlett only nodded.

They walked past several rooms whose doors were closed until they came to an open doorway. There was no door in place and through the doorway were steps going down. They moved gracefully and quietly. The only sound was her dress swishing on the stairs, the beading on the bottom clanking against the stone as they moved.

“You could not have picked something quieter?” Sorin muttered as they rounded another set of stairs.

---