Page 177 of Lady of Darkness

“One would think so,” Scarlett agreed.

“Of course, when I learned they were planning to get you out and that I would be going with you, it made the choice far easier,” he continued.

Scarlett swallowed, and her fingers dug slightly into the pear she still held with both hands. “I… I’m glad you believed everyone. That Mikale would hurt you,” she managed to get out.

Callan’s hand came up to her shoulder and stroked gently down her arm to her elbow where it stayed. Scarlett forced herself not to flinch back, and her shadows followed her actions. They hovered at her shoulders, seeming to tremble with the effort of not slithering down to the prince’s hand. “I never once believed you would willingly become Mikale’s wife. I would have done and believed almost anything if it meant getting you away from him and back to me.”

His other hand had come up and gently cradled her other elbow. Scarlett’s fingers were deep into the flesh of the pear now. The juice was running down her fingers, sticky and wet.

Like blood when a dagger had been shoved into a heart. So much like blood.

“Ride with me for a while, Scarlett,” he said softly. “Please. I need to know you are okay, and I need…”

Unable to help it any longer, Scarlett stepped from his touch, and Callan’s hands fell to his sides. “Nothing about this changes anything, Callan,” she said softly. “You are still to be a king, and I still do not desire to be a queen.”

“I am already leaving Windonelle. Maybe I will just not return. I can stay with you—”

“No, Callan.” Scarlett shook her head. Chunks of the pear dropped to the ground as her hands squeezed the fruit tighter. Her shadows finally broke through their own restraints, winding down around her arms, and Callan took a step back.

“Why?” he demanded, trying to keep his voice low. “Why is he allowed to speak with you? Why is he allowed to touch you? Comfort you? Why do your shadows let him in?”

“My darkness lets him in because he does not fear it,” she hissed.“My darkness lets him in because he fights the shadows to get to me. He gets to talk to me and touch me and comfort me because he knows how to reach me when the past is so loud all I can do is scream.”

“Scarlett.” The way Callan said her name was with a gentle sadness. “Iwantto understand your darkness. Iwantto not fear it. It is just so different from the person I know—”

“Because you do not know all of me. You never have. You only know the masks I put on to get close to you. You only know the parts of me I wanted you to see,” she answered.

“Then ride with me for a while. Talk to me. Let me get to know all of you.”

“She is not riding with you.”

Sorin’s voice was tight as he came up beside her. She glanced at him quickly and saw a muscle feather in his jaw.

“She will be fine if we are flanked by Finn and Sloan on either side. One hour of riding with me will not hurt anything,” Callan countered, his hands fisting at his sides.

“No. It is not an option. Her safety is my highest priority, which means she rides with me,” Sorin retorted.

“If approaching the border is so dangerous, does that mean your Court is just as dangerous? Will she even be safe there?” Callan challenged.

“She will be more than safe there. If anyone touches her once we cross the border, there will be severe consequences for such a decision.” Sorin’s voice had dropped dangerously low.

“You are allowed to determine such punishments?” Callan’s face was hard as he refused to back down to Sorin. Finn and Sloan had come up beside him, flanking him.

Scarlett could feel chunks of pear flesh and seeds under her nails as the fruit collapsed further under her grip.

“Maybe you two bastards should share a horse, and Scarlett can have one all to herself for a while,” Eliza said as she approached them. “You two could work out whatever trust issues you seem to have.”

The woman crossed her arms, her red-gold braided plait sweeping over her shoulder. Sorin turned incredulous eyes to her. “You know that is not an option. The border will be chaos, even if our backup arrives in time.”

“Well,General,unless you plan to share with the group why you’re being such a territorial protective prick, I suggest you stop measuring your dick with everyone else and get your ass on a horse. We need to get going,” Eliza shot back. Flames flickered in her eyes, just as Scarlett had seen them do in Sorin’s a few times, and Scarlett realized the woman still had her mother’s ring on her finger.

With his eyes still fixed on Eliza’s, Sorin said coolly, “You may ride with me or Eliza, Scarlett. The choice is yours, but I will insist you ride with someone who is Fae.”

“I will ride with you,” Scarlett answered quietly. She met Callan’s eyes as she stepped closer to Sorin. “There are things you don’t know, Callan. I need to ride with him. I want Finn and Sloan focused on protecting you. I don’t want their attention anywhere else.”

She felt Sorin’s hand on the small of her back as he gently steered her towards Eirwen. He looked over his shoulder back to Eliza and called, “You guys can get going. We will be right behind you.”

“Absolutely not,” Callan began to argue.

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