Page 52 of Lady of Darkness

She felt the bed shift as Cassius climbed onto the bed, and her whole body relaxed when he began stroking her hair. Tears slid down her cheeks as she tried to hold in the new round of sobs threatening to wrack her body.

“Her history is complicated,” she heard Cassius say. When there was no reply, he said, “It would be in your best interest to be gone before the house wakes.”

If Sorin said anything in response, Scarlett didn’t know. She did not care as she felt a familiar hollowness settle into her soul.

CHAPTER 18

SORIN

Sorin stood in the foyer of the Tyndell manor. They had just finished the weekly dinner meeting of generals and commanders with Lord Tyndell. Nearly everyone else had left, and it was just him, Cassius, and Drake now, Mikale having left moments before.

“I am going out to meet some of the men for a drink. You two coming?” Drake asked, adjusting his sword belt.

“No,” Cassius said. He cut a quick glance to Sorin before adding, “I’m just going to go to bed. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

Drake gave a slight nod of understanding and slipped out the door. When the door had clicked shut, Sorin rounded on him. “She is still in your bed?”

Cassius dragged a hand through his brown hair. “She has not left it once since that morning.”

“That was two days ago,” Sorin hissed.

As if them discussing her was a summoning, she appeared at the top of the stairs. She was pale and in the same clothing she’d worn that night, although at least she’d put her tunic back on. She seemed to float down the stairs, her long hair unbound and flowing around her.She was barefoot and walked right by them like she didn’t even notice they were there.

“Scarlett,” Cassius whispered.

She kept walking straight to the front door. Sorin took a step to the side, blocking her path. She paused and lifted her chin, and the haunted eyes that found him nearly made his knees buckle. He could smell another scent intertwined with her own, one of spring rain and pine, and he ground his teeth together.

“Where are you going, Seastar?” Cassius asked gently, coming to her side.

“I want to play,” she whispered.

“Scarlett, you…We can’t go to the Black Syndicate like this. You have no weapons. No one will spar with you. He will not let you take any jobs right now…” Cassius trailed off.

“I need to play,” she repeated, trying to step around Sorin. Cassius reached for her arm, but she jerked out of his reach, again trying to step around Sorin. Cassius shook his head at Sorin in silent command, and he stepped in front of her again.

“She does not want to spar or fight or kill anyone.” Tava was descending the stairs now, a cloak in her hands. “She wants toplay, Cassius. I am told it has been over a year since she has done so. Take her somewhere to play the piano.” She pressed the cloak into Cassius’s hands and headed down a hall.

Cassius turned, wrapping the cloak around Scarlett and doing up the buttons. “We will have to ride, Scarlett, and even then, I don’t know that going there, like this, is a good idea.”

“She plays the piano?” Sorin asked quietly.

Cassius looked up at him. “She does. Or she did. She hasn’t played since… She hasn’t played in a long time. There isn’t one here. There’s one at the compound where her mother worked and one at the Fellowship, but I can’t take her to the Black Syndicate like this.”

“Follow me,” Sorin said. “We can walk.”

They tried to convince Scarlett to put shoes on, but she refused, constantly trying to skirt around them and out the door. Cassius ended up carrying a pair of silk slippers in his hands,and Sorin led them the few blocks from the manor to his luxury apartment. Cassius kept a firm grip on her hand as they rounded another corner. She continued to say nothing, just walked along in silence, her bare feet not making a sound on the pavement. She was a phantasm in black with her silver hair flowing in the cool, summer breeze, and he couldfeelher. He could feel an icy sadness that clung to her bones. He could feel a flame so hot trying to thaw that ice, but it was suffocating.

Sorin unlocked the door to his apartment and crossed the room to light a few candles. Cassius gently pushed Scarlett farther into the room so he could shut the door behind them. He took the cloak from her shoulders, and Sorin pointed to the back left corner of the room where a grand piano sat. “There.”

Her eyes settled on the instrument and, as if it called to her, she drifted over to it. Sorin crossed his arms, leaning against the fireplace mantel as he watched her. Cassius stood motionless by the front door, seeming to hold his breath. She ran her fingers along the top, like she was contemplating what she was going to do. A finger drifted down and hovered over a key.

Play, Scarlett,Sorin urged in his mind, and as though she heard him, she pressed the key down. It was a low note, but it seemed to snap a tether in her. Silent tears were instantly wetting her cheeks as she lowered onto the bench. She brought her small hands to the keys and a chord sounded. A minor chord, haunted and full of sorrow. She stumbled over the keys for a few minutes, like she was reminding her fingers what they should be doing. Then… Then Sorin could only stare in awe as she played.

Sorin knew how to play the piano. He could read sheet music and play songs, but Scarlett couldplay. Her eyes were closed and tears splashed onto her hands as her fingers flew over the keys of ivory and ebony, never missing another note. He could feel every sound, every crescendo, and every pulse of music. Her melody was one of sadness and pain and grief.

Cassius crossed the room to stand beside him as she finished one song and went straight into another. She seemed to breathe in the sounds emanating from the piano.“She’s going to kill me for letting you see her play,” he said quietly, his eyes fixed on her.

“Why did she stop?” Sorin asked. He could hardly get the words past the lump that had formed in his throat.

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