Page 108 of Lady of Shadows

“But how did you know I would have the ability?” she pressed.

“Because your mother could Travel.”

She considered this for a moment. “Do you know who my father is?”

Sorin shook his head. “I do not have any idea. She was not with child the last time I saw her. Not that I was aware of anyway.”

“My mother told me he had been a sailor and that he was dead. She kept so much from me, I wonder if that is even true.” She had ceased with her magic and had braced her arms on the railing, looking out over the mountains before them. He wished he could capture the moment as snow gently drifted down around her.

Sorin shoved down the desire to go to her. While he still slept beside her every night and they still flirted incessantly,they had not kissed since that day in the Princess’s Gardens when he had shown her the sea star. Gods, he had wanted to. He had wanted to touch her again since the day she had begged him to after her first nightmare. Feeling her come around his fingers had him imagining her doing so around other parts of him. Had him thinking about how he’d make her come in other ways, too. But after the chalet, after the way he had so thoroughly shredded her, he would wait. He would let her come to him if she ever chose to do so again.

Then there was the mortal prince. Where things stood with him, he had no idea. She continued to meet with him nearly every day in the library, and once a week, she had dinner with the mortals in their guest suite. He was always a moody bastard at his own dinner with his Inner Court those evenings. She always came back to their rooms in the wee hours of the morning, the mortals’ scents wrapped around her, along with another scent he couldn’t figure out. It smelled of musty dirt and earth.

“How do I learn to Travel?”

Sorin considered the question. “I do not know,” he admitted. “It is different from portaling. Portaling opens a doorway between two points. Traveling is bending the air between time and space, like folding a map to make two points closer to each other and stepping through a rip in the world.”

“Do you know any other Travelers?”

“The Prince of the Earth Court is a Traveler,” Sorin replied darkly. Then after a moment, he added, “We should talk to Rayner, though. He may be able to help.”

“What exactly is Rayner?” Scarlett asked, curiosity taking over her features.

“After all these months, you finally ask of him?” He had been waiting for her curiosity to get the better of her. He was surprised she had held out this long.

She shrugged indifferently. “It seemed rude to pry.”

“You love to pry,” Sorin said with a pointed stare.

“Fuck off,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.

Sorin gave her a teasing grin. “Rayner is an Ash Rider. He can move among smoke and ashes,including across the territories,” Sorin answered. “It is like his own personal portal except that he can move mostly unnoticed and unseen if he desires.”

“So when he’s gone all the time, he’s…” she trailed off.

“Rayner is my Third, but he is also a spy. He is constantly in other Courts and lands gathering information and reporting back. Ash Riders are rarer than Travelers. Wind Walkers are the same,” Sorin explained. At the look of confusion on Scarlett’s face, he added, “Wind Walkers are able to move among the winds, just as Ash Riders move among smoke and ash. In fact, because the winds are constant, they do not need to rely on smoke or ashes and can be even more discreet.”

“Do the Earth and Water Courts have rare gifts as well?”

“Yes and no. Not in the way Fire and Wind do, but do not discount them. The Earth Court has the Artists. They are the only Court that can bestow Marks.”

Scarlett’s brows rose at that. “The tattoos?” Her eyes raked over him, pausing where she knew many of his Marks adorned his skin.

“Yes. Highly skilled Artists can charge astronomical fees for their services.”

“Interesting,” Scarlett mused. “And Water?”

“As for Water, they can imbue water to make weapons susceptible to magic. It is how my blades can become wreathed in fire. They were dipped in such water. Additionally, water is all around you and can be used as a looking glass if the right Fae is on the other side,” he answered with a knowing smile.

“Briar?” she guessed.

“He is a Water Gazer, among others, yes,” Sorin answered.

“How far can someone with the Traveling gift actually go?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can clearly Travel across the territories, but how far can I go? Can I Travel across the seas? Or is it like portaling where I have to know where I am going?”

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