Page 142 of Lady of Shadows

Briar coughed beside her, and she turned to find him with a knowing grin on his face. She winked at him as she said, “I do suppose you should introduce me to your Inner Court, Prince.”

Cyrus, Rayner, and Eliza had all returned to their seats, but Briar’s Court seemed to straighten even more. They all had the same dark skin as Briar, obviously obtained by spending every day in this beautiful sunshine. The male she had seen before looked remarkably similar to the Water Prince. He had the same icy, blue eyes and hair so blonde it was nearly white. Even his build was similar. The only real difference seemed to be that he was an inch or two shorter than Briar. “This is Sawyer, my Second,” Briar said when they came to stand in front of him. “And my younger brother.”

“Brother?” Scarlett asked, the surprise evident in her voice as she whipped her head to Briar.

“Indeed,” he said with a nod. “Although not quite as handsome, wouldn’t you agree?”

Scarlett laughed, turning back to Sawyer. “I am so sorry you had to grow up with this as a role model,” she said, jerking her thumb at Briar.

Sawyer seemed unsure whether he should laugh with her or stay at attention. Briar clapped him on the shoulder. “Relax, Brother. I told you she is a delight, especially when she squeezes Sorin’s balls.”

A familiar twinkle entered Sawyer’s eyes at that. A twinkle that told Scarlett Briar and Sawyer were similar in more ways than one. She laughed again as they moved towards the other male. His hair was a sandy blonde color, and his eyes were a heavenly shade of turquoise. He was muscular and had a hard look about him. “This hard ass is the Commander of my armies, Nakoa,” Briar said.

Nakoa gave a nod of his head to Scarlett, and Sorin chimed in down the bond.

He is also Eliza’s occasional lover.

It took every bit of self-control not to react to that bit of news. Eliza had never told her she had a current lover and certainly not that said lover was the Commander of the Water Court’s armies.

They often work closely together to train our armies. Nakoa actually trained Eliza when she became more skilled than most here.

She tucked that information away as she followed Briar to the female next to Nakoa. All these little tidbits of information. Sorin needed to fill her in oneverythingif she were to actually lead these Courts.

The female before her now was beautiful. Not the stunning, ethereal beauty of Princess Ashtine, but a graceful, simple beauty. Her light golden hair was braided down her back, but she didn’t have the blue eyes of the others. Hers were a soft gray, like the color of stormy skies over the sea. “This is Neve, my Third.”

“I have heard much about you,” Neve said, giving a slight bow of her head.

“Don’t believe a word this one has to say about me,” Scarlett scoffed with a smile. “He’s still irked I threw fire at him.”

Neve laughed with a smile that filled her eyes. Turning to Briar, she said, “She is as enchanting as you described, Prince.”

“I do not think I could ever do her justice. There really is no way to quite describe Queen Scarlett,” Briar replied with a wink.

Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him as she interlaced her fingers with Sorin’s, and she let him lead her back to the head of the table. Tea and sandwiches, along with fruit and cheese, appeared on the table, and they all took seats. Sorin took the seat to her right, and Briar took a seat to her left.

“Right then,” Scarlett said, holding her chin a bit higher. “I don’t know how Talwyn ran things. Honestly, I don’t care. I don’t care about ranks or titles. In this room, in these Courts, we are all on the same playing field. You are free to speak and share your thoughts. We make decisions that concern these two Courts together.”

She could feel pride emanating from Sorin and Briar beside her. The Fire Court’s eyes held only respect. Nakoa’s eyes were slightly doubtful, but that was to be expected when he’d only just met her.

“I am assuming you two were filled in on the happenings this morning from Sawyer?” she asked, addressing Nakoa and Neve.

A feline smile spread across Neve’s lips. “Oh, we watched. You really handled her quite spectacularly if I do say so myself.”

The confusion must have flitted across Scarlett’s face because Sorin said beside her, “Remember when I told you of Water Gazers?”

Understanding flooded through her as she turned to Briar. “You created a water mirror for them? Where?”

“My crystal clear water glass, of course,” he said with a wink.

“Wonderful,” Scarlett breathed. “Less to explain then.”

“You honestly think,” came Sawyer’s voice next to Briar, “that the High Witch will come to a summit?”

“The High Witch doesn’t give a fuck about the rest of the world,” Nakoa said coolly from down the table, and in that instant, Scarlett saw exactly why he and Eliza were casual lovers.

“I didn’t say she would be enthused by the idea,” Scarlett retorted. “But, yes, she will come.”

“What makes you so sure?” Nakoa shot back, his turquoise eyes full of challenge.

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