Page 28 of Lady of Shadows

Briar jerked the dagger from the table as he passed by, handing both it and a glass of wine to Scarlett.

“Stop speaking, Cyrus. It hurts my ears,” chided the female sitting to his right with a roll of her eyes. She had a book open on the table before her that she had been reading quietly during all the bantering. Her red-gold hair cascaded around her in great sweeping curls. Her eyes were the grey of ash and smoke. To say she was stunning was an understatement. Her top was low cut and whorls of tattoos lined her chest and ran down her bare arms.

“You know Eliza,” Sorin said. “She is the general of my armies.”

“Wait, she’s actually a general?” Scarlett blurted, trying and failing to hide her awe. Eliza threw her a knowing smile, saying tightly, “I’m glad to see you are well,” before returning to her book.

“As I told you, females fight alongside the males here,” Sorin replied simply, as if that explained everything. “If you plan to continue your weaponry and combat training, I suggest taking it up with her.” Scarlett’s eyes were still on Eliza, who had returned to ignoring them all, when Sorin continued. “And that is Rayner. He is my Third.”

Scarlett looked to the remaining male in the room to the right of Eliza. He had a kind face, but there was a darkness to him she couldn’t quite place. His eyes were nearly identical to Eliza’s except that the grey in his eyes seemed to actually swirl and flow like smoke. His hair was a stark charcoal color similar to Sorin’s, but not quite as dark. He gave her a warm smile, saying softly in a cool voice that somehow managed to chill her bones, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Scarlett.”

Food suddenly appeared on the table before them, to which Eliza muttered, “Praise, Anala.” The book before her disappeared in a burst of flame as she reached for the plate of braised lamb.

Sorin sighed again. “We do have a guest, Eliza.”

“From my understanding, she is not a guest at all, but lives here. Theactualguests are not allowed to cross the bridges,” Eliza replied curtly, clearly unconcerned.

Sorin shot Scarlett an apologetic look, but Scarlett just gave him a small smile in return. The whole scene was like a breath of fresh air. They were a family, just as Sorin had said, and it reminded her of simpler times with Cassius and Nuri and Juliette, before orphans had started disappearing from the Syndicate. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would focus on that and what was being done while she was away. But for now, she felt honored to be allowed into their little world, even if just for the night. Sorin led her to the empty chair next to Briar before he went to get his own drink.

“I have been gone for over three years and no one can even bother to get their prince a drink?” he accused, striding for the bar at the back.

Cyrus snorted, spooning roasted vegetables onto his plate. “While you’ve been vacationing with the mortals, someone had to deal with Talwyn. You should be gettingmea drink, asshole.”

“He is incredibly needy, isn’t he? Poor thing fussing over getting his own alcohol,” Scarlett said, taking a piece of bread from the basket that Briar was handing her.

“Says the one who was just waited on by a prince,” Sorin quipped while pouring liquor into a glass.

“I can’t help it that he’s only spent time with me a handful of times and likes me more than you,” Scarlett retorted sweetly. “Besides, I’m prettier than you.” Sorin turned, drink in hand, and a wary smile was on his face. She batted her lashes at him, taking a sip of her wine.

Across the table, Cyrus gave her an amused smile, and with his eyes on hers, called to Sorin, “I like her.”

“I knew you would and dreaded the two of you meeting,” Sorin remarked, returning to the table with his drink in hand.

The conversation ebbed and flowed with lighthearted bantering and laughter. They were nearing the end of the meal, having eaten their fill, and Scarlett was beginning to wonder why Sorin had thought he’d need Briar as a buffer when Cyrus asked out of the blue, “Did you find it then?”

The chitchat around the table went silent as all eyes turned to Sorin. His arm was draped casually across the back of Scarlett’s chair while he was eating a piece of apple pie. He set his fork down on his plate. “This is not the time for this discussion, Cyrus.”

“Bullshit,” Cyrus replied. “You’ve been gone for over three years. We hardly heard from you. Then you finally return, make us babysit a bunch of mortal royalty, and keep us all locked out for days, but let Drayce in.” Cyrus gestured at Briar, clearly bitter about being kept out of the know. “He wouldn’t fucking tell us anything either, and you return with a—”

“It was not my place to say anything,” Briar cut in with exasperation. This discussion had obviously been had multiple times before this evening.

Scarlett could feel the quick glances at her from the others. She thought they had already known who she was. She couldn’t have been more wrong, and they clearly did not trust her.

“I should go so you guys can discuss things,” Scarlett stated, making to push her chair back from the table.

“Yes,” Eliza said, her tone matter-of-fact.

“No.” Sorin’s voice rang out, pure command. He stared at Eliza, fury lining his features. Scarlett stilled, glancing between the Fire Prince and his general. When he looked atherlike that, it usually meant she’d be running extra miles in the morning. To her credit though, Eliza stared right back without so much as a flinch.

“It’s fine, Sorin,” Scarlett said quietly, again trying to push her chair back from the table.

Sorin held firm to her chair so that Scarlett couldn’t move it. She threw him a pleading look, but he was looking each of his Inner Court members in the eye. Briar was silent beside her. He reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and Scarlett knew then exactly why Sorin had asked him to be here tonight.

“Let her go, Sorin,” Eliza said, her eyes still fixed on her prince. “There are matters to be discussed.”

“Then they can be discussed while she is present,” Sorin answered, his voice low and icy.

“Really?” Eliza asked, her brows rising. “Then let’s discuss the mortal prince who has been seeking her out. Let’s discuss the little matter of him being in love with her while you bear a new Mark.” Her eyes gleamed with challenge.

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