Page 38 of Lady of Shadows

“It’s about Windonelle. What’s happening there, and what we can do about it,” she answered, her voice softening a little.

“Have you heard news?” Callan asked, looking up in surprise.

“Not exactly,” she answered hesitantly. Then she said, “Tell me of your father.”

“My father?” Callan asked, his brows rising.

“Yes. Do you know why he wanted a High Force to be trained?” she asked, leaning over Cyrus to take the sandwich that Rayner passed to her.

“Why don’t you ask the one who was actually training them?” Callan retorted sharply.

“I have, but he doesn’t knowwhyyour father felt the need to have a High Force.”

“Why would any kingdom want a group of elite, highly trained lethal soldiers?” Callan countered.

“To carry out secret missions,” Eliza cut in. “Our most skilled warriors are sent out when things need to be handled quickly and discreetly. Things we don’t want others to know about.”

“And you are wondering what those matters might be for my father?” Callan asked. He shifted his attention back to Scarlett. “If I knew,do you not think I would have already told you? Do you not trust that I have been trying to help you this whole time?”

“I do,” Scarlett said, “but maybe you don’t know that you know, Callan. Maybe it has absolutely nothing to do with the children disappearing.”

“Are you asking him to relay information about his kingdom that was discussed behind closed doors?” Sloan asked now, his voice hard.

“That is exactly what she is asking,” Sorin said, striding into the dining hall. He had on an elegant red tunic with gold thread throughout and charcoal gray pants. “You really could not wait an extra five minutes for me to get here before you started eating?”

“When you say we’re going to have a meeting at noon, perhaps you should be hereat noon,” Cyrus replied, grabbing another sandwich from the platter.

“Are those pears?” Scarlett asked, leaning over Cyrus's plate and practically crawling on the table to reach for them. Rayner sighed, picked one up, and, on a swirl of smoke, passed it to Scarlett. She sat back on the table, her feet swinging once more. She seemed so comfortable around them, as if she had lived with them her whole life, not merely stayed here for the past several days.

“Are those new boots?” Sorin asked, studying her swinging feet.

Cyrus barked a laugh, and a feline grin spread across Scarlett’s face. “I had some money to burn, Prince.”

“I have been with you all morning. When did you get to the city?”

“While you were bathing I paid Camilla to go to the city and fetch me a few things.”

“Boots?”

“And chocolates and books from the sound of things,” Cyrus said, amusement dancing in his golden eyes.

Callan watched as Scarlett tipped her head back in laughter, her shadows ebbing and flowing. Was this how she was when she was alone with her friends in the Black Syndicate? With Cassius and Death’s Shadow? She had said to him on so many occasions that he did not know all of her. He hadn’t wanted to believe her.He had wanted to believe that she had felt comfortable enough around him that she could be her entire self, with no pretenses, no masks.

Sorin settled into a chair beside Cyrus. Scarlett stayed perched on the table between them. Her eyes met Sorin’s, and she tilted her head to the side like she heard something. Sorin’s mouth quirked to the side.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” Eliza drawled from her seat, “maybe the mortal prince can tell us what he knows.”

All eyes shifted back to him now. “As I have already said, Sorin was the one training them. He would know more than I do. My father, it appears, had several secrets I was unaware of. It seems to be a common theme in my life as of late.”

Scarlett’s brows rose, and she spun to face him, now sitting cross-legged on the table. She met his eyes, her shadows darkening some, swirling a little faster. “I was planning to tell you so many things when we were to meet in the clearing, Callan. I know we are not on the best of terms right now, but we are on the same side.”

“Are we?” he countered.

“Why would you think we are not?” Sorin asked. He sat casually in his chair, his hand resting on the table near Scarlett.

“I have been told very little since we arrived here,” Callan said.

“And this meeting is to rectify that,” Sorin replied, sipping from his glass of water. “What do you wish to know?”

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