Page 106 of Lady of Ashes

He crossed the chamber to her in three long strides. She had turned her back to him again, running her ?ngers along the spines of the books on a shelf. She gasped when he gripped her arm, spinning her and pressing her back to the shelves behind her.

“You will tell me before you enact any of those Marks, Scarlett. We will discuss it and be in agreement before you do it,” he said, low and even. It was taking everything in him to not lose his temper. She pursed her lips, looking everywhere but at him. “Scarlett,” he growled.

“I cannot promise that, Sorin,” she ?nally said. “If we are in the midst of a ?ght and I need to use one, I cannot stop and ask your permission.”

“Blood Magic should not be used at all, but if you are going to insist on using it, it should certainly not be used without care and meticulous thought,” he argued. “Gods, Scarlett, did you learn nothing at all from this?”

“Stop speaking to me like I am a child, Sorin,” she spat back. “I understand your concern here—”

“You clearly do not,” he said, releasing her and pushing back off the bookshelf. “Find your books so we can go.”

“So now you are going to throw a temper tantrum? Delightful,” she muttered, turning back to the bookcase.

He said nothing. He just stalked to the doorway and waited for her. She would glance at him every once in a while, but she never held his gaze for longer than a second. After several more minutes, she ?nally found the two books she’d been looking for and came to his side.

Clutching the books to her chest, she looked up at him. “We can discuss this more, Sorin. We can come to an agreement, but I need you to be on my side when we meet with the others again. I need you.”

He cupped the nape of her neck and hauled her to his lips, pressing a hard kiss to her mouth. “I am yours, and you are mine. It is always you and me. Always together.”

“Okay,” she breathed onto his lips, relief sparking down the bond.

A few minutes later, they had climbed the steps and stepped through a ?re portal back to the Black Halls. Scarlett had sent the books off with a shadow panther, and they were once again sitting at a table with his Court, Briar, and Sawyer. No one was speaking, although Rayner and Sawyer seemed far less hostile. Briar had never carried the same anger the rest of them had, regarding her actions. Cyrus was sitting rigidly in his seat, and Eliza had her arms crossed, her grey eyes hard.

Scarlett took a deep breath beside him before she said, “So, what else do you guys want to know?”

Eliza snorted with derision. “I think the better question is what else do you need to tell us?”

“I am fairly certain Sorin and I found two of the seven Avonleyan keys,” Scarlett said casually, and Sorin tipped his head back in exasperation.

“For the love of Anala, Scarlett,” he muttered, knowing exactly what was coming as Eliza spoke.

“So now you are keeping secrets from us too?” she demanded, her furious gaze landing on him.

Scarlett held up her hand before things escalated further. “To be fair, we just found them after we had eaten lunch. Rayner was there, although I hadn’t pieced it all together yet at that point.”

Briar barked a laugh from where he sat. “Always with the dramatics, Sunshine,” he teased.

She threw him a quick grin before turning back to the others and quickly ?lling them in on what she believed to be the keys.

“I am still not convinced the chains are skystone,” Sorin said when she had ?nished speaking. “And there is no way to know if the amulets are indeed the keys without involving Talwyn. So the question is, are we wanting to tell her our suspicions, or do we wait until we are sure and have found the other keys?”

“Ashtine can con?rm if they are skystone or not,” Briar said.

“With Nasima?” Scarlett asked, rolling white ?ames between her ?ngers as she contemplated the decisions before them.

“Likely not,” Briar said, his features darkening. “But she can take them to the Shira Cliffs. She can enter the places where skystone is found. In that sacred space, her own power should be able to recognize the skystone.”

Scarlett nodded. “Let’s wait until that is con?rmed before saying anything to Talwyn. I think our main concern, after Tarek, needs to be the Contessa,” she said. “I am assuming the Summit did not happen?”

Briar shook his head. “No. From my understanding, they were still waiting for a response from the Contessa. The High Witch also made it very clear she would not attend unless you were present.”

“And the Beta was with us,” Rayner added.

Scarlett nodded again. “Is it normal for the Contessa to take this long to respond?”

“She is reclusive, but no,” Sorin supplied. “This is unusual.”

“We can get Talwyn and Azrael’s input on that tomorrow,” she said after a moment. “I do not want Cassius brought up tomorrow or the fact that he is half-Avonleyan.”

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