Page 95 of Lady of Ashes

She slid from the bed, her bare feet sinking into the plush rug as she made her way to him. When she reached his side, he wordlessly passed her a cup of tea, steam instantly beginning to rise from it.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He only nodded, his gaze ?xed on the ?ickering ?ames. Black hair fell across his forehead, and she reached up tentatively to brush it back. When he didn’t pull away from her, she ran her ?ngers gently along the side of his face. His eyes fell closed, and he sighed, the sound somehow both pleasure and wariness all at once.

As she withdrew her hand, he pulled a note from his pocket, passing it to her.

“It appears Talwyn is demanding to meet with you.”

Scarlett glanced at the quickly scrawled message before incinerating it in her palm and tossing the ashes into the hearth. “Is Prince Azrael all right? I know I asked a lot of him.”

“I have not heard,” Sorin answered. “My focus has been rather singular for a while now.”

She nodded, taking a sip of her tea.

“The others will be wanting to see you as well,” Sorin continued after the silence stretched on.

“And hear my explanations for my actions, I am sure,” she replied somewhat bitterly.

“Yes,” he con?rmed. “And that. You will …” He pushed out another long breath, raking his hand through his hair, those same strands she’d brushed away falling back onto his brow. “After this, Scarlett, you will need to prove yourself to them.”

“I seem to remember you telling Talwyn I did not need to prove myself,” she said.

“They trusted you without question once. It will not happen again. Not after everything that happened. Now you do need to prove yourself to them,” Sorin replied.

She pursed her lips, calling shadows to her ?ngertips and letting them drift along her palm, drawing comfort from their darkness. She didn’t say anything to that because what was there to say? Would it make any difference when they heard her explanations and reasonings? Sorin still hadn’t let her fully explain her actions, and she knew even once she did, it still wouldn’t repair any of the chasm that had formed between them.

“I think you should meet with my Inner Court, Briar, and the Water Court ?rst. Deal with them. Give them time to react, so that when we meet with the Eastern Courts, you are not feeling attacked from all directions,” Sorin said tightly, his hands sliding into his pockets.

“Attacked?”

He ?nally turned to meet her eyes. “They are angry, Scarlett. They are hurt. They feel betrayed by their queen. I told you they needed to know you trust them. You basically told them you do not.”

His eyes went back to the ?re, and she heard what he didn’t voice: you basically toldmeyou do not trust me.

“What things would you like to know before we go back?” she asked quietly, ?ddling with the teacup just to keep her hands busy.

“When did you ?gure it out? What those Night Children were really doing at the border?”

“I had been trying to ?gure out their angle since I saw the reports at the meeting with Talwyn. The day I came for you,” she answered.

“When did you ?gure it out?” he repeated.

“When Briar con?rmed there were only three Night Children at his border, I knew for sure.”

“So before I stepped foot over the border to speak with them, you already knew you were going to leave,” he con?rmed.

Her eyes fell to her tea. “Yes.”

“What happened at the border?”

“There were several Night Children there. And the High Force. I fought.”

She felt his gaze swivel to her. “You fought against the High Force? Alone? The forceItrained?”

Scarlett shook her head. “When the leader of the Night Children realized who I was, he instructed the High Force to fall back. So he and the other Night Children could have room to detain me.”

“You took on an entire clan of Night Children? By yourself?”

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