Page 100 of Lady of Ashes

“Hey, Love.”

“Gods, I am so sorry, Sorin,” she said, more tears sliding free. “I told you I was not made for this. I told you I wasn’t made to sit on a throne. I should have listened to my instincts.”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I do not believe that for one second. I do not know what Alaric said or did to you while you were there to make you doubt yourself like this, but you are strong enough to face this. Mistakes were made. You made a badcall. What’s done is done. Now you get to decide how to move on from here. But ?rst …” He stood, taking her hand and tugging her to her feet with him. “You are going to eat.”

“So demanding,” she murmured, swiping at her face yet again.

He tucked her into his side, pressing a kiss to her hair as he guided her to the doors. “Love, you’ll discover just how demanding I can be later tonight.”

CHAPTER 24

SORIN

“Iswear to Saylah, Sorin, if you make me eat one more bite of food …” Scarlett trailed off as she ?opped onto her back on thegrey sofa she was sitting on, her hair bright against the upholstery.

When they had left the council room, Sorin had led her back to the queen’s private wing to a small den. It had a ?replace, the sofa she was currently sprawled across, a couple of cream-colored, high-backed armchairs, and a small table for six off to the side. A few ?oor-to-ceiling windows ran along one wall, letting in the warmth and sunlight of the day. He had opened one to let in the air off the water the Black Halls were built against, knowing simply being able to smell the saltwater would ease some of Scarlett’s nerves. It was cozy and intimate and reserved for the queen and king of the Western Courts.

After he had sent messages to his Court and Briar that morning while she had still slept, he had also asked Rayner to have some sort of meal prepared for them and sent here to be waiting. He’d known the conversations with his Inner Court would be intense, and he’d also known she’d need this time to breathe.

And eat.

She needed to fucking eat.

So when they’d entered this room, he had immediately gone to the table that was laden with fruits and breads and cheeses and meats, piling her a full plate. He’d sat beside her on that sofa and made sure she ate the whole damn thing.

“Are you sure you got enough to eat?” he asked, putting more meat and bread onto the plate as he spoke.

“Yes, Sorin,” she sighed. “They did feed me. I mean, not at ?rst. But once they realized how quickly I could weaken, Alaric made sure I had regular meals. Small, but regular.”

“Care to tell me more about this whole sleeping next to Mikale bit?” he ground out, dropping the plate to the table a little harder than he’d intended. “You told me he didn’t—”

“He didn’t, Sorin,” she interrupted, and he turned to ?nd her sitting back up. Her arms were folded across the back of the sofa, her head resting on them as she looked up at him. “I wasn’t forced to do anything like that, but Alaric was trying to make me as uncomfortable as possible, while making sure I didn’t weaken enough to break the Blood Mark. So I was given a bed to sleep in, but Mikale shared that bed. I was bathed in cold water with Mikale watching over me the entire time. He dressed me, and he took some liberties with his hands—”

Fire ?ared in his vision. Sorin was standing before her before she could utter another word, pulling her up onto her knees and slamming his mouth onto hers. She let out a surprised gasp, and he sank his tongue into her mouth, too. His arm snaked around her waist, forcing her to arch her back as he bent forward over the back of the sofa.

“Tonight,” he growled onto her lips, “you will tell me every place he tooklibertieswith you.”

Her hand came up, brushing a lock of hair from his brow. “I am yours, Sorin,” she said softly. “Only yours.”

He pressed another kiss to her lips before releasing her and going back to the food. He ?lled the plate with more food despite her protests, setting it on the low table before the sofa. She’d sprawled back onto the cushions, and he lifted her head slightly as he took a seat, lowering it back onto his lap.

She stared up at him, playing with the shadows that she had released to ?ow around her, and she sent one to curl around his ear.

“Do you think we should tell Talwyn that I am Avonleyan?” she asked.

Sorin sighed. “I think it will come out eventually, and knowing her, it would be better if it came from us, rather than her discovering it on her own.”

She nodded her head once. “Is there a library here?”

“Of course,” he answered, running his ?ngers along her face.

“Can you take me there? After … everything is ?nished today.”

“Yes,” he said, twirling a piece of her hair around a ?nger. “Anything in particular we are looking for?”

He said it as casually as he could, but if she was seeking out books, she had ideas swirling in her mind. She was looking to research something.

“I need to ?gure out this Source thing,” she sighed. “I can’t do anything about Mikale or Alaric until I can use this magic and replenish it without …”

---