Page 105 of Lady of Ashes

He had missed having her close. Missed the taste of her. Her scent.

But the sounds she made when she came for him?

Yeah, those topped the list of things he’d missed most. He craved those sounds like he craved air in his lungs.

But before he could do anything about hearing those sounds again, a ?re message appeared by his head.

Then another. And another.

He growled in frustration, reaching up and plucking the messages from the ?ames.

“They are all from Cyrus, stating they are waiting for us.”

“Glad to know he is still a busybody,” Scarlett muttered breathlessly, her cheeks ?ushed.

“We really should go and clear the air with them before we meet with Talwyn tomorrow,” Sorin replied, shoving down every ounce of desire and forcing his feet to take a step back from her.

She sighed heavily, bending down to retrieve the amulets from where they’d been dropped to the ?oor. She pocketed them before meeting his eyes once more. The lightness that had been in them moments ago was gone. “They will forgive me eventually, right?”

He reached out and cupped her cheek. “Yes, Love. They likely already do.”

“Do you?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Really?” she asked skeptically. “Because you’re still blocking me out most of the time.”

“Forgiveness does not equal trust,” he replied, running his thumb along her cheekbone. “But that will come in time. Give me time, Scarlett.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she nodded once before stepping from his touch. “I need to grab a couple books from the library chamber and then we can go back.”

Sorin nodded and sent a quick reply to Cyrus, letting him know they’d be back within the hour, before he followed Scarlett out of the dressing room. The guards and help all bowed as they passed them in the halls, welcoming Scarlett home. She smiled at them all, greeting most by name, but her smiles didn’t reach her eyes. Not like they had moments ago when she was showing her magic to Tula or laughing on the ?oor of their dressing room.

She didn’t say anything as they made the trek through the library shelves, into the dusty passages, and down the secret stairwell to the chamber below. She lit the various candles and torches around the room with a ?ick of her ?ngers, and Sorin couldn’t help but smile softly at her casual use of her gifts. Mere months ago, she’d been terri?ed of them. Refused to use them unless supervised. And now?

Now she threw ?ames, froze ?re, and created with shadows as if it were part of her. Just as it was always intended to be.

She was ri?ing through books on the table, muttering to herself, when she glanced at him as if she sensed his stare. “What?” she asked, dropping a pile of books back onto the table and blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

“Nothing,” he answered, coming to her side. “What are we looking for?”

“There were two books down here. One was about Avonleyan customs. I didn’t look into it much as I was more concerned with the wards and the war than learning about the Avonleyan people,” she explained, beginning to look through another stack.

“And the other book?” he asked, looking through a stack of books near him. He wouldn’t be of much help though. He couldn’t read the Avonleyan language, so he wouldn’t know if he stumbled across the book or not.

She cast him a quick glance before quickly averting her eyes back to her task. “A book on Blood Magic.”

He stilled. “Scarlett,” he said, her name a warning.

“Alaric knows how to use it, Sorin. Maybe Mikale does too. And Lord Tyndell,” she said, moving to yet another stack of books. “It would be stupid to not learn as much as we can about it.”

“You intend to simply study it or practice it?” he asked pointedly. She stilled for a fraction of a second before continuing her search. When she didn’t answer him, though, he said tightly, “Scarlett, tell me you are not planning to practice more Blood Magic.”

“Well, since we’re doing this whole not-keeping-things-from-each-other thing …” She trailed off, moving to a bookcase.

“For fuck’s sake, Scarlett,” Sorin seethed. “You cannot be serious.”

“Look at you using your big boy words,” she taunted, smirking at him in that infuriating way she knew would make him see red.

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