Page 104 of Lady of Ashes

Sorin watched the scene playing out in front of him. Watched a queen sitting on a stone ?oor comforting an orphan. He dropped down beside them, his hand coming to Scarlett’s back.

“Can we make a trade, Tula?” he asked, and the little girl pulled back from Scarlett’s shoulder, tear stains on her cheeks.

“Wh-what kind of trade?” she snif?ed.

“If Scarlett and I made you a new, special necklace, could we trade you for that one?”

Her eyes brightened at that thought. “You can do that?”

“If that sounds like a good trade to you?” Sorin replied with a wink.

Tula nodded her head enthusiastically, sitting back on her heels expectantly.

Sorin formed a small ?ame in his palm, no bigger than a coin, then he made it take the shape of a heart. Scarlett’s hand came up over his, and water magic ?owed into his ?ames, freezing the ?re as it wove amongst it. In the center of the heart, she put a white ?ame before encasing the entire thing in hoarfrost crystal, leaving it cool to the touch.

“Does it meet your approval?” Sorin asked when they’d ?nished, holding it out for Tula’s inspection.

“I love it!” she cried, in a pitch Sorin was sure only little girls could hit. Scarlett reached over and lifted the chain from around Tula’s neck. She placed the pendant in her little hands as she said, “Thank you for this, Tula.”

Tula was staring at the pendant with wonder. She looked up at Rayner. “Did you see my new necklace?”

He chuckled. “I did. It is beautiful. How about we go ?nd a chain to put it on so you do not lose it?”

“I have to go to a meeting, Tula, but I will come see you later tonight. Okay?” Scarlett asked, her attention ?xed on the amulet in her hand.

But Tula was already tugging on Rayner’s hand and leading him away. “I need to show Marion and Cilla my new necklace,” she was telling him.

“Let’s go somewhere else, Love,” Sorin said, touching her elbow and pulling her from her thoughts.

Without a word, she grabbed his hand and pulled him through a rip in the world. He found himself standing in their private chambers at his Fiera Palace. She had already dropped his hand and was making her way to the large dressing room. He followed and when he entered, he found her holding her own spirit amulet. The amulet Eliné had given her. A circle with a crescent sitting on its side atop it, hung from the chain. It was Saylah’s symbol, and it appeared to be the same black material as the one they’d just traded Tula for. It hung from a chain that looked identical to Tula’s as well.

“The keys have always been trying to get home,” she murmured. She looked up at him, and he couldn’t read her expression, but he felt a tentative hope emanating down the bond. “The keys have always been trying to get home,” she repeated a little louder, as if that explained everything.

“I am going to need a little more than that, Love,” he said, coming to her side and taking her amulet from her, turning it over in his hand.

“Juliette and the man in my dreams have both said that to me,” she said. “The keys have always been trying to get home. When I ?rst saw the Oracle, when I ?rst learned of the keys, she told me a child of each possesses them on a chain of wind-kissed stone.”

“A child of each what?” Sorin asked, reaching for Tula’s amulet as well, holding the two side-by-side.

“That I don’t know yet, but it cannot be a coincidence that Ashtine recognized Tula’s as skystone. I bet if she had seen mine before, she would have said it sooner, but I haven’t worn it since our bonding,” Scarlett said, beginning to pace in the dressing room, her hand combing through her hair.

“But the Oracle said they were on a chain of wind-kissed stone. Wouldn’t that lead one to believe the key would be on the chain?” Sorin asked. He still wasn’t convinced these were chains of skystone. They were just too … dull.

Her hand shot out and snatched her necklace from his grasp. She ran her ?ngers along the amulet, holding it up to the light. The amulet seemed to absorb the light, as if it were sucking it into itself. “That son of a bitch,” she muttered under her breath. She met his gaze once more as she said, “The amulets are nightstone.”

“Nightstone?” Sorin repeated in confusion. “Nightstone is not a thing.”

His confusion only intensi?ed as Scarlett dropped to the ?oor, her head tipping back and laughter spilling from her lips. “He never gave me a rock. He was showing me I already had it.” Then she lifted the amulet to her lips and spoke to it. “Something like this, you asshole? Speaking into a rock?”

“Scarlett … Are you feeling all right?” Sorin ventured carefully, but it certainly seemed as if she’d gone mad.

“Fantastic,” she replied, getting her laughter under control. “We found the ?rst two keys.”

“I understand why you seem to think that, but I do not think we should jump to any conclusions,” Sorin started.

But she had already pushed back to her feet, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his. Any argument he’d been about to make ?ew from his mind, as he tilted her head back and deepened the kiss. He herded her towards the wall, his hands on her hips as he walked her backwards. Her hands slid down his shoulders, down his arms, her nails digging into his forearms as he moved his lips to her neck, brushing her hair out of the way. A breathy moan escaped her lips, and he couldn’t help but smile with smug satisfaction against her skin at the sound.

Gods, he had missed that sound.

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