Page 111 of Lady of Ashes

“Veda,” Callan ground out, his hold on Tava tightening. Where the hell were Sloan and Finn? “Can we help you with something?”

“I—” She cleared her throat, her hands smoothing down her pale green dress.

“We will return to the grand hall in a moment,” Callan said darkly, a clear dismissal.

“Of course,” Veda said tightly, turning on her heel, the door snicking shut behind her.

Tava pulled back from his chest, a sly smile on her lips.

“You knew she would come looking for us?” Callan asked, realization dawning.

“Call it a hunch,” she said with a wink, taking a step back.

“You were waiting for her?” He didn’t know if he should feel sheepish for reading into that kiss or impressed by her cleverness that never ceased to amaze him.

“I was,” Tava said, reaching to smooth his tunic once more. “I hope I did not overstep with my actions.”

“You didn’t,” he answered quickly.

She cleared her throat slightly as she stepped back again. “Are you ready to go back?”

“Not particularly,” he muttered, and Tava laughed under her breath as he took her hand and began leading her from the conservatory and back to the grand hall.

“You are failing to see the opportunity that has been presented to us,” she said.

“What opportunity?”

“Events like this are notorious for the highest in society showing off in public. They speak of things, Callan. They boast of deals made, affairs had, knowledge they shouldn’t know,” she said with an air of knowing. “You can learn very interesting things if you simply place yourself in the right place at the right time.”

“You know,” Callan mused, pulling open the door to the side room and ushering her through, “you truly are quite the cunning little fox.”

She huffed a breath of laughter. “I am nothing special.”

“I think we will need to disagree on that,” he replied as they stepped through the adjacent door and back into the ballroom. “So what do you suggest we do, little fox?”

Tava elbowed him in the ribs with another breath of laughter. “Let’s go greet people. Mingle. It will admittedly be harder to blend into the background when I am standing beside the prince though,” she said, her hand going to her throat and ?ddling with her amulet.

“Where do you want to start?”

“We need to be positioned in places where we can hear multiple conversations at once,” Tava answered, her eyes scanning theroom. “You are the important one here. You keep them engaged in conversation, and I will see what else I can hear around us.”

“So eavesdropping is indeed something you have made a habit,” he teased, leaning down to speak in her ear so she could hear him over the din of the hall.

“Always be listening, Callan,” she replied, a wry smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “You never know what you will hear.”

CHAPTER 26

SCARLETT

Scarlett took a deep breath before she stepped into the private training pits on the sprawling grounds of the Black Halls. They were located on cliffs that overlooked the sea to the south, and the sea air calmed her nerves some.

They were meeting with Talwyn, Azrael, and Ashtine this afternoon. She had awoken to Sorin demanding to know all the places Mikale had touched her while she’d been held captive, and he’d taken his time replacing those touches with his own and then some. When they had ?nally dressed, she had checked in on Cassius, who was still asleep with no change, and ate a small breakfast with the children in the great hall.

Eliza’s ire had ?nally started relenting towards the end of the day last night. There was still distrust there, but she had at least stopped snapping at Scarlett every time she spoke to her. Scarlett considered that a win.

Now, though … Now she needed to face the male working off a temper with the general in the sparring ring.

Cyrus had said all but a handful of words the entire afternoon and evening. He wouldn’t even look at Scarlett, and when Sorin had insisted they end things for the day, Cyrus had stood and left without a backward glance.

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