Page 147 of Lady of Ashes

“That is not always an option,” she shot back.

“Obviously,” he replied. “But when the option is available, I wish to take it, rather than add to the burdens you are already trying to carry because you refuse to let others help.”

“No tiptoeing there, hmm?” she muttered.

A low groan from Cassius had her attention shifting back to him before Sorin said anything in reply. Fingers curled around her own, squeezing slightly, and her heart stuttered as the hope that he was ?nally waking grew in her chest. His eyelids were ?uttering, hismouth parting, and a few seconds later, a garbled, “Seastar?” came from his mouth.

Tears were instantly on her cheeks as she pushed up onto her knees to lean over him. “I’m here, Cass,” she whispered, trying to get her tears under control.

It took another minute before his eyes opened fully, his good eye darting around the room before settling on her. And the world seemed to still as they just looked at each other. Then Scarlett was laughing through her tears, and a smile was lifting up on Cassius’s lips as she was lurching forward and into his arms. She tried to be careful of where his injuries had been, but he pulled her close, his face burrowing into her hair.

“You held on, Seastar,” he whispered.

“So did you,” she answered into his chest.

Rustling behind her had her pulling back to look up at Sorin. He merely bent over her and pressed a quick kiss to her temple before he said, “I will let you two have some time. Let me know if you need anything.”

She smiled up at him with gratitude. He wasn’t even out the door yet when she was crawling under the blankets and settling into Cassius’s side, his arm wrapping tightly around her and holding her close.

“Tell me what happened,” he rasped, his throat dry from lack of use. “Let me get you some water,” Scarlett said, trying to pull away from him, but his grip only tightened around her. “In a moment. Just … In a moment.”

“Okay,” she whispered, relaxing back into him.

The minutes ticked by as they sat in silence, soaking in each other’s presence. She soaked in all of it— the unlabored rise and fall of his chest, the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his body against hers.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” she ?nally breathed.

“I did not think I would ever lay eyes on you again on this side of the Veil,” he admitted. “I suppose eye would be a better word choice.”

Scarlett tilted her head up to look at his eyes. One chocolate brown eye looked back at her, while the other was milky white and cloudy, the brown color so dull it was hardly visible. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“If that is the only permanent injury I am left with after allof that, I will not complain, Seastar,” he replied, squeezing her gently.

“I do not know which injuries are permanent and which will still heal yet. Your eye is permanent, yes, because of the blade used according to Hazel, but the others … She will know better than I will,” Scarlett replied, reaching up and running her ?ngers down the side of his face.

“Is Hazel a healer?” Cassius asked, shifting slightly.

Scarlett bit her lip before clearing her throat. “Hazel is a Witch. The High Witch. She is, for all intents and purposes, the queen of the Witches. And yes, she is a Healer. She actually trained Eliné.”

“She trained your mother?”

“Eliné is not my mother,” Scarlett answered. Then she took a deep breath before she added, “But Hazel is yours.”

“This High Witch is … my mother?” Cassius repeated.

Scarlett nodded. “She has not left your side since I brought you here.”

“And here is?” he asked, looking around the room.

“The Black Halls. I guess you could say it’s my palace or castle or whatever. It’s at the southern part of the continent. At the mouth of the Tykese River,” she replied, ?ddling with a loose thread on the blanket.

“This is not where Sorin brought me before?”

“No. That was his palace in Solembra. In the Fire Court.”

She felt him nod, and she glanced back up at him. “What are you thinking?”

He let loose a long breath, grimacing as he adjusted his body again. “I don’t even know where to begin to be honest. Just tell me … how you found her. Start there.”

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