Page 163 of Lady of Ashes

“There isn’t,” she ground out.

“You are lying.”

“Can you just trust that I will know if and when I need to do this?”

“No, I cannot. Not without a reason,” he replied. “And if you continue to refuse, I will no longer train with you. I will order the others to stop as well, even though an order will not be necessary. They all agree with me, and so would Cassius if I asked him.”

“I am their queen,” she said incredulously.

“And I am their prince and king,” he said simply, his hand slipping from her face.

“Sorin! I need to train!”

“It will be utterly pointless if you are not training with all of your power, Scarlett. It will be useless if you do not have any power to wield,” he shot back.

“Gods, I truly do hate you sometimes.”

“I know, Love,” he said, bending and pressing a light kiss to her cheek. “Let me know when you have changed your mind.”

She pushed him away from her, stalking to the door. He didn’t say anything to stop her, and she was ?ne with that. She didn’t particularly want to see his face right now.

She wasn’t sure where her feet were taking her, but she also wasn’t surprised when she found herself on the beach, staring out across the sea. The stars were muted tonight, clouds casting them in shadows, and the half-moon was lost among them too.

Sorin wasn’t wrong. She was weakening. She could swear all of her power reserves were draining far faster than they ever had before. Not just her shadows and white ?ames, but her ?re and ice too. How often had she used her magic in the Fire Court when she was trying to master it? She still had never weakened this quickly. She was exhausted every night when she climbed into bed. And sure, maybe all the evening activities with Sorin kept her up later than was really necessary, but there had been a few nights where she’d gotten ten hours of sleep or more and was still dragging by the end of the day. Of course Sorin had noticed. She was honestly surprised it’d taken him this long to confront her about it. She’d known it was coming. She was the one who’d turned it into an argument because she was on edge. She was tired and worried and that made her agitated and dif?cult. More dif?cult than usual anyway.

I sent you someone.

She sighed. She really just wanted some time by herself to ?gure all of this out, and if he’d sent Cassius down here when he could barely stand on his leg …

“And so the sea calls to those who understand her song.” Sheturned to ?nd a water portal snapping shut behind Briar. “Hello, Sunshine.”

She snickered. “I do believe you are the only one who comments on the little light I possess before my darkness.”

“An occasional reminder that the light does, in fact, exist alongside the darkness, does not seem like a bad thing,” he replied, coming to a stop beside her. His hands slid into the pockets of his pants. His hair had grown longer. It was past his shoulders now.

After several minutes of silence, she said, “Sorin says you think I can breathe under water.”

“You can,” he con?rmed.

“How?” she demanded, turning to look up at him.

“You control the water element, Sunshine. You can simply will it to part and create air pockets,” he answered with a shrug.

“Just like that, hmm?” she mused sarcastically.

“It will take practice, of course, like anything does.” He paused. “It will also require the use of your gifts, which will not be possible if your power reserves are not adequately ?lled.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “If that is what you wish to discuss, you can take your leave.”

“I have no desire to discuss it,” Briar said dismissively. “Simply stating a fact.”

“Mhmm.”

Waves rolled to the shore, the sound soothing her soul as she stood in the night.

“Could you show me to the library here?”

“I could.”

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