Page 171 of Lady of Ashes

And whatever he was doing, it was keeping him from her.

CHAPTER 37

SORIN

“It’s freezing here,” Scarlett groused.

Sorin hid his smile, reaching over and sending a ?ood of heat through her. She stuffed her hands deeper into the fur-lined cloak she was wearing. The winds swirled around them, snow ?urried with it, and her hair ?uttered around her face. She wasn’t wrong. The Wind Court was always, well, windy. The winds tended to shift from breezy to gale storm depending on the princess’s mood, and with Ashtine’s demeanor lately, the winds whipping about weren’t a surprise.

They stood before a stone bridge that stretched across a cavern leading to Ashtine’s Citadel. The domes of the various towers of her fortress reached into the clouds. The Citadel sat atop the highest cliffs. Only the cliffs where skystone could be found towered higher. Those same cliffs could also only be reached by the winding steps located in the back courtyard of the Citadel.

Sorin pressed a hand to the small of Scarlett’s back, guiding her forward. “It will be warmer inside.”

She grumbled something under her breath that Sorin couldn’t make out, even with his Fae hearing. She had woken in a mood, and he hadn’t quite worked out if it was simply an off day or if something was bothering her.

Nothing else was said, and when the main doors were pulled open, they were greeted not by Princess Ashtine but by Briar. It was still a shock for Sorin to think of him with the princess. Ashtine was just so … Ashtine.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Briar greeted warmly when Scarlett pulled back her hood.

“Morning,” she replied, far more subdued than normal. Well, it used to be unusual. This mood and state were starting to become more commonplace, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it yet.

Briar’s eyes darted to Sorin in question, but he could only shrug as he watched Scarlett taking in the great foyer.

“Ashtine will be along shortly. Did you eat this morning?” Briar asked.

“Mhmm,” Scarlett murmured, moving to look at a large painting along the wall.

“You had a pear,” Sorin said, his tone conveying exactly what he thought of that “breakfast.” It wasn’t enough for a mortal, let alone a magic-wielder who needed food for their power reserves.

“I’m ?ne,” she replied dismissively.

“Scarlett.”

She waved him off, moving on to another painting.

True to her word, she’d drunk a small cup of his blood a few nights ago. She hadn’t requested more since, and he didn’t want to push her on this again. Not unless he needed to, but he also couldn’t wrap his mind aroundwhyshe wouldn’t want to keep her power wells fully replenished at all times. Not with everything that was going on. Not with everything she had just been through. If they had known, if her Avonleyan powers had been at full-strength, she would have been better prepared for that ?ght at the border. Yet she still resisted.

“That is a portrait of Sefarina.”

They all turned to the lilting voice when Princess Ashtine entered the foyer.

“What someone thinks she looks like?” Scarlett asked, her head tilting as she studied the painting of the wind goddess. She had hair like moonlight, white and silver— much like Ashtine’s— and sky-blue eyes with winds that seemed to swirl in them. How someone could paint wind Sorin didn’t know, but the artist had managed it. A long, silver gown ?owed around her ample curves, and the woman appeared to be ?oating, her bare feet an inch above the clouds painted beneath her.

“One of her preferred forms, perhaps,” Ashtine agreed.

Scarlett turned from the painting to face her. “Thank you for allowing me to come here this morning.”

“You brought the amulets?”

“I did,” Scarlett answered, patting a pocket on her cloak. “Briar also mentioned you have extensive libraries here. I was hoping to look through them.”

“The keys ?rst,” Ashtine answered. “Then we can discuss the libraries.”

Briar fell into step beside her, keeping space between them. Apparently their relationship was a secret from all except their Inner Courts. Did Ashtine’s Inner Court even know? Should they ever take their affairs public, the two Courts would likely not be happy. The Royals taking an of?cial partner outside of their own Courts would be nothing short of a scandal. Such politics among the Courts were the reason Eliza now resided in the Fire Court. Any heirs produced would favor one power or the other, not both, leaving one Court essentially heirless.

He glanced side-long at his wife while they followed behind. Her hands were shoved back in the folds of her cloak, as if even inside she had not escaped the winter chill.

Are you all right?

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