Page 229 of Lady of Ashes

“Because you are the Fire Prince for one,” she said, her tone ringing with disbelief.

“You are incredibly powerful, Scarlett. It would make sense foryour Source to be powerful as well. You will draw more magic to re?ll your own,” he countered.

“You are the king, Sorin! If my power is depleted, it would be stupid to draw from you and weaken us both. Think of having to do that in the middle of a battle,” she argued.

“You mean how you fed from me in the middle of the ?ght with the seraphs and Night Children? That seemed to work out pretty well,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

“Sorin, this is serious! Don’t act so cavalier about it!”

“It is very serious,” he agreed. “That is why I have been searching for the answer for weeks for you.”

“And this is your solution? Foryouto become my Source? That is utterly absurd.”

Sorin barked a laugh.

“And so not funny!” she cried, smacking his shoulder.

“Scarlett, you and your antics are the de?nition of absurd,” he replied calmly, snatching her wrist when she drew back to hit him again. “May I speak now?”

She huffed, pulling her wrist out of his grasp and crossing her arms.

She threw herself back against the sofa, looking away from him.

“And you sayIthrow temper tantrums,” he tsked. She ?ipped him off with a glare.

He picked up the glass of wine she’d set on the table, pressing it back into her hand as he said, “Aside from the fact that I have, for all intents and purposes, been your Source since you returned, you are correct. It is a lot to ask of a Fae. It is a bond built on mutual trust. The Avonleyan puts their trust in their Source to be available at all times. They must become vulnerable and honest about their needs and weaknesses. The Source, on the other hand, must trust the Avonleyan not to take advantage of them. Not to drain their power reserves unnecessarily. It is a balance, Scarlett. It is a balance that will only work with trust and honesty.”

Scarlett had gone still, the wine glass frozen halfway to her lips. She slowly lowered it back down. “It still seems incredibly idiotic to bind the two ruling parties in such a way. Even more so for you. You rule both as a prince and a king. If something were to happen to me—”

“As has already been stated, repeatedly I might add, I do not wish to rule without you at my side. I do not wish to live withoutyou at my side. If you leave this world, I will follow, whether I am your Source or not.”

Scarlett set the wine glass carefully back onto the table, reaching for the book that had been shoved to the side during their argument. She tapped one of the pages with her nail a couple times, mulling something over. “You are sure?” she ?nally asked. “I could ask Eliza if power is your argument. Or Cyrus. Or Sawyer.“

“I will, admittedly, become uncontrollably jealous if you create this sort of relationship with someone else,” he said.

She scoffed. “Your Fae possessiveness is the least of my worries here, Prince.”

His hand shot out, lightly gripping her chin between his thumb and fore?nger. He brought his face close to hers. “As has also already been stated, you are mine, Scarlett. Mine to claim. Mine to consume. So perhaps myFae possessivenessshould be a little more of a concern for you.”

“So fussy,” she murmured, her ?ngers coming up and brushing along his jaw.

He pressed a kiss to her lips before releasing her chin. “So we are in agreement?”

She bit her lip again, glancing back down at the text. “Okay,” she ?nally breathed. “Okay.”

For the next several hours, Scarlett studied that book. Sorin was fairly certain she had it memorized by this point, but she refused to go through with the Mark until it was perfect. It was well into the night when she ?nally said, “Are you ready?”

“When you are, Princess.”

She took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders back and stretching out her neck. The same mannerisms she did before going into a ?ght. The same things he’d watched her do when they were trying to get out of the Fellowship.

“Are you preparing for battle?” Sorin teased, watching her stand to collect a dagger from across the room.

She looked back over her shoulder. “You are the one so concerned about Blood Magic,” she retorted. “I am surprised you are not fretting like the mother hen you are.”

“Careful, Love,” he warned, his eyes narrowing.

He tracked her every step as she sauntered back to him. She was still in that dress, and he straightened when she hiked up the sides before straddling his hips and lowering onto his lap. Her emptyhand came up, ?ngers gliding through his hair. His hands landed on her backside, squeezing gently and tugging her closer.

---