Page 66 of Lady of Ashes

“I will walk,” she replied hoarsely, eyeing Cyrus as though she thought he might leave Cassius here, before she slowly eased her grip on the shredded fabric. Sorin reached for her, helping her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, she pulled away from him again, swaying slightly. She watched as Cyrus lifted Cassius over his shoulder as carefully as he could, and when she was satis?ed, she turned to Arianna. “You need to act like you are escorting me. Mikale never carries me unless I physically cannot walk, and even then he prefers to drag me along behind him.”

Sorin snarled at that, and Scarlett glanced at him, tilting her head once more as she studied him. Her eyes snagged on his hands, and she leaned forward slightly. “Let me see your ring,” she demanded, her chains rattling as she held out her palm to him.

“I need your ring to access my magic, Love,” he replied, his ?st clenching.

“Not that one,” she answered, hand still outstretched.

He looked down at his left hand, where his marriage band encircled his ?nger. He slowly pulled it off, placing it in her palm. She held it up before her, studying it intently, as she murmured so softly he barely heard her, “Do you still see the light?”

“Yes, my Love.” He stepped closer to her. “There are still stars to ?ght for.”

“Perhaps,” she muttered, more to herself than to him, as she extended his ring back to him.

He took it from her, letting his ?ngers brush hers, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

“You are sure you can walk?” he asked, sliding the ring back onto his ?nger.

She looked dramatically down at her feet. “It would certainly appear so.”

“And here I thought we had found a better use for your tongue,” he retorted, relief ?ooding through him at the brief glimpse of her snark.

Her lips twitched slightly, and he thought she was going to smile, before she turned and began making her way to the door. “Grip my arm. Turn right when we exit,” she said, stopping beside Arianna.

“But the way out is to the left,” the Shifter argued, reaching out to take Scarlett’s arm as instructed.

“The odds of us getting out of here are slim the way it is. Although if this is Lord Tyndell’s doing again, I suppose it doesn’t much matter,” Scarlett answered, swaying on her feet again, and making Sorin lurch for her. “The point is, I know a more discreet path out.”

They didn’t have time to question her at this point, and Sorin pulled the door open, allowing Arianna and Scarlett out ?rst. Scarlett glanced down at the dead guard outside the room, bending down to swipe a dagger from the corpse.

They made their way down the hall, Cyrus keeping pace beside Sorin as the Commander steadily dripped blood, leaving a trail behind them.

“We need to go left up ahead,” Scarlett murmured when they approached the end of the hall. He watched her shift the dagger she held, hiding it as best she could in her gown. “There will be guards. They are beneath you. Should they try to stop you, tell them if they question you again, they will answer to the Lord himself. Be convincing.”

They rounded the corner moments later, and sure enough, four guards stood at the end of the hall before a stairwell. They straightened as their group approached, two reaching for short swords. Sorin tensed, his hand going to his own weapon.

“Where do you think you are going?” one of the assassin guards sneered.

“I did not realize I answered to you,” Arianna growled back, Mikale’s voice hard and gruff, and Scarlett ?inched. Sorin didn’t know if it was an act or a natural reaction to his voice.

“No one is allowed up this stairwell without permission,” the guard retorted, his eyes sweeping up and down Scarlett, making no attempt to hide his perusal of her body.

“You are questioning me?” Arianna demanded, twisting Mikale’s features into rage.

“If it were just you, no, but all of you …” the guard replied hesitantly.

“If I turn around, trust I will return with the Lord, and you can explain to him why there is a delay in our plans,” Arianna snarled, stepping forward and tugging Scarlett roughly along with her.

The guard glanced at his companions, and Arianna pulled a dagger from her cloak, bringing it to the guard’s throat. “Let me rephrase that. The others will explain why we are delayed.Youwill be bleeding out at the base of these stairs.”

The guard swallowed, nodding slightly as he stepped to the side, the others following his lead. They climbed the stairs, Scarlett stumbling and tripping several times, but Sorin didn’t dare say anything in case they ran into others.

When they reached the next ?oor, Scarlett spoke between labored breaths. “We shouldn’t run into anyone else. This is Alaric’s private living wing. His closest are allowed in this wing. Some of us have rooms here. Up the stairs and down a hall, we would come to his private suite.” She gestured to the stairs. “No one is ever allowed in there, but that way,” she said, pointing down a hall to the right, “leads to a private exit. There will be guards outside in the yard. You will need to kill them or be killed,” she ?nished simply.

“How many guards can we expect?” Sorin asked, stepping closer to her on the vacant landing. He brought a hand to her back to steady her, but she stepped from his touch.

“Normally, there are only a couple, but as I said, he’s been expecting you. He already knows you are here. He could be waiting for you himself, and he is prepared for the ?re you wield,” she answered indifferently.

“What does that mean?” Cyrus demanded, his breathing heavy from carrying Cassius up the stairs.

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