Page 9 of Lady of Ashes

Callan had watched them these months here. He had watched how the Fire Prince had weathered every storm she went through. He had watched as he coaxed smiles from her when she seemed unreachable. He had watched as Sorin had fought his way past her shadows over and over and over. He had watched as they were drawn to one another as if unable to help themselves. Every smile. Every stolen glance. Every silent conversation. He had watched as she had slowly realized what he’d feared since the day they had surprised them at Sorin’s apartment in Baylorin. That her heart belonged to the Fire Prince. She was his, and he was hers.

Callan knew they were a better ?t. He knew Sorin could help her and serve her and love her in ways he would never be able to. He knew that what they had would change this world.

It didn’t make the ache in his chest any easier to endure. It didn’t ease the emptiness he now felt. Now he would be going home without her at his side. The loneliness he had so often felt, before she’d swept into his life on a dark wind, was already pressing down on him.

He heard a knock on the main door but didn’t bother to get up. Sloan or Finn could get it. He’d be shoved back into his world of polite manners and duty in a few days’ time anyway, assuming they were still returning. Rayner had come to him a few nights ago and told him their travels had been delayed, but he had heard nothing since. Scarlett hadn’t even bothered to tell him herself. Not that he could really blame her, he supposed. Their last conversation hadn’t exactly ended in pleasantries.

The knock came on his bedroom door this time.

Callan sighed, rising to his bare feet, and opened the door. He expected Sloan or Finn, but instead he stood face-to-face with Eliza.

“Mortal Prince,” she said grimly.

“I am not in a particularly chatty mood today, Eliza,” Callan gritted out. “Say what you have come to say.”

Eliza straightened and the face of the Fire Court General took over her features. “Pack your things. We leave in the dead of night.”

“What?” Callan asked, unable to keep the shock from his voice.

“Was something I said unclear? Did you not say no small talk?” Eliza asked with a raise of her brow.

“I was told travels were delayed.”

He could see Sloan and Finn watching and listening to the conversation from where they sat at the dining table.

“They were. Now they are not. Be in the main foyer by nightfall and decide if you’ll be staying in Baylorin or returning with us once we’ve recovered our queen,” Eliza said, turning to leave the suite.

Callan reached out and gripped her arm without thinking of who he was grabbing. Eliza had spun, broken his hold, had his arm restrained behind his back, and a blade at his throat faster than he could blink. Sloan and Finn were on their feet, but ?ames encircled their throats and they froze.

“This is not the time to test any of us, Mortal Prince,” she hissed. “We are all on edge and had I been anyone else, this blade would likely have gone through your neck without a second thought.”

Callan swallowed before saying slowly, “Release Finn and Sloan.”

Eliza lowered her blade, stepping back from him, the ?ames vanishing from around his friends’ necks. “Get your things in order and be ready to go. I have things to prepare.”

She was once more striding for the door, and Callan fell into step behind her. He waved off Finn and Sloan as he followed her into the hall. “Tell me what has happened,” he demanded.

“I do not answer to you, Princeling, nor do I have the time to ?ll you in on everything that has occurred.” Her tone was short as she made her way toward the bridges.

“What did you mean by ‘once you have recovered the queen’?”

“None of us are sure what happened, but she is being held in the mortal lands, likely in Baylorin,” Eliza answered.

“Does Mikale—”

“We don’t know.”

“Can Sorin not ?nd her? Like he did when we came here?”

“No, he cannot,” she snarled.

“Why not? Is this like the time they had that ?ght?”

Eliza whirled on him, and for the ?rst time ever, he saw panic and terror on the general’s face. “We do not know!” she hissed. “We do not know where she is or how she got there. We do not know what is happening to her. There is ancient magic at work here. There are secrets being unearthed and dark forces awakening. And my damn queen, myfriend, is in the middle of it all, and we cannot get to her.”

Callan’s eyes were wide at the general’s loss of control. “Eliza, I …” He didn’t know what to say, what to do.

And the general seemed to sense his uncertainty. “What you can do to help right now, Callan, is pack and be ready to go. This will be nothing like last time. There will be no riding on horses through the woods. This is the Fae coming for what is theirs. We will be aided by Witches and Shifters. This is a Court coming for their queen. This is a twin ?ame coming for his mate. There will be death and bloodshed, and you must decide on which side you will stand.”

---