Page 98 of Lady of Ashes

“The whole wing? Like the Fiera Palace?”

“Yes,” he con?rmed. “There are several private quarters. The one Cassius is in was mine.”

“And where are we going now?” she asked as he led her down a winding set of stone steps.

“One of the council rooms.”

“Everyone is already there?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I sent ?re messages this morning, after you agreed to meet with them before seeing Talwyn.”

She nodded again and focused on her breathing. In and out.

In and out. In and out.

They came to a stop outside of a set of double wood doors intricately carved with ?re and water elements. She could hear muf?ed voices on the other side. Sorin turned to face her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders.

“You can do this, Scarlett.”

“I know,” she replied. “If I can face the wrath of the Fire Prince, I can surely handle his Court and a Water Prince. Right?”

A soft smile tilted up the corners of his lips. “Right, Princess.” He brushed his knuckles along her cheekbone as he said, “Ready?”

She took another deep breath, blowing it out harshly. She felt his ?re magic brush along her skin as he turned and pushed one of the doors open. He stepped in and held the door open for her. Scarlett followed behind him, all the chatter coming to a halt the moment the door had opened. She scanned the room to ?nd Eliza, Rayner, and Cyrus seated at the large round table occupying the center of the room. Briar and Sawyer stood nearby at a tall table along the wall. She was relieved to see Nakoa wasn’t present.

All eyes watched her every movement as she crossed the room and sank unceremoniously into a chair at the table. Her ?ngers curled around the ends of the armrests, and she was unable to keep the shadows back that seeped from her skin, hovering around her like a black mist. Sorin pulled the chair out beside her, and before he took his seat, he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

I love you like the stars love the night, Scarlett. All the way through the darkness.

It was the ?rst time he had spoken to her down their bond since it had been repaired, and the relief that ?ooded through her chest had her shadows receding and her breathing evening out.

He took his seat, an elbow on the table and his chin propped on his ?st. His other rested on the surface, too, his ?ngers drumming a few times as he stared down his Court. She and Sorin may have their own issues right now, but at this moment, he was her Second. Her husband. King of the Western Courts.

Briar and Sawyer had silently made their way to the table and taken seats. There was so much tension in the air, Scarlett could have cut it with a knife.

“So who wants to go ?rst?” she ?nally asked. When no one said a word, she locked eyes with the general. “Eliza? Surely you want to lay into me?” Her gaze moved to Cyrus. “How about you, Darling? I know you have much to say. You made that clear yesterday.”

The Fire Court Second and the general glanced at each other, but to Scarlett’s shock, neither of them were the ?rst to speak.

“You deceived us all,” Rayner said, his low voice dark and cold.

Scarlett’s focus swiveled to him, landing on eyes swirling with smoke and ashes. “I did,” she agreed.

“You went to another border. Alone. When you knew there were threats gathering at all the Court borders,” he continued.

“I did,” she said again. “I had suspicions about a few things and did not have the time to go through endless meetings and correspondence and debate about whether or not it was worth the risk.”

“Then you send me in,” Rayner said darkly. “You send in someone who can move among the ashes. You let me gather that information for you using the dozens of spies I have in place all over the godsdamn continent. You are thequeen.”

Scarlett had never seen Rayner display such emotion, and it was honestly terrifying. Her ?ngers tightened around the ends of the armrests further, but she kept her chin high. “I understand, Rayner. I am not used to being able to rely on others so thoroughly. I understand what my actions cost.”

“And you considered the cost an acceptable price?” Sawyer asked.

Scarlett met his icy blue eyes, mirrors of her own when they weren’t bright silver. “I thought I knew what the cost would be.” She glanced at Sorin out of the corner of her eye, where he had stiffened slightly. “Did I consider the safety of these Courts to be worth the cost of my life? Yes. Did I fully understand what the cost of my actions would be? No. Do I understand what they have cost me now? Yes.”

“Perhaps you can explain to us what you were investigating,” Briar cut in. When she met his gaze, she didn’t ?nd the anger of the others. He gave her an encouraging smile as he asked, “How did you ?gure out what was going on at the borders?”

Scarlett repeated everything she’d told Sorin this morning about her suspicions after seeing the reports and ?nding a clan of Night Children there.

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