Page 114 of Lady for Embers

“We will ?nd some place,” Cyrus replied, pulling his door shut behind him. “At home I would take you to the Courtyards, but we will ?nd some place here.”

Cassius nodded, falling into step beside him. They made their way down one of the winding grand staircases, moving to the front doors when the small female from earlier appeared.

“Can I get you two something?” she asked, kindness and warmth radiating from her.

“We just need to get some air,” Cyrus said quickly. He glanced at Cassius before he added, “Preferably somewhere not ?ammable.”

Understanding ?ashed across the female’s face, and her gaze ?itted over Cassius. “I can summon Lord Razik,” she said carefully. “He would know the best space for such a thing.”

“That is not necessary,” Cyrus said. “Just an open area nearby?”

She nodded, gesturing for them to follow her. “There is a path that goes through the courtyard and leads to the base of the mountains. It is a little bit of a walk. Unless you would like someone to Travel you there?”

“Can everyone here Travel?” Cassius asked.

The female looked over her shoulder at them. “Most with magic can. The mortals, of course, cannot.”

“There are mortals here?” Cyrus asked.

She laughed lightly. “Of course there are mortals here.”

“Mortals, but not Fae?” Cassius asked as they followed her through a set of doors and out into the night once more.

She paused, holding a door open for them, her warm eyes darkening some. “Not since the Wards went up.” She nodded to the dark. “Follow the path. You will know when you leave the estate. The wards will alert the Lords to your departure and return.”

“Lords? As in more than one?” Cassius asked.

She smiled again, nodding. “The Commander and his son.”

“No one told us of his son. He will not mind us being here?”

Her smile faltered somewhat, as though she were confused. “No. He does not mind.”

“Let’s go,” Cyrus said, bumping his shoulder against Cassius’s.

They were silent as they made their way down the path, and he could feel the tension radiating off of Cassius beside him.

“Breathe, Cass,” he said reassuringly. “You will learn to control it. This will all be ?ne.”

Cassius nodded, his pace seeming to quicken. Cyrus increased his steps to keep up. It took a good twenty minutes before he felt the estate’s wards pressing against his skin as they crossed them. Cassius didn’t even seem to notice. Maybe it was his Witch blood.

Another twenty minutes later, they stepped through a dark mist to ?nd rocky ground beginning to incline. The base of a mountain. Cassius seemed predisposed to simply keep going and climb the damn thing.

Cyrus reached out, gripping his forearm. “You can’t outrun this,” he said with a smirk.

Cassius didn’t return the sentiment.

Cyrus looked around them, tossing a ?ame in the air to illuminate their surroundings. Rocky bare ground, a few sparse trees. Not the Courtyards, but it would certainly do.

“You do not have to worry about burning anything down here,” he said. “If you lose control, it will be ?ne.”

Cassius seemed to tense even more.

“Take a deep breath and let it go. It shouldn’t take much to tap into your magic if it’s causing you this much trouble,” Cyrus continued, watching him carefully, ready to intervene if necessary. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to do much against the ?ames Cassius had, but a shield should at least protect him.

“It is not that easy,” Cassius grumbled.

“I know it’s not,” Cyrus said. “But seriously, Cass, your eyes have already shifted. You just need to let it go. There is nothing out here you can harm.”

---