Page 179 of Lady for Embers

She had been sitting in Cethin’s small, intimate dining area since then, eating from his breakfast spread and sipping tea.

Scarlett watched as he lifted a palm, a message disappearing amid shadows, presumably going to Kailia. “To what do I owe this early morning visit?” he asked, moving towards the table. He was dressed in his usual immaculate black tunic and black pants, but his boots were missing which made for an interesting picture.

“I need to speak with you and felt some of what I need to discuss might be better done between just the two of us,” she answered, setting her teacup down on the table.

Cethin poured his own cup of tea. “And Sorin is ?ne with this?”

She rolled her eyes. “He is not my keeper.”

“Of course not,” he said with a smirk.

She sighed. “He was not overly thrilled with the idea, but he understood my argument. He is also waiting to see if Cyrus was able to convince Cassius to take a Source.”

Cethin nodded, taking a seat across the table from her. “I do not understand Cassius’s resistance to this. Most Avonleyans would sacri?ce much for the opportunity to have a Source.”

“Do I need to be worried for the safety of the Fae I have brought with me?” Scarlett asked, deceptively casual.

“Has any harm come to them yet?” Cethin countered. “But I will not deny that Kailia has picked up chatter, even in cities farther inland. They know a Fae Queen is here and brought Fae with them. Rumors are swirling. They will need to be addressed soon.”

She chose to ignore all the stuff about announcing her as the Princess of Avonleya, instead answering his prior question. “Cassius and Cyrus each battle their own pasts. Cyrus has ghosts that haunt him, and Cassius had many of the samelessonsingrained in him by Alaric that I did. It is not as simple as asking and becoming a Source. It wasn’t for me and Sorin either.”

“Do you think it will eventually happen?”

“I think a lot will eventually happen when it comes to Cassius and Cyrus,” she answered. “But that is not what I came to discuss this morning.

Cethin’s brows rose. “By all means, do not keep me in suspense.”

He was reaching for a pastry when Scarlett said, “I need to go take down the wards around the mortal lands.” She held up a hand as he began to protest. “I know the decree you laid down about being able to best you before you’d share that secret, but if you do not tell me, I will start looking in earnest for the work-around. And I will ?nd it, Cethin.”

He sat back in his chair, pastry forgotten on the platter. “I have no doubt you will ?nd it, but you will not be willing to pay the cost of the work-around to leave these Wards.”

“You know the work-around?” Scarlett demanded.

“Of course I know the work-around,” Cethin said, his ?ngers drumming on the table. “There were two work-arounds. Only one remains.”

“The Avonleyan Keys?”

Cethin nodded. “The seven keys hidden on your continent were hidden before the Wards were put up. They were meant to be a safeguard that Eliné and Henna knew about, in case things went terribly wrong.”

“Thingsdidgo terribly wrong,” Scarlett said.

“There is nothing that can be done about that now.” That was true, but he spoke of it so... cavalierly.

“So those keys could have taken down the Wards?”

Cethin shook his head. “No. Those keys would have allowed the holder to pass in and out of the Wards, along with anyone they allowed through.”

“Then how do we take down the Wards?”

A muscle feathered in Cethin’s jaw, and he glanced out the window. “Saylah will not tell me. I know it is connected to the mirror gates, but other than that...” He met her gaze again. “I have not been able to learn much more than that.”

“The mirror gates?” Scarlett repeated. “You said they are mirrors, not literal gates.”

“Most of them are.”

“Most?”

“All but one from my understanding.”

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