Page 184 of Lady for Embers

“Not particularly,” Sorin answered, still staring at the spot she had disappeared from. He could feel their bond, stretching taut with her so far away. He couldn’t feelherthough. A feeling he should probably start getting used to, but one he couldn’t fathom.

“Sorin, she was born for this,” Cethin said. “It is her destiny.”

“She creates her own destiny,” he said simply, ?nally tearing his gaze away to look at him.

“That she does,” he replied. “I do need to tend to a few things. Would you like me to Travel you anywhere before I go since you do not want company?”

“No,” he answered. “Send someone for me when she returns.”

“If you need anything, send a ?re message.” Cethin’s eyes swept over him, and Sorin knew he was gauging his power levels. It shouldn’t be that hard. Scarlett had just drawn from him. They were nearing empty and were a fraction of what they used to be.

The look that crossed Cethin’s face told Sorin he’d gathered as much.

The Avonleyan King nodded once more before disappearing the way the others had, and Sorin found himself alone. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was what his future would hold. Being left behind to be kept safe while they all went to ?ght the battles. He could suddenly appreciate Callan’s anger at constantly being forced to stay out of the ?ghting.

This would be different though. Callan wasn’t trained to ?ght. Sorin was. He’d trained for centuries. He wouldn’t be pushed to the sidelines. Not completely.

That’s what he kept telling himself as he wandered past the gates of the estate and onto the main road that would lead into Aimonway. Scarlett created her own destiny, but maybe this had always been his. To find her. Bring her to the Fire Court. Help her find herself, her power. Love her through the darkness so she could become the queen she was always meant to be.

But where did that leave him?

The most powerful rules the Fire Court. That wasn’t him anymore.

That would be... Eliza.

Eliza would be the rightful ruler of the Fire Court. She wouldnever challenge him for it. No, the only way she would ?ght for the throne was if someone else challenged him and won. Which wouldn’t be a dif?cult task at this point.

Maybe that would be for the best anyway? He was the Fire Prince, but he was also the King of the Western Courts. Maybe it would be better to not have his focus split between the two. He could be Scarlett’s Second, advise her and rule at her side as her consort. That would be a ful?lling life, even if he couldn’t properly protect her anymore. She’d have Cassius and Cyrus. Rayner and Eliza. Briar. They would give their lives for her, defend her, keep her safe when he no longer could. They’d proved as much when he’d been halfway across the Veil. Somehow, they had kept her from coming for him in other ways.

Then again, maybe they hadn’t. Cethin said he had come for him, risked the wrath of Arius, bartered with Sera?na. Without that...

Well, without that, he’d be across the Veil, and he had no doubt Scarlett would be ripping it apart to ?nd him.

The cry of a gull pulled him from his thoughts, and he found himself standing in front of the statue of Sidora that Cethin had brought them to the night they’d learned of Scarlett’s true heritage. He slid his hands into his pocket, reading the inscription below the statue again. There was little doubt it was about Scarlett, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She would eventually. After she’d processed everything in her own time, just like always.

But while it may be clear that she was referenced in the prophecy, that still left room for interpretation of other parts of it.

“Did you know she has a temple here, Prince?”

Sorin turned to the voice to ?nd Beatrix sitting on one of the benches around the small courtyard that housed the statue.

“I did not,” he answered.

“Not here exactly,” she said. “Outside of the city. A two days’ ride from here. Three if you prefer a slower pace as I do.”

“Is that where you have been?” he asked, making his way over to her. He bent and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before taking a seat beside her.

“It is,” she answered, patting his hand a few times before settling back against the bench. “I have not been there in centuries.”

He twisted, taking in her features. The greying hair, violet eyes, the aging skin. She’d been in service to the Fire Court forages, serving his father and grandfather before him, but it had never occurred to him that she had been alive for the Great War. It should have, he supposed. The Alpha and Beta were children when the war was ending, a few decades old. If they had been alive for it, it wasn’t hard to see Beatrix being alive for it as well. She’d just never spoken of it.

“You have been to Avonleya before?” he asked, wondering what other secrets she held.

“When I was very young, still a Witchling,” she answered, her gaze going back to Sidora. “My mother was a member of Sidora’s coven and came with Saylah to this world.”

“You know Saylah?” he asked sharply.

Beatrix shook her head. “I was born here, but we were sent across the Edria when I was ?ve. I never saw Saylah. We lived outside of Sidora’s Temple while we were here. Saylah left this world at one time. I did not know she had returned. Not until we arrived here.”

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