Page 207 of Lady for Embers

“I will catch you, Scarlett. Tonight and tomorrow and the day after that. Even if I do not have my ?re, I will still catch you.”

When they reached the bottom, the crowd began parting, letting them make their way to the middle of the hall. They turned to face the stairs when they reached it, Cethin and Kalia descending the stairs. If Cethin was a Lord of Night, then she was his Lady. Her black hair flowed around her, ashes seeming to flit among the black strands. Her dress was black and strapless with black pearls sewn across the bodice and dripping down the skirt. A pearl and diamond circlet sat atop her head, a matching onyx crown inlaid with diamonds upon Cethin’s. Her hand sat in his where he held it aloft as he escorted her down the stairs, everyone staying down on a knee while they descended. Cethin hadtalked her through this earlier that day. She and Sorin would not be asked to bow to them; but she certainly felt awkward staying on her feet.

“How many times have you done this?” she murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

Sorin glanced down at her quickly before his gaze went back to the king and queen. “I have been the Fire Prince for a very long time, Scarlett, and I have been royal from the day I was born.”

“How long until it felt natural?”

But Cethin and Kailia stopped beside them before Sorin could answer her. Her brother and his wife faced each other, seamlessly preparing for the next part of this extravagant display.

A dance.

That she and Sorin would be doing with them.

She turned to Sorin, her hand going to his shoulder, the other sliding into his palm. He tugged her close, hand on her hip. The music started. Her eyes locked on his, and the world faded away as she fell into golden eyes that held her entire world.

“So, should we do something similar when we return home?” Sorin asked after a minute. She didn’t know what her face did, but he chuckled. “I am joking, Love.”

“I hate you,” she grumbled, letting him lead her around the dance ?oor. It was clearly a dance he’d done a number of times, and she trusted him to lead her through it all.

“Still telling yourself such sweet lies after all this time,” he teased. He twirled her under his arm before pulling her back to him. “Relax, Scarlett. This night is for you. You deserve it. Enjoy it and show them why you are their princess.”

Cethin had told her this part too. That at some point in the night she needed to showcase her star?re, to show the people that she was indeed their princess and his sister. That some would doubt the return of an unknown princess without proof.

So when Sorin twirled her once more, she tossed star?re into the air above them. It ?ared brightly, ?lling the space above the entire hall. There were gasps and small screams quickly hushed as it burned above them. She sent more star?re ?itting among her crown and then into Sorin’s crown of ?re. She wound the silver ?ames around her arms, letting embers trail her footsteps. Then she let her shadows out. The dark mist swirled about their feet, herstar?re slowly raining down as embers around them, merging with her shadows.

Her very own stars in the darkness.

The murmuring and shock was turning to awe and wonder. A chuckle of laughter, that was surely Cyrus’s at her over-the-top ­display, ?oated to her. Then Cethin’s dark magic was mingling with hers, Kailia’s ashes ?itted among their shadows, and Sorin’s bright ?re lit up all of it.

Sorin spun her again, and she was laughing, her heart light for the ?rst time in ages. He caught her when she came back to him, his brow coming to hers.

The ?rst song ended and another began, but they didn’t let go of each other. If anything, he tugged her closer. Her hand slid from his shoulder to his neck, ?ngers toying with the hair at his nape. What he said to her as they were coming down the stairs came back to her.

I will catch you, Scarlett. Tonight and tomorrow and the day after that. Even if I do not havemy ?re, I will still catch you.

“I love you, Sorin Aditya,” she whispered into the space between them.

“All the way through the darkness, my Love,” he answered, their hands clasped between their bodies as he moved her around the ?oor. Other couples had joined in now, the noise of them barely registering.

“Even if we do not ?gure this out, even if there is not an ember left in your veins, I will love you, Sorin. You make my world brighter, and it has nothing to do with your magic. It’syou.”

She saw his throat bob as he swallowed. “Scarlett—”

But she was shaking her head against his brow, tears pooling in her eyes. “I just want you, Sorin. I do not need your ?re. I do not need your power. I just need you. That’s it. I don’t care about the rest. You know that, right?”

“But I am your Source, Love,” he said hoarsely. “Your power needs that.Youneed that.”

Scarlett was vaguely aware of the music changing again, something fast-paced, but they were in their own world.

A world of ?re and shadows that had nothing to do with magic and power.

“I just need you, Sorin,” she repeated. “You set my world on ?re just by being in it. You don’t need magic to do so.”

His lips brushed across her brow, her temple, her cheek. Finally they found hers.

The kiss was short and sweet and simple, sealing more promises between them.

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