Page 241 of Lady for Embers

They all sat and listened as Razik told them what had happened in the Southern Islands. Callan admittedly did not know much about the islands. He had been taught they were uninhabitable. Rocky cliffs and sweltering jungles that offered no natural resources or other necessity to their kingdom.

“You are telling me we sentsevenof you, and Alaric managed to best you all?” Scarlett hissed, her palms ?at on the table before her.

“He had Ashtine,” Briar said. “None of us were about to risk her life or the babes.”

Her furious eyes went to Razik. “You could do nothing?” Then to Rayner. “Or you? The male I saw rip organs from bodies? Neither of you could do something?Anything?”

“He had my power locked down from the moment I entered those cliffs, Scarlett,” Rayner said. “His magic was latched onto mine just enough to keep me from moving among the ashes.”

“And if I had done anything, the princess’s life would have been the cost along with her children,” Razik added.

“What are these demands he made?” Sorin asked, reaching over and interlacing his ?ngers with Scarlett’s.

Razik had skipped over this part when he had been relaying the events. He had only mentioned that Alaric had tried to negotiate for several things.

“He wanted Callan and Hale. He initially was going to keep Sawyer and Neve for that trade. I told him no,” Razik answered.

“Excuse me?” Scarlett asked.

Razik leaned forward so he could see the queen better. “I know they are friends of yours and part of your Courts, but the mortal kings are more important here. If they fall back into their hands, those wards we took down will go right back up.”

“But Sawyer sits here and Neve does not,” Sorin cut in.

“I managed to distract him from the mortal kings, and he moved on to the prisoner in our cells. He wants Talwyn back. Alive. Should you agree, he will exchange Cyrus and Neve for her.”

Scarlett sat back in her chair, ?ngers drumming on the table. “And Ashtine?”

“I offered to take her place, to take him into the Water Prison if he released her,” Briar said.

“He declined?” Sorin asked, a brow arching.

Briar shook his head. “He agreed, but that was only one life. There were two more to be exchanged.”

“The babes,” Scarlett whispered in realization.

Briar nodded, then his icy blue eyes settled on Drake. “He wants you and Tava. Or rather, Lord Tyndell wants you.”

“No,” Callan said. The words were out of his mouth before he’d even realized he was speaking. All heads turned to him, and he gripped the arms of his chair. “It was just stated they cannot have the mortal kings. We cannot give them Tava or Drake for the same reasons.”

“He makes a point,” Razik said. “With the Necropolis in Rydeon, that is the last place we want magical wards going back up.”

“So you will sacri?ce unborn children?” Kailia asked sharply.

“I never said that,” Razik replied. “But we need to look at all sides of this before decisions are made.”

“We also need to think about the fact that either way, he has access to the prison,” Azrael cut in. “If we give him Talwyn, he can and will release the Sorceress.”

“He said if we refused to make the trades, he would start killing innocents,” Sawyer added. “That he had access to more than the Black Syndicate now.”

Callan glanced at Scarlett. Her face was unreadable, features hard and lips slightly pursed as she listened to the debates around her. He didn’t know what she was thinking, but if it had to do with trading Tava, he would argue against it until the end.

“He has killed already,” Tybalt said from down the table. “It is not said to be callous, but this is the start of a war. There will be lives lost and sacri?ces made.”

“Not the lives of my children or Ashtine,” Briar growled.

“What makes your children more important than the others that will be lost if the trades are not made?” Callan argued. “What makes one life more worthy than another to be saved? Who gets to decide that?”

“We do,” Scarlett said quietly. She lifted her eyes to Callan’s. There was something soft and sad in them. “We do,” she saidagain. “It is a burden as a ruler. We have to make the hard calls. The choices that leave blood stains on our souls. You made that choice when you killed Sybil to save Eliza. You chose one over the other.”

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