Page 255 of Lady for Embers

Eliza swiped a hand down her face, and Scarlett glanced at Sorin.

They had thought she would be ?ne with this.

“Eliza?” Sorin said tentatively. “You can tell us no. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I know that,” she said irritably. “Iamgoing to tell you no, but not because I want to.”

“What does that mean?” Scarlett asked, her nose scrunching in confusion.

Eliza pushed out a harsh breath. “I cannot be Cassius’s Source because I am already someone else’s.”

“What?” Sorin exclaimed, lurching to his feet.

Eliza pushed the sleeve of her tunic back, and sure enough, a Source Mark adorned her forearm. Scarlett was gripping her arm, examining the Mark. “Who did this? And when?” Her gaze ?ew to Eliza’s. “Did someone force you to do this? Cethin promised me—”

“No one forced me to do anything,” Eliza said, snatching her arm from Scarlett’s grip and tugging her tunic sleeve back down.

“Whose Source are you, Eliza?” Sorin asked.

Eliza’s hands were bunched into ?sts at her sides, and she wouldn’t look at any of them when she muttered, “Razik’s.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Scarlett said in disbelief.

“I am Razik’s Source,” Eliza said a little louder, crossing her arms. “If I had known that Cassius would need one, I obviously would not have agreed to it.”

“When did this happen?” Sorin demanded.

“Before they went to the Southern Islands. I heard Scarlett and Cassius were not going, and I knew Razik’s power still had not fully replenished from Rydeon. If he was going to be their way in and out, he needed to be at full strength. So I offered,” Eliza explained.

“Why not simply give him blood?” Sorin asked.

“Because it is not the same,” Scarlett said, completely dumbfounded. “And who knows how much he would need. If he hasfed from Fae before, he could need quite a bit to fully re?ll his reserves.”

Razik and Eliza loathed each other. The Source Bond was something based on unwavering trust and faith in the other person to be there when needed and to not take advantage. Why either of them thought this was a good idea was beyond her, but there was no changing it. The only way to break a Source Bond was the death of either party.

“Okay,” Scarlett said, taking a deep breath. “Okay. So we ask...” She turned back to Sorin. “Rayner? Probably not. His power takes so long to re?ll as it is because of the Avonleyan blood. Sawyer? Can he be a Source with his Avonleyan blood? Is it weaker?”

She turned to Cassius to ask him what he thought, but the words died in her throat at the two tears tracking down his face.

“Oh, Cass,” she whispered.

We will go. Sorin’s voice came down the bond at the same time she heard the door open and close.

There was a low table between the sofa and armchairs, and she climbed on top of it so she could wrap her arms around Cassius without having to strain on her tiptoes. Cassius’s broad arms looped around her waist, and he buried his face in her neck. She could feel his tears soaking into her tunic as she ran her ?ngers through his hair.

“I’m sorry, Cass,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “I am so godsdamn sorry.”

“Why did I ?ght you so adamantly on this?” he said, his words muf?ed against her skin.

“Because it is a big thing to ask of someone you care so deeply for,” she answered gently.

“The last thing I said to him was ‘get out.’ And now, when he returns, I will have another Source. If he returns at all.”

“We will get him back, Cass,” Scarlett said, leaving no room for argument.

“And he will think I chose someone else. I made him think he was not good enough, Scarlett,” Cassius said. “But he saw through my bullshit. He always saw through it all.”

“Shh, Cass,” she soothed, clinging to him as tightly as he was clinging to her. “He is going to understand. He would want you to... He will understand.”

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