Page 43 of Lady for Embers

He studied her for a moment before his eyes ?icked to Cyrus. “What were you two discussing?”

Scarlett opened her mouth, but before she could respond, Cyrus said, “Thia.”

“Thia?” Sorin repeated, his eyes widening slightly.

“Yep,” Cyrus said, getting to his feet. He clapped Sorin on the shoulder. He caught Scarlett’s gaze. “We’ll talk more later.”

She nodded, her smile tightening. He’d let her decide how much of that conversation she wanted to share with Sorin. He needed time to process. He couldn’t imagine what he would do in her situation. Because she was right. Not doing anything was hardly an option. It went against every instinct of the twin ?ame bond. It was in her blood to protect her mate, just as it was in Sorin’s. And gods, for Sorin to even ask that of her?

“You look like you need to stab something.”

Cyrus found himself standing next to Cassius, unknowingly having made his way to him.

“Or burn things to the ground, but considering we’re on a boat... ” Cyrus shrugged.

“The rest of us appreciate that,” Cassius replied. His good eye raked over him. “You have a weapon?”

Cyrus smirked, and a moment later, ?ames ?ared. He pulled his sword from the ?re, twirling the hilt in his grasp.

“Neat trick,” Cassius said.

“If we could get that magic of yours to sing a little, you could do the same,” Cyrus replied, falling into step beside the commander as they made their way to one of the make-shift sparring rings.

“If you have any ideas on how to make that happen, let me know,” Cassius joked, getting into a ready stance.

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas,” Cyrus retorted. “None that you would likely ?nd acceptable.”

The brow above his patch arched. “Do tell.”

Cyrus lunged, Cassius blocking with ease, and they leapt apart.“The only time it has ever manifested is when Scarlett was in danger.”

He caught Cassius’s feint left as the commander said, “Are you suggesting we put her in danger to see if my magic will manifest?”

“I said you likely wouldn’t ?nd it acceptable.” Cassius barked a laugh as they leapt apart again.

“But we can talk about it tonight,” Cyrus said, studying the commander’s movements to try to ?nd a weakness. He really didn’t have any. He was as impeccably trained as any of them, and considering he had trained Scarlett, their matches usually ended in a draw unless Cyrus used his magic.

Fifteen minutes later, this match was no different. They were both breathing hard when they ?nally called it a draw, and Eliza had ?nally released Callan from her torment. They were gulping down water when Cyrus’s gaze fell on Sawyer, who was still with Briar, talking to Eliza and Rayner now.

“You should really practice those Traveling skills,” he said to Cassius. Cassius slowly lowered his waterskin. “And go where?”

“You can Travel. You can go anywhere, but you should practice with it until mastered. You never know when you will need it,” Cyrus replied, replacing the cap on the waterskin. “And you should practice Traveling with others.” He reached over, clasping a hand onto the commander’s forearm. “Try Traveling to Briar’s ship.”

“Now?”

“Scarlett hasn’t drawn from you in days. Your reserves should be fully replenished. Maybe tapping into this power will call your other gifts forward.”

“I don’t think that’s how this works,” Cassius started.

“Just try,” Cyrus urged.

It took a few moments, and Cyrus could see the concentration and focus settle over Cassius. His brows scrunched together, the one dipping below his eye patch slightly, and then Cyrus felt the pull in his navel. A second later, they were standing on the deck of Briar’s personal ship.

“Perfect,” Cyrus said, dropping Cassius’s forearm and looking around. “This way.”

“What? Where are we going?” Cassius asked, falling into step beside him as Cyrus led him towards the back of the ship.

“You’ll see.”

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