Page 9 of Lady for Embers

“She’s not going anywhere,” Cyrus drawled, ?ames swirling in his palm. “If she wakes, I promise we’ll know. She’s loud and obnoxious. Might I suggest regaining some strength so you can actually climb the godsdamn stairs without me having to carry you up them? I did that once. It is not something I ever care to do again. You’re heavy.” Cassius took the cup Cyrus was holding out to him with a scowl, but stopped trying to get up. “At least you listen to reason better than your ward,” Cyrus muttered, once again dragging a dagger along his arm.

“Fuck off,” Cassius grumbled, his head tipping back against the sofa cushions, eye falling closed.

“If I did that, your ass would be tumbling down those stairs at this very moment when you ?nally realized you cannot make it up them on your own right now,” Cyrus replied. Cassius just raised his hand and ?ipped him off. Cyrus smirked, his blood dripping in a steady stream into the cup. When it was nearly full, he said, “Drink up.”

Cassius lifted his head, bringing the cup to his lips. Cyrus turned and headed for the stairs, his arm already beginning to heal. “I’ll check on her and report back,” he said over his shoulder.

His foot had landed on the ?rst step when Cassius called out. “Cyrus.”

He paused, glancing back. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” Cassius said. “For helping her. For helping me. For... all of it.”

Cyrus nodded. “Rest up, Cass. I’ll let you know how she’s doing,” he replied, turning and heading up the stairs.

“Luan wants to speak with us,” Eliza announced as she came through the doorway of the upstairs chateau suite. She held a piece of parchment in her hand. “He says it’s urgent.”

“Does he now?” Cyrus asked from where he sat in an armchair near the hearth. Cassius was sprawled across the sofa, ?nally sleeping. The moment he’d had enough strength last night to climb the stairs, he’d insisted on doing so. He’d watched over Scarlett all night and day; but when he’d practically fallen asleep standing up, the High Witch had forced him away, saying that if he fell onto the bed and landed on Sorin, he’d undo all her hard work over the past several hours. Cassius had muttered under his breath, but he’d been asleep almost instantly when his ass had hit the sofa.

The High Witch had also worked through the night, continuing to use her power to heal Sorin. She looked as exhausted as her son. Shortly after Cassius had fallen asleep, she had asked Briar for a portal to the Witch Kingdoms, asking him to retrieve her later tonight.

The king and queen hadn’t moved from where they’d been placed upon arrival. According to the High Witch, Sorin’s heartbeat was strong and steady. Cyrus could see for himself that his chest was rising and falling, breaths unlabored and deep. Scarlett was next to him. She’d immediately turned into him as soon as Briar had laid her on the bed. Her hand rested on his chest, and her breathing was nearly in sync with her husband’s, as if she had naturally fallen into rhythm with him. Neither had shown any sign of waking any time soon.

“With us and Briar,” Eliza said in response to his comment.

“Briar should be back soon,” Rayner said from the chair he occupied across from Cyrus. “We can discuss what to do then.”

“Any change?” Eliza asked, perching on the arm of the sofa by Cassius’s feet.

“Nothing,” Cyrus said, his head dropping back against the chair. When the silence became too heavy, he asked, “What do you think the cost was for this?”

“Whatever it was, the High Witch made it sound like it would be steep,” Eliza replied grimly.

“I can only assume she saw this Lord of Night, or whatever he calls himself, when Shirina made her sleep,” Cyrus said. “That had to be how she knew to look for Altaria, right?”

“That’d be my best guess,” Rayner said evenly.

“Butwhatexactly did she do?” Eliza asked, her gaze going to the sleeping royals.

“I don’t think that’s the question we should be asking right now,” Cyrus said, studying the queen in contemplation.

“Then what should we be asking?” Eliza drawled.

“We should not be asking what she did, but what she is,” Cyrus said simply.

“She’s Avonleyan. We know that,” Eliza argued.

“But what does thatmean?” Cyrus asked, his gaze moving from the queen to the general. “The history of that kingdom has all but been erased from this continent. The only books that do remain are hidden away in secret chambers or beneath the Wind Citadel, behind doors not even Ashtine can access. We know very little about the kingdom, its people, or what power they actually possess. And that’s... ” He trailed off, not sure how to finish that thought.

“That’s unsettling,” Rayner ?nished for him. “For all of us, including the queen.”

“Indeed,” Cyrus replied as the sound of the front door opening and closing echoed from downstairs.

“Briar,” Rayner said when Eliza and Cyrus immediately tensed.

“Maybe warn us before we hear them next time,” Cyrus drawled. Rayner shrugged. “The High Witch is with him. She is... unhappy.”

Eliza snorted softly. “What else is new?”

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