Page 106 of Lady for Embers

He nodded, moving to stand beside her. Sorin and Cyrus were a few steps behind them, giving them this.

This was their homecoming. This was their moment, at long last, of seeing where they came from. Where they should havecalled home. Her heart was hammering to an unsteady beat in her chest, and Cassius reached over, intertwining his ?ngers with hers.

“I’m good, Scarlett,” he rasped, his voice thick with emotion.

She could only nod as they stood and waited, watching the shadows move and drift along the dark waters. If she had felt like they’d come to a standstill in the days before going to Rydeon, she didn’t feel that way anymore. Their ship was cutting through the water at a quick pace, and the closer they got, the more she felt her magic thrashing inside of her. It was stretching, pushing at the edges of her being. She was ?ghting to control it, not wanting to let it free. They still didn’t know what to expect when they ?nally got there. She might need it to protect them, but there was no denying her power knew where she was. Cassius’s ?ngers ?exed around hers, and she knew he was feeling it too. Perhaps not quite as intensely, but without having any control over his gifts? She could imagine it was unsettling.

“Breathe, Cass,” she ordered softly. “In and out. You control it. It does not control you.”

He nodded, and she heard his next inhale. Cyrus and Sorin were murmuring behind them, and she heard Sorin ask Cyrus to go get the others, wanting to be prepared for anything. The Fire Second had only been gone a few minutes when an eagle’s cry pierced the night. It rang out loud and clear, and Scarlett couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face.

She lifted her arm, barely making out the dark shape against the inky sky, and a moment later, Altaria’s talons closed around her forearm. He clicked his beak, and Scarlett reached up, stroking her hand over his black feathers. His head tilted, a bright amber eye peering at her, and she stroked his head again. The eagle’s feathers puffed up, ruf?ing slightly, before it stretched a leg out towards her.

She tugged on the twine tying the vial to his leg, closing her ?ngers around the smooth glass container. With another piercing cry, Altaria took back to the sky, disappearing into the dark.

And she couldn’t move. She couldn’t believe they were ?nally here. It was too surreal, and for the briefest of moments, she questioned if it was real. Was she dreaming? Had Lord Tyndell found his way to her? Gotten into her mind?

Hands were turning her, ?ngers gently grasping her jaw and turning her head. Golden eyes grounded her, their bond soothing every fear and worry.

“Hey, Love,” he said, a soft smile lifting on his lips. She let out a shuddering exhale, her eyes falling closed, and when she reopened them, he asked, “Ready?”

She nodded, and Sorin pulled the cork from the vial, holding it out to her. She knew in her bones it was blood, could smell the coppery liquid. The Lord of Night’s blood.

She looked at Cassius one ?nal time, his features mirroring all the emotions she felt warring inside of her, before she held her hand out over the black waters and emptied the vial.

She heard it drip quietly into the sea, a soft splash of liquid on liquid. She was holding her breath, and then she was unable to contain her shadows. They tore free of any restraint she had on them, spearing out into the darkness. White ?ames swirled above her head, settling above her hair like a crown.

And the dark, shadowy mist was parting, clearing a path for the ships. Minutes later, it cleared completely, and Scarlett’s eyes widened in wonder. Towering buildings stood with ?ames of various colors in the windows. The ?re re?ected off the buildings, lighting up the harbor that stretched out before them. She couldn’t see beyond the buildings. A dark veil of shadows was beyond them, obscuring anything else from view.

It took nearly an hour to get their ships to the docks, the others arriving during that time. As they got closer, people appeared, preparing to receive them, but she was searching for a head of silver hair like hers.

It wasn’t until the gangplank was being lowered from the ship to the dock below that she saw him. He stepped from the air at the base of the ramp. His silver hair was hanging past his shoulders, and eyes just as silver were pinned on her. He looked exactly as he always had in her dreams, dressed in black, from his tunic to his pants to his boots.

Another male stood to his right. He had messy brown hair that brushed his cheekbones and piercing blue eyes. He was as tall as the Lord of Night but broader. His head was tilted, watching them all intensely, and Scarlett couldn’t tell if it was curiosity or annoyance that flickered across his features. But those features... They looked familiar somehow.

Sorin’s hand pressed slightly along her lower back, and she looked up at him.

We are all right behind you, Love.

She looked past him, seeing her Court, herfamily, standing behind her. All of them— Cyrus, Cassius, Eliza, Rayner, Briar, Sawyer. Her gaze shifted from the Fae to Callan, Tava, and Drake standing next to them. Callan’s head dipped slightly in acknowledgment and encouragement, and Scarlett swallowed against the burning in her throat as tears stung her eyes.

She turned back, meeting the Lord of Night’s eyes once more. Lifting her chin, she took the ?rst step towards him.

“Cethin Sutara,” the beautiful man said, reaching for her hand as she neared the end of the ramp and helping her over the small lip at the bottom. “My name is Cethin Sutara. King of Avonleya and your brother.”

“My brother?” she blurted, jerking her hand out of his. She bumped into Sorin’s hard chest behind her.

“Brother?” Sorin repeated.

Cethin nodded. “Everything about our kingdom is a secret. I could not tell you outside of our wards,” he replied, apology shining in his silver eyes. “I wanted to tell you, Scarlett. Gods, did I ever.”

“You are the king?” Sorin asked.

“I am,” Cethin replied.

“So that would make Scarlett an Avonleyan...Princess.”

She whipped her gaze to Sorin’s. “So not the time,” she hissed.

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