Page 119 of Lady for Embers

The sound of a chair scraping had Cyrus’s attention going back to Cassius again, but he was already walking out of the dining room.

“Cassius!” Scarlett called after him, already halfway to the doorway.

“Cass?” Cyrus called at the same time, getting to his feet.

He came to a stop beside Scarlett, where she’d stilled outside the dining room.

“What was that about?” he asked, turning to face her fully.

She was staring down the hall in the direction Cassius had gone, worrying her bottom lip. When she met his stare, silver eyes full of concern stared back at him. “Hazel told us that his father’s name is Tybalt.”

“But that would mean...”

“The Avonleyan Commander is his father,” she ?nished for him, gaze drifting back down the hall. “But it also means that Razik is his brother.”

Chapter 24

Callan

Callan rode atop a white horse as their company made their way to the castle some time after mid-day. With the kingdom favoring the night, they started everything a little later in the morning. Apparently that included lunch being served mid-afternoon rather than at mid-day.

He’d come downstairs, Magdalena directing him to the dining room for breakfast, but when he’d gotten there, only the Earth Prince and Drake were there. He’d been told the others had already eaten. Some had gone to the other estate to check in on the children and other Fae, Tava included, and others had gone into the capital to explore. Although, “explore” was probably an inaccurate term. They had gone to scout out the terrain, spy, and gather as much information as they could.

Callan had opted to stay at the original estate and help where hecould. After nearly ten minutes of insisting he could help, Magdalena ?nally relented, and he had been assigned the task of helping to bring fresh towels to all the rooms. It was a simple task that gave him something to focus on and kept him moving. Idleness just had him reliving that throne room these days, and if not that, his conversation with Tava on that ship nearly a week ago. Both memories made it hard to breathe. Both memories were unbearable, just in different ways.

The further inland they moved, the denser the fog was becoming. It wasn’t really fog. Callan just couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what it actually was.

Black mist. Shadows and darkness like Scarlett could summonto her ?ngertips. If there had been any doubt about her being Avonleyan, it was gone now.

Not only was she Avonleyan, but she was the sister of the king, if he was to be believed. An Avonleyan princess. The irony that she had gone from a mystery woman who had moved among the shadows, that he would have never truly been able to be with and maintain his throne, to a lost princess of a nearly mythical kingdom across the sea was not lost on him.

She rode on her own horse today, Sorin on one side and Cassius on the other. Their escorts, soldiers from the Avonleyan forces, led the way. Two in the front of their group and two behind them. Tava had opted to stay behind, Drake saying she had insisted she was not needed for such a meeting and that it was not her place to be there.

Except that if they’d still been courting, if he could get out of his own godsdamn head, itwouldbe her place as his future queen.

The path they were following seemed to grow steadily steeper until suddenly it was like crossing a veil. One moment, the “fog” was so thick, he could hardly see the road they traveled on. The next, it cleared as if it had never been there.

Callan looked back over his shoulder, a wall of misty fog rose up at their backs. Facing forward, he looked up at the castle that was before them. It was nestled into the mountains, the mountains themselves as black as the night. The castle itself was a grey so dark it was nearly black, but seemed to shimmer slightly in the sunlight. The front had three separate archways, side-by-side, various towers rising up behind them and reaching towards the clear sky. Somehow, the black mountains and grey castle were elegant against the blue expanse rather than a dark stain like one would expect. More towers ?anked the main ones, various buildings visible, but more than that were the winding steps that led up to the building. The steps crossed over a ravine of sorts that Callan could assume ran deep. As the horses made their way across the now somewhat rocky road, they came to a stop at what was clearly a guard post.

“We have to walk across that?” Scarlett asked. Callan could hear the frown in her voice.

“We usually Travel,” one of their escorts at the front answered, dismounting and passing the reins to a waiting stable hand. “We were told you would likely not agree to such a thing.”

“And the horses?” Rayner asked, still seated atop his brown horse. “The guards will watch them until you are ready to return.”

Sorin and Scarlett were doing their silent communication thing, judging by the way they were looking at each other, and Callan sti?ed the sigh he wanted to let out. He hadn’t slept well. Again. They’d been woken in the middle of the night on the ships, and then he’d been assigned a small suite. While it had been nice to ?nally have somewhat spacious quarters again, it still provided only his nightmares to keep him company in the quiet hours of the night.

The trek across the stair-bridge took another ten minutes, everyone silent as they moved. The black mist was so thick in the ravine that Callan couldn’t tell how far down it went, but he was more than glad to step off the damn bridge when they reached the other side.

They were escorted through the main doors of the castle, and the inside was tasteful and inviting. Light grey marble ?oors were offset by the walls the same color as the outside of the castle. Sconces every few feet cast a soft glow along with the windows that let in the natural light. There were soft white window curtains tied back with silver cords. It was all re?ned and far warmer than Callan was expecting.

They were led up a set of stairs to a second-?oor council room by one of the soldiers, who informed them King Cethin would be there shortly. The table was laden with various food choices, and Scarlett immediately moved forward, snagging a seat near the head of the table and reaching towards a platter of what appeared to be roast beef.

“Perhaps we should wait for Cethin?” Sorin asked, lowering into a chair beside her.

She proceeded to pile meat onto her plate before reaching for another plate of roasted vegetables. “We were invited for lunch, and I am hungry.”

“We did eat breakfast,” Sorin said while simultaneously handing her a piece of toasted bread.

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