Page 158 of Lady for Embers

“Azzy, I did not know you were so competitive,” Scarlett said, batting her lashes at him.

“Fae are naturally competitive,” he retorted. “It is in our being.”

“What is the prize for winning this thing?” Sawyer asked.

“It needs to be something good,” Cyrus agreed. “Maybe asuper special mirror.”

Sawyer’s eyes narrowed on the Second, and Callan had no idea what that was about.

“Do we really need something other than bragging rights?” Sorin asked.

“Yes!” rang out from so many people, Callan couldn’t decipher who had all shouted the word.

A minute later, Azrael was walking towards them with what appeared to be stems in his ?st. He held the bunch out to them. “A ?ower will bloom when you draw,” he explained. “Whichever color blooms determines which entry point you use.”

“Did they decide on a prize?” Drake asked, reaching out and taking a stem. A blue ?ower immediately opened at the end.

Azrael looked back at the group of Fae engaged in a heated discussion. “It appears that is still being discussed.”

Callan took a stem, the ?ower blooming red, and Hale took the next, his blooming purple. Azrael extended the stems to Tava, who had quietly been standing next to her brother, but she held up a hand, taking a step back. “Thank you, but I think I will pass, Prince Azrael.”

Azrael shrugged, moving on to the others.

Hale turned to Tava. “You do not wish to see the maze?”

“It seems overwhelming, your Majesty,” she replied, her cheeks coloring as she looked at the ground.

“You may still call me Hale,” he said warmly.

“That was before I knew you were a king. I could not possibly,” she replied, her head shaking in refusal.

“You could. I insist,” Hale said. “I also insist you try the hedge maze. I swear to you, you will not get lost, especially with so many of us in the maze tonight. And now we are all on even footing.”

“I know that was my reasoning before, and I am sorry you went through all this trouble—”

“There is no trading ?owers!” Scarlett cried, her voice carrying over to them. “That defeats the entire purpose of drawing them!”

“By the gods. This is madness,” Drake muttered.

“Yes,” Tava mused. “One would think centuries old beings would not be so...”

“Childish?” Callan supplied, as Scarlett and Cyrus began to squabble again.

A laugh bubbled from her lips. “Yes. I do believe that is the perfect word.”

She met his gaze for a moment before her eyes darted away again, but for that brief moment, the impending night hadn’t seemed so dark.

Hale was waving Azrael back over, two stems left in his ?st. “Just take one,” he said to Tava. “If you change your mind, then you have it.”

“If you insist,” she said with a polite smile. She reached out, plucking one of the stems, and a purple ?ower immediately bloomed.

“There. See,” Hale said, nodding at the ?ower that matched his. “Now I can personally ensure you do not get left alone within the maze.” When she still looked hesitant, he teased, “You just sailed across the Edria Sea, and you are fearful of a maze? I thought you were more adventurous.”

If he only knew what kind ofadventuresthe Lady got into back in Baylorin, he would not be teasing her. Sneaking out to the slums and getting them necessities in the dead of night. She might be pure light, but she wasn’t afraid of the dark by any means.

“I am not fearful of it,” she chided. “I simply wish to casually wander the maze, not partake in a competition to win... whatever the prize is.”

“A sword,” Commander Tybalt announced. He had been standing off to the side, observing the melee with amusement. Callan had met the Commander at dinner. He had been different from what he’d expected, warmer and more welcoming than his adopted son, but there was no doubt that if trouble found him, that calm exterior facade would shatter instantly. The fact that he was related to Razik, and apparently Cassius, only served toconfirm that fact. He had never seen Razik use his magic, but he’d heard what ­Cassius had done during the battle with the seraphs, and he’d never accessed his magic before. He could only imagine what his father and cousin could do with centuries of training.

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