Page 17 of Lady for Embers

“Great. While you work on that, the rest of us will work on ?guring out things that actually matter.”

“You going into the territory of your former master de?nitely matters,” Briar cut in. “I do not like it any more than they do, but I understand your arguments and agree it is likely the best course of action at this point.”

“Thank you,” Scarlett said, exasperated by the fact that they were rehashing this topic yet again. “Let’s focus on how we are going to get these ships out to sea without calling attention to surrounding ?eets.”

They fell into discussion again, and Scarlett found it hard to stay focused. She always did. While her mind tried to pay attention to everything going on around her, her soul only cared about her twin ?ame asleep beside her. It had been a week. Seven entire days since she had given everything she had to bring him back to this side of the Veil. Hazel assured her every day that he would live and that he would wake, but each day that passed had her second guessing it. What if it hadn’t worked at all? What if it simply prolonged the inevitable? What if the Lord of Night was a lying piece of shit who was only using her for his own gain, and he needed her to stay sane, so he tricked her with this insane idea that she could save him?

Gods, she knew that was ridiculous. She knew she was halfway to losing her mind, if she hadn’t already, but these were the thoughts that kept her up at night now. These were the nightmares that didn’t let her sleep. These were things that had hopelessness rising up more and more in her soul with every passing hour.

Maybe she was an idiot for believing that hope was for the dreamers.

Maybe this was hell, just as she’d suspected in the beginning. Maybe this was her own personal Pit of Torment, balanced on the very edge of hope to slowly fade into the nothingness that she felt when she’d watched Sorin fall trying to get to her. Maybe...

Scarlett was rubbing her temples with her ?ngers, trying to get control of her thoughts, when Rayner caught her eye. There was a faint smile on his lips as he jerked his chin in the direction of the bed, and she twisted to ?nd golden eyes ?xed on her.

Golden eyes full of life.

A low groan came from his parted lips, and Scarlett was lurching forward, her mouth landing on his. She kissed him hard, the taste of cloves and honey dancing along her tongue. She felt his ?ngers on her hips, squeezing weakly, and she pulled back before she punched him in the shoulder.

He let out a grunt as she snapped, “You promised no goodbyes, you asshole.”

Then she was climbing into his lap straddling his hips, hands framing his beautiful face as she kissed him again. When she ?nally pulled back again, it was just far enough to look at him. Her ?ngers traced along his brow, his temples, through the long stubble on his jaw. Her eyes fell closed, and she breathed in deep—ashes and cloves and cedar. When she opened them again, tears blurred her vision as she looked directly into the eyes that could see to her very soul.

“You were dead,” she whispered.

“I’m not, my Love,” he rasped back.

“But you were. You were dead. You were gone. You were taken from me. You were—”

His large hand was on her cheek, thumb brushing over her cheekbone as another tear slid free.

Silence settled over them, and Scarlett realized everyone else had left the room, giving them this moment.

“Never again, Sorin Aditya,” she whispered. “Never leave me again. I lived in a world without you in it for a matter of minutes, and I will not survive it again.”

“My Love,” he rasped, trying to lift his head but immediately falling back down to the pillows.

She felt bad about demanding this of him now. She probably shouldn’t have been straddling him when he had just woken up, kissing him, calling him an asshole, but this was them. This made it real. This reassured her she wasn’t going mad, that he was alive and with her and ?ne. He was ?ne.

She bent forward once more, bringing her brow to his. “It’s always been you, Sorin,” she said, her tears dripping onto his face. “From the very beginning. The Fire Prince I hated. The target I couldn’t kill. The general I couldn’t stand. The rescuer from my demons. The savior from drowning. The brightest star in the darkness. Only you. Only ever you. Where you go, I will follow, even if that means crossing the Veil. Never leave me again, Sorin. Never again.”

“Never again,” he whispered, his voice hoarse from disuse.

And she was kissing him again. This kiss was slow and deep and full of promises they would die to keep.

She slid off of him, nestling into his side, her head on his chest. She could hear the steady beat of his heart, and she closed her eyes,reminding herself again this was real. He lived. He breathed. He survived.

His arm was wrapped around her waist, his hand resting on her hip. She felt ?ngers from his other hand drift through her hair. “I love you, Scarlett.”

“All the way through the darkness, Sorin.”

He was asleep again moments later, but the nothingness in her soul had abated. Hearing him speak. Tasting him on her lips. Feeling his arm wrapped around her. It all grounded her.

And for now, that was all she needed.

Chapter 5

Sorin

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