Page 187 of Lady for Embers

“I am not grousing,” he grumbled.

“Only a young child would complain about having found a love worth dying for.”

“I am not complaining about that.”

“Your bond is what you make it, young prince,” she replied, squeezing his ?ngers in her small hands.

“I will not be...” He swallowed again, not wanting to say this out loud because it would make it real. But the sun was setting quickly, and the female before him, who had always been there to listen and give sage advice, would no longer be here to do so in a matter of minutes. “I will have nothing to offer her anymore. I will not be able to protect her. I will not be able to give her my power to fuel her own. I cannot ?ght by her side.”

“You are not de?ned by your power, Sorin. And I may not be a Seer, but I can see the love you share is not of this world, or any other realm for that matter.”

She let go of his hands and stood, crossing to the statue. She ran a ?nger along the inscription etched below it. She must have known how to read the language because she stopped on the second to last line.

“I think you will ?nd that when a Prince falls, a King rises,” she mused. She looked over her shoulder, violet eyes meeting his.

“A powerless king,” Sorin muttered.

She tutted under her breath, folding her hands inside her robes. “If you remember none of my teachings after this day, Sorin Aditya, remember that knowledge is power. You can ?nd the answer to anything if you know where to look and who to ask. You have more power than just ?re. Do not forget that.”

Her eyes darted to the darkening sky before landing back on his once more, full of a tender warmth. “It is almost time.”

He stood and crossed to her in a few long strides. She looked tiny and frail in these last minutes of her life in this world, despite being one of the strongest people he knew. He bent down, pulling her into a tight embrace, tears falling freely now.

She pulled back, her hands gripping his shoulders. “When I visited the Oracle on our continent, Sidora met me in the temple there. It was when she told me of this day. She also told me that the day of my Fading, I would need to pass along the name I have been keeping.” She held up a hand. “Before you ask, I do not know the meaning of the name or what value it holds. Only that it will be needed at some point after my passing. I can think of no one else I trust enough to keep this information safe until it is needed.”

“But how will I know?” Sorin asked.

“Knowledge is power, young prince. Always remember that.” She cupped his cheek once more. “I am so very proud of you, Sorin. It has been one of my greatest honors to watch you grow into the Prince you are and to serve in your Court. Thank you for plucking petals for me for so many years.”

Sorin huffed a laugh through his tears as Beatrix pulled him into a tight hug once more. The sun dipped below the horizon, and she whispered a ?nal word to him as she Faded from his arms.

He was left holding air, a name in his ear, and an ache in his chest.

Chapter 36

Scarlett

Scarlett Traveled them all through the air, across a sea, to the center of the continent. They emerged exactly where she’d wanted to— a good two miles away from the Eternal Necropolis. This entire part of Rydeon was ?at plains. There really wasn’t any place to hide, which only added to the need to come in under the cover of darkness. They had likely already caused some ward somewhere to go off, alerting Alaric to their presence. They needed to get moving.

But Traveling that far with so many people was a lot, and she was breathing hard when she jerked her chin at Rayner, sending him off to spy in the smoke and ashes. Her hands were braced on her knees as she worked to control her breathing. Cassius gripped her upper arm, and she glanced up at him.

“You good, Seastar?”

She nodded, her gaze cutting to Cyrus. The two had been... different since they had argued about Cassius obtaining a Source again. Cassius hadn’t spoken of it to her, acting as if nothing had happened. Cyrus had told her he still refused but that he wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea anymore, whatever the hell that meant. It was something she’d worry about when they got back.

Cyrus was watching them from where he stood by Drake, Eliza on the other side of the Rydeon King. His lips pressed to a thin line, and she knew he’d rather it was him at her side than Razik. Sorin’s loyal Second, wanting to watch out for his prince’s twin ?ame.

She could feel her bond with Sorin stretched taut but that was about it. She tried to speak to him, to let him know they were hereand had made it okay, but the words seemed to fade away down the bond. When she didn’t get a response, she could only assume it meant he had not heard her.

Which meant their bond was weakening as he weakened.

She shook her head as she straightened, clearing her thoughts. This ?rst. Then Sorin. One thing at a time. The whole point of asking Sorin to stay back was so that her focus wouldn’t be split.

Rayner appeared a moment later, his swirling eyes ?nding hers in the darkness. “There are ?ve seraphs at the entrance. One had water magic, the others I did not see. I suspect there are more in the sky, but with the cloud cover, I cannot tell.”

“Once we’re inside the Necropolis, the walls are tall and the passages narrow. It gives us an advantage. They won’t just be able to drop in on us,” Scarlett said, reaching behind her to pull her hood up over her head. “Rayner will scout ahead, Azrael and Callan at the front once we are inside the Necropolis. I’ll be right behind them with Cass and Razik. Briar at the end with Hale and Drake between him and Eliza and Cyrus. If this works, you should have access to your magic immediately. If Alaric shows up, snuff out any power so he cannot draw from it,” she ordered. “Do not engage him. If something seems off, ask someone nearby. Remember Lord Tyndell can alter reality. Whether or not he can in?ltrate more than one person’s mind at a time, I cannot answer. Let’s hope not. Any questions?”

“Let’s get going,” Azrael gritted out. “The sooner we can have access to our magic here the better.”

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