Page 35 of Lady for Embers

“What does that mean?”

“Unless the previous Royal has died, a new Royal cannot be named without a formal abdication,” Briar explained. “All of those overseeing Courts right now are ?ll-ins until either the ruling Royal abdicates, dies, or is challenged.”

“Then why are we not still there if you are all the rightful rulers of those lands?” Callan demanded.

“For the same reason you are on this ship,” Eliza answered. “Their deaths would be imminent.”

“Had we not been warned of the attack, Azrael and Briar, along with their Courts, would likely be dead,” Rayner added. “The issue here is that they believe Sorin to be dead. Technically, Talwyn could appoint a new ruler to the Fire Court.”

Scarlett’s palms immediately started sweating at the mention of Sorin being dead, her heart rate spiking. It never failed. It didn’t matter that he sat beside her at this very moment. The mere mention of him being gone had her scrambling to maintain control of her thoughts, keeping those images locked up tight.

Breathe, my Love.

She looked up at him, a tight smile on her lips. Golden eyes softened with empathy stared back at her. She swallowed thickly before saying, “That will not matter. If she appoints another, Sorin can challenge as soon as we return. There is no one more powerful with the ?re element.”

“But in the meantime, whoever she appoints can make a fucking mess of things,” Cyrus said, his forearms resting on the table as he leaned forward.

“Then why hasn’t she done so yet?” Callan asked.

“Maybe her Second has some insight?” Eliza said, and all eyes went to Azrael.

His shoulders tensed, bronze skin tightening over coiled muscles. “I do not know why she would delay this. I can only assume it is because there are more pressing demands being made of her right now.”

“Like betraying her entire race of people?” Scarlett asked bitterly.

“She believes this to be in their best interest,” Azrael said.

“She believes this to be inherbest interest, Prince Luan. You know that as well as the rest of us do,” Scarlett retorted.

That muscle ticked in his jaw again. “She made her choice, and I made mine. I will aid your agenda in whatever way I can, but I cannot answer questions I do not know the answers to.”

“You know her better than anyone. You can offer insight,” Cyrus countered.

“I can speculate, and I have. She likely has more pressing matters at hand. She excels at prioritizing matters,” Azrael said.

“And we would do well to do the same,” Sorin cut in. “Whether or not Talwyn appoints a new ruler over the Fire Court is not our most pressing matter.”

“Agreed,” Briar said. “We should be ?guring out the best way to prepare for these seraph armies.”

“That is dif?cult given we do not know what type of magic we will be up against,” Sawyer supplied.

“The fact that they can ?y also puts us at a grave disadvantage,” Rayner said.

“The Witches would have the grif?ns,” Scarlett said. “And if the Shifters still side with us, some of them can ?y, right?”

“Perhaps,” Azrael agreed. “However, without the Wind Court on our side, it deepens our disadvantage and strengthens them.”

Silence fell, Briar going still at the mention of the Wind Court. They had not heard from Princess Ashtine since she had appeared to warn them of the incoming move on the Courts.

“We would also need to ?nd a way to communicate with the Witches and Shifters before returning,” Sawyer said, breaking the silence. “They won’t do us any good if we can’t do that.”

“And will the Witches and Shifters be in any place to help us when we return? They will have been doing their best since we left. If it takes months to return, they could be too exhausted to aid us,” Cyrus added.

“I think even this discussion should be tabled at the moment. The Royals, the seraphs, battle plans, none of that is the most important matter at hand,” Sorin said. “We need to ?gure out how we are going to handle Avonleya when we arrive. We need plans in place for every situation. If we are not welcomed. If we are received kindly.”

“How are we getting in without the keys?” Cyrus asked. “We never did ?nd this lock, right?”

“I assumed we could get in because she is Avonleyan,” Auberon said. “Are you telling me we are sailing towards a continent we might not even be able to ?nd because of wards we do not know if we can get through?”

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