Page 73 of Lady for Embers

She knew she was using her magic unnecessarily to keep the water heated and to allow herself to breathe under the water, so she indulged another few minutes before she washed her hair for the ?rst time in weeks. It took everything in her to climb out of the makeshift tub, carefully stepping down off the sink and wrapping herself in a towel. She wiped the condensation from the mirror with her hand and sti?ed a scream as two dark eyes glared back at her from over her shoulder in the re?ection.

“He is quite unhappy with you, my pet.”

“The feeling is mutual,” she retorted, tightening her grip on her towel.

Sorin...

“Mordecai returned with a fraction of the units he had with him.”

“Guess they didn’t like ?re after all,” she simpered with a pout.

“Do you think you are going to ?nd aid in Avonleya, Scarlett?” Mikale asked, his hand coming up and ?ngers tracing along her neck, her bare shoulder.

“Who said anything about Avonleya?”

His hand clamped around her throat. “We are not fools, ­Scarlett. We know why you sail west, what you seek. You will not ?nd it.”

Sorin!

She tried to suck in a breath around the grip on her throat, but the phantom ?ngers ?exed, squeezing tighter.

The Mikale in the re?ection leaned closer, and she could feel him behind her. She could feel his chest pressing against her back. She could feel his breath feather across her cheek as he spoke quietly into her ear. “Since you ignored his last message, you can expect future messages to be more persuasive.”

Sorin! I need you!

Mikale smirked at her, as if he could hear her screaming down her twin ?ame bond. His next words were a whisper. “When you get his next message, remember, my pet: you brought this down upon these innocent people. You cannot escape the curse you are on them.”

Then he was gone, and Scarlett was gulping down air. Her hands were gripping the sink, her towel falling to the ?oor. She didn’t hear the door to their quarters open over the roaring in her head.

“Love, if you are still in the bath—”

There were hands on her shoulders, spinning her, and she ?inched, Mikale’s phantom touch still lingering. Then hands were gripping her face, frantic golden eyes searching hers. “Scarlett? What is wrong? What happened?”

He was brushing wet hair off her brow, and her nose scrunched in confusion. “I called for you, Sorin,” she whispered. “I called for you down the bond, and you didn’t answer. You did not come.”

“You...? No. I did not hear you, Love. I didn’t... ” He was stumbling over his words, trying to process what she’d said, tugging her naked body into his chest.

She could feel his confusion and panic down the bond, mixing with her own trepidation. First there were oddities with his ?re and magic, and now this? It couldn’t be a coincidence. It had to be connected.

She felt numb as he held her, arms at her sides, freezing despite the warm bath she’d just soaked in. He was tugging her into the main room, and she followed automatically, letting him slip one of his shirts over her head.

“Scarlett?”

She looked up to ?nd his face pale, worry etched along every feature. “Why couldn’t you hear me, Sorin?”

She watched his throat bob with a thick swallow before he said, “I do not know.”

“Mikale was here. In the mirror.”

She felt rage and guilt and terror ?ood down the bond, his ?ngers digging into her upper arms where he still gripped her.

“Where?” Sorin demanded.

And she knew what he wanted to know. Where had Mikale touched her? What did he need to erase?

Her hand drifted up, ?ngers brushing along her throat. Calloused ones followed hers, trailing along the path she made.

“Sorin, he said their next message will be worse.” She looked into his golden gaze. “How could it possibly be worse than dismembered bodies of innocent people from our Courts?”

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