Page 81 of Lady for Embers

Cyrus looked up to?nda beauty with dark red hair smiling down at him. He hadn’t heard her come in, too lost in thoughts of a town that sat at the edge of the sea. He reached for her, wrapping an arm around her waist and tugging her into his lap. She laughed softly, nestling against his chest where she?tperfectly against him.

“I could never be sad with you around, Red,” he said, nuzzling into her neck, planting small kisses along the column of her throat.

“Eliza has red hair too, you know,” she said breathily, her head tilting to give him better access.

“Thia, if I called Eliza ‘Red,’ she’d string me up by my balls,” he deadpanned, pausing to look into her hazel eyes. The?ecksof gold in them re?ected the setting sun from the balcony of their room. “Besides, hers is more of a red-gold. Yours is true red. The color of?ames.”

“You’ve put a lot of thought into the shade of my hair, Cyrus,” she said, amusement in her tone.

“I put a lot of thought into everything about you,” he murmured onto her skin.

She hummed in response, letting him move down her neck to the hollow of her throat. Her ?ngers dragged through his hair, and he felt her curl them, gently tugging him back by the scalp.

“It is okay to miss him, Cyrus.”

“I don’t miss him,” he said quickly. “How could I miss anyone when I have you? You’re all I need, Red.”

“I know what day it is,” she replied quietly. Her ?ngertips skated along his jaw, nails gently tilting his face up to hers. “It’s okay to miss him. It’s okay to be sad sometimes.”

“What could I possibly have to be sad about when the Fates have gifted me you, Thia?” he whispered, pulling her down to taste her lips.

“Being happy doesn’t mean we’re never sad,” she murmured back against his mouth. “You don’t have to hide the sadness from me.”

He gave her a soft smile, reaching up to thumb her bottom lip. “I think the Fates made a mistake.”

“What?”

“I think the Fates made a mistake,” he repeated. “I don’t deserve you, but they gave you to me anyway. What if they realize their error and try to take you back someday?”

“I think we decide what we’re deserving of,” Thia answered. “We chose each other, Cyrus. Not the gods, not the Fates. And if I’ve decided I’m deserving of you, then who are you to say you are not deserving of me?”

A pounding on his door jerked Cyrus from sleep, and he ran his hand down his face, trying to clear the dream from his head. He’d taken the night watch again and had sat alone for hours under thestars. Cassius hadn’t come to keep him company last night. He hadn’t seen him since the conversation with Scarlett and Sorin. Cyrus had looked for him but hadn’t been able to ?nd him. He could only assume he had Traveled to another ship and didn’t want to be found. But that had left him alone with nothing but his thoughts. Thoughts about Cassius’s power. Thoughts about things Sorin and Scarlett had said which eventually had turned to memories surging up from the depths of his soul.

Which explained the dream.

The pounding on his door came again.

“Unless we’re under attack, fuck off,” he growled to whoever was on the other side. He didn’t want company right now.

There was a pause, and then his Fae hearing picked up a small voice saying, “He said a bad word, Rayner.”

“You are right, Tula. He should not say that word.” Cyrus could hear the amusement in Rayner’s voice.

“He doesnotget a cookie.”

Godsdamnit. Now he was swearing at a child.

Cyrus pushed himself out of the small bed, stumbling towards the door still not fully awake. He wrenched it open to ?nd Rayner standing there holding Tula in his arms. The little girl was giving him a disapproving look, her tiny lips pursed and baby blue eyes narrowed on him.

“You said a bad word,” she immediately chided.

He tried to hide his sigh. “I know. I’m sorry, Tula.”

“I’m eating your cookie.”

“That sounds fair.” His eyes ?icked to Rayner. His grey eyes were barely moving, the normal swirling of them minuscule, which told Cyrus his power was still nearly depleted. “Is there a reason you brought her with you to wake me up?”

“I thought you would be a little more cooperative if she tagged along,” Rayner answered, not bothering to hide his smirk.

---