Page 84 of Lady for Embers

“That magic of yours will be much harder to control,” Cyrus commented, moving to the desk. He was a nosy asshole; he could admit that. It was habit. Even the smallest thing could give you leverage over someone.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that,” Cass said, slipping his tunic over his head in favor of another short-sleeved one. “I know I need to practice with it, but one would think practicing with some sort of ?re gift on a ship would be a bad idea.”

He made a valid point, but if he could somehow isolate the wings from the ?re, he could at least practice with that part of his power. Having someone who could be in the sky with Scarlett would level the ?eld at least a little bit.

He was about to respond when his eyes fell on a drawing. The woman was beautiful. Golden hair. Turquoise eyes. Stunning features.

“This yours?” Cyrus asked, picking it up.

“What?” Cass asked, moving to his side and peering over his shoulder. “No. That is Drake’s. His mother.”

Cyrus had always thought the Tyndell siblings looked oddly familiar, but he could swear he knew this woman. He couldn’tquite place her, and it was going to bother him until he ?gured it out. Lord Tyndell had been right when he’d said Tava looked nearly identical to her mother. The question still remained though: why did Lord Tyndell care so much for them?

He placed the sketch back onto the desk where he’d found it, following Cass from the room. As they made their way to the dining room, he said cautiously, “How are your reserves after all that Traveling?”

“The Traveling with Drake was not what drained them,” Cass answered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the scouting I was doing with Scarlett is what drained them.”

Cyrus reached out, gripping his arm to stop him. “What scouting? Why were you Traveling with depleted reserves?”

“I’m sure we will talk about the scouting shortly, and like I said, I thought you were sleeping this morning. I did not want to bother you for blood.”

“Bother me for...” Cyrus trailed off, his brows knitting together. “You needing blood isn’t a bother, Cass. It’s a necessity. Speaking of which, we need to discuss this Source business.”

“No,” Cassius said, his eye instantly darkening, features hardening.

He pulled his arm from Cyrus’s grip and continued on his way to the dining room, leaving Cyrus to hurry after him. “Why? I’m already giving you blood daily. How is this any different?”

“It is very different, Cyrus,” Cassius replied, not bothering to look at him.

“How?” Cyrus insisted.

Cassius stopped so quickly, Cyrus nearly ran into him. The Queen’s Hand rounded on him, hissing low, “It is a lifelong commitment, Cyrus. Until one of us dies. I would never ask you to tie your life to mine in that way.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering,” Cyrus countered.

“And I am declining the offer.”

“Why? You need a Source, Cass. Are you going to ask some other Fae?”

“I do not need a Source.”

“Scarlett says otherwise.”

Cassius scoffed. “Despite what she seems to think, she does, in fact, not know everything.”

Cyrus arched a brow, his lips quirking up on one side. “I don’t know, Cass. She’s rarely wrong. Not when it comes to this kind of stuff.”

“We will wait until we get to Avonleya. Until we can learn more about it,” Cassius said, turning and continuing on the way to the dining hall.

“What more do we need to learn? Scarlett and Sorin have a Source bond. They can answer any questions we might have,” Cyrus argued.

Cassius stopped again outside the makeshift dining room. “Scarlett and Sorin are different.”

“How so?”

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