Page 15 of Lady of Ashes

“Sorin is on his way down. He will be here in moments,” Rayner interjected.

He had barely ?nished speaking when footsteps echoed from the hall. They all turned to ?nd Sorin, Cyrus, and Arianna Renatus. What the hell was the Shifter doing here? And if she was here, where was Stellan?

Talwyn did a quick scan of the entry looking for the ShifterAlpha but didn’t see any sign of him, at least not in his natural form. The three came to a stop in front of them all, and Arianna propped a hand on her hip, a vixen’s smile on her lips.

“Sorin dearest, you did not tell me we would be traveling with such delicious company,” she said in her sultry tone, her eyes drinking in the Crown Prince before moving on to Azrael.

“Arianna,” Talwyn said tightly, with a nod of her head to the Beta. “A pleasure, as always.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” she returned with a bow of her own. Then she moved closer to Callan, sliding a hand up his arm and around his shoulders as she circled behind him. Callan stiffened at the liberal touches, looking as uncomfortable as a virgin in a brothel.

Sorin cleared his throat, a grin of amusement playing around his lips as he watched. “Arianna, this is Crown Prince Callan Solgard of Windonelle. Callan, meet Arianna Renatus. She is the Beta of the Shifters.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady,” Callan said awkwardly, attempting to step from her reach.

“Oh no, Prince. The pleasure is indeed all mine,” she replied with a ?irtatious grin, moving into his personal space once more and sidling right into his side.

Callan threw a pleading look around for someone to take pity on him, and Talwyn huffed a sigh. “Lady Arianna, the Crown Prince is not used to such affection. Perhaps you should give him some space?”

Her relations with the Shifters were the best alliance she had. Granted, she preferred to work with Stellan, but she’d had plenty of interactions with Arianna as well. They were both Power Shifters, able to shift into any animal or human form, and she did everything she could to remain on good terms with the siblings. They were invaluable when it came to power plays, and while they enjoyed their share of roguery and promiscuity, they were incredibly cunning and powerful. Stellan was also very protective of his sister, which made it all the more concerning that he wasn’t present.

Arianna’s grin became one of mischief at Talwyn’s suggestion. “Maybe he would ?nd he likes my type of affection,” she replied, nuzzling into his neck.

“I am sure he would adore your affection, Lady, but perhaps another time would be more conducive,” Talwyn replied, with a pointed look at Sorin.

A pout formed on Arianna’s full lips as Sorin held out a hand to the Shifter. “I am afraid Queen Talwyn is right, Lady. You know we are short on time as it is.”

Arianna sighed, slipping her hand into his waiting palm. “Of course, kitten,” she conceded. “But you will be sure to tell him how much he will enjoy my company, won’t you?”

Her olive eyes were wide with an innocence the Shifter in no way possessed, and a wry smile pulled at Sorin’s mouth. “I will be sure the Crown Prince knows exactly how good you would make him feel, my Lady.”

Seemingly satis?ed, Arianna stepped away from Callan and back to Sorin’s side, who smoothly passed her off to Cyrus when she tried to cling to him. Cyrus snaked an arm around her waist, tucking her in tight against him and whispering something into her ear that had her grinning a feline grin and running her ?ngers along his jaw.

“Does everyone have everything they need?” Sorin asked, shouldering his pack. Cyrus stooped to pick up his pack along with another bag Talwyn assumed was Arianna’s.

“I am in need of an explanation of the plan, Prince,” Talwyn bit out from between clenched teeth.

Rayner and Eliza came to Sorin’s side as he met her glare. “I have as much of a plan in place as possible, Talwyn, but I do not know in what state we will ?nd Baylorin. Our most pressing matter upon arriving will be to ?nd our allies.”

There was a swirl of ashes near Rayner, and he pulled a map from them, passing the parchment to Sorin. Sorin gestured for Azrael to come over, and Talwyn moved with him, his arm brushing against hers.

Azrael and Rayner each took a side of the parchment, and Sorin pointed to the castle. “Obviously, this is where the king resides. Mikale’s father, Lord Lairwood, is the hand-to-the-king. This is his estate.” He moved his ?nger to another area. “This is where all the unmarried soldiers reside for the most part, including much of the king’s High Force.”

“Do you think that is where she is being held?” Azrael inquired, rubbing his jaw in thought.

There was a low snarl from beyond them. “My father is not keeping her prisoner,” Callan said tightly.

“No offense, Princeling, but if he has learned what she is, he may indeed have arrested her,” Eliza replied ?ippantly.

“No,” Callan insisted. “She is not there.”

“While Eliza has a point, I do not believe that is where she is,” Sorin cut in. He pointed to an estate a short distance from the castle grounds. “This is the Tyndell Estate. This is where she resided for a year before I brought her here. Lord Tyndell is in charge of the king’s armies and was my superior while I was there. He is working with Mikale and …” Sorin paused for a moment, seeming to debate something internally, before he took a breath and added, “Scarlett believes Lord Tyndell is one of the Maraan Lords.”

Talwyn’s eyes snapped to him at that. “And who exactly are these Maraan Lords?” she asked in a dangerous tone. They had been mentioned a few times now by Scarlett and Ashtine, yet no one had bothered to ?ll her in on this threat.

“I am not entirely sure,” Sorin admitted. “Scarlett knows far more than I do, and before she could tell me everything, we had to deal with the Night Children at the borders. She believes that Deimas was, in fact, a Maraan King. She had several theories as to why he entered into a union with Esmeray, but couldn’t say for sure.”

“So who are the Maraan Lords, then? What are they doing here?” Azrael asked. Talwyn could see him calculating all of this new information.

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