Page 35 of Lady of Ashes

“I need to eat with my friends this time, but I promise to eat dinner with you,” Sorin added quickly, when a frown pulled at her mouth.

Tula glanced over his shoulder, and her eyes widened again when they fell on Rayner. “Does he need a treat, too?” she asked. “I can get another cookie. Lynnea has more in the kitchen.”

Sorin huffed a laugh. “Rayner will give you smiles for free, Little Tula. Just ask.”

Tula glanced back at Rayner in suspicion. “Why are your eyes like that?” she asked the Ash Rider.

Rayner’s lips tilted up at the frankness. “So that I can see in the dark.”

“Really?” Tula asked, her eyes widening with amazement this time.

“Sort of,” Rayner answered with a deep chuckle.

“Tula, this is Rayner. Rayner, meet Tula,” Sorin said, turning slightly so they could face each other properly.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Tula,” Rayner said, holding out his hand to shake hers.

“Do you know Scarlett, too?” Tula asked when she put her little hand in his big palm.

Rayner glanced at Sorin before looking back at the little girl. “I do know Scarlett.”

“Is she here?” Tula asked, looking around the room again. “I want her to see my sword, too!”

Sorin swallowed, the smile slipping from his face. “She is not here yet,” he answered.

“But she will be soon,” Rayner added.

“Scarlett is the one who told me Sorin’s secret,” she whispered loudly to Rayner.

“What secret is that?” Rayner asked in amusement, another smile hooking up on his lips.

“That treats make him smile,” she answered, squirming to make Sorin set her down. She reached up and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the kitchens. “But I ?gured out his other secret all by myself.”

“Oh?” Rayner questioned, falling into step beside her. “Mhmm,” she hummed. “He smiles biggest when he sees her.”

CHAPTER 11

TALWYN

Talwyn sat at the desk in her room at the White Halls. Rinji had just vanished in a ?ash of soft, green light. He’d arrived in the same way, a scroll tied lightly around his neck with a vine of Azrael’s earth magic securing it, purple wisteria blooming along the greenery.

She’d read his note. They’d all arrived ?ne, although adjusting to not having their magic was affecting the magic wielders who didn’t bear Semiria rings. They had found the allies they were seeking in the mortal lands, and then apparently Sorin had nearly lost his godsdamn mind when he had somehow managed to hear from Scarlett down their twin ?ame bond. He’d wanted to storm into the Black Syndicate and burn everything to the ground to ?nd her. Brash and impulsive, as he had always been. When she was younger, she had admired his con?dence and surety. Now it annoyed her to no end.

Talwyn stood and crossed to the window, facing south towards the mortal lands. She’d never experienced that crazed mania when she’d been in the Trials with Tarek. She had always assumed it was because she was so powerful she was able to withstand the pull, but deep down she’d wondered if it was more so because the bond wasn’t strong enough. They had only completed the ?rst Trial. It wasn’t uncommon to take years to complete all the Trials. It had taken Cyrus and Thia nearly ?ve years if memory served her correctly, so the fact that it had been three years and she and Tarek had still been waiting wasn’t concerning. But she had often thought there should besomething.

Finding one’s twin ?ame was rare, so there wasn’t much knownabout the bond and the path to Anointing it. Until Sorin and Scarlett, the only other twin ?ames she’d even known personally were Cyrus and Thia, and when she was going through her own Trials, she was already on rocky footing with the Fire Court. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to seek advice from the Fire Court Second on her own twin ?ame bond.

But how could they not have had one Trial completed? Not even the Joining? They had certainly done plenty of that physically, but there was a power component to the Joining too, that much she knew. Their magic needed to join, needed to mix and bond just as much as their physical bodies did. It was deeply intimate and based on trust and unwavering faith and loyalty to the other. She had trusted Tarek with all that she was. She’d lain awake at night wondering how she could possibly prove she trusted him more. It had driven her mad. One would think the Joining Trial would be the easiest one.

Talwyn lifted her left hand, studying where the Mark had once adorned the back of her hand, winding down her thumb. When Tarek had died, she’d felt … nothing. She’d grieved for a male she’d loved, yes, but she’d felt nothing in her soul. She’d felt no fracturing of some essential bond. Not like Cyrus obviously had. If Sorin had lost his mind over merely not being able to feel Scarlett, it was nothing compared to Cyrus. Sorin had locked him up in his mountain chateau for nearly six months, paying out of his ass for the High Witch to put up wards and enchantments to keep Cyrus contained. The male had been a walking ghost for years whenever she’d seen him, as if a piece of him had truly died when his twin ?ame had crossed the Veil.

Talwyn had ?gured she didn’t feel such a breaking because they were still in the Trials. Her Mark had taken another two years to fade entirely from her hand, but Cyrus’s had disappeared the moment Thia had stopped breathing. She’d attributed that to her bond not having been Anointed as well.

Despite all of that, despite all the frustration and confusion of the twin ?ame bond and Trials, for those few years, Talwyn hadn’t felt so alone. She’d had someone. Tarek had been by her side nearly every day from the moment they took that Mark. She’d met him on a trip to the Earth Court for some advanced earth magic training that she still did with Azrael on regular occasions. He’d been a part of Azrael’s Inner Court as his Third, and when Azrael hadneeded to go deal with a Court matter, Tarek had offered to entertain her. He’d taken her to some desert caverns outside the capital city of the Earth Court, and they’d spent the entire day talking. She’d found herself telling him things she’d kept shoved down in her soul. Hurt over Sorin abandoning her. Grief she’d never processed over her aunt leaving without a word. Azrael had seemed irritated when he’d returned to ?nd them out on a terrace of his Alcazar, iced tea in their hands, staring up at the night sky. He hadn’t said a word, though. He’d remained her stoic Second, and Tarek had become someone that had made her feel wanted, for the ?rst time in years.

Lightning crackled from her palm, drawing her from her memories.

Here she was, alone again. She was always alone, except for those few shining years with Tarek. Her parents had left her. Her aunt had left her. Sorin had left her. Everyone always left her. Even growing up, her only friend had been Ashtine. She couldn’t count on Sorin. He was more than a century older than her and her aunt’s Second, not to mention her personal tutor. If anything, he’d been more like an older brother.

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