Page 69 of Lady of Ashes

Sorin’s head snapped up to ?nd a hooded ?gure crouching beside Scarlett. Where had he come from? And why was his voice so familiar?

“Get away from her,” Sorin ordered darkly, his dagger halted inches from Mikale’s chest.

The hooded man tsked as he stroked down Scarlett’s hair, brushing it back over her shoulder. “How can I help her if I step away from her?” he mocked, pulling a dagger from the folds of his cloak. “Here’s how this is going to work. You are not going to kill him,” he continued, gesturing to Mikale on the ground. “And I will help the female you love so deeply.”

“Help her how?”

“Not until we have an agreement,” he answered. “You can keep Mikale beneath your boot. I do not really give a fuck, but I, unfortunately, must insist you do not end his life.”

Sorin watched as he continued to stroke Scarlett’s hair while she rocked back and forth, lost to the depths of her darkness and pain. His chest tightened painfully when she screamed again in clear agony.

“Agreed,” Sorin said tightly. “Help her. Now.”

The man pushed the sleeve of his cloak up, bringing the dagger to his forearm and slicing a gash up the inside. Then he took Scarlett’s hair loosely in his ?st, tilting her head back before moving his arm to her mouth. She fought him, pressing her lips together.

Until he leaned forward and said something into her ear that made her scream again.

As soon as her mouth opened, he was pressing his forearm to her lips, his blood dripping down her throat.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Sorin demanded, and Mikale began chuckling beneath his boot once more.

“You desire her so deeply, yet you do not even know what she is,” Mikale managed to get out, and Sorin was pressing his boot down harder to cut off his air supply.

But Scarlett was indeed calming. The hooded man had tipped her chin up, closing her mouth and forcing her to swallow. She blinked her eyes open and seemed to know who was beside her, because she lurched away from him, crawling a few feet down the path.

“Now, now, your Majesty. We’ve become so close these past few weeks. I am wounded,” he chided, pushing to his feet and striding towards her.

He stretched out a hand. “Come with me, and he may let your beloved live.”

“Where is he?” she asked. Her voice was still hoarse and rough, but it sounded stronger than it had moments ago.

“He is waiting for you in his study. He is unhappy,” the man said.

“He is always unhappy,” she retorted, pushing herself to her feet to stand unsteadily before the man.

“I assure you, once you ?nally meet his demands, he will be quite pleasant to be around,” the man replied, his hand still outstretched to her. “Tell me, your Majesty, is your lover’s life not worth it? Will you sacri?ce yet another person you love?”

“What do you know of sacri?ce?” she spat back. “Is that what you think you’ve been doing here?”

Mikale squirmed beneath his foot, but Sorin wasn’t sure what to do here. He wasn’t sure if he should be attempting to intervene or standing back as he was. He had no idea what was being discussed or who the cloaked man was.

“Careful, Majesty,” the man warned, his voice going cold. “We have discussed this before. Do not pretend you know my motives in what I do.”

“From what I’ve gathered, your motive is a Court you think was stolen from you. But in actuality, you are too much of a coward to challenge the sitting Royal for it, so you sought out someone to take it for you,” she replied, stepping back from his outstretched hand.

What the actual fuck was going on here? Because the way Scarlett was talking to this hooded man made it sound like he was Fae. The terms she was using made it sound like this Fae desired one of the Courts, thought he wasowedone of the Courts.

“I am going to enjoy watching his punishments for what you have done today,” the man gritted out, beginning to stalk towards her.

“Scarlett,” Sorin called out to her, but before he could say more, a deep bellowing had them all turning to look down the path.

Running towards them beneath the moonlight was a great red stag, and Azrael Luan was on his back.

“No!” Mikale roared, rolling suddenly and catching Sorin off guard. “Grab her, Tarek!”

But Sorin was already racing for her as she stumbled back from the man again. A shirastone dagger was ?ying from his hand and embedding in the man’s shoulder. He didn’t slow as he lunged for her, too, but then Rinji was leaping clear over the top of him and standing between the man and the queen.

Sorin was beside Scarlett a moment later, pulling her into him, and she pressed her forehead to his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she looked up at him.

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