Page 152 of Lady of Ashes

“You should let Sorin help you.”

“You should feed,” Cassius shot back.

“You should fuck off,” Scarlett parroted.

Sorin chuckled, stepping forward and letting Cassius throw an arm around his shoulders. “Do not worry, Cassius. She will feed by the end of the day. I swear it.”

“You can both fuck all the way off,” she muttered, going to the bed and adjusting sheets and pillows before Cassius was lowering back onto the mattress.

He had just gotten settled when there was a sharp knock on the door.

Scarlett glanced at Cassius. He swallowed thickly before nodding his head.

Sorin opened the door, and the High Witch entered, stopping just over the threshold. Her sharp, angular features were tight, but her violet eyes were bright when they landed on Cassius. She had stopped wearing her witchsuit after the ?rst few days here, opting instead for ?tted black pants and black tunics. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight braid that ran down her back. She stood rigidly, her hands at her sides.

Cassius had gone utterly still where he sat in the bed, and Scarlett had to wonder if he was even breathing.

“You good, Cass?” she asked quietly, reaching over and squeezing his hand.

The action seemed to jar something in him, and he pushed out a long breath before nodding mutely.

Scarlett cleared her throat. “This is Hazel Hecate, the High Witch.”

“You are my mother?” Cassius asked. She was sure no one else could hear it, but she heard the slight tremor in his voice.

“I am,” Hazel said.

“You … had me sent away.”

A slight wince crossed her features, but it was gone just as quickly. “For your protection, yes,” Hazel con?rmed.

“And my father?”

“You look like him,” Hazel said. That was a hint of longing in her voice, her eyes drinking in all of Cassius’s features. “You sound like him too.”

Scarlett squeezed his hand again. “He … Does he know?”

“He did not know of your existence until you were brought here, out of the enchantments that surround the mortal kingdoms. They veiled you in a way, but bringing you here alerted him. He sent Ranvir to con?rm,” Hazel answered.

“Then why didn’t he send Ranvir when Cassius was in Solembra?” Scarlett asked.

Hazel glanced brie?y in her direction. “When was that?”

“Months ago. He was there for a few hours.”

“Then likely not long enough for him to sense his blood across such a distance,” Hazel replied.

“Where is he?” Cassius asked.

“I would assume in Avonleya. If he were outside those wards, he would have come for you himself.”

Scarlett heard Cassius suck in a sharp breath. “He would have come if he’d known?”

“He cannot. Just as the others cannot leave that land, but yes, Cassius. If he could have come to you, he would have,” Hazel answered.

“And you?”

“I have wondered about you every day since you left my arms. I have waited for this day for twenty-?ve years. I could not be more proud of how you have survived, of the person you have become.”

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