Page 199 of Lady of Ashes

“And what happens when there are other consequences from the Blood Magic? What happens when you do not understand the costs?Again.”

“We do not have the time to spend on this, Sorin,” she insisted.

“How do you ?gure that?” he demanded. “We have heard nothing from Alaric or Mikale or Lord Tyndell since we came for you.”

“Exactly!” she cried. She ran her hands through her hair. “We have heard nothing except that there are forces being moved around. They aremoving, Sorin. They want the Contessa. They are coming for her, and it is my fear that they already have her. Alaric is a patient man, but when he strikes? He will be everywhere. He will be here. He will be at home. He will be in every court, in every territory.”

“He cannot be, Scarlett—”

“Hecanbe, Sorin. He is already moving pieces into place. Can’t you see? He will be everywhere, and we are not prepared. We will have to pick which lands to save and which to surrender,” she insisted.

“We have allies in every territory, every Court, Scarlett. He will not simply march in and overtake us all,” Sorin said, trying to soothe the hysteria he could see in her eyes.

She shook her head, tipping her face up to the stars. “You do not know him,” she whispered. She brought her eyes back to his, and tears glimmered in the little light of the moon. “I need you to trust me, Sorin. I know you do not. I know it is a lot to ask of you after everything, but Ineedyou to trust me on this. Please.”

He could only stare at her. Raw and real. Those were the emotions in her eyes, ?ooding down the bond.

“It is not that I do not trust you, Scarlett,” he said slowly. “It is that I do not trust Blood Magic.”

“Blood Magic is not inherently bad, Sorin,” she replied. “It is how it is used. One could say the same for darkness.” At her words, she lifted a palm, shadows pooling there before reaching for him and brushing down his arm.

“Blood Magic is unpredictable,” he countered, his ?ames rising up to meet her shadows.

She stepped into him. “It is a tracking Mark. That is all,” Scarlett said, her palms settling on his chest, sliding up and over his shoulders.

One of his arms snaked around her waist, tugging her further into him. “You are not going to distract me from this conversation with your hands, Love.”

“No?”

“No.”

“I think they could be just as distracting as my tongue.”

“I know they can be,” he gritted out, “but this conversation needs to happen ?rst.”

She pushed out a heavy breath, stepping back. “I have been studying this Mark since I found it when searching for the nullifying Mark that day.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“I did,” she answered. “To Rayner. We needed someone close to the Contessa to be able to use it. I asked Rayner who this would be, and he told me of Auberon. So I told Rayner to pick a location, then ?nd Auberon and conveniently reveal our plans where he would hear of them.”

Sorin started. “Rayner sent us to the northern villa because …”

“Because that was the location Auberon was closest to so he would be able to catch up with us the fastest,” Scarlett con?rmed. “I wanted him to ?nd us, follow us. I didn’t know if it would work, so Rayner is also looking for the Contessa, but …” She shrugged.

Sorin could only blink at her.

Scarlett cleared her throat. “The Mark will require Auberon’s blood, and he will need to draw it.”

“Night Children cannot do Blood Magic,” Sorin said quickly.

“I know. He will need to draw it in his blood, then my blood will be splashed across it to activate it. It will be connected to him, though. He is the one who will learn where she is, and then I am hoping we can portal there,” Scarlett explained.

Sorin slid his hand into her hair, tipping her head back. “What is the cost?

“My magic,” she answered. “The Mark depends on my magic, so it will drain my reserves until Auberon learns her location. I will need to … feed before we go to her.”

“That cost does not seem very steep,” he said with a frown.

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