Page 60 of Lady of Ashes

And that was arguably more dangerous than any secret.

“They want Veda at your side,” she continued, when he didn’t say anything. “For what reason? I do not know. I can only assume it is because she is Mikale’s sister. They must think that if she were queen, she would have more control over the kingdom.”

“What do they want control over Windonelle for? I thought they wanted Scarlett.”

Ocean blue eyes settled back on his. “That is the question, isn’t it?”

CHAPTER 16

SCARLETT

When she came up from the depths of slumber this time, she couldn’t clear her head. It was fuzzy. Sound was muf?ed. Her vision was blurred when she tried to open her eyes. Her mouth was dry.

And she wasn’t chained in the dungeon study.

Her ankle chains were anchored to the ?oor. Her wrists were still shackled, but they weren’t suspended above her head. She could freely move her arms. She was lying on the ?oor, the stone cool against her cheek, and she sucked in a sharp breath as memories surged up.

She pried her eyes open, and then she couldn’t breathe at all. The room around her came into focus, and she realized where she was. She was still in the dungeons of the Fellowship, but this room had a drain in the center. This room had manacles on the walls. A chair to be restrained in. A table to be strapped to. It had numerous devices to in?ict immeasurable pain.

And chained to the wall across from her was Cassius.

Scarlett jerked upright, her head throbbing in pain. All she could hear was the rush of blood pulsing in her ears.

“No,” she whispered, crawling across the ?oor as far as she could go.

Her knees split open through the thin gown as she struggled to get to him. “Cassius.”

His eyes were ?xed on her, wide and full of dread. He looked exhausted, as if he’d been struggling against his restraints for hours, yet he still let out a bellow of rage around the gag in his mouth as he watched her dragging herself across the ?oor to get to him. Notthat it mattered. Her ankle chains stopped her, her ?ngers a foot from his bare feet.

This was a vision. It had to be. Lord Tyndell was doing this to her. She’d heard nothing from the Assassin Lord since he had left the study to verify Callan was back. That had been at least two days ago. Tarek or Mikale had been giving her the tonic they were forcing her to swallow along with small meals. Mikale never answered her when she asked about the status of Callan, and she’d stopped speaking to Tarek after their last conversation.

It’s not real, she told herself over and over again.It can’t be real.

“The Guardian bond is so much more powerful when the Guardian chooses it for himself, rather than being forced into it,” came Alaric’s cold voice from the corner of the room. She heard his footfalls on the stones, but her eyes stayed ?xed on Cassius. He was pale, and she could see every ounce of apology and regret shining in his brown eyes.

She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. She felt the tears welling at the back of her eyes, as those footsteps came to a stop beside her. This was it. This was checkmate. This was what would break her. She didn’t know what the choice would be, but she had no doubt it would end with Cassius losing his life.

Scarlett couldn’t take her eyes off of Cassius, as she felt Alaric lower to a crouch beside her and slowly stroke her hair, as if trying to soothe her. His hood was down. Apparently, he had deemed Cassius worthy of knowing his identity before he killed him.

“His need to protect you goes beyond any magical bond enacted, when it is entered into willingly. He may not feel your physical pain like he once did, but he has been quite tortured seeing you lying here unconscious these last several hours.”

Two tears slid free, and Cassius slowly shook his head. Sheknew he was trying to tell her not to cry, not to show weakness. She knewhe was trying to convey how much this was not her fault. She knew if he could speak to her right now, he would tell her this sacri?ce was worth it and not to blame herself or carry this guilt with her.

But none of that helped. None of that eased the splintering happening inside her chest.

“He was furious when I told him how I had Tarek drug you with your last meal,” Alaric continued, reaching over and swiping thetears away with his thumb. “It was the … safest way to get things into place for this next bit of business.”

He stood back up and walked to a low table, swiping up a dagger before coming to stand by Cassius. Scarlett saw Cassius’s breathing increase, his chest rising and falling faster and faster as he mentally prepared for what he was about to endure.

“What he said was true,” Alaric mused, studying the dagger in his hand. “Prince Callan has returned.”

Scarlett’s breath hitched at the words. She ?nally broke her gaze with Cassius, turning her head to look up at Alaric. His jaw was clenched tight, his shoulders tense. He seemed to be lost in thought as he tapped the tip of the dagger against his ?nger.

“If Callan has returned, then why is Cassius chained to the wall?” she demanded, her voice hoarse and raw.

His black eyes slowly came to hers, and Scarlett had to ?ght the urge to ?inch back from him. “Callan has returned, but he returned betrothed to someone,” he gritted out.

Her brows ?ew up, and her head whipped to Cassius, who looked as surprised as she was. He shook his head again to tell her he had no idea what Alaric was talking about.

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