Page 67 of Lady of Ashes

“I do not know,” she answered with a shrug, her chains rattling slightly. “He did not tell me that.”

“Which side of the Fellowship will we come out on?” Sorin asked. “The south,” Scarlett answered. “If we survive, there are paths leading both east and west. We can take whichever is necessary.”

“We go out together,” Sorin replied. “Cyrus, start heading east to Eliza and Luan immediately. Scarlett go with him. Arianna and I will handle the ?ghting.”

“I have a dagger,” Scarlett scoffed.

“You are in chains and can hardly stand,” Sorin countered.

Scarlett’s jaw clenched, and she averted her eyes, looking down at her bare feet. “I have faced so much worse. This is nothing.” She inhaled deeply before lifting her head once more and heading off down the hall, leading the way.

Sorin fell into step beside her, Arianna falling back to guard Cyrus. He saw Scarlett glance at him out of the corner of her eye before she quickly ?xed her gaze forward once more. She halted a few feet from a door, turning to face him. “This is likely Lord Tyndell messing with my mind again, but on the off chance it is not … please don’t die.”

Sorin smirked at her. “I will do my best, Princess.”

Her lips twitched again, but the smile still didn’t form. “There are not many stars left.”

“You are my necessity,” Sorin answered, the smirk falling from his lips. “I will always come for you.”

He thought she might reach for him. He was praying to Anala she would, but instead she nodded once before turning back and going to the door. He watched as she rolled her shoulders back and breathed deep before she pushed the door open, and he moved to follow her out into the night.

He only had one foot over the threshold when she was swinging her dagger. She slammed it into the chest of a guard standing just outside the door. She’d clearly known he would be there, and he growled at the fact that she’d gone ?rst instead of telling him.

Because of course she had.

She darted out into the darkness, tripping over her chains as she began to run on the path, catching herself with her hands. Her dagger skittered from her grasp. She was back up before Sorin could reach her, and he cursed under his breath that she wouldn’t let him touch her, let alone help her.

He heard the arrow whizzing his way seconds before he caught the shaft of it in his hand. He snapped it in two, before pulling a knife from the bandolier across his chest, cocking his arm back, and throwing it at the assassin who’d aimed for him, strikingtrue. He crumpled to the ground, the knife embedded deep in his skull.

Sorin whirled to look for Scarlett. She had her wrist chains around another guard’s neck, struggling to pull him back against her to ?nish him, and Sorin ran for them. His short sword went into the man’s gut as a knife went across his throat.

Scarlett brought her hand to her abdomen, pressing against a gash and breathing hard. She was scanning the yard, relief ?ashing in her eyes as Cyrus and Arianna ran past them down the path.

“Let me carry you, Scarlett,” Sorin said, sheathing his sword and knife once more.

She shook her head. “You need your hands free to ?ght.”

“There is no one else out here, and you are bleeding. We are almost out,” he insisted.

But she shook her head again. “They are coming. They are waiting.”

“Who, Scarlett? Who is coming?”

She looked around the yard again before jerking her chin to the path Cyrus and Arianna had gone down. “Let’s get as far as we can,” she said, setting off down the path, even slower than before.

“What should I be preparing for?” Sorin asked, scanning the yard, slowing his pace to match hers.

“I don’t know,” she said around a grimace, her legs nearly giving out again.

“Who are they?” he pressed, catching her elbow to keep her upright.

She stiffened, coming to a halt, but for once it wasn’t a reaction to his touch.

“I was beginning to think you were not going to come for her.”

Sorin shoved Scarlett behind him, cursing himself when he felt her stumble, and Mikale stepped into view not more than twenty feet away from them down the path. Sorin called ?ames to his ?ngertips, but Scarlett was back in front of him, pushing his hands down and forcing him to extinguish the ?re.

“No!” she cried in terror, tripping over those damn chains at her feet yet again.

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