Page 71 of Lady of Ashes

Cyrus kept her held tightly to him as he hauled her up the path to the warehouse. Sorin didn’t dare try to take her from him. She was kicking and ?ghting and swearing at them, and he didn’t know why. He had no idea what had set this off, what she had experienced to make her react like a feral animal.

“Scarlett,” he pleaded. “I am sorry, Love. We needed to get you out.”

“What the fuck happened?” came Nuri’s voice as she rushed out of the warehouse and fell still at the scene before her.

“Let’s get inside, and we can ?ll you in,” Sorin ground out, brushing past her and leading the way into the warehouse. They all ?led in, Luan carrying Cassius. As soon as the door was closed, he gestured to Arianna. “Make that key.”

“I need to see the manacles,” she answered.

Scarlett was still thrashing in Cyrus’s arms, and Sorin didn’t know how she even had the energy or strength to be doing so. It couldn’t all be from that man’s blood, could it?

“Scarlett.” Her name was an order, and she stilled long enough to sneer at him. “Cyrus is going to let you go.”

“I am?” he asked, his brow arching.

“Yes, you are,” he answered. His eyes were ?xed on Scarlett as he continued, “Since you are in a particularly delightful mood right now, for reasons I am incredibly interested to learn I might add, I suspect you are going to run and ?ght. But know that I will chase you, and I will ?ght you, and you will not win tonight.” Flames began to twist up his arms, and Scarlett glared at him. He nodded at Cyrus, and he slowly unwound his arms from her.

Scarlett didn’t move, but she continued to glare at him. He took a tentative step towards her, and when she still didn’t move, he closed the distance between them. “Keep your eyes right here, Scarlett,” he said, his voice a soft command. He motioned Ariannaforward. No one made a sound as the Shifter lowered to study the locks on the ankle shackles.

“You know why her emotions are heightened right now, do you not?” Arianna asked casually, running her ?ngers over the manacles.

“I am assuming because she has been a prisoner for weeks, experiencing any number of countless horrors, and we just freed her?” Sorin drawled.

“She is feeling much right now,” Arianna continued, ignoring his sarcasm. “She is obviously feeling relief at being rescued, but she is also feeling sorrow for Cassius. I would guess she is also feeling rage at what she has experienced.” The Shifter pulled the key she had used earlier from her pocket. It began shifting in shape as she continued speaking. “I am assuming she has been in these shirastone manacles since she was taken. Her magic has replenished these last weeks but has had no outlet. She is over-sensitized, on edge, feeling everything intensely.”

Sorin had not even considered that. When he was in the human lands, his magic had simply gone dormant. Her’s would not have done that. Her’s would have been demanding she use it. It would have been trying to break through just like it had when she’d been addicted to her tonic. When it couldn’t physically manifest, it would have sought out other outlets— like rage and sorrow. She would have fallen back on old habits, retreating into herself to try to keep from feeling anything at all.

Arianna slid the key into the shackle around one ankle, and a moment later it popped open. Scarlett began trembling, but her eyes stayed on his. He didn’t reach for her, understanding that even touching her right now could set her off again. But gods; the desire to touch her, feel her skin, her mouth. To drive that haunted look from her eyes.

He swallowed thickly. “It is almost done, Love,” he said softly.

“I wanted to burn the Fellowship to the godsdamn ground,” she whispered back. “That’s why I wanted them off there.”

“Then when you are ready, we will go back and do just that,” he answered, the second ankle shackle falling to the ground. “If you want to set the entire godsdamn world on ?re, my ?ames are yours to help you do so.”

Arianna stood and began examining the wrist manacles. A few minutes later, they fell from Scarlett’s wrists with a clang. Sheclosed her eyes, breathing in deep. She spun to face the expanse of the warehouse. Flames ignited up her legs and down her arms, and then she was arcing those ?ames into the air above them. Embers and sparks were raining down to the ground, and Sorin snuffed them out before they could set anything alight.

“Sorin,” Eliza warned, stepping forward, but he thrust out a hand to stop her.

“I am prepared to intervene. Just stay back.”

His hand was raised, ready to take control of her ?ames if they got out of control, but as those red and gold and blue ?ames began to arc towards the ground, Scarlett raised one hand higher. Water ?ew from it, but instead of snuf?ng out the ?ames, she froze them in midair and let them crash to the stone ?oor of the warehouse.

Sorin created his own wall of ?ames to shield the others as the frozen shards of ?ame shattered and exploded outward. When he was ?nally able to lower that wall, he turned to ?nd her striding to where Cassius lay, frosty footprints left in her wake.

“What did he do to him?” Nuri asked, her voice quiet and tense.

“Everything,” Scarlett answered, dropping down and curling herself into him just as she had back at the Fellowship.

“He was still breathing when we got here,” Eliza said quietly, coming to Sorin’s side. “I don’t know how, but he was.”

“What do we do?” Cyrus asked.

“We let her say goodbye,” Sorin answered.

CHAPTER 18

SCARLETT

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