Page 87 of Lady of Ashes

“What? Just speak to it?” she scoffed.

She could somehow make out his smile in the starlight. “Something like that.”

“You’re seriously not going to tell me? You’re just going to give me a rock?”

“You’re welcome,” he answered.

“Oh my gods,” Scarlett muttered.

She had nowhere to put the thing, still in that black gown Alaric had dressed her in.

But then again, this was a dream. How was she going to take a rock out of here?

“Your focus now needs to be on ?nding the keys,” the man said eventually.

She sighed deeply. “I ?gured as much.”

“You will ?nd the keys have always been trying to get home.”

Her eyes snapped back to his at the words. “And I suppose I need a lock, too?”

He chuckled. “One would assume so. Or what use is a key?”

“Profound,” she deadpanned.

Another bird’s cry broke the quiet of the dark, and a moment later, Amaré appeared, swooping down and landing on Scarlett’s shoulder. As she reached up to stroke his feathers, the man said, “He waits for you to wake.”

“How long have I been sleeping?”

“Long enough.”

She nodded again at his non-answer.

“You need a Source,” he said.

“A source of what?”

“A Source to keep your power reserves replenished.”

“You mean a Fae I can … drink from?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “Replenishing your power that way is... There are better ways.”

“Good. That was … not enjoyable,” Scarlett said, her ?ngers coming to her lips as she remembered them fastened to Sorin’s ?esh. Coppery liquid sliding down her throat, tasting like he did. Honey and cloves and lush smokiness.

“The problem is that it is too enjoyable,” the man countered, knowingly. “It is why it was outlawed, and why the Night Children were forbidden to feed from the Fae. That is history you should look into. I do not have time to teach you everything right now.”

Scarlett nodded, glad he couldn’t see her properly in the dark. She was pretty sure her cheeks were slightly ?ushed because he was right. Drinking Sorin’s blood gave her a feeling she couldn’t describe. It was ?re and power and strength, and the high she got from it was unlike anything she had ever felt before. But the frenzy she had experienced, the complete loss of control, the utter madness? That had not been pleasant in the slightest.

“You need to practice with your shadows and white ?ames. Learn your limits, so that what happened with the vampyres does not happen again. Learn to recognize when you are low on power, when you need to replenish. Keep your Source close always,” he said.

“How do I ?nd a Source?”

“I suspect you will ?nd you already have one.”

“That’s helpful,” she replied sarcastically.

“I am glad you think so,” he said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes. “Do you have a name?”

---