Page 88 of Lady of Ashes

“I do.”

“Care to share?”

“Soon, Lady of Darkness.”

“That’s vague.”

The man chuckled again, pushing to his feet and reaching down to help her to her own.

“When night and darkness meet, when dreams and stars collide, when ashes meld with shadows, you will ?nd me waiting, and the ?rst words from my lips will be my name.”

CHAPTER 22

SCARLETT

For the ?rst time in weeks, Scarlett woke with shadows drifting around her. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, but she could feel them— brushing down her arms, her face, her soul.

And she could feel him. A steady presence. A burning essence intertwining with her own being.

Sorin.

She pried her eyes open. There was no hint of the dull headache she’d been suffering through the last few weeks. She didn’t know where she was, but she also didn’t care because he was here. She could feel him. And this was different from all the times Lord Tyndell had tried to make her believe he had come for her. She knew this wasn’t a dream. She wasn’t questioning reality in the slightest.

Scarlett pushed herself up into a sitting position and fell still when her eyes settled on him. He was sitting in an ornate armchair several feet away from her. The chair was facing the bed though, and he was sprawled in it like a godsdamn king, his legs wide and his head propped on his ?st. His black hair was disheveled, falling over his brow. His golden eyes narrowed at her slightly when she met his gaze, and she sucked in a breath. She could feel his presence, yes, but she couldn’t tell what he was feeling. She couldn’tfeelthat part of him.

Had that part of the bond not been restored? Had she done something irreparable?

She reached up, pushing her hair back from her face, and he still didn’t move.

He didn’t say a word.

“Why did I wake up to you looking like you want to throttle me?” she rasped.

He still didn’t say anything. He just nodded his head towards the bedside table, and she turned to ?nd a glass of water sitting there. She reached over for it and took several large swallows, nearly draining the glass, before turning back to face Sorin once more.

His unreadable mask hadn’t changed, but he ?nally spoke. “Do you need any healing?”

She shook her head, drawing her knees to her chest and cupping the water glass between her hands. She was still wearing the black, blood- stained gown she’d had on at the Fellowship.

Sorin nodded at her response. “Are you feeling weak in any form? Do you need blood?”

She swallowed thickly, that part of everything rushing back to her, and she felt her cheeks heat slightly.

“No,” she whispered, her eyes falling to the water glass.

“Are you …”

Scarlett glanced up when he didn’t ?nish his question and found him clenching his jaw, his ?st on the armrest doing the same.

“Did he touch you?”

“No, Sorin,” she answered softly. “I was not touched or hurt like that.” He nodded, a fraction of the tension in his body seeming to release.

He stood then, swiping up a bundle of clothing and tossing it onto the bed.

“Change, Scarlett. Then I will take you to see Cassius. There is a bathing room through there if you want to wash up ?rst,” he added, nodding towards a doorway to the left.

“You don’t want to … talk about everything?” she asked, setting the water glass back onto the bedside table.

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