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Sorin sat in his bathing pool, the steam wafting up from the water. The entire afternoon had been spent trying to sort out the never-ending issues with some Earth Court merchants, and he was exhausted. Cyrus had done well in his absence, but the Earth Court wanted to renegotiate their Marking fees for the third time in three years. He’d listened to concerns and calmed his panicked shopkeepers and business owners. He and Cyrus had gone back and forth on what they should do. Then he had received the summons from Talwyn, addressed to all the Court Royals, for an urgent meeting to be held at dawn. They were only allowed to bring their Seconds to such gatherings.
His thoughts drifted to Scarlett as they always seemed to when he had a quiet moment. She had forgiven him for the debacle at the chalet, but she hadn’t forgotten. She was more subdued around him and didn’t share things as readily. It was almost like being back in Baylorin when he had been trying to coax secrets from her. He didn’t blame her. It was his own fucking fault. He knew she was trying, but she had been partially right that day she had screamed at him. He had broken them. The repairing was excruciating.
She had come out of that day with a renewed will of shovingdown things she didn’t want to face, throwing herself into her training. All of it. Physical, weaponry, and magic. She could summon flames of various colors at will. She had recently begun simultaneously crackling ice at the tips of her fingers. Her shadows still hung around her shoulders, but they seemed muted these days and sometimes flickered. She was still cautious, despite him and the others telling her how well she was doing. She refused to use it outside the courtyards unless she was alone or solely with him. The others stopped by the courtyard every once in a while to see how things were progressing, but other than that, they had no idea what the true extent of her power was. Neither did he.
He wasn’t surprised that she was progressing so quickly. He had trained her in combat and weaponry. He knew she would do whatever was required of her to obtain something she desired. To her, mastering her magic was protection and safety. He knew she was a quick study and would likely learn her craft faster than others, but Talwyn had been right that morning months ago. Summoning it and wielding it were two very different things.
He winced as he shifted on the bench of the tub. While Scarlett was getting stronger, he was getting weaker. The bond was thicker than the thread that had threatened to snap that day, but it was not the bridge it had once been. Even with concentrated efforts to reserve his magic, he could feel it, slowly draining away day by day. He grew tired more quickly, and the others were noticing. He had argued again with Cyrus yesterday about telling Scarlett about the Mark. He couldn’t do it, though, because he knew her. He knew she would accept the Mark to save his life, and he wouldn’t force something upon her, not when she had been forced into so much in her short life. And he damn well wouldn’t make it appear as if he only came for her because she was his twin flame.
He scented her then. Out in their room. She was back early from her usual sessions in the library with the mortal prince, and something was wrong.
Sorin quickly exited the bathing pool and toweled off. He pulled on his charcoal pants and slid on a white shirt. He was just finishing the final button as he entered the bedroom to find her outon the balcony in the gently falling snow, large fluffy flakes getting caught in her flowing hair. Flames were in her hands. Practicing. She was always practicing her magic when they were alone. The flames were various colors, but he could swear he glimpsed black amongst them.
She turned quickly at the sound of the door, extinguishing the flames instantly. “You are doing well with your magic,” he said, crossing the threshold to the balcony.
“The fire seems far easier to control than the water,” she replied. As she said it, she held her palm open and a small orb of water formed…and then splashed into her hand. She sighed in frustration.
Sorin leaned against the railing, bracing his hands behind him. “Talwyn was right on that,” he said. “Your fire magic will be dominant when in the Fire Court.”
“I can control ice just fine, though,” she argued. In emphasis, ice crystals danced at her fingertips amongst her shadows.
Those shadows of hers. Those she could control with a half a thought these days.
“Is the ice not easier to control than flames? Water is a liquid. I imagine it is harder to control than ice,” Sorin offered.
“So I just don’t do anything with the water magic then?” she asked.
“Gods, no,” Sorin exclaimed. “When you go to the Water Court, I suspect you will find it easier to access that power. With practice and training, you will be able to access them equally, no matter where you are.”
“When I go to the Water Court?” Her brows rose at the idea. “I can go there?”
“You are no one’s subject, Scarlett. You can go wherever you please,” he replied softly.
“Your meetings went well today?” she asked, summoning a bracelet of flames around her wrist. Each bead of the bracelet was a flame of a different color.
“As well as can be expected with the Earth Court,” Sorin answered, watching her work as she called each flame forward, one by one.
“Eliza said your Courts do not get along,” she replied, not looking up at him.
“No, we do not.”
“Why?”
“Various reasons. Old blood feuds,” he shrugged. “Things to discuss at another time.”
“Hmm,” she hummed, her brow scrunching in concentration. Those flames around her wrist froze, became a bracelet of brilliantly frozen flames of ice. “How did I do it? How does she do it? Disappear into nothing?” Scarlett mused after a beat of silence. The ice bracelet vanished, and she absent-mindedly began rolling a string of flames between her fingers, snaking it along her knuckles.
Sorin straightened at her questions. She hadn’t spoken much of that day.
“It’s called Traveling. Few Fae can do it,” Sorin answered.
“Can you?”
Sorin shook his head. “No. I can create fire portals because I am the Fire Prince, but I cannot Travel. You have Traveled before that day, you know,” he answered with a wry smile.
“When?” she demanded. Her flames blazed, and she flinched slightly.
Sorin chuckled under his breath as he extinguished her flames for her. “In the mortal lands. You traveled us from the Lairwood House to the beach.”
