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“I told you that you would get along splendidly with my family,” Sorin muttered, glaring at the door.
“Aditya,” came the voice again. “Get your ass downstairs. Eliza said she’s coming up next. She’s hungry and cranky, and we all have matters that need to be discussed.”
Sorin sighed, looking at Scarlett. “I will explain Shira Forest and the Spirit Animals tonight,” he said, brushing his knuckles down her cheek. Then, raising his voice, he added, “Right now, I need to go have a discussion about patience.”
“Bastard,” the voice called through the door, followed by footsteps heading down the hall.
“Shall we?” Sorin asked, gesturing to the door.
“Talwyn won’t… She won’t come here, will she?” Scarlett asked. “She doesn’t know I’m here, right?” She wasn’t ready to face her cousin outside of whatever vision that had been. She had felt Talwyn’s power coil around her like a snake, squeezing the life from its prey.
“She likely knows you are in my Court. I will know if she gets close to the grounds and so will the others,” he replied soothingly. “And if she shows up and you do not want to see her, you can come up here. The wards around my chambers keep out anyone I do not want in. No one is allowed to portal in or out without my permission.”
“Will Callan, Finn, and Sloan be at dinner?” she asked, forcing herself not to wring her fingers together.
“No,” he answered gently. “It’s just us, my Inner Court, and Briar.”
Scarlett nodded once, taking a deep breath. “Eliza is terrifying. We should go eat before she comes up here.”
Sorin chuckled, striding to open the door for her. “Yes, Eliza can be quite irritable when she’snothungry, let alone when she is.”
Scarlett followed Sorin down the hall and staircases leading from the private wing. She had marked most turns and hallways when he’d shown her around earlier that day, so when he led her past the formal dining room, she asked, “We are not eating there?”
Sorin smiled at her as he kept walking. “The formal dining roomis for formal meals when we have formal guests. When it is just us,” he shrugged his shoulders. “We usually eat in here.” He paused outside a door across from the kitchens. Scarlett had assumed it was a pantry or storage room when they had walked by it earlier. “Are you ready?”
She could hear others behind the door, the man who had banged on the door and what sounded like Briar’s voice. Scarlett took another deep breath. “I mean, they can’t be worse than you, right?”
“That’s the spirit, Princess,” he said cheerfully, pushing open the door to the room.
“Oh my gods,” she muttered under her breath, following him in.
The room fell silent as they entered. It was a den with a large round table in the center. Not the long rectangular tables usually found in the homes of nobility. The table had eight chairs around it. At the back of the room was a long, tall bar against the wall, fully stocked with all the wine and alcohol one could want. To the left of the dining table was a billiards table along with two tall pub tables and chairs. A card table was pushed against the wall as well. To the right of the dining table were two plush sofas and three overstuffed chairs around a fireplace. Blankets and pillows were tossed on them as if people had just been sitting there.
“I changed my mind,” Scarlett said, turning to Sorin. A look of confusion passed over his face as he raised his eyebrows at her. “I wantthisto be my chambers. You can have the other to yourself.”
She heard a laugh that she knew by now to be Briar’s, and she turned to face him. His sun bleached hair was tied back, and the pale blue shirt he had changed into brought out the icy blue color of his eyes and was stark against his dark skin. He rose from the table and came to her. Kissing her cheek, he asked gently, “How are the waters?”
“The waves seemed to have lessened. At least for the time being,” Scarlett answered.
“I am glad to hear that,” Briar said, squeezing her hand slightly.
From the table a male voice drawled, “She doesn’t seemthatintimidating, Drayce.” It was the same male who had pounded on the door minutes before. His head was propped on his fist as he studied Scarlett. She held his gaze, returning the scrutinizing stare. The male’s eyes were as golden as Sorin’s, and she could see the brilliant recklessness in them.
“Yes, well, dear Eliza doesn’t seem that intimidating either at first glance,” Briar replied over his shoulder. He turned back to Scarlett. “Would you like a drink?”
“Wine would be wonderful,” Scarlett replied with a nod of thanks.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” Sorin called after Briar bitterly. Briar only threw him a vulgar gesture over his shoulder. Sorin sighed. “You know Briar Drayce, the Water Prince. He thinks his palace is better and more impressive than mine.”
“It is definitely bigger,” Briar cut in from across the room with a wink.
Scarlett pressed her lips together to keep her laugh in.
“The jackass that pounded on the door a few minutes ago is Cyrus,” Sorin said, gesturing toward the male at the table. “He is my Second in Command.”
Cyrus was still studying her and by way of greeting said, “You know how to use that dagger?”
Scarlett smiled sweetly at him, then in less time than it took to draw breath, the dagger was flying across the room, landing directly in front of him. Cyrus didn’t even flinch. He only said with a sly smile, “Eliza, I think you have some competition.”
