Page 19 of Spark of the Everflame

Realization barreled into me. Lily—Princess Lilian. The very same girl my brother had blushed at the mention of.

My head tilted as I assessed her with new eyes.

“Nice to meet you,Lily,” I said pointedly. A low growl rumbled from the man’s throat. “My name is Diem. Can you take a big drink of this for me?”

Lily’s brow furrowed as she eyed the vessel. “What is it?”

My lips quirked up. Questioning mystery liquids from strangers—smart girl. No wonder Teller liked her.

“Silverworm. It’s made from a lovely white flower that grows near the shore.” I brought my face close to hers and winked. “Don’t worry, there’s no real worms in it.”

She gave the tiniest of smiles, and the man’s tightly coiled posture eased. As she tilted the flask to her lips, I scanned the rest of her petite body for wounds, spotting only a gash on her head that was already beginning to clot.

I tucked away a stray lock of hair that had fallen over her face. “Soon you’re going to feel much better, Lily. The silverworm needs a few minutes to take effect, but I’ll wait here with you until then, is that alright?”

She nodded again. A tear escaped from her midnight blue eyes, leaving a wet track along her dust-coated cheek. Her lower lip began to tremble. She turned her face to the man whose arms still held her close. “I’m s-sorry. I thought I could get the ch-children out of the way before it fell.”

He cupped a hand to her face, brushing away her tear with his thumb. “You did a brave thing in service of another. Don’t ever apologize for that. I’m very proud of you.”

The man’s gentle, soothing voice was a far cry from the severe tone he’d used with me. I finally dared to bring my eyes up to study his face.

Instantly, every thought flushed from my head.

Olive skin. Blue-grey eyes. A long, uneven scar.

Him.

It washim.

* * *

For months,I’d scoured Mortal City for clues that might lead me to the Descended man I’d seen arguing with my mother the day she disappeared. And now, here he was, inches away—the one person with the answers I sought. The man whose secrets my mother had used against him.

The man who might have killed her to keep them quiet.

My eyes darted to the jeweled hilt rising over his shoulder, the very same one he’d worn that day in the alley. I blinked a few times and shook my head, as if the movement might reveal this was all some vicious illusion.

He washere. Real. Close—so close.

He must have noticed my gawking, because his attention flicked up and met my stare.

Perhaps itwasan illusion, but for a heartbeat, a glimmer of recognition seemed to tear across his face—the slightest widening of his eyes, an abrupt flare of his nostrils.

It was gone in a second, locked behind a stony mask.

I immediately looked away and busied my hands in my bag.

“Have we met?” he asked, his tone turning clipped once more.

“No,” I said quickly. Too quickly.

“You said your name was Diem?” Lily asked. “Are you Teller’s sister?”

I tensed, then nodded.

“We go to school together. He told me about you.”

I debated how badly Teller would murder me for what I said next. “He told me about you, too.”

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