Page 25 of Spark of the Everflame

Finally, there was Umbros, Realm of Mind and Secret. Though Umbros was the only place where mortals and Descended from all realms were welcome without restriction, the career paths they might find were less than savory: assassins, spies, courtesans, opium dealers, and the like. If Meros was the waypoint for the inter-realm trade of legitimate wares, Umbros was its sneaky evil twin.

Umbros was a haven of darkness and sin, tolerated by the other realms only for fear of its ruthless Queen. She was old and, according to rumor, immensely powerful. Following the Blood War, she had ordered the slaughter of all but one hundred of the Umbros Descended in order to keep her own magic undiluted and strong.

Although the mere thought of Umbros sent chills down my spine, some wild, adventurous part of me stirred at the prospect of exploring its wicked secrets.

My afternoon duties took me on a tour of Mortal City as I left to make house calls to a number of poor families. By the time I returned to the healers’ center, day had melted into evening and the trainees had departed for the night, leaving Maura and I alone in the empty quiet. Maura scribbled the day’s notes into our records while I finished bottling a new batch of willowmoss salve.

“Was everything alright this morning at the palace?” Maura called out. “There seemed to be some excitement with the Princess.”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” I answered quickly, shame still gnawing at me for having overlooked the girl’s wound. “The Descended were not what I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

I paused my work. “They seemed almost... mortal.”

“Well they were born of both the Kindred and mortals. Much as they may deny it, mortal blood will forever run in their veins. What did you expect them to be like?”

I shrugged. “Empty. Emotionless.”

“They can be, sometimes. But I suppose fear for a wounded child is universal. Even the wildest beasts go mad when their young are in danger.”

The panicked voice of the mystery man calling for help as Lily crumpled in his arms played again and again in my ears. To me, he’d been nothing but stiff and condescending. But to this girl, to Lily... I could still vividly picture his gentle caress to wipe away her tears as he’d told her how proud he was.

If you’d asked me yesterday, I would have denied them capable of any kind of love. But what I’d seen today...

“That reminds me,” Maura said, “the Prince came by this afternoon while you were out. He asked me to give you his thanks.”

I frowned. “You mean Elric? He’s a prince?”

“No, not Elric. Prince Luther.”

I went still.

“Was Prince Luther at the palace this morning?”

“You really don’t know the royals at all, do you?” Maura grinned. “Diem, you were sitting right beside him. He was the one holding his sister, Princess Lilian. They’re the King’s niece and nephew.”

Oh, gods.Oh, gods.

The man I’d been searching for all this time was Prince Luther.

Teller’s-crush’s-older-brotherLuther.

Man-whose-hand-I-threatened-to-slice-offLuther.

Soon-to-be-King-of-LumnosLuther.

I slumped into the nearest chair. This was not good. Verynotgood.

Maura took one look at my distress and howled with laughter. “Oh dearie, not you, too. I already have to put up with the trainees turning into giggling featherbrains every time ‘handsome Prince Luther’ is around. I can’t have you swooning after him as well.”

My shock twisted into a glare. “I wouldn’t swoon over that insufferable beast if he were the last man in Emarion.”

Maura blinked, then doubled over, hooting even harder. “What did he say to earnthatdistinction?”

“Have you ever talked to the man? He’s horrid. Nothing but ego.” I absently touched my elbow where he’d grabbed me. If I thought about it hard enough, I could still feel the burn of his fingers on my skin. Not that I was thinking about it at all. “He tried to tell me how to do my own work.”

“What do you mean?”

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