Page 117 of Glow of the Everflame

As expected, the Lumnos Descended were in rare form in their most outrageous attire. Each outfit was more extravagant than the last, with bare skin galore and daring choices that had my eyes and mouth popping wide open, nearly all magic-enhanced in some breathtaking way.

Even their transport was shocking. Some arrived on horses that shimmered as if painted in living glitter, while others had elaborate carriages crafted of light or shadow itself.

Sorae kept a steady vigil, her pupils swelling and thinning furiously as she scanned each guest’s intentions, occasionally letting out small rumbles at whatever she sensed. It was no surprise that her deepest snarl marked the arrival of Iléana Hanoverre and her family, confirming what I already suspected—House Hanoverre was a threat I would need to watch carefully.

Every now and then, her ochre gaze turned to the distance, gazing beyond the forest to Mortal City. Now that I had rescinded my invitation to Henri—a decision that still sat like a stone in my gut—tonight would be a Descended-only event. I wondered at what she saw down the path to my old home, or perhaps what she feared seeing, but I felt no answers come across our bond.

Of all the arrivals, the representatives from the other realms had me spellbound most of all. A yellow-eyed couple arrived on the backs of two tigers, no doubt hailing from Faunos, Realm of Beast and Brute, while two women with fiery orange gazes, swathed in crisp white linen, rode in on slow-lumbering camels from Ignios, Realm of Sand and Flame.

At first, I was enamored by the horseless carriage-like contraption that could only be a creation of the innovative Sophos, Realm of Thought and Spark. But when the pair emerged and studied the palace with a scientist’s eye, I remembered Henri’s warning about the deadly fate of mortals invited to study there, and I was once again reminded of the importance of my plans.

The mortals needed a Crown that was willing to defend them—a Crown that could turn the tide in the coming war. I could not let anything, not even the friendships I was beginning to form here, get in the way of that.

Sorae was unusually agitated by the arrival of the foreign Descended, a reaction I couldn’t make sense of. The Kindred’s Forging spell nullified a Descended’s magic while they were outside the borders of theirterremère. Only the Crowns and on-duty soldiers of the Emarion Army were exempt from this loss of power, and an uninvited visit from either was tantamount to an act of war. As a result, these foreign Descended were powerless, by far the least threatening of the ball’s guests—or so I thought. Sorae, it seemed, disagreed.

My stomach was a jar of angry moths as I returned inside to get dressed. Even Sorae’s trill of approval when she saw the final product couldn’t calm my frayed nerves.

A knock rapped on my door. When I opened it, I was met by a charismatic archangel. Aemonn wore a suit of white and shimmering gold jacquard, emblazoned with flame-like swirls of metallic beads, and a feather-trimmed cape that cascaded from his shoulders into a wide train on the floor.

It was an outfit fit more for a King than an escort. He even wore a wreath of gilded leaves threaded through his flaxen hair. I had to laugh at the ballsy audacity—I should have expected no less of Aemonn Corbois.

He smiled, teeth dazzling like a string of pearls. “Hello, gorgeous,” he crooned. His deep blue eyes scoured my body with no attempt to mask his carnal interest.

“You’re shameless,” I teased, flicking a finger at the diamond buttons that adorned his jacket. “Trying to steal my spotlight?”

He took a lock of my snowy hair and twirled it between his fingers. “Only hoping to bask in your glow for the evening, Your Majesty.”

I rolled my eyes, but the exaggerated sweetness of his charm had me smiling despite myself.

He pulled a cream-colored velvet box from his pocket. “A gift, in honor of your official presentation as Queen.”

I flipped open the lid to find a golden medallion on a long, thin chain. Engraved at the center was a crest encasing the outline of a phoenix, its flaming wings spread wide as it emerged from curling wisps of smoke. Two tiny sapphires marked its eyes, and a dark ruby lay over its heart.

I ran my finger along the delicate etching. “What is this?”

“The sigil of House Corbois. The ruby represents the blood of Lumnos that runs in our veins. The sapphires...” He tapped a finger beside his matching blue eyes.

“And the phoenix?”

“A message to our enemies that House Corbois always survives. Though many have tried, no one can destroy us.” He smiled. “In the end, we always rise again.”

An ominous chill crept down my spine.

“A shiny collar to show the rest of Lumnos that I’ve been claimed?” I let out a breathy laugh, trying to conceal how his words had rattled me. “What are you going to do next, pee on my leg to mark your territory?”

Aemonn lifted a shoulder, his smirk suggesting I hadn’t been too far off the mark. “You could see it that way. Or you could see it as a pretty little warning to anyone considering a Challenge. Perhaps a reminder that you’re a Corbois now, and if they try to bring you down, you’ll only come back stronger.”

I twirled the delicate pendant in my fingers. One way or another, it was a gilded threat. It remained to be seen who was its real target.

I handed it to Aemonn, then gathered my hair as he draped the necklace around my throat. His hands brushed the sensitive nape of my neck, sending goosebumps rippling down my arms.

He ran his hand along the dimpled flesh and gave a dark chuckle. “There. Now you’re ready.”

I glanced back at Sorae and felt a pulse of affection as she gave me a last once-over, but it curbed sharply the second she turned her gaze to Aemonn. Two trails of smoke wafted up from her nostrils.

“Behave yourself,” I called out to her. “Don’t eat the Faunos tigers.”

Aemonn took my arm as we stepped into the hallway. “You really are stunning, Diem. I’m the luckiest man in the realm tonight.”

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