Page 20 of Glow of the Everflame

“And you believe that I’m disappointed I did not.”

“Are you?”

He stopped walking and turned to face me fully. His arms crossed over his chest, the action widening his already broad frame.

I’d never thought myself small, not by any meaning of the word. But something about standing in front of this man, with all his size and strength and magic, his refinement and knowledge and ego... It made me feel minuscule. A speck of dust floating through a mighty ray of sunshine.

“If I had been called to serve as king, or if I am in the future, I would accept the role with honor.”

Words hung in the air, something still unspoken.

“But?” I pressed.

Luther frowned. He seemed to be looking through me, rather than at me, as if visualizing some long-buried memory. “No, I’m not disappointed. I’ve always believed it’s my destiny to serve the Crown, not to wear it.”

Again, I searched his face for the truth. I wondered how gullible I must be that I found myself believing him.

His palm curved into the small of my back to nudge me forward, his touch sending a hot knife of adrenaline slicing through my fatigue. I couldn’t miss how his hand clung to me long after I fell back in step beside him, only falling away as we turned into a hall crowded with guards.

“This is the Crown’s wing. The family wing can get quite lively with cousins coming and going at all hours. I presumed you’d prefer something with a bit more privacy.”

He’d presumed right. The idea of my every movement being watched by all those new, curious faces made me extraordinarily jumpy.

Luther motioned to two doors situated on either side of the corridor, one unguarded and the other flanked by four armed guards. “You can stay here until the royal suite is empty,” he said, gesturing to the manned door, then pointed at the other. “And these are my chambers. If you need anything, feel free to knock.”

Ofcoursehe would set me up somewhere he could hover close and keep watch.

I scanned the guards’ faces, relieved to find that none of them were the same Descended I had tussled with on my previous visits. My brows arched at Luther. “You really think this is necessary?”

“Until you accept my family’s offer—yes, I do.”

I shot him a pointed stare. “Are these guards aware the only resident of this palace that’s tried to kill me thus far isyou?”

Judging from their shared expressions of unease, they were not.

Luther had the wisdom to look uncomfortable. “As I said, that was a misunderstanding.”

“You wanted to know if I killed the King.”

“I...” He tensed, seeming to hold back. “Yes.”

“And if I said I had? Would you have killed me then?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

His hands twitched at his sides, his fingers curving inward. “If my plan was to kill you, Diem, I wouldn’t stab you in secret. I’d take you on in the Challenging, where everyone could see it.”

It turned out I was not too tired to get angry after all.

My blood rose to a simmer. The mysteriousvoiceinside me, the one that had been provoking my temper ever since I stopped taking the flameroot, shuddered as it stretched from its dormant coil.

Fight.

“First of all,” I clipped, “since you’ve always insisted on the importance of titles, you may refer to me as Your Majesty or my Queen.”

His mouth tightened. “Of course. Apologies,my Queen.”

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