Page 59 of Glow of the Everflame

“The Keeper of the Laws hands out punishments for those who disobey the Crown,” Teller continued. “And they handle the, um...” He shuffled his feet. “The executions.”

I thought of the children from Luther’s journal and my heart squeezed tight. “What is Warden of the Light?”

“That’s the big one,” Lily answered with a hushed, almost reverent tone. “There are two—Warden of the Light is the Crown’s representative in public. Warden of the Shadows handles more private matters.”

“But what do theydo?”

“Anything they want, really. Whatever a Warden orders carries the weight of the Crown. Luther always played it down and said he was just a messenger, but Father says being Warden is like being another King. Unless the Crown contradicts them, their word is as good as law.”

I tried to imagine anyone I trusted enough to exercise that power on my behalf. A week ago, I might have looked to my parents. Now, in light of the secrets they’d kept, the truths of my identity they’d denied me... that betrayal was an open wound that still needed tending.

Teller would make a fine Warden someday. He had every quality a leader should—a bright intellect, a calm temper, and a compassionate spirit—and I trusted him without reserve. But he was young, and his eyes had not yet taken on the weary shadow of someone who has seen what evil the world contains. I would protect him from that for as long as I could.

And then there was Henri. I had asked him to be my King Consort. I wasn’t sure what authority that carried, but at the very least, it should mean I trusted him enough to rule in my absence... shouldn’t it?

I shoved away the unease nipping at my heels. “Who is Warden of the Shadows?”

“Uncle Garath,” Lily answered.

Aemonn’s father. The pompous, sneering jerk who had looked at me as if myhalf-breedblood tainted the Crown itself. He had the power to speak for the Crown—to speak forme?

“I thought the Regent had the authority of the Crown, not the Wardens,” I said.

She shook her head. “Father can only step in as Regent when the Crown is incapacitated or in the period before a new Crown is coronated. Otherwise, the Regent has no authority at all.”

No wonder Remis had been happy to throw his son to the wolves to win me over. He’d had a taste of power these past months during the King’s illness, and I very much doubted he wanted to give it back.

Teller cocked his head at me. “Diem, what happened after we left last night?”

Lily clapped her hands together and grinned, bouncing on her toes. “Oh yes! Did you use your magic? What kind do you have? Is it both light and shadow, like Luther?”

My throat went dry.

I’d spent all day sweeping the emotions of last night into the dark, dusty corners of my head, brushing the shattered bits of my grief into neat little heaps to be dealt with some other day. But Teller’s question was like a door left ajar on a windy day. The sudden breeze of it rushed in and stirred all my careful work into a suffocating cloud.

I felt the emptiness return to my eyes, the hollow weight tug on my heart. I wanted to be strong for Teller, but it was all so much, and I was still so tired.

“Do you have magic?” he asked, his voice softer. Nervous.

My chin dipped slightly. “It seems I do.”

Lily was jumping, squealing, congratulating me, firing off questions. It reminded me of her brother’s unexpected glee at my explosion of power. Even Teller, for a brief moment, seemed elated for me. His eyes widened in wonder, lips curving into an awestruck smile.

And then I saw it. The moment his thoughts aligned with my own, and he realized what this meant for me. For us. For our family.

For our future.

For the first time in my little brother’s life, I saw the light go out in his eyes. If I thought I’d hit my darkest moment before, I was so very wrong.

“Lily?” I rasped. “Would you mind if Teller and I spoke alone?”

Her celebrating paused, and she seemed to become aware of the shift in both of us. “Oh—yes, of course. I’ll just, um, go upstairs for a while.”

She left without another word, though I caught her reach out and squeeze Teller’s hand as she brushed past him. He and I stood in the dim silence for what felt like a lifetime, locked in the dawning of one dreadful realization after another.

“So this is real,” he said. “After the Crown, I knew it was, of course, but... I thought, maybe...”

“Me too.” I swallowed. “Until last night, I didn’t...” I couldn’t finish. I didn’t have to—we both understood.

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