Page 118 of Glow of the Everflame

I shot him a look. “I’d hardly call blackmailing meluck. Your scheming paid off well.”

He halted in his tracks. “My scheming?”

“Come now, Aemonn. We both know you only agreed to stay quiet about Henri if I agreed to make you my escort for the ball.”

“If that’s what you think, then I have no interest in standing by your side tonight.” He released my arm, and his eyes filled with icy malice. “I don’t need to extort a woman to get her attention. Believe it or not, I do havesomeself-respect.”

I blinked in confusion. “But Luther said—”

Aemonn laughed bitterly. “Of course he did. Kindred forbid anyone get close to you that he can’t control unless he poisons you against them first. I should have known—it was always his favorite trick with Uncle Ulther.”

“Are you saying Luther lied?”

“Diem, this was his idea. He doesn’t want you marrying that mortal any more than I do. He knew I had already asked you to the ball, so he offered to persuade you to accept in order to keep whatever-his-name-is away from the palace.” He rolled his eyes, muttering, “I should have known he had a plan to use it against me in the end.”

I frowned deeply. “So you never threatened to tell anyone about Henri?”

“What good would that do? House Corbois would look weak, you would be Challenged by every House. Then I’d be stuck with Luther as King, a fate worse than death.” His lip curled back in a sneer. “I’m the last person who would share that with anyone.”

I scanned his face for some evidence of a lie, finding only irritation and disgust. I rubbed my temples and wrestled with this new information.

I didn’t want to believe it, but it made some sense. Luther clearly didn’t want me to be with Henri, and he’d been unequivocal that there was no line he wouldn’t cross if he believed he was protecting me.

“Are you really so surprised?” Aemonn asked. “Have you not noticed how quickly he isolated you behind his closest friends? Do you think Eleanor and Taran are the only Corbois who desire to cozy up to the new Queen?”

I chewed on my lip as an uneasy feeling took root. “Then why haven’t they? No one else has even tried.”

“Luther made it known that the only way to get to you is to go through him. He’s already feared for his magic. Now he fixes himself at your side, he surrounds you with his allies, he takes a bedroom nearby so he can keep watch. You speak of marking territory—Diem, my dear, he’s the one marking you as his.”

“I’m not his. I’m not anyone’s. I can make my own decisions about who to spend my time with.”

“I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I’ve never let his little threats stop me. And if you decide you don’t want my friendship...” He shrugged. “I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll survive.” His head inclined to the pendant at my neck. “I am a phoenix, after all.”

I studied Aemonn. His easy smiles and suave allure, his unapologetic displays of affection, made it easy to fall under his spell. A small voice in the back of my mind shouted at me to remember how dangerous that made him.

But tonight I would be surrounded by dangerous people—perhaps having this one by my side could be more of an asset than I realized.

I sighed and offered him my arm. “I need to think about this. It’s not that I don’t believe you, I just...”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” He took my hand and placed it on top of his, then flashed me one of his charming grins. “You’re the Queen, and this is your show. I’m just here for the front row seat.”

ChapterTwenty-Five

Perthe led us through the palace, weaving through back hallways and hidden staircases to avoid the public areas where guests were mingling.

At one point, we entered the servants’ passages, causing a severe bottleneck as staff fell to their knees at the sight of me, some dropping trays of glasses or food at the shock.

I blushed and gestured awkwardly for them to rise. “Thank you so much for your hard work this evening. I’m very sorry to get in your way.”

They gaped at my words, stammering an acknowledgement and scurrying from my presence.

Aemonn snorted. “That might be the first time another Corbois has ever thanked them.”

“That’s not really something to brag about,” I said archly. “They wait on you hand and foot. You could at least be grateful.”

“We let them remain in the family and live in the palace. That’s more generous than athank you.”

I balked. “Wait—all the servants areCorbois?You make your own relatives serve you to stay in the family?”

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