Page 176 of Glow of the Everflame

I’d only seen him wield it once before—the day he confronted me at the hunting lodge, believing I’d killed the late King. I’d teased him then about the gaudy weapon, but from the way the entire room had now gone still, with Remis’s eyes bulging and fixated on the gilded hilt, it was clear there was more to it than I had realized.

“You dare draw the Sword of Corbois on me?” Remis spat. “That sword is only to be used to defend our House.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Luther said, his voice quiet but deadly. “She’s our leader now. Your reign is over.”

Remis huffed. “I am your father!”

“And I was your son,” Luther thundered. “That did not stop you from drawing blood then. And it will not stop me from doing so now.”

Taran’s posture drew tight as he gripped me closer. A sourness hung in the silence, the pungent reek of an old, festering family wound being reopened that I did not fully understand.

Remis’s gaze moved beyond Luther to me and narrowed. Luther raised his sword in warning, his magic crackling in the air, while Taran shifted me further behind him.

“You’re lucky I cannot Challenge you,” Remis muttered.

I lifted my chin. “Why wait? I’ll take you on right now.”

He smiled, clearly considering it.

“You’d have to kill us both,” Luther warned. “Are you so certain the Blessed Mother will select another Corbois if you slay two of her chosen in a row?”

Luther’s words struck their target. Remis took a step back and smoothed down his jacket, his expression resuming its usual ambassadorial calm.

“I hardly need to dirty my hands with such things,” he said frostily. “If the progress of her magic training is any indication, the Challenging will take her off my hands very soon.”

Luther, Alixe, and Taran stiffened and exchanged confused glances. “You don’t know anything,” Luther accused, somewhat unsteadily.

“I know more than you think.” Remis turned his back and strode calmly to the door. “Those dungeons are so poorly guarded after all, practically anyone can slip in and hide in the shadows. If only we had a High General with a more vigilant eye for security.” He paused in the doorway. “Maybe then the Queen’s father would still be alive.”

The mention of my father had my temper shredding and rage exploding out of me. Taran barely had time to lock his arms in a cage around my chest to hold me back before I hurled myself forward, thrashing and snarling with the nastiest swears I could invent.

But Remis had no interest in my ire. His barb had been intended for his son, and from the way Luther’s sword drooped and his head hung low, it seemed that, too, had hit its mark.

“Don’t think for a second you will not pay a price for this betrayal, son,” Remis said, “whether she is coronated or not.”

He left, and no one spoke. Luther kept his back to us as he stared at the open door, sword still in hand, the rapid rise and fall of his shoulders the only evidence of the storm brewing within. We all seemed to be holding our breath in wait.

When he finally turned to us, his rage had tempered, his gaze now hard with focus. One by one, he stared us down, barking orders that left no room for even a Queen to debate.

“Eleanor, stay with Lily. Keep her away from my father.”

Eleanor gave a swift nod.

“Alixe, you’re with Teller. Keep him out of sight as much as you can until the Challenging.”

“Understood,” Alixe said.

Luther looked at me for a long, torturous moment, then turned to Taran. He sheathed his sword, clapped his palm on his cousin’s shoulder, and leveled him with an unforgiving stare. “Do not let her out of your sight. Not even for a second.”

“I won’t,” Taran vowed. “She’s safe with me.”

Luther didn’t move, holding his gaze in silent challenge. “Taran,” he said quietly.

Taran placed his own hand on Luther’s shoulder and gave it a firm shake. “I know, cousin. With my life.”

Luther let out a sharp breath and pushed away, heading for the door.

“Wait,” I called out as I ran to his side. He didn’t stop at first, seemingly lost in the darkness of his thoughts. I reached for his hand, and the moment my skin brushed his, we both froze in place. “You really think Remis would hurt Teller or Lily?”

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