Page 208 of Glow of the Everflame

Without a word, Luther took my hand and tenderly pried my fingers open to pluck the necklace out of my grasp. He stepped closer and snaked the ends of the chain around my neck to secure the clasp.

As his hands pulled away, they paused, hovering just above my collarbone. “I promised to do whatever it takes to keep you alive today.”

“You have. You’ve done everything you could.”

“No,” he rumbled. “Not yet.”

His eyes followed his touch as his fingers pressed to my skin and dragged up the column of my throat. With the whole of Lumnos watching, the gesture felt as possessive as it was intimate.

My head warned me to pull away—instead, my neck arched toward him, heat pulsing through my blood.

He traced the edge of my jaw. “Forgive me. They all need to see it.”

“See what?” I rasped, barely able to speak.

“Who will come for them if they dare to come for you.”

Then his lips were on mine.

And nothing else existed.

There was no Crown, no Challenging.

No arena of spectators exploding in a gossipy uproar.

No Taran pumping his fist and yelling “finally!” at the top of his lungs.

No imminent death. No doubts or secrets or fears.

No Henri.

There was only the two of us—the loyal Prince and his cherished Queen. Luther’s lips, soft and adoringly gentle as they moved against my own. His hands, cradling my face like I was the most precious thing he’d ever touched. His body, flush against mine, a living shield against everything, and everyone, that threatened to tear us apart.

His mighty aura cascaded around me and within me, tasting me as deeply as his tongue. It spilled into my soul and branded me with his power, claiming me inside and out. The kiss was a warning to the crowd, but this was a threat to the gods themselves:If you take her from me, I will come for you, too.

It was nothing like the kiss we’d shared before. That had been all anger and lust, a battle of tempers bathed in blood.

That was an inferno.

This was a hearth.

Carefully tended over weeks of friendship, the traumas we’d endured, and the secrets we shared. A smaller flame, perhaps, but steadier. Strong. A fire that didn’t burn to consume, but to endure—to keep us warm through the perils of the dark, cold night.

Wrapped in his arms, for a fleeting instant, I started to believe everything might turn out alright. That somewhere at the end of this, true happiness might be waiting, after all.

But as quickly and unexpectedly as the moment had come, it was snatched away.

Remis clamped a hand on our shoulders and shoved us apart. “If the two of you are done putting on a show, it’s time to begin.”

Luther snarled and ripped out of his father’s grasp. Without another look, he turned his back and disappeared into the gallery of gawking Corbois, leaving me stunned and panting.

Remis pushed me toward the steps. “You can take one person to help you prepare.” He arched a brow over his shoulder. “It seems my son has removed himself from consideration.”

I stared blankly at him while the world shifted, spinning an entirely different direction than it had before. “Teller,” I finally managed to get out. I held a hand out to my brother, and he rushed to my side as we began to descend the steep staircase to the arena floor.

“You kissed Luther,” he hissed in my ear.

“You kissed Lily,” I shot back.

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