Page 215 of Glow of the Everflame

“Citizens of Lumnos, as you have seen, this is a historic Challenging unlike any before.” I shot him an irritated look. He ignored me and continued. “As Regent, it falls to me to determine the strongest from among the Challengers. Well, an unprecedented event calls for an unequally unprecedented response.” He swept his hand in a broad arc across the line of Challengers, then to me. “I defer my selection to the Unchallenged Queen. Let her prove her worthiness as much by her choice of opponent as by her victory.”

Shouts of protest immediately erupted, but none more vehemently than from the Challengers themselves. A few bolted forward to argue with Remis, but more curiously, a number of them gathered around Jean Hanoverre.

“This is not what we agreed to,” one of them shouted at him.

“You saidyouwould be fighting her, not us,” another said. “You need to fix this.”

“If we had known she could choose us, we never would have—”

“What’s going on?” I cut in.

Several faces turned to me with mixed levels of panic. Even Jean seemed to have a shadow of uncertainty over his cocky demeanor.

“Your Majesty,” one of them began, “forgive us, we were tricked. House Hanoverre, they said—”

“Silence,” Jean snarled at the sniveling man.

“No, I’d like to hear this,” I said.

“House Hanoverre told us all the Houses had to act as one,” the man blurted out. “They said if everyone raised a Challenge, House Corbois wouldn’t punish any of us.”

“It was his idea,” another Challenger insisted. “Punish him, not us!”

Several of the others shouted their agreement.

I focused my glare on Jean. “House Hanoverre isn’t brave enough to stand on its own?”

He glowered. “I’m no coward. Choose me to fight. Unlessyouaren’t brave enough.”

“You aren’t the most powerful, Jean,” a low voice cut in from behind me. “It’s my right to fight her.”

I didn’t need to look to know whothatvoice belonged to.

A firm hand clamped on my shoulder and forced me to turn. “Youwillchoose me.”

Luther’s menacing expression was unlike any I’d ever seen. His eyes were their own kind of weapons, tipped with poison and aimed to kill. His features were honed to a brutal razor’s edge, radiating a malice that had my breath catching.

There was no trace of the loyal man I thought I’d known. There was not even the frosty indifference of the Prince.

This was Luther the warrior. Luther theexecutioner.

“The most powerful Challenger must be chosen. Those are the rules.”

I smiled icily. “Following rules never was my strong suit.”

He yanked me closer, his voice dropping to a hush. “If you don’t fight me, they’ll never accept you as Queen.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, they already don’t accept me.”

He didn’t react, his face revealing nothing.

An explosive silence fell between us, the air thick with violent threat.

“Wasanyof it real?”

I had intended it to be an accusation—a bitter condemnation of every lie and faked emotion.

Instead, it came out heartbroken.

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