Page 54 of Glow of the Everflame

“I didn’t kiss you,” I hissed, whirling to face him, “you kissedme.Maybe I didn’t push you off as quickly as I should have, but that—”

“—wasn’t what I was going to say,” he said curtly. “You made it my business when you asked me to keep Aemonn silent about Henri.”

My face flushed.

“But rest assured, my Queen, when I do kiss you, there will be no confusion. You will know that I have claimed you—and I won’t have any desire to deny it.”

All of meflushed.

I swallowed. I hadn’t missed his choice of words. NotifI kiss you. Notin the rare and unlikely eventI kiss you.

WhenI kiss you.

I looked away, unable to withstand the pale blue fire in Luther’s gaze. “Did Aemonn agree to stay quiet then?”

“For a price.”

“Of course,” I muttered. “What does he want?”

“You’ll bring him as your escort to the Ascension Ball. You’ll give him the first dance and stay at his side throughout the evening.”

“I can’t do that.”

“I don’t like it either, but it’s a simple enough req—”

“It’s not that I don’t want to—I can’t.”

Luther stilled. “Why?”

I cowered in the silence as long as I could bear, dreading the spring trap my next words would invariably trigger.

“I’ve accepted Henri’s marriage proposal. He’ll be escorting me as my betrothed.” I fidgeted with a dainty pearl bracelet Eleanor had insisted I wear. “I’m well aware how much you all despise mortals, but this choice is mine to make, Queen or not.”

Neither of us moved or spoke for several torturous, uncomfortable moments. Luther’s fists clenched and loosened at his sides. The air around him buzzed with angry magic, barely contained. His throat strained to hold back a deluge of disapproval.

I groaned. “Fine. Just say it.”

“Not here.”

Without warning, his hand closed around mine, his grip startlingly gentle despite his fury. He led me down the hallway to where our rooms sat in parallel. His palm pressed at the hollow of my back and nudged me to the right, away from my guards and into his private chambers.

He barked a command at the two men stationed at my chamber doors to reposition themselves at the far ends of the corridor. The door closed, followed by the metallic clink of a lock sliding into place.

Luther cast me a wary glance. “Wait here.”

I watched him stalk into a side antechamber, then turned to take in the surrounding space. I drew in a sharp breath—I’d been here before. I’d only passed through it briefly, but I recognized the room Luther had disappeared into as the bedroom I’d awoken in the morning after the armory attack.

Luther’sbedroom.

My naked body soaking inhisbathtub.

My hand in his as I lay tucked betweenhissheets.

I fought to cage my wild thoughts as I took a closer look at the room. It was lightly appointed, with none of the gilded, ornamental touches that embellished most of the palace’s rooms, but despite its simplicity, the chamber had a warmth to it, a personalized comfort all its own.

Against one wall, a sturdy wooden desk was topped with half-written letters, its carved sides depicting the Kindred and their mortal lovers. Lumnos was featured at the center, locked in an embrace with the man she’d given up everything to follow into eternal night.

A sitting area with cozy leather armchairs was bordered by tall shelves of old books and small oil paintings on tiny easels. A framed charcoal sketch of Lily sat atop a mahogany liquor cabinet with bottles in varying shades of brown. A pair of muddy boots lay on their side in a corner, and a jacket lay draped across a footrest.

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