Page 94 of Glow of the Everflame

“Remind me again why I brought you.”

“Because I’m fun. Hey Diem, is Luther in there? Are you two doing something naughty?”

“Blessed Kindred, Taran,stop!”

Suddenly, it was far easier to yank myself out of Luther’s grasp and force some space between us. I avoided his eyes—and the longing I felt at the loss of his touch—as I moved to the door and pulled it open. “Food, no. Chocolate, yes. Whiskey... maybe.”

Taran flashed me a grin that only grew wider as his eyes jumped between me and whatever Luther looked like as he joined me at the door.

“Are we interrupting something?” he asked, wiggling his brows.

“Ignore him,” Eleanor said with an exaggerated eyeroll. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“I’m fine.” I forced a smile and a nonchalant shrug. “The funeral was getting dull, so I decided to liven things up a bit.”

Taran snorted. I winced in anticipation of his ribbing, banter that I would normally welcome if I wasn’t feeling quite so raw, but he didn’t offer up any jokes. Instead, he lumbered forward and wrapped me up in a swinging bear-hug that hauled me all the way off my feet as he squeezed the air from my lungs.

“Don’t worry about it, Queenie. We’ve got your back.”

I went limp, half from shock and half from mild asphyxiation. “Thank you,” I wheezed.

“Taran, please don’t snap Her Majesty’s ribs,” Luther said calmly.

“Come on, look at her, she likes it!”

“Her gryvern doesn’t.”

“Wrong, cousin. Soraelovesmy hugs.”

Sorae snapped her jaws, and whether it was a threat or an agreement was anyone’s guess. Taran set me back down, only for me to be yanked into Eleanor’s embrace.

“I refuse to say these two words ever again, but Taran’s right.” She pulled back and placed a palm to my cheek. “You’re one of us now, and you have our full support.”

I looked from Eleanor to Taran and finally to Luther, three sets of blue eyes shining with genuine affection. I had arrived here with a plan todestroy,expecting to find a world full of Remises and Garaths and even Aemonns.

I hadn’t expected to find friends.

My plan might need a bit of revising.

“Thank you.” I gave them a wobbly smile. “That means a great deal to me.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Eleanor asked.

A crease cut between my brows as I stared down at my upturned palms. “That was the first time I’ve ever tried to use my magic on purpose. I thought I had it, but then...”

“You need to start training,” Luther said sternly. “We can set aside some time each day—Alixe and I can help you.”

“And me,” Taran huffed.

I frowned. “This means you think I’m definitely going to be Challenged.”

“This isn’t about the Challenging,” Luther said.

I shot him a look, and he sighed.

“It’s notonlyabout the Challenging. You’re the most powerful Descended in the realm. Magic like that can be dangerous if it’s not controlled.”

“Come on, Queenie,” Taran said with a sly grin. “Don’t you want to get all hot and sweaty training with me and Lu?”

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