Page 196 of Heat of the Everflame

Perhaps she was still mad at me for showing her up at my Ascension Ball.

Scattered stars peeked through the haze, twinkling enthusiastically as if cheering—or perhaps goading—me on.

“You lot have always been there,” I murmured to them. “You’ve seen it all, the good and the bad. And I’ve always given you a show, have I not?”

They sparkled in wordless response.

“If you have any wishes to grant, I could really use five or six of them.” My eyes burned with fresh tears, my voice falling to a whisper. “Though I’d be grateful for just the one.”

I laid my palm over my heart and thought of Drusila and her mate. Their mating bond ensured they’d be together in the afterlife. If I lost Luther, would he be waiting for me on the other side? Or would this be the end of us, our affection a forgotten blip on the eternal timeline of the ageless gods?

A wild, reckless instinct flared up in my heart. It hissed at me to run inside and beg him to be my mate—now, while we still had time. I gritted my teeth and forced it back with all the reasons it couldn’t happen. It was too soon—he’d think me a lovesick schoolgirl. Or maybe he would refuse, his ridiculously noble heart wanting me to move on and love again after his death. Or worse, he’d accept out of pity. Then the ritual would fail, and we’d both die of embarrassment before the godstone did its work.

Besides, I wasn’t the mating type, right? I was too selfish, too headstrong, too independent. I didn’t believe in fates and forevers.

But I did believe in love.

“Is this the part where you tell me to run off and leave you behind?” Alixe said as she strolled out on the balcony. “Because I’m not sure Luther or Taran will fall for that plan again.”

She stopped at my side, and I gave her a glum smile. “Not this time. I’m staying with Luther, for better or worse.”

She nodded. “I know that’s not an easy choice for you.”

“Do you think it’s the right one?”

“I’m not sure there isa right choice this time.” She stared up at the stars. “Ask me again in a few hours.”

I shut my eyes and reached out to Sorae. The Umbros coast was now clear in her horizon. She’d be here within the hour. I sent her our location and the plan for our escape—and a warning of what she might face when she arrived.

“Have you ever seen two gryverns battle?” I asked.

“No, but I’ve heard stories. The Ignios gryvern took on three at once during the Blood War when the other Crowns were trying to force Ignios into joining. It gravely wounded the Montios gryvern—they say that’s why she was weak enough for the Guardians to kill.” Her brows knit together. “I wonder if they dislike it, fighting each other. Especially being the only ones left of their kind.”

I looked over the edge at the pile of bones on the canyon floor. “I think they regret a great many things they’ve been ordered to do.”

“Sorae told you that?”

“No. Tybold did, in his own way.”

“The Ignios gryvern?” She turned fully to me. “He protected us that day in the desert, didn’t he? He led his King away so we could escape.” She shook her head, looking stunned. “I thought gryverns couldn’t disobey their Crowns.”

“They can’t.” I smirked. “His King is just shit at giving clear commands.”

“But why protectus?We’re not even from Ignios. And that gryvern is infamous for being a vicious monster.”

I fixed her with a hard look. “Spend a few millennia murdering innocent people against your will. You might turn into a monster, too.”

She fell silent after that, and we stood shoulder to shoulder in the evening darkness, the winter chill whipping through our hair.

“If I lose him,” I whispered, “I fear what I’m capable of, Alixe. What I’ll do if left alone to my rage.”

I wasn’t even sure she heard me amid the roar of the wind through the rocky gorges, but after a moment, her hand slipped into mine.

“You won’t be alone. We’ll all grieve together. We’ll be furious together. And then we’ll fight together. For him.”

I pressed hard on my trembling lips. “Yes. For him.”

Alixe’s fingers stiffened in mine. Her eyes narrowed on a clump of clouds to the north. “Do you hear that?”

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