Page 227 of Heat of the Everflame

I clamped a hand to his chest. “Not unless you let that wound heal, you won’t.”

He glared, and I smirked. I pushed him off, and he rolled onto his back with a scowl, then hooked an arm beneath me and tugged me into his side. I beamed at my victory and pressed a grateful kiss to his cheek.

“Say it again,” he rumbled.

“I love you.”

His eyes closed, his mouth twitching in a losing fight not to smile.

“I didn’t say it just because you were dying, you know. I was trying to tell you that night in Umbros.”

“I know. What you said to me that night...” He looked at me, his expression solemn. “I have much to apologize for, Diem. I lost my temper. I said callous, careless things. I made you doubt how I feel about you. The fact you were still willing to fight for me through it all...” He traced the curve of my jaw. “It means more to me than you could ever know.”

I leaned up and stole another kiss. “Well I do love a good fight.”

His lips quirked up again. “For what it’s worth, I think I’ve been in love with you since I tried to stop you from running into a burning building and you threatened to cut off my ‘precious royal balls.’”

I grinned proudly. “One of these days you’ll stop trying to keep me out of danger.”

“Unlikely,” he muttered. “I’ve never cared for anyone the way I care for you. When I think of something happening to you, I can barely breathe. It’s a constant war against my instincts to lock you up somewhere safe, where no one can ever hurt you. But a phoenix isn’t meant to be caged—it’s meant to fly.” He let out a long sigh. “I will never stop trying to protect you, but I know I can’t keep you from danger, either. All I ask is that you don’t do it alone. From now on, we face it together.”

“Agreed.”

“You promise?”

I smiled. “I promise.” My eyebrows raised. “So if you heard everything while you were unconscious... you must have heard what I said to your father.”

“I did.” He chuckled darkly. “And I intend to take you up on your offer for a round two.”

“Much as I despise Remis, I have to admit, he never left your side. He was worried about you.”

Luther was quiet for a long time. Theirs was no simple family feud. His mother’s murder was a chasm they might never cross. “My father knows what you mean to me. If he wants my forgiveness, he can start to earn it by supporting you.”

“He did withhold his vote to condemn my mother. I owe him a debt for that, even if it was for his own self-preservation.”

“Your mother...” Luther frowned. “If Yrselle changes her vote...”

“I know. And even if she doesn’t, Montios and Arboros still could. I have to go get her, Luther. Tomorrow.”

He shifted his body toward me. “Let me go alone instead.”

“Luther, wejustagreed—”

“This isn’t about protecting you, this is about strategy. If the Crowns see you breaking her out, they’ll declare war on Lumnos. If it’s only me, you can tell them I acted on my own. Declare me a traitor to save face.”

I shook my head hard. “You’re still wounded.”

“You can heal me.”

“I’m not closing your wound until every drop of toxin is gone. I won’t risk trapping it inside you. Besides, in Fortos, you won’t have your magic.”

“You saw how our magic was returning in Ignios and Umbros. I’ll make sure your mother is safe, then I’ll wait until my magic returns to strike.”

“And if it disappears in the middle of the attack? I just got you back from certain death, I’m not sending you right back into it with an injured body and no magic.”

Muscles twitched along his jaw, sending my heart fluttering. His exasperation was so familiar, so strangely comforting. Wemight never stop arguing over which of our lives to put in danger, but at least we still had lives to risk.

I sighed heavily. “I can’t stay behind. I need to make sure she’s even still alive before I risk taking on Fortos, and only a Crown has access to see her. If—if—the godstone toxin is gone by tomorrow afternoon—”

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