Page 233 of Heat of the Everflame

Her chest rose proudly. “I’ve put the godstone in the palace armory. Would you like to come with me to test the process for the first time?”

“I’d love to. I was on my way there already to gather weapons for my trip to Fortos.”

Alixe smiled as we resumed walking. “Godstone also repels magic. If this works, it will make your army difficult to beat against mortals or Descended.”

Complex feelings washed through me. Though I hated the thought of using my father’s ashes for tools of war, it felt fitting to know he would be with me in battle. If his sacrifice kept my loved ones protected, at least some good would come from the pain of his loss.

“There’s not much of it,” she said. “Do you think you can make more?”

I frowned. I didn’t even know how I’d madethat. “When I return from Fortos, I’ll see what I can do,” I offered.

We stepped into the corridor leading to the armory, and we both came to a halt. In the past, I’d seen one guard at the door, two at most. Now, the hallway was lined with them—including several in Emarion Army uniforms.

Alixe and I exchanged a wary look.

The Lumnos Royal Guards snapped to attention in salute. The army soldiers straightened, though it seemed more an acknowledgement of a threat than of a Queen.

As we came to the door, a guard stepped in our path. “Your Majesty. Vice General.”

“Alixe is High General now,” I corrected him.

His blue eyes flicked to Alixe, then back to me.

“Step aside,” she said. “Her Majesty is here to visit the armory.”

“I’ve been ordered not to let you in.” He swallowed. “Either of you.”

“The Challenging is over,” I said. “I am the Queen. Whoever gave those orders, I overrule them.”

Again his throat bobbed. “The Regent says you are not yet coronated, and until you are, he still holds the authority of the Crown.”

“The Regent is mistaken,” Alixe cut in. “Her Majesty has been coronated.”

“His Majesty the King of Fortos says otherwise,” an army soldier interrupted. “He says the coronation ritual was never completed.”

I thought back on that disastrous day. We’d gone around the Kindred’s Temple, each of the Crowns shedding a drop of their blood to affirm my reign—until mine had split the heartstone in half.

Wait.I stiffened. The elderly Montios King, to my left, was last in the order. He never got his chance before the Guardians unleashed their bombs.

The Fortos King was right.

Iwasn’tcoronated.

Alixe stood boot-to-boot with the guard. “We don’t answer to the Fortos King. This is Lumnos, and you will obey the command of your Queen.”

He trembled as he raised his chin. “The Regent has ordered us to use force, if necessary.”

His hand moved to the hilt of his blade. A flurry of clinking signaled the others doing the same. Shimmers of light danced across the walls as shields rose into place. Alixe’s fingers curled around the handles of her shortswords.

I stepped closer to the guard. “I don’t believe we’ve met. What’s your name?”

“Werrol Corbois, Your Majesty.”

“Ah. A fellow Corbois. Tell me,cousin, did you attend the Challenging?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I did.”

“Then you saw what I am capable of.” I gave him a smile thick with false friendliness. “If I want to come in, Werrol, do you really think you can stop me?”

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