Page 288 of Heat of the Everflame

He smiled faintly. “You needed an army. The Blessed Kindred have a sense of humor.”

“If only the joke wasn’t always on me.”

He closed the distance between us and lowered his face to mine. “You are worthy of this, my Queen. The Kindred see it, and so do I.”

I leaned against him, absorbing his warmth, his faith, his love, letting it forge the armor I needed to guard my soul in the battle ahead.

My mother cleared her throat.

We both went stiff. My fingers grazed the tips of his as I forced myself to peel away.

“Wait here,” I said to them both.

I strode down the hall until I was well beyond earshot, then stopped in front of an iron door. “I’d like to speak,” I called out.

Two dull green eyes stared blankly from the darkness, giving no indication they’d understood.

I reached through the grate and conjured a sprinkle of glittering stars that cast a dim glow over the grimy walls.

“The King isn’t here,” I said, softening my voice. “I’ve come back alone. I’d like to help you.”

The man didn’t move. From the state of his cell, I wasn’t sure he’d moved for a very long time.

“I know why you’re here,” I went on. “You were helping mortals get out of Faunos. You crossed too far over the border, and the army caught you.”

My words were a careful dance to conceal that I’d slipped into his mind to pry the information out. I wasn’t proud of the intrusion, but I’d needed to be certain before I took this risk.

“You tried to heal me,” the man croaked, voice hoarse from disuse. “I felt it.”

I fought a grimace—so much for keeping my secret. I stretched my arm toward him. “I can heal you now, if you’d like.”

He stared bleakly at my hand like it might as well have been a thousand miles away.

“Can you walk?” I asked.

He pulled back the tunic draped over his legs. They were turned at an unnatural angle and bent in more places than any leg should bend. “They healed me like this so I couldn’t run.”

I muttered a vibrant string of curses. As I pulled back and glared at the door, I spied a familiar black disc.

A shadow blade took form in my hand. I drew it across my thumb several times with no effect, internally bickering with mygodhood to let down its guard. Finally, a dot of red pooled on my skin. I held my breath as I swept it over the smooth circular plaque.

The door swung open, and the man’s eyes grew wide. “How?”

I opted not to answer. I crouched at his side, my hands hovering in the air above him. “May I?”

His mouth hung agape and speechless, but he managed a nod. I pressed my palms against his ice-cold skin and sent my magic through his legs.

This was unlike any healing I’d done before. Repairing wounds was easy—the body already knew what it was meant to do, my magic simply fueled its natural drive. But the brutal work of these Fortos “healers”—they don’t deserve that title, I thought bitterly—had convinced his body that his mangled limbs were already healed. Though I could soothe the damage done from thirst and malnutrition, his legs remained unchanged.

Fight.

Thevoicesparked in concert with my temper as resentment reared its angry head. I could have hadyearsto train so that advanced magic like this was not so far beyond my grasp. My mother had stunted my growth, and it wasn’t just me who paid the price.

Fight.

All the patients I’d watched suffer over the years, the key to their relief sitting dormant in my blood.

All the needless losses I’d mourned, wishing there was more I could have done.

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