Page 310 of Heat of the Everflame

“How are we supposed to get his consent when your King refuses to answer every messenger hawk we send?” the commander snapped.

“I must have missed the law allowing a low-level Fortos grunt to do whatever he wants if a Crown doesn’t respond as quickly as he’d like,” Luther said. “In fact, the law I remember says anyone brandishing godstone weapons without consent is subject to immediate execution.” His smile was vicious. “Perhaps we shouldallgo see the Montios Crown.”

“Perhaps so,” the little girl agreed with a grin.

The commander paled. “No need for that. It was a simple mistake.” He shoved me, staggering back like I was poisonous. “We’ll be on our way.”

The other soldiers took the hint and edged away, hurriedly sheathing their godstone weapons or hiding them behind their backs.

I held up my shackled wrists. “Forgetting something?”

He threw me a nasty smirk. “Consider it our gift to the Montios King so you don’t kill him, too.”

He and his soldiers stumbled backward, refusing to turn their backs on the Montios Descended.

“This isn’t over,” the commander called out to me. “You and your mother can’t run forever.”

“Send my love to your new Crown,” I yelled back. “I hear she’s a real pain in the ass.”

He paused, frowning. “She?”

A few of the Montios Descended raised their palms, and their magic swirled in the air, its frosty bite sending a shiver over my skin. My heart leapt at the prospect of absorbing it, but the magic brushed past me and continued on.

The snow beneath the soldiers’ boots crackled and thinned to a flat, glossy sheet. Their legs floundered for grip against the slippery surface. One fell on his back, then another. The ground thundered beneath them and shifted into a steep incline that pitched them down the rocky slope, their shouts fading into the distance as they tumbled out of sight.

I breathed out a relieved laugh for half a second before realizing I was in no less danger. My mother was a mortal and I was a foreign Crown—both were forbidden here. If the Montios King wanted us dead, he had all the excuse he needed to do it.

The little girl walked up to me, accompanied by one of the adult Descended, an older woman who might have been hergrandmother. The girl held out her hands with an expectant look. I frowned, offering mine in return. She thumbed at my shackles, examining them closely, then looked at the older woman, who shook her head.

“I’m afraid we can’t open these here, Your Majesty,” the girl said. “You’ll have to keep wearing them for now.”

I nodded silently, unsure what to think.

“Our Crown Council would like a word with you, if you don’t mind,” she added.

I blinked.If I don’t mind?

“Do I... have a choice?”

Her freckle-splattered nose scrunched in a toothy smile. “Of course. But they’ve been waiting for your arrival.”

I blinked again.They have?

“We’ll come with you,” Luther cut in. He shot me an urgent look, nostrils flaring.

The Montios Descended didn’t move. Their gazes were fixed on me, awaiting my response.

“Alright,” I agreed.

The girl beamed and beckoned us to follow. One of the adults waved a hand toward the cave, and after a brief moment of trembling earth, the slab of stone across the entrance crumbled to dust.

My mother ran out in a panic, face pale and weapon high. Her knuckles were bloody and scraped as if she’d been trying to claw her way out.

Her focus dropped to the shackles on my wrists, then snapped to the Montios Descended. She ran to my side and threw herself in front of me. “You stay away from my daughter,” she shouted.

“Calm down, Auralie,” Luther said. “We’re not in danger.”

I blinked a third time.We’re not?

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