Page 340 of Heat of the Everflame

A loud roar rose from the front of the temple. I thinned my wall of light enough to see some kind of machine crafting a makeshift bridge over the barrier. A powerful aura brushed over us, and both our spines snapped straight in apprehension.

“Hello, Lumnos.”

Neither male nor female, King nor Queen, the elegant Crown of Sophos defied every expectation. I’d met others like them back home in Lumnos—some who danced along the spectrum between masculine and feminine, others who were something new altogether.

“You’re in my temple,” they said as they emerged at the crest of the bridge.

“It’s notyourtemple.” I shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you, so I let myself in.”

They strolled forward, their gauzy, wide-legged trousers billowing in the wind. “If you wanted a private showing, you could have requested an invitation to visit.”

“You issued an edict calling for my capture. Is that not invitation enough?”

Their eyes narrowed faintly. “You’ve come to turn yourself in, then?”

“No. I’ve come to offer a trade.”

“And what trade is that?”

I lifted my chin. “My Crown for my sword.”

The Sophos Crown—whosename I’d learned was Doriel—sat rigidly on the edge of their chair as they sipped delicately on a cup of tea. They were beautiful beyond words, with sky-high cheekbones and an effortless smoothness in the way they moved. A veil of ivory gossamer lay across their cleanly shaven head, held in place by a plain gold circlet, rather than their Crown of glimmering sparks.

“I could have you killed for coming to my realm uninvited, you know,” Doriel said.

“You could certainly try. Though you might ask Ignios how that plan worked out for him. Or Umbros.” My lips lifted in a smirk. “Or Fortos.”

I lounged back lazily and stared up at the hand-painted ceilings adorning the library sitting room Doriel had led me to so we could speak alone. Knowing this room had been built by the mortals of old, I was having to fight hard not to turn into a gawking, awestruck rube.

Doriel’s gaze trailed over me with fascination. “So you’ve been touring more than just my temple.”

“Like I said—it’s notyourtemple.”

“Is the palace of Lumnos notyourpalace?”

“My palace was built by the Lumnos Crowns. That temple was stolen from the mortals.”

“It was fairly given. I have the paperwork evidencing the transfer in my records.”

My eyes rolled skyward. “Oh, I have no doubt some mortal king offered it up to curry favor from the Kindred, but it never belonged to them. It belonged to the people. Leaders aresupposed to guard their people’s treasures, not chop them up and give them away.”

“I agree. That’s why they were given to us for safekeeping.” Doriel gestured broadly to the room. “There was a time when the continent was full of magnificent buildings just like these.”

I sat up slightly. “It was?”

“We have copious records on the mortal creations. I can show them to you, if you’d like.”

My fingers gripped tight to the armrest as I swallowed down my enthusiasm. “Did the Kindred destroy those buildings, too?”

“No. The mortals did. They had their own wars before the Kindred’s arrival. Sadly, countless treasures were casualties of those conflicts—buildings, art, maps, books. The ruler of these lands offered them up to Blessed Father Sophos in the hopes he would protect them from meeting the same fate.”

“And yet the temple did.”

Doriel let out a long sigh. “It was our fourth Crown who ordered its destruction. A poor decision, I agree. Knowledge is our most valuable resource. I do not believe in erasing it.”

“Just hoarding it for yourself,” I muttered. “What good is safeguarding mortal treasures if the mortals aren’t allowed to use them?”

They bristled. “Any mortal can request a visit, and every worthy request is granted.”

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