Page 358 of Heat of the Everflame

“I know you,” I said as the Sophos magic spun to life and rummaged through my memories to pluck the right one. “You’re from Lumnos. You were my patient once.”

“And I know you—you’re Auralie’s daughter,” the man clipped, his hatred palpable. “How can you fight for them when your own mother is one of us?”

“I’m fighting for the mortals, too,” I argued.

His brown eyes narrowed. “Are you? Because all I see is mortal blood on your blade and Descended fighting at your back.”

Uncertainty tangled the words on my tongue. I looked around to see mortals fall as the Descended guards I’d armed with godstone slice through Ophiucae’s shield.

Gods, was he right? Had I become the very thing I’d sworn to destroy?

A gryvern’s cry rang out in the distance, and the man’s shield guttered. All throughout the street, the glimmering shields around the mortals flickered, then went dark. The Descended let loose a victorious cheer.

The man staggered backward, his anger turning to alarm. “By the Flames... he’s abandoned us.” He looked around at the Sophos guards rushing forward with sparks swirling at their palms. “They’re going to kill us all.”

“Run,” I ordered, lacing my voice with the command of Umbros magic. I turned to the street. “Run away now, all of you.Leave this realm, and harm no one else.”

The mortals’ eyes went glassy. My will became theirs, and they were forced to obey. Their weapons rattled to the street as they began to flee.

But the Descended weren’t ready to let them go. Their city had been breached, their people slain. The fear they’d carried into battle had seared away, and now, they wanted some revenge of their own.

The mortal only made it a few feet before a bolt of Sophos magic struck him in the back and he collapsed, convulsing, to the ground.

Other mortals began to fall. With no shields, no weapons, and my command to do no harm, they were completely vulnerable. If I didn’t do something, I’d be trading one mass execution for another.

“They’re retreating,” I shouted at the guards. “Let them go.”

A few Descended dropped back, but too many more continued their assault. Mortal voices rang out in agony as attacks plucked them off one by one.

In a panic, I threw out my hands and raised a shield at each mortal’s back.

“What are you doing?” a Sophos guard snapped at me. “You’re letting them get away.”

“The battle’s over. Let them go.”

“So they can try again another day? You’re supposed to be protecting us, not them.”

I clenched my jaw and said nothing. I used to know the difference between my people and my enemy so clearly. These days, I wasn’t so sure.

More mortals emerged from surrounding streets, many being chased by angry Descended now that their fallen shields had left them exposed. They took one look at the Descended-packed streets and their fleeing brethren, and their faces went ghostly pale.

“Retreat,” they yelled, stumbling over each other in a dash for the Ring Road. “Mortals, retreat!”

“Descended, fall back,” I demanded. “Let them leave. That’s an order from a Crown.”

The Sophos guards shot me scowls that stunk of resentment, though, to my relief, they reluctantly obeyed.

I doled out orders to secure the city, then set about wading through fallen bodies, healing who I could and whispering the Rite of Endings for the rest.

Through it all, everyone’s eyes lingered on the sky. Even with the mortals retreating, we knew Ophiucae could return at any moment—and if he really wanted to destroy this city, I doubted he needed his mortal army to do it.

Doriel was still unaccounted for, as was my Prince. Both left me nervous, but the latter left me frantic. It wasn’t like him to let me out of his sight for long, especially with danger so close at hand.

Every minute without him ratcheted my pulse higher and dragged my thoughts deeper into a bleak, shadowy place. What would I do, if he was gone? What would I become?

Things had changed between us these past few days. Hearing him tell me I wasenough, even with all my limits and flaws, and knowing he would join me in anything, whether that meant leading a war or running away to a new life across the sea—my walls had turned from stone to flimsy parchment, and my heart had been falling, tumbling,plummetinginto a love so deep no other man could ever hope to reach it.

And I didn’t want them to.

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