Page 364 of Heat of the Everflame

Doriel blew out a heavy breath. “Blessed Kindred, how is this possible?ThreeCrowns. And Fortos—they’ve never had a Queen.”

“I don’t know, either. I don’t even want them. I’d give all three back, if I could do it without dying.”

Liar, my conscience whispered.

“I wonder...” A touch of suspicion surfaced as Doriel looked me over. “If you can absorb magic, maybe that’s how you stole the Crowns, too.”

“The Crowns weren’t stolen,” Luther cut in. “Blessed Mother Lumnos told me to serve Diem as my Queen. And I was there when Blessed Fortos spoke through the King. He acknowledged he was selecting a Queen for the first time. Blessed Montios, too—she left a message for Diem through the late King.” His eyes narrowed on Doriel. “Those Crowns belong to Diem. The Kindredchoseher.”

They rubbed at their mouth, looking thoughtful. “But why? The Kindred created the nine Crowns for this very reason—to keep any one person from becoming too powerful.”

“Maybe they saw what the Crowns have done to the continent, and they lost faith in the lot of you.”

Doriel balked. “What have I done?”

Luther prowled closer, his menacing power rolling in waves from his skin. “I know you’ve got every word of scripture memorized, Doriel. Tell me, did the Blessed Kindred command the Crowns to exile the mortals—or protectthem?” Doriel opened their mouth to speak, and Luther growled to cut them off. “MyQueen wishes to unite. The rest of you only divide. Perhaps the Kindred have had enough of your heresy.”

I pursed my lips, trying not to think about the heat sparking in my blood at my Prince coming so forcefully to my defense.

“Sophos chose not to replace Doriel as the Crown,” I said, opting for diplomacy for perhaps the first time in my life. “Surely that means the Kindred want us to work together.”

Doriel straightened their jacket with a huff. “Yes. Exactly. And I agreed to help you, did I not?”

“We’re very grateful. Aren’t we, Prince?” I shot a stern look at Luther, who glowered and folded his arms over his chest.

“I’ll call a ritual to be held in two days’ time,” Doriel said. “You’ll get word to your mother to ensure the Guardians give us access to Coeurîle?”

“I will,” I lied. Tentative alliance aside, I didn’t trust Doriel not to follow any message I sent. I’d just have to hope she accomplished her side of our plan on our own.

“Doriel, there’s something else...” My head cocked. “Just before the battle, you made a comment about a ‘lost realm.’”

Their lips pressed to a thin, pale line. “Did I?”

“And I know you’ve seen this symbol before,” I said, tapping the mark at my neck. “I could sense your lie with my Umbros magic.”

They blanched. “That information isdeeplyconfidential, on the orders of the Blessed Father himself. Even the other Crowns do not know it.”

“Make an exception,” I pleaded. “If I’m going to defeat Ophiucae, I have to know everything.”

They frowned, then glanced at the crowded streets and jerked their chin in an invitation to follow. Luther fell back as Doriel led me to a quiet nook.

“I know very little, and that’s the truth,” they began, their voice hushed. “All the records were destroyed. I only know what’s been passed from Crown to Crown and the few details I’ve found in my research.”

“The records ofwhat?”

Their face turned solemn. “The tenth Kindred.”

A wave of icy shock splashed over me. Hair prickled on my nape, all my senses on high alert, as if my body somehow knew there was a grave danger merely inknowingthis truth.

“There was another Kindred?” I asked.

“The youngest, a brother. He had a Crown and a realm of his own in between Sophos and Montios, but he died a few years after the original Forging. The remaining nine Kindred recast the spell and allocated that land to Montios.”

“The Forgotten Lands,” I murmured. “That’s why its Forging magic felt like it didn’t belong.”

Doriel nodded. “They tore down his portal at the Kindred’s Temple and had all maps of the continent redrawn. Anything that referenced him was burned or rewritten. They even tried to kill his gryvern, but it escaped and went into hiding.”

“Why would they do that? Why not let his Crown pass on to his heirs?”

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