Page 371 of Heat of the Everflame

My fearless, steadfast Queen.

It was as if she was born to do this.

Because she was, I reminded myself.

She might not share my trust in the Blessed Kindred, but watching her only strengthened my confidence in their judgment. Never had I been more certain that she was the one who would lead this world out of its shadows and into a new, glorious light.

If only I could make her have the same confidence in herself.

My mood soured. That lovesick little twit Stuart had showed up out of nowhere, ogling my Queen’s ass when she wasn’t looking, even in the middle of all-out war. I wondered how much Diem would scold me if I ripped out his eyes and saved them as a treat for Sorae.

He’d brought her godstone weapons to keep her safe, so I decided, grudgingly, to let him live.

She called my name, her voice sounding all wrong. When I called back, emotion flooded her smoky eyes and set my chest aching. She offered a blade to me, and I waved her off.

“Luther,” she said, scowling at me in that way I fucking loved. The one that made me want to wipe it off her face in the most inappropriate ways.

“Have faith, my Queen,” I teased. “I’ve got my eyes on a different blade.”

I turned my focus down the street—to the one-armed jackass who’d almost taken me from her side.

“Vance,” I growled. “You and I have unfinished business.”

The piece of shit had the nerve to smile at me. Ophiucae’s shield was making him too brave. He’d nearly soiled himself when I’d fought him in Arboros. If I hadn’t been carrying a half-unconscious Taran and fending off ten men at once, he never would have landed that blow.

“Dragonfyre,” someone shouted. “Take cover!”

My eyes went straight to Diem. My heart turned to thunder as I ran toward her—only to crash into a wall of ice. It thickened into a dome around me, trapping me in place. I slammed a burst of white-hot light against it, but Diem’s magic restored every drop I melted away.

I’d never met any other Descended whose power could match mine, but with her, it wasn’t even close. If my magic was a spark, hers was the gods-damned sun.

Most of the time, watching her unleash it was the most turned on I’d ever been, but when she used it like this—to protect me while putting herself at risk—that turned me into a version of myself even I was afraid of.

I screamed her name until my throat was raw as my fists slammed uselessly against the ice. The gryvern was nearly onher, and she hadn’t raised her shield. Did she think she was immune to the dragonfyre, too?

...Hell,wasshe?

There was so much about her power we still didn’t know. Her instincts were remarkable, but it would only take one mistake to lose her forever.

Blinding dragonfyre covered the street, and my heart raged at me for failing to get to her. It threatened to rip free from my chest and claw its way to her all on its own.

I couldn’t see her, but I could sense her. Her magic forever called out to mine. I gripped onto that feeling ofherto tether my sanity as my magic exploded at its full strength.

I heard the cry of a wounded gryvern just as the icy dome finally shattered. Diem was drenched in red, her sword held high above her head as she snarled like a feral beast. Her skin shimmered as bright as her sire’s, mixing with the blood to cast her in a crimson halo. As she watched the gryvern flee, her lovely face was alight with rebellious triumph.

She looked... stunning. Lethal.Unconquerable.

A goddess of war.

Darkness eternal and the brightest light.

She looked like a Queen.MyQueen.

Instantly, my cock was hard and ready. Forcing myself to wait—especially knowing she wanted me, too—had turned my desire for her into an insatiable monster. My baser instincts roared to strip her down and sink between her legs right here on the street.

But she deserved better than a rough, greedy fuck. She deserved to be worshipped.

I’d make sure she got both.

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