Page 374 of Heat of the Everflame

“Besides...” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ve seen you eat chocolate. I am far from theonething that brings you joy.”

An unexpected laugh cracked out of me. He tipped my chin up and met me with a smile.

“Can I show you something else?” he asked. “Not with magic.” He took my hips, spinning me around and nudging me across the room. “You saw how incredible you are through my eyes. Now I want you to see it through yours.”

He led me to an enormous mirror, my reflection on full display. My skin was caked with dried blood, my hair windblown and wild. A dark, commanding glow illuminated my eyes. Food along the road had been scarce, making my bones more prominent and my features more sharply defined.

I looked older. More serious. World-weary and jaded from all I’d seen.

I lookedsotired—the kind of tired sleep alone couldn’t fix.

But I also looked strong.

The last time I’d closely studied my full reflection had been the morning before the Challenging. That girl had been terrified and small. She’d put on a brave face, but she’d felt unworthy of the Crown on her head and incapable of fulfilling the destiny that came with it.

But the woman staring back at me now... she’dseenthings. She’d made enemies and allies, survived battles and bloodshed and near-certain death. She’d learned to wield both her magic and her Crowns. She’d confronted Kings and Queens and bargained with the gods.

She’d fallen in love. Hopelessly, madly in love.

And she’d stopped denying who and what she was. Perhaps nothing had done more to strengthen her than that.

This woman was a survivor. She could fight. She could endure.

And she could win a war.

I still couldn’t say I wanted my Crowns, but after meeting so many of the others and seeing how deeply they’d let down their people, I no longer felt unworthy. I felt inspired to prove what a Crown could be.

“Do you see her?” Luther asked. “The woman I love?”

My chin tipped up.

“I think I finally do.”

Chapter

Seventy-One

Luther took my hand and led me into a washroom unlike any I’d seen before. A set of glass doors opened to a small nook lined with a mosaic of colorful clay tiles and a water-filled ceiling that made me feel encased below the sea. The tiles lit up from behind, illuminating the chamber in a rainbow glow that gently wavered in the undulating reflection of the water’s flow.

When he opened the doors and turned a lever, hundreds of pin-sized spouts released a rainfall of steaming water, filling the room with a subtle, pleasant scent that reminded me of a crisp breeze at dawn.

“Amazing,” I breathed.

“Wait until you feel it. I accompanied Uncle Ulther here when I was younger. I offered any price they wanted to build one in the Lumnos palace.”

“And they wouldn’t take it?”

“Sophos inventions aren’t allowed outside the realm. A handful have been given as coronation gifts, but otherwise, they keep it all locked up here.”

I wrinkled my nose. “If you have something wonderful, why not share it with everyone you can?”

“I’ve found something wonderful.” He deftly unclasped my weapons belt and let it thump to the floor. “I don’t feel like sharing her, either.”

The energy in the air shifted.

His hand ventured beneath the hem of my tunic and skated up the curve of my hip, bunching the fabric at my ribs.

My pulse picked up its rhythm. “I’m still mad at you.”

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