Page 400 of Heat of the Everflame

He hadn’t come easily. The two guards who held him had blood on their uniforms and still-healing bruises on their faces.

And so did Teller.

The sight of it set me ablaze.

“You have no idea the mistake you’ve just made,” I whispered in a voice hushed but unstoppably destructive, like a loosed arrow whistling toward its mark.

“I have people to protect, and I’ll use whatever means I have available to protect them. Don’t deny that you would do the same.”

My jaw ground tight. “Your people will die for this.”

“Is that a threat?” they hissed.

“It’s afact. Ophiucae will strike again, and by the time you realize you need me, it will be too late.”

“Well I’ll know where to find you,” they muttered. They glanced at the sunset. “We need to hurry, we’re running out of time.”

My instincts prickled. “Time for what?”

Doriel ignored me and turned their attention to the others. “My fellow Crowns, I also bring a proposal for a vote. Something that has not been done since the days of the Blessed Kindred. Rather than merely refreshing the Forging spell for the coronation... I propose wereviseit.”

Ignios grunted. “If you say you want to give yourself control of her realms, Sophos...”

“Not at all. My proposal is for this island. We must secure this Temple from rebel control.”

“You can do that by working with me and my mother,” I snapped.

“Even if we trusted you, your mother won’t lead the Guardians forever. She’s a mortal, and an older one at that. She’ll be dead before we know it.”

I flinched at the reminder.

“We need a permanent solution, and luckily, the Blessed Kindred provided us one.” Doriel pointed to the glassy rock on the pedestal at the Temple’s center. “I’ve been researching everything the Kindred wrote on the Forging spell. In it, they built wards around the heartstone to protect it from harm.”

“So much for that,” I mumbled.

Their eyes flashed to me in subtle warning. Explaining why my blood cracked the heartstone would reveal the truth about Omnos. Tempting as it was to betray Doriel in retribution, I held my tongue. Disclosing my heritage now would do me more harm than good.

“I propose we enhance those protections,” they went on. “We take the heartstone’s existing defenses, and we expand them to kill any person who steps foot on Coeurîle without a Crown.”

“We can do that?” Faunos asked.

They nodded. “The magic that protects the heartstone is already deadly. We’re simply unleashing it to its full extent.”

“If the Blessed Kindred approved of that, wouldn’t they have done it themselves?” Arboros asked. I found myself nodding in agreement, then wondering when I started caring what the Kindred approved of.

“They gave us the power to modify the Forging spell as long as we act unanimously. They wouldn’t have done that if they didn’t trust us to use it.”

Faunos groaned. “I’ll agree to whatever you want, if it will get this over with.”

Doriel looked to Ignios, who smirked eagerly, then to Arboros, who looked pained as she lowered her eyes and nodded. They exchanged a quick look with Meros, then approached the heartstone and pulled out the ritual dagger.

It wasn’t lost on me that no one confirmed my vote. The implication was clear—I would agree, or my brother would pay the price.

As Doriel shed their blood and began reciting the ritual’s script, my eyes skimmed the island and paused on the Guardians being held back by the patrolling gryverns.

“There are people on the island now,” I blurted out, stopping Doriel’s speech. “Won’t they all die if we cast this spell?”

“They’ll have until sunset to leave.”

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