Page 52 of Heat of the Everflame

I shot him a coy smile and shrugged. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen already.”

With a fair amount of reluctance, I pulled off his sweater, already missing the way the warm, luxurious fabric had cocooned me in his scent. As I handed it off to him, his eyes stayed locked with mine, and it was the profound affection in his eyes, not my bare upper body, that had my cheeks flushing.

I turned my back to him and quickly shimmied out of his pants, tossing them over my shoulder with a nervous laugh, then hurried to put on my own undergarments.

“You know,” I teased as I struggled to secure my bandeau, “you’ve seen me unclothed so many times, when we finally get a night alone together, there’s hardly going to be anything worth looking at.”

I stilled at the brush of his fingers against my skin. He pulled the straps from my hands and deftly secured the clasp. My back arched as his knuckles ran a slow trail up my spine.

I held my breath as he brushed the hair away from my ear and leaned in close.

“Diem, when you and I finally get a night alone together, looking will be theleastof what I do to you.”

After discussing our options,we decided to stay put for the day. We were well situated, with a stream nearby and overgrowth for easy hiding if the Guardians came searching. If there was no sign of them by dawn, we would set off for Arboros City to gather supplies for the long trip home.

With hours to kill, and against Luther’s ardent insistence that we stay hidden, I’d taken the three of them out foragingfor food. Being reunited with my friends and unburdened of the secrets I’d kept from Luther had me in high spirits, and I jumped eagerly at the opportunity to show them a bit of the forest lifestyle I’d grown up in.

I first taught them how to scavenge for wild berries, avoiding poisonous white and yellow types in favor of blues and blacks, and how to test the juices against the skin to ensure they were safe to eat.

I showed them tricks to distinguish edible mushrooms from those that would leave you drooling and seeing fae—and talked Taran out of trying the latter “just for fun.”

They watched with shock as I nimbly scurried up trees to pluck eggs from unattended nests, then whittled a spear from a fallen branch and spiked a handful of trout from the nearby stream.

I taught them how to make basic medicines—a salve for burns, a tincture for clotting, and a boiled root that could be chewed to ease swelling or pain. Though we were all hale and in no need of healing, I had no idea what the months ahead would bring. If I could give them any extra advantage at surviving, I would take it.

By the time the sun set and we made our way back to the hollow, our arms were full with a hearty bounty.

“Is this really how you lived in Mortal City?” Taran asked. “Running around the woods stealing eggs and stabbing fish?”

“In a way,” I said. “Most mortals couldn’t afford to pay for the work we did as healers. Foraging helped us keep the healers’ center stocked, and hunting kept food on our dinner table. My father sold the extra meat and hides at the market so we could afford the Crown’s taxes.”

The three cousins exchanged uncomfortable looks. Those taxes had funded their privileged lives at the palace andpurchased the fancy blades and fine clothes they now wore on their bodies.

“I never enforced the penalties for unpaid taxes,” Luther murmured. “If a mortal couldn’t pay, I made sure the funds becameavailableto them in other ways.”

Taran and Alixe stared at him in surprise, evidently unaware of this part of his efforts.

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said, “but it does not relieve the extreme lengths many mortals were forced to go to avoid that risk altogether.”

Their faces looked so patently ashamed that I took pity on them and shrugged it off.

“It wasn’t just necessity. The forest wasfun.” I grinned at the wealth of memories that surfaced. “Teller and I would explore and imagine grand adventures of life outside Mortal City. It’s where I bonded with my father while hunting and began learning my trade from my mother. It’s where I had most of my... um...romanticactivities.”

Luther growled, and Taran cackled loudly and punched him in the arm.

I shot him a sympathetic smile. “I could spend a lifetime in the palace, and I think I’ll still always feel the mostmeout among the trees.”

Taran nudged my side. “I’m glad we got to see this side of you, even if we did nearly die in the process. When we get back to Lumnos, we’ll have to raze the royal lodge and build a campsite instead.”

“Don’t go that far.” My gaze caught Luther’s. “I have a fond memory or two at the lodge, as well.”

His eyes gleamed behind his stoic veneer. “Once we’re back in Lumnos, you could spend more time there, if you’d like. Many Crowns ruled from the lodge when they wished to be alone.”

“Oralmostalone,” Taran quipped, poking Luther with the end of my spear.

Luther grabbed a fish off its tip and whipped it toward Taran, who yelped as it slapped his cheek with a wetsmack, but the heated look Luther shot me said he wasn’t opposed to Taran’s suggestion.

“Cousins, please stop playing with our dinner,” Alixe scolded.

---