Page 55 of Heat of the Everflame

He gaped at me. “You’re defending him?Him?”

Ever the mediator, Alixe interjected. “Aemonn is still the acting High General of the Royal Guard. He didn’t follow through on his threat to send us away to the coast—”

“Yet,” Taran grumbled.

“—and he gave us leave to come here. He hasn’t helped us, but he hasn’t gotten in our way, either.”

My frown deepened. I still didn’t know what to think of Aemonn. Though he’d been an ally to me at times, he was a man of many faces, each of them calculated for his personal benefit. Every interaction with him felt dangerous—and not in the fun way.

“I tried to convince my father to restore my titles,” Luther growled. “He said I was toodistractedsearching for you to handle anything else.”

Alixe and Taran’s shared look suggested they didn’t entirely disagree.

“So Aemonn is still Keeper of the Laws?” I locked eyes with Luther, my expression loaded. He nodded and said nothing more.

I let out a long sigh, scrubbing at my face. “And my brother—does he know about our mother?”

“He knows she’s alive,” Luther answered.

My brows rose. “Does he know anything else?”

“He knows she was arrested on Coeurîle and is in prison in Fortos.” His face turned solemn. “Nothing more.”

“Is there more to know?” Taran asked, glancing between us.

Neither of us answered.

“How did he take the news?” I asked.

Luther hesitated. Before he could respond, I saw the truth of it in his eyes—the pain he felt on my brother’s behalf.

When I had withheld the truth from Teller about our mother’s disappearance, this was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid—giving him hope she would return home safely, only to lose her all over again.

I buried my head in my hands. “First Mother, then Father, then me, now Mother again. He must be worried sick.”

Luther moved to sit beside me, then took my hand and folded it into his. “I told him I’d seen you when I came with Sorae. I said you looked healthy and in good spirits. It was a lie, but I hoped it would calm his worries.”

“I don’t think he believed you,” Taran mumbled.

Alixe smacked Taran’s arm.

“What?” he protested, glaring at her. She shot him a pointed look, and he rolled his eyes. “You saw Luther when he got back.That wasn’t a man who just saw the woman he loves ‘healthy and in good spirits.’ We all knew she was in big trouble.”

Luther’s fingers tightened around mine.

“Stop talking,” he snapped.

“Not helping, Taran,” Alixe mouthed.

Taran ignored them both and looked at me. “Teller’s a strong kid, Queenie. He’s made out of the same stock you are. He’ll get through this.”

Surprisingly, Taran’s words did ease my spirit. He was right—Teller was strong. He’d been the one to pull me from my dark grief and remind me tofightafter our father’s death. And, with Lily at his side and our newfound Corbois friends surrounding him in support, he wasn’t alone. I knew firsthand what a difference that could make.

“We’ll send a messenger hawk from Arboros City to let him know you’re safe,” Luther offered. His pale eyes almost seemed to glow from within as he watched me in his quiet, steady way.

I gazed up at him, Taran’s words still ringing in my ears.

The woman he loves.

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