Page 90 of Heat of the Everflame

“I need to get home,” I said. “My family must be worried.”

“Ah, yes... a mortal brother, isn’t that right? And a mortal mother who is now sitting in a Fortos prison for having planned that attack.”

I swallowed again.

“I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding. My mother would never... that is, once I’m home in Lumnos, I can—”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Luther moved further in front of me. “You don’t give her orders. This may be your realm, but she is still a Queen.”

The King’s eyes narrowed. “A Queen who is wanted for questioning by the Crowns of Emarion. An edict has been issued for her capture until those questions have been answered.”

Oh, that wasbad.

My fiery corona flared in tandem with my apprehension. The King’s gaze snapped to me.

“I have questions of my own,” he said. “Beginning with how you’re wieldingmyflames.”

“She isn’t,” Luther answered. I looked at him in surprise. “One of your people is attacking her. She’s merely shielding herself in defense.”

The King cocked his head. “Oh? Is she shielding you, too?”

His hand whipped forward and launched a churning knot of flame at Luther’s chest. We both raised our palms in reflex, but only my shield appeared, shimmering in front of him a heartbeat before impact.

The King looked amused, his growing smile sending a prickle down the back of my neck.

“Luther, get behind me,” I warned.

He ignored my pleas, steeling his shoulders at the King. “You’re wasting your time, Ignios. You cannot defeat her. Your magic is a glimmer—hers is the sun.”

Normally Luther’s faith in me would send my heart careening, but the flameroot had only just begun to wear off. It could be hours, even days, before my magic grew to its full strength.

More concerningly, it wasn’tgrowingat all. Something was draining it at the source, shrinking it as quickly as it swelled. If this came down to a true firefight, I’d be extinguished in seconds. Even the quick burst of my shield had left me feeling unnervingly spent.

Perhaps the King saw the doubt on my face, because he advanced a few more steps and settled his gaze on me. “Come with me peacefully, and I’ll let your friend here live.”

I laid a hand on Luther’s back.

“Don’t even think about it,” he growled.

“He won’t kill me—I think,” I said quietly. “You can find me again with the compass. Come back with more soldiers.”

“There’s not enough time. I don’t...” His jaw ticked. “I’m not leaving you. Not until you’re safe.”

His fingers clenched around the hilt of his blade as he lifted it higher. “She’s not going anywhere,” he yelled across the beach. “And neither am I.”

“Very well.” Dark flames danced in the King’s orange-hued eyes. He waved a dismissive hand at his guards. “Take her. Kill him.”

My shouts of protest were lost in the arsenal that ensued. Spears, bolts, blades, balls—all of them forged in fire and tearing toward us without mercy. My shield flew up with a grunt of effort that pushed me back a step.

The attacks kept coming, round after round. Black curls of smoke wafted up as each volley dissolved, though fissures were already appearing in my glimmering dome.

“Harder,” the King demanded. “It’s seven of you against one half-breed. This should be done already.”

His guards intensified their efforts, their attacks turning shapeless and raw. Their aim moved up and down, left and right, a deadly dance of flame that forced me to build my shield wider, then taller, then thicker. Every change required more effort, more magic, that I simply didn’t have. The godhood thrashed inside me, desperate to escape the flameroot’s suffocating red haze.

I let out a cry as my chest began to hollow out. Luther pressed his forehead to my temple. “Dig deeper,” he said fiercely. “You’re more powerful than you know.”

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