Page 93 of Heat of the Everflame

Luther grunted and clutched at his leg. A dark red stain bloomed around the handle of a throwing knife jutting from his flesh.

“Stop!” I yelled at the King. “I’ll give myself up. Spare him and take me!”

“Don’t you dare,” Luther snarled. He staggered toward me and shoved me hard just as another blade tore through his arm.

I careened through the King’s flames, the disorienting cold-hot sensation flushing through me as I fell to the sand. When my vision steadied, the King’s gryvern had arched its neck toward me. It watched me, blinking slowly.

Something stirred in my chest. A forgotten intuition, a memory you know exists but can’t quite recall. In the depths of the creature’s dark golden eyes, there was... not a message, exactly. Almost an emotion, as if—

Lightning splintered down from the darkening clouds, followed by a booming crack of thunder. Rain began to patter as the storm made landfall.

The sound of Luther’s pained growls stole my attention. The King’s fiery wall blocked him from my view, but the trail of blood in the sand told me enough.

“Call the guards off,” I pleaded with the King. “Let him pass safely into Umbros, and I’ll answer your questions.”

The King calmly surveyed Luther from his spot high atop the gryvern. “He’s fighting very hard for you. I don’t think he’s going to let you go without a fight.”

“Don’t do this. I’ll surrender, I’ll do anyth—”

“And even if I did, what’s to stop him from returning to save you? He’ll bring more of his friends to cause trouble in my realm.”

“Please,please, I’m begging you—”

“As long as he lives, he’s going to be a thorn in my side.” He gave a drawn-out sigh that dripped with feigned sympathy. “This is better, in the end. A nice, quick death, so you and I can talk undisturbed.”

He raised a palm toward Luther. I launched off the sand, hurling myself through the fire and praying I wasn’t too late.

The flames blinded me for a moment—then Luther was there, his head turning toward me as I screamed his name.

He had no time to notice the Fortosian steel dagger spearing straight for his heart.

Chapter

Twenty-One

What happened next was a blur.

There was movement and shouting. Fire and metal. Pain, then blood.

More shouting. More blood.

So much blood.

I laid on my back in the sand, fat raindrops splattering across my face, and a warm sense of acceptance spread through me. I couldn’t help but smile.

What I’d done was reckless.

Irrational.

Irresponsible.

Desperate.

Possibly pointless.

And I didn’t regret it for a second.

“Diem,” Luther choked out at my side. His voice sounded hoarse. Pained. “What have you done?”

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