Page 133 of Burn of the Everflame

“ . . . end this,” I finished. “If I don’t come back⁠—”

“You will. Powerful Descended like him always rely too much on their magic. Rarely are they as skilled with their sword as you. Once you face him, I’d bet all my coin he doesn’t walk out of it alive.”

My heart heavied, but I forced a smile. “I know serving me hasn’t been easy for you. I see the strain it put between you and the others. I’m grateful for your loyalty. And your friendship.”

“The honor is mine. Don’t worry about the others. To be honest, other than Luther, I was never close to anyone in my family. There are certain things expected of female royals and, I’m . . . well, I’m something else.” She shrugged. “I don’t mind it. All the people I admire were different, too. No one becomes a legend by fitting in.”

Something in me healed a little, hearing those words from her, someone I admired. Being different could be a lonely road to walk. It was nice to be reminded that path could lead to exceptional places.

“There’s something I need to share with you, as well,” she said. “Teller has asked to join the Royal Guard. He said he wants to do something useful.”

I frantically shook my head. “Then he can be my advisor, or—or my historian. He can run the palace library.”

“You wish me to reject him, then?” She hesitated, then added, “I watched him spar with the other applicants. He’s a good fighter. And we all know he’s very clever. He could have an impressive career.”

“Teller doesn’t want a career in the army. We discussed it countless times.”

“War makes us all do things we never wanted to do.”

I could not argue with that.

“And the Royal Guard is not the army,” she went on. “He will stay at home in Lumnos, protecting the people he cares for. After all he’s been through, perhaps that’s what he needs.”

I tried to push reason past my panic. Teller was unhappier than ever. He’d missed too many weeks to return to school, and he had little to do but mope. He needed a challenge to pour himself into. “I know you’re right, Alixe. But if anything happened to him . . .”

“If he’s anything like his sister, I’m more worried for anyone who crosses him.”

Tybold let out a sudden hiss, his eyes on the Ring Road to the south. Someone was coming, but I still couldn’t feel any sign of Ophiucae’s aura. If he’d somehow discovered how to hide it . . .

I frowned. “Get everyone ready.”

Alixe ran through the streets, giving orders to the soldiers we’d hidden in the damaged buildings. The plan was to lure the enemy into the heart of Fortos City, where our soldiers would surround them and, hopefully, convince them to surrender. The Guardians had been stationed by the prison in the hopes that Vance and his men would not be willing to kill mortals to get inside.

Luther jogged to my side, his expression visibly darkening at how I tensed in his presence. “Do you feel him?”

“No. You?”

He shook his head.

I turned away. “I’m joining the first battalion. Stay here.”

“Like hell,” he muttered, following behind me.

“That was an order, Luther.”

“Then arrest me. Put me in chains.” His hand grazed my back. “I quite liked it the last time you tied me up.”

The mating bond purred at his touch, further prickling my temper. He kept close as we walked toward the Ring Road. The Fortos landscape was flat grey rock as far as the eye could see, the perfect natural defense against an ambush. Sure enough, the moment I passed the front lines, I saw a distant horde approaching from the south.

“Not as many as I expected,” Luther said.

Lonard, the mortal I’d elevated to commander, nodded. “A fraction of what they brought to Lumnos. Odd, considering how fortified this city is.”

“Didn’t they arrive by boat in the other attacks?” I asked. “The sea is to the east.”

“Maybe they hit Faunos first,” Lonard said.

Apprehensive energy tingled through my blood as we watched them approach. I’d spent the morning eager to confront my sire, but now, I wasn’t so sure. My fingers curled around the hilt of Sorrow’s Edge. Is this how his mother had felt, in those moments before she cursed him—a glass heart balancing on a wire, gazing at the rocky ground below and fearing the only way down was to shatter?