Page 19 of Burn of the Everflame

Alixe frowned. “She didn’t come for the meeting?”

I studied her carefully. Alixe could be masterful at concealing information, but she was never prone to playing dumb. “Where exactly do you believe Diem has been?” I asked.

“The Crowns said she fled with the Guardians. When you two didn’t return to Lumnos, I assumed . . .” As her lips slowly pursed, I knew she’d read the truth on my face: the Crowns had lied. To her, and to all of Emarion.

My magic trembled with building wrath. The Crowns were working against Diem even now. If everyone believed she’d been hiding while her realms were under siege, Descended and mortal alike would think her a traitor. Even if she got free, who would follow such a negligent Queen?

“Where is Her Majesty now?” Alixe asked.

I started to tell her the truth, then stopped. Diem had commanded Alixe to serve my father until she returned, even if it required putting Diem in danger. For now, that made her my enemy.

And enemies did not get information for free.

“That’s a matter I’ll discuss with the Crowns,” I said.

“I see,” Alixe said tersely. She clasped her hands behind her back. “I’ll escort you to the palace.”

“No need. I know the way.”

7

LUTHER

I’d walked the road to the palace a thousand times, always with the small comfort of returning to the familiar. I hadn’t felt safe there in a very long time—not since I watched my father slay my mortal mother in the bedroom I’d hidden her away in—but at least it had always been home.

Today, it felt neither safe nor familiar. My home was miles away, trapped on an island in the middle of the sea.

I kept a step behind Auralie, lined up shoulder to shoulder with Cordellia and the other rebel leaders who had joined us from Montios, Meros, and Fortos. Though the Guardians had balked at my apparent promotion, Auralie had decided that my presence would make the Crowns think twice before attempting any kind of trick.

To emphasize that point, I let a ripple of light magic sparkle in a ring around our contingent, an outward sign to all who watched that these people were mine to protect.

And there were many, many watching.

The residents of Lumnos City had gathered along the roads to gawk at our dramatic arrival. A sparse contingent of guards had been posted, though I wasn’t sure which side of their line they were meant to be protecting.

The crowd was unusually quiet. Their twisted scowls and narrowed eyes spoke their displeasure, and it was directed primarily at me. No longer was I the perfect son of Lumnos, the unimpeachable Prince.

I kept my expression stony as ever, though inside I cringed at how my presence among the Guardians inadvertently bolstered the Crowns’ lies about Diem. I wondered if I’d made a mistake by not returning sooner.

Unlike at the docks, the military presence at the palace was significant. Soldiers lined the ivy-coated wall that surrounded the grounds with a second perimeter at the palace itself. Archers crouched on the roof and behind balustrades on every balcony. Including, to my irritation, Diem’s rooms.

Sorae wasn’t happy with it, either. She let out a piercing shriek as she swooped across the front facade.

“I suggest you tell your guards to leave the royal suite,” I yelled to Alixe, who rode ahead of us on horseback, “or their day is going to become a good deal hotter.”

“They’re Emarion Army soldiers,” she called back. “They are not mine to command.”

“You’re the High General of the Fortos Queen, are you not?”

She brought her horse to a sudden stop, then turned around to face me. “The rumors are true? Diem wears the Fortos Crown?”

Murmurs rippled through the soldiers. “Fortos does not have Queens,” a red-eyed man said, emerging from the throng. “Diem Corbois is an imposter.”

“Diem Bellator,” Auralie and I said in unison. We exchanged a look.

“Whatever her name is, we don’t recognize her Crown.” He sneered. “She’ll answer to the Kindred for her thievery. Until then, as Vice General, I’m the ranking officer of Fortos.”

Sorae unleashed a plume of sapphire flame across the palace. Shouts rose from the royal terrace, and two charred bodies tumbled over the railing and thumped to the ground.