Page 209 of Burn of the Everflame

My soul retreated even further into the cold abyss.

“Quite violent, these mortals. I underestimated them all those years ago.” He swung Sorrow’s Edge upright and set the blade against his shoulder. “A mistake I won’t make again.”

“What are you planning?” I demanded. “Why haven’t you been at any of the battles?”

He let out a low chuckle. “You’ll see.”

He stopped walking and looked up. The vision grew to reveal a familiar building looming large—the Sophos library where Luther and I spent time alone. Though the building beside it was engulfed in fire, the library had remained miraculously untouched.

“You’re quite fond of this place, are you not?”

I hesitated. If I admitted the truth, he might destroy it to punish me for rising against him. If I lied, he might set it ablaze for my deceit.

“It belongs to the mortals,” I said. “It was taken from them. They deserve to have it back.”

“Are you sure? Before I intervened, these mortals were trying to burn it down.” He let out another dark laugh at my surprised silence. “You know, being a Crown is like being a parent. Sometimes, you must let the little ones make their own mistakes. Much as it hurts you to see, you must give them the chance to learn from consequences. And if you come to realize they still cannot be trusted . . . if you truly care for them, you must save them from themselves.”

My chest burned hot, and the world around us wobbled and blurred. The library faded into muddy shadows as something inside me pulled taut.

“Your mate is looking for you.” He turned back to the library. “I think I might stay in my brother’s realm for a while. Perhaps read a few books.” He ran a finger along the heartstone embedded in Sorrow’s Edge. “There is so much to learn.”

He strode toward the library doors, but when I tried to follow, a tether reeled me back—and back, and back, and back—as my consciousness dragged back toward my body. Distantly, I heard someone call my name.

“See you soon, Daughter of the Forgotten.”

Something seized me by the arm, and Ophiucae vanished. The flames of Sophos smoldered back into the leafy, wooded moonlight of Lumnos.

“Diem?” a voice called out.

One hand flew to my chest, where my mating mark felt like it had been set on fire. “Luther?” I murmured groggily.

“Diem!” the voice said, louder.

My mind cleared, and I jerked upright. Someone was crouched at my side, holding a knife—and they definitely weren’t Luther.

I lifted a hand to cast a shield, but my magic reserves were as dry as the Ignios deserts. On instinct, I reached for my sword, though my scabbard was still empty.

“Diem,” the woman said again. She followed my stare to her knife, and she blanched and hid it behind her back. “I mean, um—Your Majesty. Are you alright?”

I awkwardly scooted away. I recognized her as one of Enness and Runa’s group, a Faunos Descended I’d freed from prison. She’d always kept to herself, never joining in festivities or training. She never joined any of the battles, either. I wondered—a little too late—why she’d come to Lumnos at all.

“I was on my way to the stream to bathe,” she said.

“In the dead of night?” I asked skeptically.

Her eyes dropped low. “I don’t like bathing during the day. Sometimes the guards get too close so they can watch.”

My suspicion was obliterated by a scowl. I would have to tell Alixe to find the offending guards and threaten to pluck their eyes out with a dirty branch.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, climbing to my feet. “Thank you for checking on me.”

I felt the Meros compass click and whirr against my leg. I’d used the kiss to distract Luther so I could steal it, hoping to keep him from chasing me down. From the panicked fury simmering over the bond, he must have just realized what I’d done.

“You have a mate,” the woman said, her eyes growing wide.

“What? No, I—” I followed her stare to the glowing mating mark left on display by my half-unfastened leathers.

Fuck.