Page 261 of Burn of the Everflame

Taran pointed a quivering finger at Aemonn. “Once wasn’t enough?”

Aemonn rubbed his jaw. “If you were smarter, you would thank me.”

Taran jabbed both palms out, and a throng of shadowy spears flew for his brother. Alixe managed to conjure a burst of light in time to burn them away, but one slipped through, slicing across Aemonn’s cheek and drawing a line of blood.

“What would I thank you for, trying to ruin my life?” Taran shouted. “You tried to bribe the man I love not to mate me—again!”

Gasps rippled through the crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion. Alixe’s eyes cut to me and widened. I gave a dark nod of confirmation.

After Taran’s failed first betrothal, I’d tried to keep it quiet to spare him the embarrassment, but when Baird and his House left without explanation and Taran fell into a destructive, drunken spiral, everyone guessed he’d been rejected. The real truth of why—that Aemonn had paid Baird a hefty fortune to walk away—had been known only to a tiny few.

Until today.

Scornful stares fell on Aemonn. Though betrayal was a time-honored Descended tradition, a mate bond was sacred, and loyalty to one’s House was valued above all. Interfering with both made Aemonn virtually heretic.

The crowd parted with hurried curtseys and bows as Diem walked forward. Eleanor rushed to her side to explain what had happened, and I braced for her reaction—Diem was at her most unpredictable when her family was at risk.

But Diem barely seemed to hear her. Her face was bloodless, her stare fixed on the horizon.

“You slimy, heartless prick,” Taran yelled. “Every time I find something that makes me happy, you come and ruin it.”

Aemonn sneered. “He turned down the offer. Isn’t that what you want?”

Taran rushed toward him, and Alixe and I jumped forward to block his path. “What I want is to forget you exist,” he shouted over our shoulders.

“You’ve been doing that since the day Luther made you his little pet. And what a good lapdog you are. Look at you right now, sitting because he told you to sit.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Does he take you outside and tell you when to piss, too?”

Angry magic sprang to my palms, my godhood itching to shut him up. “That’s enough, Aemonn,” I warned.

“What did I ever do to you?” Taran asked him, voice trembling. “Why are you trying to hurt me?”

Aemonn stormed toward his brother. “I’m trying to save you.”

“From what . . . love?” Taran shoved Aemonn’s chest, sending him staggering. “No thanks.”

“From having your heart broken, you thick-headed idiot.” Aemonn shoved Taran back with pathetic effect, an ant pushing a tree. “Zalaric doesn’t love you, he’s using you.”

Zalaric adjusted a fold in the elegant swaths of white silk draped over his slim frame, secured by two golden clasps—one a phoenix, the other a jaguar. He didn’t say a word, looking almost bored by the accusation.

Taran shook his head. “You don’t know him.”

“For once, Taran, use your brain. The second he got here, he started filling his pockets with our family’s money. He won’t do anything unless someone pays him. I’ve heard him admit he only wants friends who have gold and connections. You think he would have anything to do with you if you had a different last name?”

Zalaric scoffed. “I have no interest in being a Corbois.”

“No,” Aemonn agreed. “You want to be a Bellator. That’s what you said at the council meeting, isn’t it? You only agreed to be Taran’s mate once he was family to the Crown.”

I looked at Diem, whose dazed stare now rested on her sword. Though there was no sign of danger, an irrational unease began to rise, an overwhelming feeling that if I didn’t grab my Queen and hold her tight, I might lose her again—for good.

My efforts to convince myself she was safe were harder than usual to believe when I couldn’t feel her aura. Though Taran and I had regained our magic within days of taking the flameroot, Diem’s was still completely suppressed.

“I know exactly who you are, Zalaric Hanoverre,” Aemonn said. “I’ve dealt with people like you my whole life. You’ll use us for your own gain, then when we need you, you’ll disappear.”

“If I didn’t love your brother, why would I agree to mate him?” Zalaric asked. “The magic would reveal my lie.”

“Maybe you think you do. Baird did. He said no to my offer at first, too. Then he came back. Said he’d do it if I offered him more.” Aemonn’s eyes narrowed. “You said the same thing.”

“I said I would never⁠—”