Page 67 of Burn of the Everflame

My mother beamed. “Luther, thank the Undying Fire, she’s finally home.”

He glanced between us, eyes lingering on me. “Everything alright?”

“The Ignios King told us he killed you,” my mother cut in. “That lying bastard.”

“He probably thought it was true,” I admitted. “He stabbed me in the heart. I’m still not sure how I survived it.”

Both of their eyes dropped to my chest, narrowing with curiosity. I shrank at the attention, feeling suddenly exposed.

My mother’s focus abruptly shifted to Luther. “What happened with Ophiucae?”

They launched into conversation, Luther recounting what happened, my mother grilling him for every detail. They spoke so freely, trading words with an ease entirely lacking the cold distrust they’d shared last time we’d been together. There was an undercurrent of hierarchy, with my mother curiously holding the upper hand, but they were comfortable.

Not like friends. More like family.

Luther’s hand found the small of my back as he talked. I wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch, but my mother’s shrewd, all-seeing eyes had left me rattled. I wrapped my hands around myself and pulled away. Luther looked down at me, frowning.

My mother glanced over my shoulder. “Why are the townsfolk here?”

“The Crowns imprisoned them during our meeting,” Luther said crossly.

Our meeting?

She sighed. “I better speak with them now before they all go join Ophiucae out of spite. Would you get my daughter some food?” She started to walk away. “Something hearty.” She called back over her shoulder. “No chocolate!”

Luther turned to me, and I to him. The foot of distance between us felt as awkward as the silence.

“Would you like some food?” he asked.

I shook my head. I was hungry, but I’d been hungry for weeks. It had long ago lost its urgency.

He smirked. “Would you like some chocolate?”

“Maybe later.”

He scoured my face, but unlike my mother, I had the sense he was looking for the changes that weren’t so visible on the surface.

I gripped myself tighter. “Luther . . . where were you?”

The question came out too much like an accusation. Luther’s features twitched with the faintest flinch.

“I took your brother to the Guardians in Montios. I thought you’d want him to be with your mother.” He paused, still searching my face. “I decided to stay there, too. I didn’t want to leave them, with Ophiucae so nearby.”

“The Guardians let you in?”

“Your mother told them she’d initiated me into the Lumnos cell. She claimed I’d been working for her in secret for years.”

It wasn’t that far off from the truth, but it shocked me. When I’d asked her to speak in his favor to the prisoners in Fortos, she could barely manage a word. Now she was lying on his behalf?

“At least she’s using her deception for something good,” I said, a little bitterly.

He hesitated. “Auralie knows she’s made mistakes. She’s trying to make up for them.”

I stared at him. He was defending her? What in the glaciers of hell had happened while I was gone?

“We moved the Montios Guardians to Arboros, and Auralie put out a call to all rebels to join us,” he said. “We were certain the Crowns were going to realize they needed you and let you go. I wanted to have an army ready for you when they did.”

“And the Guardians were willing to be that army?”