Page 91 of Burn of the Everflame

I let go of Luther and walked for the door. Though the mob parted to make way for me to leave, the onslaught of magic followed me all the way out.

With Perthe’s memory on my mind, I wished I could feel every blow.

24

LUTHER

Islumped forward, glaring at the meeting room door—Shut. Locked.—and seethed at the knowledge that my Queen was on one side, and I was trapped on the other.

After the infuriating meeting with the Twenty Houses, we’d spent the afternoon in Lumnos City. Diem had been incredible, as she always was, using her Montios magic to stabilize damaged stone buildings and her Arboros magic to grow food to restock smoke-ruined kitchens.

My blood boiled at the snobbery that met her efforts. Diem’s magic, though strong, was novice. The elite Houses were accustomed to artfully carved marble and long tables laden with steaming delicacies. They were neither impressed nor grateful for her rudimentary rock walls and raw potatoes.

Equally irritating was the delight they took in their peers’ misfortune. In Mortal City, I’d witnessed countless examples of people sacrificing what little they had to help those who had even less, but here in the heart of the realm’s wealth, the only thing being shared was gleeful speculation whether any of the top families had lost enough to open up a spot among the Twenty Houses.

I was grateful for Eleanor. She used the visit to show Diem off to the clandestine Embers she’d recruited, which gave them a chance to compare the rumors they’d heard to the truth of the woman she was. Tucked among the upturned noses, I caught more than a few looks of surprised admiration.

As nightfall arrived, Diem offered to move those without shelter to the palace. Her evening was spent delivering hot meals to their rooms and nodding silently while they vacillated between pelting her with complaints and wheedling for a seat on her new council.

Just when I was about to steal her away for a quiet dinner alone, the Ignios contingent cornered her and demanded a meeting. I was eager to join, but Diem sent me to check on her mother and brother. When I returned, I found the door locked.

“There he is,” Taran’s voice carried down the hall. “Told you if we found her, we’d find him.”

Zalaric’s eyes rolled as he and Taran sauntered toward me. “Funny, I remember suggesting we look here first, and you insisted we search the whiskey casks instead.”

Taran’s grin wavered. “I just wanted to celebrate Queenie and Lu’s return with my first drink in a month.”

His eyes darted nervously to mine, searching for my reaction. For a long time, I had been more father than friend to Taran, urging him to abandon his self-destructive vices, and for a while, he did. Then his brother did something unforgivable. After that, even I couldn’t stop Taran’s dark descent into barfights and drinking.

To my deep relief, it seemed he was finally finding his way back to the light—and I was certain I knew the reason why.

My stare slid to Zalaric. “A month of no drinking? How did you manage to talk him into that?”

“Please,” he said tartly, “I cannot be blamed for every wild idea this walking tornado comes up with.” He examined his nails. “That decision was all his.” Though he feigned boredom, his mouth lifted in the smallest, almost unnoticeable smile.

The door threw open with a crack. A red-faced man went flying across the corridor, pinned to the opposite wall by a net of hissing shadows.

“How dare you,” he roared. “I will not be sent to my chambers like a child!”

“Then you will be sent to my dungeon like a prisoner,” Diem’s voice floated out. “Your choice.”

The orange-eyed woman I recognized as the Ignios High General, Nidara, approached the doorway. “You are no longer Regent. Accept it and return home.”

“Tonight,” Alixe added as she slid past Nidara.

I frowned. Alixe had been asked to join Diem’s meeting, and I had not?

Alixe ran her hands over the pinned man, pulling out weapons hidden beneath his robes while he sputtered out protests. When her arms were full of blades, she turned to Taran and dumped them in his hands.

“There’s another in his headscarf,” Nidara said. “A small one in the back.”

Alixe fished out a thin blade behind the man’s head. “I’ll take him from here, Your Majesty.”

The man glared at Nidara. “Why am I being sent off and she isn’t?”

Diem appeared at the door. “Because she was honest with me, and you were not.” She tapped a finger to her temple. “Never lie to someone who can read minds.”

Alixe gave me a quick, awkward glance before hauling the man down the corridor. I turned to Diem and pressed my palm to my chest. “My Queen, your family is safe. Your mother is at camp, and your brother has decided to remain here, in his chambers.”