Page 18 of Burn of the Everflame

Guilt nipped at me for the shame in his voice. When Diem and I discovered Teller in Sophos, I had admittedly been angry, knowing his departure would break my sister’s heart. But I also knew my father had exploited Teller to further his own goals.

“Do you love her?” I asked.

“I thought I did.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I know what you did at the Challenging—pretending you wanted to Challenge Diem so you could throw the fight and make sure she lived. You loved her so much, you were ready to die for her. You would never walk away from her.”

“I almost did. Before the Challenging, I nearly agreed to a marriage I didn’t want in order to win House Hanoverre’s support for Diem. I would have been miserable, and Diem would have been furious, but I would have done it, if that’s what it took to protect her.” I dipped my chin. “Answer the question, Teller. Do you love my sister?”

Finally, he met my stare. “Yes, I do.”

“You would do anything to protect her?”

He nodded. “I would.”

“And you would never hurt her, unless it was the only way to keep her safe?”

Pain swept his features. “Only then.”

I clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Then you deserve her. And you have my blessing.”

He swallowed. “Do you think she’ll take me back?”

“I’ll be disappointed in her if she does—” His face fell. “—without making you earn it first.” My lip curled up slightly, the first glimmer of anything good I’d felt since Diem left my grasp. “You’ve lost Lily’s trust . . . so win it back. Show her that you choose her, and mean it. Then pray to the gods that she chooses you, too.”

Sorae howled in warning, and both our heads swiveled downward. Our fleet’s lead ship had arrived at the Lumnos port, and a long row of armed Descended had just emerged from the forest. Many wore the dark navy uniform of the Lumnos Royal Guard, while others wore the multicolored tunics of the Emarion Army.

Though the line stretched down the coast, I was surprised there weren’t more. With the Crowns gathered in Lumnos, I’d expected to be greeted by a militia fifty heads deep. Perhaps it was a show of good faith by the Crowns.

Or perhaps things were worse than we thought.

“Land, Sorae,” I ordered. Her wings tipped, and we began to descend. She seemed to read my plans right from my mind as she shot for the soldiers clustered by the pier, sending them scrambling aside as her talons slammed to the ground—and, more importantly, blocking their way to the mortals.

“Stay here,” I ordered. “If they attack, show them what dragonfyre can do.” Sorae rumbled her agreement as Teller and I dismounted.

The moment my feet touched Lumnos soil, my magic unleashed. Ropes of light and shadow twined around my fists and slithered over my chest, while a dome of shimmering blue rose at my back to shield the mortals. Soldiers went tumbling backward as my aura pulsed in an arc of pure, ferocious might.

My gaze swept across the line of Descended, many of whom I recognized, some I even called cousins. Their faces wore fear and judgment. My alignment with the Guardians had made me a traitor in their eyes.

“Are we going to have problems?” I asked in a low, heady growl.

“No, we will not,” a voice called from the forest. The ranks split to allow a woman to stride forward. She tucked her sharp-cut, dark blue hair behind her ear, the piercings across her face glittering in the sunlight as brightly as the heavy regalia draped across her chest.

“Your Highness,” she said tightly.

“High General,” I muttered back.

The last time I’d seen Alixe, she’d had Sorae in chains. The last time she’d seen me, I’d put a sword through her gut. Though we’d both been playing the parts Diem had asked us to play, the blood we’d drawn had been very real.

Sorae hadn’t forgotten, either. She arched her neck toward Alixe, a blue glow churning at her fangs.

Alixe eyed us both. “Welcome home. We have rooms prepared at the palace for the rebels. Though . . .” Her focus shifted to the fleet behind me. “We weren’t expecting quite so many.”

“We won’t be staying at the palace. We’ll prepare our own camp on the royal grounds.”

Alixe bristled. She took a few steps closer, though a hiss from Sorae stopped her short. She lowered her voice. “Where is Her Majesty? It’s vital I speak with her.”

My brows drew in. Alixe looked again at the arriving ships, her eyes squinting in search.

“The Queen is not here,” I said.