Heat of the Everflame (The Kindred’s Curse Saga #3)

Chapter 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

I walked to his side and pressed forward until I felt my palms hit a solid wall. Rings of pale blue light radiated out from my palm.

“It is a shield,” I said, recognizing the telltale shimmer. “I think there’s an illusion over it to hide it, like one of Alixe’s.”

“Clever. They didn’t want us knowing they’d trapped us inside.” He looked at me. “Can you get through it?”

“My magic is still weak. I’m not sure I have enough to destroy a shield.”

“Not destroy it—push through it. Every time a Descended has used their magic against you, it hasn’t hurt you. In fact, I think it made you stronger . That’s why you had me attack you in Ignios, isn’t it—to give you more strength to heal your wound?”

I nodded. “Is that normal?”

He cocked his head. “ Nothing about your magic is normal.”

I frowned at the invisible wall. I pressed down as hard as I could, feeling only a slight give beneath my hand. I reared back and pushed off my heels, launching my shoulder forward, then bounced off with a cry as pain shot from the half-healed wound on my chest.

Luther caught me as I stumbled back. “You’re trying too hard. Those other times, you weren’t fighting the magic, you just absorbed it. Almost like it was a reflex.”

I rubbed at my sore arm and stared forward for a moment, then closed my eyes. I lured my magic out until I felt my aura brush against the shield. It was as strong as iron and delicately woven to blend seamlessly into the room. It thrummed with a slightly older energy than what I’d felt from the little girl, but not the kind of ancient power I’d felt in older Descended, either. Whoever built this had been strong, well-trained, and likely in their prime—the Jaguar himself, if I had to guess.

I gave myself over to my godhood. My magic sprang to life, curling over my skin and coating it in that tingling, contradictory frozen heat. I took one step, then another. The sensation increased, coursing through my veins and injecting me with a boost of raw energy.

A gasp broke from my lips.

“Diem? Are you alright?”

I couldn’t answer. My magic had control now, and it was too busy savoring the power, gulping it down like a fine wine. My wound itched as the healing quickened and mended my skin. As my magic surged, voices rose to a murmur in my head—not the voice of my godhood but a melee of words, thoughts, and feelings I couldn’t parse, all of them unfamiliar except one.

“Diem, talk to me.”

My limbs were frozen, my body captive to my godhood and its ravenous demands to soak up every last drop of the shield’s magic, then follow its trail back to the owner and bleed them dry, too.

Panic warred against curiosity. Could I do that? Could I steal magic right from within its bearer—and what would happen to them if I did?

“Diem, please —come back to me.”

I latched on to the sound of Luther’s voice. I let it anchor me, guide me, remind me who I was and what I could do. I thrashed against my own magic, and it exploded in a sudden burst, shattering the shield into a fine, iridescent dust.

Instantly, Luther’s arms were on me, turning me, searching me, holding me close. He clutched my face and tilted it up, and my eyes fluttered open. The room was awash in a silvery glow. It took a moment to realize the light was coming from me—from my illuminated, moonlike skin.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded.

I shook my head, a bit dazed. The magic I’d absorbed left me feeling intoxicated with power—part euphoric, part spinning wildly out of control.

“That shield,” I breathed. “He’s even stronger than I thought.”

“You think it was the Jaguar?”

“It wasn’t the little girl. How many powerful Lumnos Descended can there be in one inn?”

Luther kept me nestled against him as he reached for the door, but the latch wouldn’t give. He swore. “I’ll have to break it open.”

I laid a hand on his arm. “Wait—what if there’s a good reason he put us here? Maybe he plans to come to us.”

His dark eyebrows knit inward. “Or maybe he plans to turn us in to the Umbros Queen.”

“You worked with him before. You trusted him then. Why would he turn on you now?”

“The Jaguar didn’t help me out of kindness. There was always a fee—a large one. If he believes he can sell us out to the Queen for a reward, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a terrible outcome.” Luther balked, and I chewed on my lip, avoiding his eyes. “I think the Umbros Queen knows something about me. When I met her in Lumnos, she knew about the flameroot.”

“Your mother visited Umbros many times. One of the Centenaries must have read her mind and reported back to the Queen.”

“But she knew things even my mother couldn’t know. She called me ‘ Daughter of the Forgotten .’ And at my coronation, before the Guardians attacked, something went wrong with the ritual. My blood... there was a stone, and it broke, and she... she knew , somehow, she...” I saw his confused stare and huffed, scrubbing my face. “I don’t understand it, either. But you told me to trust my instincts, and they’re telling me to talk to her. Maybe we should delay going back to Lumnos and—”

“No.”

“I know you want to get back home, but if what she knows could help us, wouldn’t it be worth—”

“ No .” The word came out of him like a snarl, so forceful it pushed me back a step. “The Crowns want you arrested. Even if the Queen doesn’t execute you for coming to her realm uninvited, she could turn you over to them. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not afraid of her—or the Crowns,” I insisted, not entirely honestly. “In a few days, my magic will be back to full strength. We can wait here until then.”

“You need to return to Lumnos.”

“I’ve been gone for weeks. What difference does it make to stay a few more days?”

“It makes all the difference! ” he shouted, his voice echoing through the dark corners of the room. He seemed to grow in size as his muscles coiled with furious restraint, his features as sharp as the blade at his waist. “Your brother is worried sick—do you not care to see him? Do you not care what could be happening to the mortals under my father’s rule? Or the half-mortal children Aemonn could be slaughtering every day you’re gone?”

I flinched, my shoulders curling inward. Hurt pressed down on my chest and forced the air from my lungs. “Of course I do,” I whispered. “How can you ask me that?”

He lumbered over to a nearby armchair and hunched over it, knuckles white where he gripped its high back. His dark hair fell around his face, concealing his expression.

“I don’t—” He stopped himself to take a labored breath. “We don’t have enough time.”

“Until what?”

He didn’t answer.

“Enough time until what , Luther?”

He raised his chin to look at me, his expression stricken. Everything about him—his slumped stance, his weary voice, his dull, lightless eyes—seemed utterly defeated.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

A frosty sense of dread skittered up my spine.

On the other side of the room, a muffled scratching interrupted the silence. A cloud of dust took flight as one of the bookshelves rattled, then swung out with a wobbly creak.

“What in Kindred’s name did you just do?” an angry voice called out.

The man from the front desk emerged into the room, glaring, arms crossed. His draped silks floated ethereally, unmoored by gravity, and I realized they weren’t fabric at all, but a gown of living shadow.

Luther’s demeanor changed instantly. He straightened and steeled his shoulders into a defensive stance, hands gripped on his weapons. The stony mask of the Prince fell into place and erased all trace of the agony pouring out of him moments ago. He stalked to position himself in front of me, looking fearsome and unstoppable.

“You trapped us in,” he barked.

“You destroyed my shield,” the man snapped back. “And you stole my magic.”

“Stole your magic?” I asked.

The man’s eyes moved to me and narrowed. Luther shifted to block me from his sight. “So you’re the Jaguar.”

“And you’re the Phoenix. Or should I call you the Prince?”

“The point of the codenames was to keep our identities concealed.”

The man gave him a strange look. “Did you think I would forget you?” Luther tensed, and the man’s eyebrows lifted. “I see. It’s you who forgot me.”

My curiosity lured me out from behind Luther as the man pushed the bookshelf until it clicked back into place, its grooves disappearing behind strategically placed moulding.

“Forgive my delay.” The man stopped to fluff the bouquet of flowers on the table before perching on the side of a settee, arm draped across its back. “After you so loudly demanded to see the Jaguar, I couldn’t risk anyone seeing me come to you.”

Luther didn’t move. “Have we met?”

“A long time ago. I can’t blame you for forgetting. We were both much younger then.” He pulled off the gold collar from his neck, revealing a cruel scar encircling his throat. “Perhaps you’ll remember this.”

“Blessed Kindred...” Luther dropped his grip on his blades. “You survived.”

The man nodded. “Thanks to you.”

“I asked what became of you, but I never got a straight answer. I thought you’d died and Margie was keeping it from me to spare me the guilt.”

“You should have known better. Miss Margie was never one to spare anyone’s feelings.” The man’s smile was fond, yet tinged with sadness. “She found homes for the others, but I was too old and too wounded, so she raised me herself.”

“So that’s why you took over after she died,” Luther mused. “I’m sorry for your loss. Margie was an incredible woman.”

The man’s lips tightened. A buried hurt surfaced for the briefest moment before he shrugged and gave a graceful flick of his hand. “As she always said, no sense weeping over the past. She’s gone, and I’m in charge now.”

He rose and strode lithely toward us, one hand extended. “Zalaric Hanoverre. Pleasure to meet you again.”

Luther gripped his hand, brows rising. “You use your sire’s name?”

His eyes gleamed with defiance. “Is that not my birthright?”

“If House Hanoverre discovers that you survived and are living in Umbros—”

“Then it could put you in danger?”

“It could put you in danger. The Hanoverres are ruthless when it comes to their bloodline.”

“I’m aware,” Zalaric said dryly, tapping his scar. “Don’t worry, I’m careful about revealing my name to protect us both. But if my darling family does find me...” He gave a bitter smile and conjured a ring of sizzling sparks. “I’ve got my own score to settle with House Hanoverre.”

That makes two of us , I thought to myself with a smirk. I like him already .

His face whipped to me. “And you are...?”

“None of your concern,” Luther clipped, stepping back in front of me. “And she was just about to retire for a rest.” He turned to face me with a pointed, urgent look. “Weren’t you, cousin? ”

I shot him a glare, my temper prickling at being shoved to the side.

Luther’s nostrils flared. He leaned in, whispering, “We can’t risk him getting a good look at you—at least not until after he’s booked our passage home.”

Though I wasn’t ready to let go of my unexplainable urge to seek out the Umbros Queen, even I was not reckless enough to have that argument here and now. I scowled, pulled my hood back up, and skulked off to one of the side chambers, feeling both their gazes burn into my back as I left.

Once inside, I pulled the door until it was barely ajar. I curled up on the floor, then pressed my face into the narrow opening to watch.

“You don’t trust me,” Zalaric observed, sounding amused.

“You locked me in, then trapped me with your shield. Are those the acts of a trustworthy man?”

“Letting you wander all over Umbros asking for the Jaguar would only bring trouble on us both. Besides, I felt your aura. I knew you could defeat my shield, if you truly needed to leave.” He gave Luther a slow once-over. “How did you do it, anyway?”

“Pierce your shield? Surely you know how that’s done.”

“It was more than that. You were draining my magic right out of me. Here in Umbros, we’ve got every type of magic that exists in Emarion—but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Luther played the lie well, crossing his arms and feigning a smug pride.

“Could you teach me?” Zalaric asked.

“No.”

“I would pay you. Handsomely.”

“No.”

“Name your price.”

“I have plenty of money. I don’t need yours.”

“How fortunate,” Zalaric drawled. His tone dripped with a specific flavor of anger I knew intimately: the bitter injustice of a person who’d grown up scrabbling for every last coin, faced with the casual indifference of someone who couldn’t fathom having a last coin at all.

As a mortal, everything had its price. Love and life, freedom and family. It could all be bought, for those who could pay, or withheld, for those who couldn’t. No mortal was so rich that they weren’t for sale. We’d sell our own souls for the right price—and many did.

I wondered vaguely if Zalaric’s life here in Umbros had not been so different from the mortals in Lumnos, eking out a meager living as second-class citizens under the thumb of the Queen and her Centenaries.

He settled onto the settee, his demeanor markedly cooler. “So what brings the Prince of Lumnos from his shiny castle all the way to the dark markets? And does it have anything to do with this mysterious new Queen everyone’s abuzz about?”

Luther stiffened. “What have you heard about her?”

“Mostly rumors too outlandish to believe. ‘ She’s a mortal, she’s a long-lost royal, she has no magic, she’s more powerful than a god, she’s in hiding, she’s starting a war. ’ Every day it’s something different.” He arched a single brow. “Care to confirm or deny?”

Luther sank into an armchair. His cloak fell open, revealing a sweater scattered with puncture wounds and bloodstains. He covered it quickly, but Zalaric’s shrewd eyes took silent note.

“I can tell you this—she is a friend to the half-mortals,” Luther said. “She would welcome you home, if you wished to return.”

“I have a life here. A successful business, plenty of friends. I pay my taxes, and the Umbros Queen lets me do as I please. Why would I ever go back to Lumnos?”

A lie lurked beneath his haughty tone. I felt it more than I heard it—the quiet, buried longing to return to his terremère , to build the life he was so cruelly denied.

Perhaps Luther sensed it as well, because his voice softened as he leaned forward. “The offer remains open, should you ever change your mind.”

“I couldn’t leave the children. They need me.”

“Bring them. You’re all welcome to return.”

Hope sparked in Zalaric’s eyes, though he quickly shut it down. “We have nowhere to live. Without my business, I’d have no way to provide for them.”

“There’s plenty of room at the palace. And Lumnos has need of inns and taverns, if you prefer your independence.”

Zalaric fell quiet. I laid my head back against the wall and closed my eyes as my heart soared at Luther’s dogged persistence. He wasn’t just opening the door to the banished half-mortals—he was actively calling them home.

Because he knew it’s what I would want.

Because he knew me .

“And what would this generosity cost me?”

“From Her Majesty? Nothing. She only wishes to right the wrongs of the past.”

I nodded my agreement from my unseen nook.

“And your price?” Zalaric prodded.

“Your loyalty to my Queen.” Luther paused. “Her Majesty needs allies. Strong ones. Allies who are not afraid of the Twenty Houses.”

Zalaric chuckled. “I see. She wishes us to do her dirty work.”

Luther and I bristled in unison.

“No,” he said firmly. “If there is one thing I know of my Queen, it’s that she will never let anyone fight her battles on her behalf.”

There was a ferocious pride in his words, but something else, too. Something bleak and unsettled.

“But,” he continued, “I do not want her to fight them alone. All I ask is that you stand with her, if she needs you.”

Zalaric stroked his chin. “She means a great deal to you.”

“She is my Queen. She is a gift from the Blessed Mother herself. She is...” Luther swallowed and dipped his chin, and he was no longer talking to Zalaric. “I gave myself to her the moment I met her, and I have not regretted it for a second. I have laid my life at her feet, and I would do it again and again, a thousand times over. She has my faith, my loyalty, my vow... I believe in her with everything that I am. There is nothing I would not do to see her fulfill her destiny. No matter the cost.”

My chest burned with a fiery emotion I dared not name.

“If she has such devotion from you, I can’t imagine she’ll ever be fighting alone,” Zalaric said.

Luther was quiet for a long moment. “I would fight for her until the world was ash, if the Kindred allowed it.”

Zalaric studied him, squinting, then finally sighed. “I’ll consider the offer. I’m happy here, but... I’ll think on it.”

“And you’ll tell the others, as well?”

“I will.” He cocked his head. “I presume you didn’t come all this way to deliver a message you could have sent by hawk. Tell me, Prince, what’s the real reason you’re here?”

“I need your help securing passage to Lumnos. Tonight, if possible. But it can’t be just any ship. I need to keep it away from the Centenaries’ notice. I’m traveling with... sensitive cargo.”

“All ships in this port have sensitive cargo . As long as your tariffs are paid, the Centenaries don’t care.”

“They’ll care about this.”

Zalaric sat up, his interest clearly piqued. “And I suppose you don’t wish to share it with me, either?”

“Believe me, it’s better for us both if I don’t.”

“Is this going to get me killed if you’re discovered?”

Again, Luther said nothing.

Zalaric lounged back against his chair and considered. “What you ask is impossible. The Umbros Queen prides herself on knowing everything that happens in her city, and in all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen anything slip her notice.”

“Are you saying you cannot help me?”

“No.” His lips curved into a smile. “It’s Umbros. Even the impossible is for sale somewhere.”

They began to discuss the more trivial details of our escape, and I let their voices fade to a hum as I slumped against the wall, my posture sagging.

Luther had made the decision over my head. We would be leaving immediately—without any conversation with the Umbros Queen.

My heart was painfully torn. I wasn’t happy that he’d overruled me with barely a discussion, and the accusations he’d made earlier had cut me deep. If I hadn’t just heard him profess his devotion, I might have begun to suspect his affection for me had changed.

But I had heard it. And more than that—I’d felt it. Luther’s feelings for me were profound, so strong they were nearly tangible. I saw them in every look, felt them in every touch, their presence filling each room we shared.

I tried to push aside the hurt lodged in my chest and remind myself that he was just worried. He was so used to playing the avenging angel for everyone he loved, guarding their safety in his hands. His self-worth was inextricably tangled in the safety of others, and now, we were all more in danger than we’d ever been.

Once we’re home, he’ll be himself . I repeated it like a mantra, my eyes drooping closed. Once we’re in Lumnos, everything will be okay .