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For anyone who has ever been told their spark shouldn’t burn so bright and for all the people who loved them precisely because it did.
It’s never the enemy who attacks outright who will strike your killing blow, he’d taught me. It’s the one who hides in the shadows and waits. The one who strikes when you’ve finally looked away. Those are the true predators to fear.
“Listen to me and listen close, Daughter of the Forgotten.” She leaned forward and poked me in the shoulder. “Stop running from who you are. Stop hiding.”
“That’s what family is all about. Standing by each other’s side, even when you make the worst mistakes.”
If anyone should have known the truth, shouldn’t it have been me? Before Teller, before even Father, it had been the two of us, alone in the world. An unwed mother and her bastard infant.
deim being delulu🤡🤡
But I was made of swinging fists and rash words, my edges too jagged and my temper too hot. Nothing about me was delicate.
sure girl, sure....
“You know how every realm has two kinds of magic? Light and shadow in Lumnos, stone and ice in Montios, sea and air in Meros, and so on.”
“Because a fighter is more powerful than a healer, right?” “Right.” Daggers fired from my steel-silver eyes. His face blanched. “I mean—no, I didn’t mean—of course not. Healers are strong. Very strong! Just as powerful—more powerful, even—” “Next time you come crawling to me with an injury, I sure hope I’m not too weak and powerless to treat you.”
QUEEN👑
War is death and misery and sacrifice. War is making choices that will haunt you for the rest of your days. You fight to protect, or to survive, but never for the joy of killing, no matter how brutal your enemy.
I was sick of waiting. The time had come to fight. And I was ready.
FINALLYYYY
“Diem, this is some of the best intelligence we’ve ever had. The Guardians have been trying to find information on Benette’s business for so long. This isn’t just information—this could be enough to blow it up entirely.”
bruh because that makes me feel sooooo confident 🌝🌝
“Why don’t you come try to touch me again, and I’ll show you.” He snorted. “Big words for a little girl.” “Better a little girl than a little...” My gaze briefly dropped to his crotch, and I clicked my tongue sympathetically.
“This must be a joke.” “Do I look like a joke?” “Have you seen the hat you’re wearing?”
I ran, and I ran, and I ran.
♪ AND I RAAAANNNNNNNN ♪
The second my boots hit the soil, I ran. I ran, and I ran, and I ran.
♫ I RAN SO FAR AWAYYYYY♫♫♫♫
The longer I ran, the taller the flames grew and the hazier the smoke-filled air became.
♪ I JUST RAAAANNNNNN♪♪♪♪
My steps faltered, then slowed, but I didn’t stop.
♫ I RAN ALL NIGHT AND DAYYYY ♫♫♫
So I ran, and I ran, and I ran.
♫ i walk a lonely avenue.... ♫♫♫♫
“Luther,” I yelled, waving my arms in the air. “Over here.” He made no move toward me, not even a glimmer of a reaction. “LU-THER!” He shook his head and mouthed go home, then began to turn away. “Luther, you arrogant prick, come over here and talk to me!” In the crowd, a hundred eyes turned on me like a mouse that had just awoken a lion. Luther’s shoulders rose and fell abruptly in what I had no doubt was some kind of irritated sigh, but he finally stalked over to meet me.
“Well I left Mortal City with all the supplies I could carry, and then I was attacked on the trail by a group of jackasses who stole my bag. So, technically, I only came halfway here with no medicine or supplies.” He stopped. His eyes darkened as they unapologetically roamed my body. “Did they hurt you?” he growled.
AHHH MY FAVORITEEE
“So it’s too dangerous. You’re mortal, remember?” His tone was dry, almost sarcastic. “Your body is too fragile.” I glared. “First of all, if you ever call me fragile again, I’ll slice your precious royal balls off and shove them down your throat.” The group went dead silent. The corner of Luther’s lips twitched—just slightly.
The fight drained from my body. I collapsed against the floor, a tear streaming down my cheek as I closed my eyes and surrendered to the darkness.
Luther strode through the now-widened entrance, his fearsome profile haloed by the bright city lights beyond, and our eyes met in the darkness. We both froze in place as something ancient, something profound passed between us. It was a primal force that transcended word and thought, as powerful as a crack of lightning, a child’s first breath, the endless depth of the sea. It was not of this world but entirely woven within it. It warmed my blood with a calming peace I’d never known, yet filled me with the terrible dread of a fate I could not avoid.
Everything moved in slow motion. Wooden rafters drifted toward me. Luther’s mouth opened, lips forming my name, eyes wide with horror. My trembling hand stretched for his. The sky was falling. And the world went dark.
I tried to open my eyes, but nothing happened. Everything hurt so, so much. “I’ve got you,” someone said, softer. “You’re going to survive this. I promise.” For some reason, I believed them. Their voice was familiar in a way that felt like more than a memory, like it wasn’t my mind that knew them but something deeper, something far more intimately ingrained. Its steadfast resolve soothed the limp of my heart, but there was a tone in it that was... shaken. Lost.
You’ll stay with her until I’m back?” “Lumnos herself couldn’t pull me from her side.”
OKAYYYYY I SEE YOU
His eyes opened, our gazes already matched. For a heartbeat, his expression didn’t change, and I marveled at the softness of it. I’d never seen him like that. I’d seen him angry, annoyed—even terrified, I remembered with a shiver—but never quite so... peaceful.
“If the death of innocents is a cost we’re willing to pay, then we don’t deserve to be powerful.”
“I am not afraid, Devourer of Crowns. Ravager of Realms. Herald of Vengeance.”
“Give him our gift, Daughter of the Forgotten. When the end has come, and the blood has spilled, give our gift to my faithful heir, and tell him this is my command.”
“You think I fear my own death?” he whispered in my ear. “Every day I draw breath is as much a curse as a gift. I’ve been living on borrowed time for longer than you can imagine. If you’re the way my fate finally catches up to me, I can’t fathom a more beautiful end.”
Without pulling away from my dagger, he turned his face, hot breath spilling over my cheek as his mouth trailed the line of my jaw. His eyes rose to mine. “Let me die with the taste of you on my lips.” Our lips collided, and I was lost.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. All this time, I’d dismissed Luther as someone ice-cold and heartless, too frosty to feel anything true. But Luther wasn’t cold at all. Luther was an inferno. Looking at him now was like staring in a mirror in the worst kind of way. I hid behind false bravado and snarky jokes, while Luther’s shield was forged with brooding stares and clenched jaws—but inside, we were one and the same.
Inside, we rattled the bars keeping us trapped in lives we didn’t choose. Inside, we roared with an insatiable craving for more. Inside, we paced and we planned and we waited. Inside, we burned.
Something had shifted in my soul. The wind was changing course, pushing my sails on a new, uncertain path, and though I didn’t know how or why, I felt powerless to stop it. More than that—I didn’t want to stop it.
“Goodbye, Prince,” I murmured. He smiled, and it was the saddest smile I’d ever seen. “Goodbye, Miss Bellator.”
“Diem—you’re wearing the Crown. You’ve been selected. You are the new Queen of Lumnos.”
