Glow of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, #2)

by Penn Cole

“When he was born, I named him after my elder brother, the late King, in the hopes they would grow close. It worked a little too well. Ulther took Luther under his wing and spoiled him terribly. Now the boy doesn’t know how to be told no.”

“For us, marriage is just a ceremony to exchange rings and vows. You can get married for any reason—politics, alliances, money—and you can remarry as often as you like. But a mate...” Her eyes shone with reverence. “A mate is so much more. A mating bond can only be made by love—true love.”

but the bonding magic will only work if your love is genuine and unconditional, and if you freely commit to stand by your mate forever, in life and in death. Once you’re mated, your heart is bound to your mate for eternity. You can never love anyone else.”

To separate mates is an insult to the Kindred themselves.”

“If a kiss is the reward, my Queen, I’ll get on my knees for you whenever you want.”

Luther tipped his forehead until it lay flush with mine, our eyes closing as we bathed in the charged air humming around us. “You are my Queen, and I am your sword. Point me at your enemies, and watch them fall. Lead this world, Diem, and I will follow you—into war, into death, into the tundra of hell itself.” He took my palm and set it against his chest, just above the patch of unscarred skin that lay beneath his jacket. “You are the fate my heart was spared for. As long as it beats, you will never fight alone.”

“Orb of Answering,” I said slowly, “here is my second question. The man who sired me... my birth father... is he still alive?”

your magic will not hurt those you love.”