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

by Penn Cole

“But rest assured, my Queen, when I do kiss you, there will be no confusion. You will know that I have claimed you—and I won’t have any desire to deny it.”

“That if a man made you doubt whether his love for you would survive anything, he does not deserve you.”

“Under a bonded bargain, if a party breaks an agreement, they lose their magic until they follow through on the terms. If they cannot, their magic is gone forever. The bargains are sealed using the Forging magic that created the nine realms, so even a Crown can’t escape the consequences.”

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

There was a dominance to his tone, something less than possessive but far more than protective.

His thumb stroked my ankle, tender and feather light. “Good girl,” he murmured. My thighs clenched. Diem one, Luther ten.

He roughly cupped my face in his hands, his fingers clinging to my skin like he might fall to his death if he ever let me go. “Not even if you despise me. Not even if I am nothing to you. Because my calling comes from a higher authority than even you can claim, Your Majesty. As she guarded my heart, I will guard over yours. Even if it kills me.”

“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.”

“I want every breath, every laugh, every tear. Every taste of your mouth, every inch of your skin. I want to kneel at your feet, soaked in the blood of your enemies, then worship your body until you scream my name.” His hands slid to my hips and tugged me closer. “Yes, Diem, I want to serve you—in every way a man can.”

“I want to burn alive in that fire in your eyes. I want it to melt me down and forge me into the weapon you need me to be. I want to stand by your side for the rest of my life, and I don’t need you to marry me and make me a fucking king to do it.”

“I pledged you my loyalty, and you have it, no matter your choice. But I cannot keep lying

“Who was he?” Luther snapped, still looking furious. “Why did he attack you?”

“I would have walked into the flaming heart of the sun itself,” he shot back. “If you are suffering, nothing will keep me from coming to your aid. Least of all something as trivial as death.”

It was nothing like the kiss we’d shared before. That had been all anger and lust, a battle of tempers bathed in blood. That was an inferno. This was a hearth.

Deep within my heart, a long-overdue decision was finally put to rest. One door opened—the other locked forever. “You have me, Luther,” I vowed. “All of me.” I leaned back to let him see the full depth of that truth in my eyes. No more masks, no more armor—just brutal, bleeding honesty. My heart had been battered by grief and self-doubt, more mistakes than I could count, and regrets