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“There was nothing innocent about that kiss. From either of us.”
“They want us to feel small, Eleanor. They want us to be quiet, be predictable, be unimportant, behave. Then they make us think we deserve it. But I think they’re just terrified we’ll stop listening to them and start listening to each other. And do you know why they’re so scared of women like us?”
“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.”
“You should have waited.” Heat skittered down my spine at the darkness of his tone. I shrugged. “I didn’t want to break up the lovers’ reunion.” “She’s not my lover.” “Does she know that?”
“A Descended mate is forever. We do not give our heart away unless we are certain, beyond all doubt, that the person we choose will stand by our side no matter what fate the Kindred have in store for us, in this life and all that comes after.”
“That if a man made you doubt whether his love for you would survive anything, he does not deserve you.”
“The weapon in your head is more important than the weapon in your hands. You’ve always been my bravest soldier. As long as you keep fighting, I know you can win.”
“You’re safe with me, too.”
“With all due respect to my lovely cousin, the only person I’m getting down on my knees for is you, my Queen.”
“If a kiss is the reward, my Queen, I’ll get on my knees for you whenever you want.”
“Good girl,” he murmured.
“I don’t care if he’s in the afterlife. If he hurt you, I’ll find a way to make him pay.”
“What happened?” he growled. “Is she hurt? Get your hands off her—let me see her.”
Sometimes, the line between who I hated and who I had become was paper thin.
“I seem to remember you claiming me as your High General.” He pulled back to look at me, his features warming. “Fighting all your battles is quite literally my job.”
“Patience, my Queen.” His thumb stroked a slow trail up my spine. “The most precious rewards come from the battles most fiercely fought.”
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.”
“Every person in this room wants something from you,” he said after a heavy pause. “They look at you, and they see the things they want to take. I know, because I lived it. From the moment I became heir, everyone wanted to be either my friend or my lover. When you took the Crown, I swore to be different—to serve your goals, not mine. I told myself that even if you had no one else, you would at least have me. I never wanted to become just another person who wanted to steal a piece of you for themselves.” He let out a shuddering sigh. “And I have failed. Completely, irreversibly failed. I don’t
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“Even good men can lose their way.”
“If I try to help you, are you going to fight me?” His grip tightened as he leaned down to my ear, his gravelly voice dropping low. “Or will you be a good girl for me again and obey?”
“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.”
