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Diem—you’re wearing the Crown. You’ve been selected. You are the new Queen of Lumnos.
“I should put all four of your heads on a pike for treason. I just assaulted the Queen, and you cowards stood there and watched me do it. The next time someone lays a hand on her and you don’t kill them where they stand, I’ll carve out your eyeballs and feed them to the fucking hounds. It doesn’t matter if it’s me or the Regent or Blessed Mother Lumnos herself. Do your damn jobs and protect our Queen.”
“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.”
“If a kiss is the reward, my Queen, I’ll get on my knees for you whenever you want.”
“Shall I get back down on my knees until I earn another kiss?”
“You forget the conditions I’ve seen you in. I know how easily your beauty shines through.”
“Embrace your phoenix. Rise from the ashes, and burn bright once more.”
“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 want all of you, Diem.”
he raised his palm to his chest, just above his heart, dipped his chin, and walked away.
It’s a reminder that no challenge can destroy the parts of us that truly matter. We’re not reborn in the flames. We’re revealed.”
“Who hurt you?” Luther demanded,
I cannot tell you what to do with your life, my darling Diem. But whatever you choose—be smart. And above all, survive. Your life is far too precious to me to be wasted.
“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.”
When Remis asks who wants to come for you, he better clarify he means fighting or you’ll have half the realm lined up.”
“You have me, Luther,” I vowed. “All of me.”
“Burn, my Queen. Glow so bright, the darkness trembles.”
