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

by Penn Cole

His chin settled on top of my head, and we burned together for a tiny eternity, saying nothing and too much all at once.

“It doesn’t matter. My place is with you. Wherever that leads.” His fingers curled around mine. “Whatever it costs.”

“You’re my Queen. Everything I do is for you.”

“The most precious rewards come from the battles most fiercely fought.”

I was drowning in this man. From the moment I met him, I had been kicking against the current and holding my breath, struggling to get back to the safe, familiar surface—but every look, every touch, dragged me deeper still.

“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 have failed. Completely, irreversibly failed. I don’t just want a piece of you—I want them all.”

“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.”

“Does your anger actually help those people, or does it make you feel righteous while the situation gets worse?”

Deep within my heart, a long-overdue decision was finally put to rest. One door opened—the other locked forever.

I wondered if I would ever, in the centuries that I prayed lay ahead of us, get used to the way it felt to be looked at by him. I hoped not.