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

by Penn Cole

“Then I’ll walk. Actually, I’m the Crown. You can walk.” “You’ve taken to authority quickly for someone who swears she doesn’t want it.” I shot him my nastiest scowl and caught the corner of his mouth twitch upward. Was that—was he—smirking at me? “You couldn’t have brought two horses?” “I didn’t expect to need more than one.” “Because you didn’t think I would come with you, or because you planned to kill me first?” He walked past me without responding.

This girl sure goes back and forth a lot. Make up your mind chica.

Diem: I don’t want anyone to know, I’ll hide in a cabin to keep it a secret Also diem: come here birdie, show everyone right away what I am, thankssss

She is so impulsive

This gives me hope for this character

I stopped still. “Luther Corbois, did you just make a joke?” “It’s been known to happen on occasion.” His hand slid to my back to nudge me forward and lingered there as I resumed my pace.

“Luther,” I gasped. “Two jokes in one day! You’re going to need a nap to recover from this excitement.”

She is literally so dumb. Why would you accept a bargain of your life and magic from someone you don’t trust who is the only person who has explained to you so far what it entails without double checking? This is going to come back to bite her in the butt.

“You won’t,” I said firmly. “Even if you do, I won’t let anyone hurt you.” His gaze pierced through me, and my chest tightened. Had I really just promised safety to the very man I’d sworn to destroy? “Or Lily,” I added quickly. “Or Taran and Alixe. As long as I’m Queen, you’re all safe with me.”

This is good, but like girl you’ve been flip flopping for two books now

“Do you trust me?” For once, I didn’t let myself overthink it. “I do.” I sighed dramatically. “Against all the odds, despite all my better judgment, somehow... I do.”

I scoffed. “Oh no, that won’t do at all. You nearly made my dear friend cry. That calls for some serious groveling.” I dipped my head. “Down there. On your knees.” He shot me a dark look. “With all due respect to my lovely cousin, the only person I’m getting down on my knees for is you, my Queen.” Taran cackled loudly. “Queenie, you hear that? Lu wants to get on his kn—” Luther flicked his wrist, and a burst of shadow flew from his palm and smacked against Taran’s face, sealing like a gag across his mouth. Taran yelped and tugged at the dark patch as he let loose a string of muffled curses. I crossed my arms, tapping one foot. “Eleanor and I are waiting, Prince.” Luther growled and sank to one knee. He cut me a sharp look before reaching up and taking Eleanor’s hand. “Eleanor, cousin, I—” “Use my title, please,” she corrected haughtily. “Advisor to the Crown.” Giddiness exploded across my face. I flashed Eleanor a thumb’s up. Taran finally ripped the shadow away from his mouth and grinned. “I never, ever want to forget this moment.” “You three are enjoying this far too much,” Luther muttered. “Keep going,” I prodded. “Eleanor, cousin, Advisor to the Crown, I’m very sorry for my earlier rudeness. I have learned my lesson, and I am quite humbled. Forgive me?” Eleanor tapped a finger against her chin and frowned. “Hmm. Diem, what do you think? Should I forgive him?” I shrugged. “You could make him beg a little.” “This is the greatest day of my life,” Taran breathed. “You have...

I love this whole part and the banter between these characters 😍

“What must I do to prove myself to you?” he breathed, sounding as desperate as he was furious. “Break from House Corbois, if you wish. It changes nothing—I will still serve you. Appoint every soul in the realm as your advisor but me. Marry your mortal. Worse, mate yourself off to that snake Aemonn.” His gaze turned dark as a moonless night. “Exile me from the realm. I will serve you from afar.”

“Well if that’s true, then how pathetic indeed that your closest friends and family know less about you than someone you are nothing to.”

Wow actually fuck her though. Totally undeserved, she’s a bitch.

A chill filled the vacuum that his presence had left, bringing regret along with it. He turned his back to me and moved for the door. “Luther, wait. I didn’t mean—”

Yeah, feel regret

“And whether you’re willing to see it or not, no one wants to use you more than that pathetic mortal boy.”

She’s like willfully obtuse at this point

He jabbed a finger toward the door. “Out there, I will do anything you ask of me. Anything. But here, in private, do not expect me to hold my tongue while you give your heart to a man you had to beg to keep from walking away.” His glare sharpened. “A man who only agreed to marry you when you offered him a throne.” “You were eavesdropping on us,” I gasped, my eyes going wide. “You had no right—” “I don’t care,” he thundered back. “It’s my job to know the true motives of the people closest to you. I will keep you safe, and I will not apologize for it. Not now, not ever.”

I closed my eyes, parted my lips, leaned in, and surrendered. But his hands fell from my face. His power withdrew, and the warmth of his body vanished. A moment later, the door slammed closed. And once again, I was alone.

You deserved that

He let out a weary sigh. “I owe you an apology. For leaving the dinner, and for the things I said last night. For eavesdropping. For all of it.” Relief whooshed from my lungs as I felt the wall between us shatter. “I’m sorry, too. What I said—” “You have nothing to apologize for.” His jaw tightened. “You told me how you feel. I should have accepted it and let it go.” My instincts screamed at me to correct him, to explain that when I’d said he was nothing to me, I’d only meant we had no formal ties—no shared blood or years of friendship, no advisor roles or obligations. To confess that I couldn’t understand why he trusted me, cared for me, so much more than people he had known his whole life. And worse, that I felt exactly the same. And how much it scared me. But maybe this was for the best. Perhaps it was better if he thought there really was nothing between us.

Ugh, I know this is to further the plot and keep them as a slow burn, but A. He has nothing to apologize for and B. I hate the misunderstanding trope

That’s all that this was: Lust. Physical attraction. Primal, biological urges. Just my body’s natural reaction to being thrust into close proximity to so many gorgeous people.

Lmao and here we are, the fmc trying to convince herself it’s purely physical

“You threatened to cut my hand off within minutes of meeting me. You attacked the Royal Guards several times. You snuck around the palace alone. You ran into a burning, collapsing building. All while you apparently believed yourself to be a mortal. With respect, my Queen—” He returned my narrowed eyes and leaned his face to mine. “—your survival instincts are shit.”

True

He let out a shuddering sigh. “And I have failed. Completely, irreversibly failed. I don’t just want a piece of you—I want them all.” His thumb raked across my lower lip. “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 couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. “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.” “Luther,” I rasped, begging—for what, I wasn’t sure. “I pledged you my loyalty, and you have it, no matter your choice. But I cannot keep lying to you or to myself. I want all of you, Diem.” His lips brushed against mine, his words breathing straight into my lungs. “You already have all of me.”

“Everyone says this phoenix represents dying and coming back as something new, but I disagree. I think it’s a symbol of surviving when the world burns down around us. 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.”

“This man you’re engaged to—if you love him, then fight for him. But if you’re only holding on to him because you’re afraid of losing who you are...” She took my hands in hers. “Nothing can take that away from you, Diem. No Crown, no man. Not even the Kindred themselves.”

“My presence here hurts you. You need distance from the mortals.” “I need you. You’re the only person I can trust.” “You’re being selfish. Stop thinking about what you want, and think about what’s best for the realm.” I flinched at the criticism, closing my eyes as my chest suffocated under the weight of his shame. I hadn’t realized until now just how badly I wanted my father to be proud of me as Queen—to be impressed by me and my plans, to be willing to stand by my side, whatever may come. And I hadn’t realized until now just how badly it would hurt that he wasn’t. “I’m sorry to be such a disappointment,” I said quietly. He shook his head. “Diem, sweetheart, that’s not what I meant.” “I accept your resignation.” “I’m only trying to help—” “Go home, Father.” I leapt out of my chair and stalked for the door without a final glance. “I’ll just have to do this alone.”

Girl, stop self sabotaging

“I’m sick of begging you for answers, Luther. I’m done with your secrets, and I’m done giving you my trust. Your promises mean nothing to me. And neither do you.”

Just when I start to respect her she goes and says this.

Henri let out a groan as he deepened the kiss. He gripped my waist hard and my eyes fluttered open in surprise, falling instantly on two familiar pools of blue-grey across the clearing, stormy and teeming with emotion. Regret. Hurt. Loss. Taran wrapped a hand around Luther’s arm and tugged him back, forcing him to look away.

Stop hurting my poor baby Luther 😭😭

“So you give ‘fair chances’ to the people who use you while you punish the ones who actually care?”

This.

But I couldn’t stop wondering if I was making the same deadly mistake all over again.

Ding ding ding we have a winner

“Henri—wait.” He skidded to a stop, looking back at me, then at the spot where Vance had gone. Conflict simmered in his gaze. “Don’t,” I warned, but my words were ripped away as my fiancé shot me an apologetic look and disappeared into the forest.

Fuck them. And also this is what you get for trusting the most obviously untrustworthy people and refusing to trust the people who have been bending over backwards to prove themselves to you over and over again.

“Diem!” Auralie screamed. “Diem, run!” And with a deafening boom and a blast of fire and rubble, everything exploded.

AHHHHHH OMG Okay I’m over how annoying Diem is, this ending is sooo goood 😍😍