A Kingdom of Flame and Fury (The Four Kingdoms, #1)

by Whitney Dean

You are about to enter the world of a feisty, bloodthirsty witch and an assassin with a drinking problem—until he becomes addicted to something far deadlier. Her.

It had been too long since someone touched me here. Being a queen without a king was fine with me, but having a warm body next to me to keep me satisfied all through the night was preferable to release on my own. My own hand wasn’t quite as sweet as a man’s tongue.

I pulled my memories forward, the ones I experienced when I locked eyes with her. They were mere frames, never fully forming, but all I saw was her—in worlds that had never existed, wearing things I had never seen, odd fabrics and cuts, but she was beautiful in all of them. I had no context to them, but I knew my sole purpose in every life was to love her.

This was where I felt most threatening, most deadly. How good it felt to become this dark part of me made me panicky, and there was a part of me, and I didn’t know how dominant that part was, that itched to stay like this.

“Soul mates and twin flames are rare; they’re destined to be together.”

“Soul mates can be anyone. A friend, a lover, someone you met briefly.”

“Twin flames are two halves of one soul. There’s an intense connection that can’t be replicated. There’s pain associated with flames, both people mirroring one another. When you find your twin, you can’t be apart from them without going a little mad.”

“Twin flame,” I said. “I think she’s my twin flame.” And if they were such a rarity, I was determined to do nothing but treasure her.

She was young, but there was such an old soul within her. How could she have already lived so much life? I wanted to take her sorrow and let it rest in my bones.

My tongue collided with hers, and I moved it slowly, wanting to take my time with her. She was a gift that I didn’t want to unwrap just yet. The anticipation was euphoric.

“You can,” I promised her. “You will. You and your perfect little body will take it all.”

“You’re my heaven.” He found my collarbone. “You’re my hell. And I want to burn in you.”

“How does it feel to know that while you were begging to kiss her, she was begging me to fuck her?”

“I need you to know that I will never love another. I need you to know.…” he trailed off, swallowing. It took every ounce of strength I had left to not look away from him again, but I feared falling apart soon. “You are every breath, every whisper, every dream, every nightmare,” he continued hoarsely, “The ghost of you will forever haunt me—the ghost of what could be.”

“I would’ve burned the very soil of this world for you,” I whispered, unsure if he could hear me. But then he spoke, and his voice carried a sense of finality, “I will find you in the next one.”

Zeke and I, we were woven together by destiny. And that thought comforted me. Half of me had also wandered aimlessly, living days away, far across the channel, missing me as much I missed him. And maybe I had gone mad with how deeply I fell for him, but that was only because he was the oxygen I had needed to ignite.

“You always love me best in the dark,” I whispered. “Because you are my light.”

you are the feeling I get when new flowers bloom. You are the sound of trees in my forest.” He closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. “You are flames in my palms, warming my entire body.” I touched the tip of his nose with mine. “You are the taste of rum coating my tongue. You are what awakens me when I smell pine. You Are. You surround me, Zeke.”

“You said that I put the stars in your sky,” I whispered, “but you are my only star. My guiding star. I need you, Raven.”

“Nothing will ever pull me away from you again. I will never stop loving you in this life or the next. I promise you.”

“I don’t give a fuck who you are when you’re here, but you will remain mine. Your shadows are mine.”

“I don’t give a fuck who sees, Raven. When you’re here, you belong to me. I’ll have you wherever and whenever I want.”

“You are the Queen of my Soul, and you will always be mine.”

My breathing settled, the fire in my belly pooling as it heated my blood. My heart was singed and charred as the flames nipped at my most vital organ. No one could save me from the depths of my mania now. I would numb my pain, my heart. I would become the dark queen.