The Half King

by Melissa Landers

as a second-born, she was forbidden to marry.

“Well, there’s an old rumor,” Daerick went on, “that the Solon seducer was a woman and that Shiera impregnated her and sired a race of demigods. The Triad believes that Shiera’s descendants should be in control, not the priests or even the king. They have followers in all four lands, but the sect is especially popular here.”

For his body to follow the pull of his spirit was an oddly romantic element of his curse that she hadn’t anticipated.

Why am I jealous of this random woman when the FMC is right there even though she’s never met the dude haha

His tall, broad frame began to fade at the edges, curling into smoke. Still he advanced, until she was certain their bodies would collide. She balled her fists and closed her eyes, tensing for the blow, but instead of impact, a cool breeze rushed over her, brushing back her hair. She opened her eyes and blinked. All that remained of the king was a pile of clothing at her feet.

“What makes you think that a goddess as fierce and as powerful as Shiera—a woman strong enough to craft this world and perhaps others, to give life and to take it away—would allow her sex to be dominated by men?”

“Well, how convenient for the priests,” Daerick said. “To do whatever they please in the name of the goddess and then forbid anyone from questioning them. That kind of unrestricted control would almost make them gods themselves, wouldn’t you say?”

!!!!!!!!!

“I don’t need proof,” she told him. “I have faith.”

Can’t wait to see her lose her faith (in men) 🫡

“A good king protects his people. And if he knows his time is coming to an end, he makes sure they can survive without him.

According to lore, Mortara firstborns didn’t truly die. They remained in darkness forever.

Jesus

“He told me more than just that,” she said. “He told me you remember your nights in the shadows. Is that true?” For a sliver of a second, fear widened Kian’s gaze.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she told him. “If you can be polite and stop insulting me, I’ll wait until twilight to stab you.”

She wanted to press for more than a halfhearted try, but his hand dissolved into shadow, and he slipped like an onyx breeze through her fingers. The last parts of him to vanish were his eyes, round and unblinking and filled with a hundred silent pleas that rang louder than a thunderclap inside her head.

I’m obsessed with this shadow thing tho

Cerise. The whisper tickled her inner ear, rousing her from dreams. Wake up, Cerise. She batted at the sound. Wake up! She came to with a gasp, whipping her gaze around her bedchamber for the owner of the voice. Much like her previous nights in the palace, only darkness surrounded her, the deep black that came before dawn.

Okay I love this bc if this is him speaking to her UGH ❤️

The gap in the crowd gave her a perfect view of Kian, who paused and locked eyes with her. He lowered both fists, his dark gaze holding her spellbound,

BET

But Cerise couldn’t imagine where Blue had found it.

The fact that this man is clearly watching over her when he’s a shadow YES

“Now who’s ready to ride a sweaty beast across the desert?” “Sweaty beast?” Kian made a show of looking around, trying and failing to hide a smile. “I don’t see your mother here.” “She’s at home,” Daerick said flatly. “Recovering from the ten seconds you gave her last night.”

“Neither,” she teased, smiling and blinking her eyes dry. “The goddess achieved perfection when she created women. We want for nothing.”

“I thought I taught you better than that. There’s no such thing as an unnatural tendency. If something occurs within nature, it is by default natural. What’s unnatural is to vilify it and criminalize it and force people into hiding for being born the way they are.”

“Intentions are more meaningless than grains of sand. It’s your actions that matter.”

The king smiled. He glanced at the fingers curled atop his knee and whispered, “Good morning to you, too, my lady of the temple.”

😭😭

She cut off as a realization struck her like a blow to the skull. Kian hadn’t appeared at Delora’s bedside because his spirit was drawn to someone else now—to her—and it had been for days. “It was you in my room,” she whispered, turning her wide eyes to him. “I locked my door each night, and you unlocked it when you left.” Kian offered her an apologetic grin. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“I should have told you,” he said. “Kings are stubborn creatures. But now that my secret is out, you might as well know that I like you, my lady of the temple. I like you very much.”

lol I don’t even care this came out of nowhere I love them

“Fire blood,” Nero corrected. He jutted his chin at her. “You’re a descendent of the goddess. Her life force runs in your veins.”

The general fixed his gaze on the fire. “Lanna, my woman at the temple, does it, too. She punishes herself for loving me. It began with fasting, and when that wasn’t enough, she moved on to cutting her flesh. There’s a new scar every time I see her. She used to hide them from me, but now she’s run out of places—”

Could it be that the act of love made the Sight stronger, not weaker? But if that was the case, then why would the Order try to weaken a woman’s ability to serve the goddess?

!!!!!

gently sink her teeth into the side of his neck.

BET

“Kian, it’s—” “I waited too long.” Still pressed to the wall, he raked a trembling hand through his hair. He seemed to be talking to himself now. “I should’ve taken you home when I had the chance. I knew it in my gut, but I didn’t listen because I wanted the Petros Blade.”

God this poor man

He moved one hand to the curve of her neck while gripping her lower back and crushing their bodies together. “I do care,” he whispered in a pained voice. “I want you, Cerise, more than I’ve let myself want anything in a long time. Then I imagined spending eternity here, missing you, tortured by the memory of you. I thought it would be worse to have you and lose you than to never have you at all. But now look. I’ve lost you, and it hurts so badly I can’t stand it.”

“And what if you do receive the Sight?” he asked. “What then? Will you be so afraid to dim your gift that you end up dimming your own light in the process?”

She had been found worthy. Even after her lapse of control with Kian in the tent, the goddess had known what was in her heart. Pure faith.

Girl 😭😭😭😭

“Because you continue to forget. But I won’t hold it against you.” “Then I’ll hold you against me,” he told her, and he embraced her in his warm, powerful arms.

“Ah, I see.” Kian released a sigh. “We had a lovers’ quarrel, Cerise. The first of many, I’m sure. Conflict is an inevitable part of life. There’s no avoiding it.” He tried to tilt her chin to face him. “Will you look at me?”

She swallowed hard. “It was the way you looked at me. And then it was the way you wouldn’t look at me. I thought…” “That I no longer want you?” he asked in a tone that implied she had lost all touch with her senses. He dragged a hand over his face. “Gods be damned. I sometimes forget how sheltered you’ve been.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and drew a deep breath. “Have you never had an argument before?”

“Listen to me, and listen well,” he whispered. “Our time is over when I take my last breath. Not one moment before. Do you understand?”

“So the magic simply appeared out of nowhere, without a reason?” Daerick wrinkled his forehead. “Nothing happened to trigger it?” “Oh…well.” Cerise looked to Kian, her shoulders stiffening. “I wouldn’t say nothing happened. I was…uh…I was…” “Overcome with the beauty of the sunrise,” Kian finished. “The experience moved her.” “Yes,” she agreed. “I was moved.” Daerick made a pained face. “Oh, gods, I think I understand.”

😂😂😂😂😂

“There are so many ways for people to manipulate each other, Cerise. I have no idea what actually happened because Mama wouldn’t talk about it. All I know is that the man was dangerous—Mama

lol is it Cole

Many men are dangerous.”

“So you would punish the world to save one person?”

“You’re my limit, Cerise. You have an uncommonly pure soul, and I don’t want to live in a world created by any deity who would demand you as a sacrifice. I would rather surrender. I would rather let the world end.”

He gulped one last breath and used it to call her a fool. Cerise used her last breath to laugh.

Her lips spread in a smile. “My foolishness won the day!” Nero flopped onto his back, slinging one arm over his eyes. “I never thought I would thank you for that.”

Cerise froze. “His Majesty’s parents… That was you?” “Yes,” Cole admitted. “I tried to kill His Majesty, too. More than once.”

Bruh ???

“I’m grateful to you, my lady.”

Man murdered the King and Queen and tried to kill their son and she’s like yeah he can go free ????

“It doesn’t work anymore,” he told Nina, who cradled her rounded belly while inching backward. “Your power over me is dead.” He spoke as if they knew each other, which didn’t make sense. Until he raised a triumphant chin and added, “You won’t seduce me again.”

Um pardon me ???

It wasn’t Mama who had caught Father Padron’s eye in Solon all those years ago. It was Nina.

Oh 😬 wait wouldn’t that make her a first born

“Impossible,” he repeated. “It’s a lie. It has to be. I never lay with another woman. If you were my child, you would be a firstborn. You would bear your mother’s curse.” Nina spoke in a trembling voice. “She was a twin. The first baby was born sleeping.” She looked to Cerise. “You were the second.”

Okay really 😒

“Shiera’s priests colluded with house Mortara,” she said as her blood flowed into the blade, “to usurp her holy authority and rule in her place. For their treachery, they were cursed to serve the whims of others. The priests are still undeserving, but this priestess is repentant.”

“Then yes,” he said. “You may heal me.” She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, may I?” He winked at her. “I will permit it.” “All right. Where does it hurt?” “Everywhere.” “Everywhere?” “Everywhere,” he repeated. “I might actually be dying.”

Shiera had given her blessing. “Be my queen,” Kian repeated. “You have my soul. I won’t share the throne with anyone but you. Look at what we’ve already accomplished. The two of us could do anything.”