A Vow of Embers (The Eye of the Goddess, #2)

by Sariah Wilson

“Get away from my wife!” he roared.

SCREAMING

He dropped his sword and came over to me, picking me up in his arms. I clung to him, shivering. Not only because I was cold and wet and naked but because I had been so sure I was going to die. He took me back into the bedroom and sat me down on the bed. He let go of me and I didn’t want that. I needed him. “Don’t leave me,” I pleaded. “I’m not leaving you,” he said. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around me tightly, then pulled me into his lap. “I won’t ever leave you again.”

“Don’t be scared,” he immediately responded. “You survived and I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You called me Xander.” He breathed the words out softly. “That’s your name,” I said.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt as safe, as cared for, as protected, as I did in this moment.

My last thought before I drifted off was that lying in Xander’s arms made me fe...

“No, Lia. I need you. As my queen. My wife. In my life. And my bed.”

There was wonder in his eyes, awe. Then it was replaced with a hungry and heated look that made me want to wrap myself around him. “You will be my undoing,” he said before he finally kissed me.

“Is she the one who did this to you?” I didn’t like the tone in his voice. “She must be kept alive at all costs.”

I knew that Xander did not do well with people who threatened me. He was too overprotective.

It struck me then that he and I were standing in the same exact spots that we had when he had demanded that I come out and marry him. I had vowed to kill him then, and now I was relying on his help. Now I wanted to make sure that he lived, no matter what.

Come home when you’re done.”

As he walked away, I registered the fact that he had referred to the palace as my home, too. It warmed me in a way I didn’t know was possible.

“You’re right,” I said. “They didn’t deserve this. And the people responsible will pay. But we will do it in the right way.” I would make sure of it. And I would keep Io’s hands clean.

There was no answer. Instead it felt like I was standing inside a mausoleum, surrounded by silence and death. And I was so tired of death.

I had sacrificed so much already, survived impossible odds, faced down overwhelming temptation, kept my vows, and for what? It had all been for nothing. There wasn’t a way to restore Locris. I had never felt so alone.

Stupid girl, what did I tell you about giving up? Think! How many eyes does your goddess have?

The prophecy had promised things I didn’t think I was ready for. I didn’t want to be a sacrifice, even if that was how Demaratus had trained me. To put my life on the line for the sake of others. One for many.

There had to be another way. Because my death meant Xander’s death, and I wouldn’t allow that to happen.

I didn’t know what was waiting for us, but I did know that with the people I loved by my side, we would stop the darkness. We would save Ilion and Locris. All of us together. Many for one.