Kingsbane (Empirium, #2)

by Claire Legrand

I do so hate to interrupt, came Ludivine’s prim voice. But what excuse, exactly, should I give the lovely people of Carduel who are waiting so eagerly to see their Sun Queen? That she is indisposed at the moment? That their prince has his tongue down her throat?

Simon’s smile came slowly. He leaned back in his chair, considering her. “Royalty suits you.” The sight of him looking so quietly delighted unnerved her, which made her want to push back from the table and kick her chair into the bookshelves, but she was afraid she might start crying again if she moved with too much violence. Slowly, she began stacking her books. “How does it suit me?” “You’re a snob,” Simon replied, “and you have a terrible temper, not to mention an unshakable belief in your own worth.”

“Simon,” she said hoarsely. He stepped closer, his overheated arm brushing against her own. “I’m here.” “Tell me I won’t be like her.” “No. Say it yourself.”

“Savrasara, Eliana.” “What does that mean?” “It’s an old Astavari word, one we learned from Saint Tameryn’s writings. Roughly translated, it means, You carry my heart. An expression of love and of warning. It is a great responsibility, to be trusted with another’s heart.”

“We are the light against the darkness, and we must continue to burn brightly, so others may find their way out.”

“Not a monster,” he said, and then his eyes fluttered shut.