A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash, #2)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

He lifted my hand to an indecently well-formed and full mouth. To lips that were somehow soft yet unrelentingly firm. Lips that had spun beautiful words into the air and whispered heated, wicked promises against my bare skin. Lips that had paid homage to the many scars that riddled my body and face. Lips that had also spoken blood-soaked lies.

“What matters is that I choose her,” Casteel spoke, and my stupid, stupid heart skipped a beat, even though I did not choose him. “And that is all that matters.”

“There is no side of you that is not as beautiful as the other half. Not a single inch isn’t stunning.” His lashes lifted, and the intensity in his stare held me captive. “That was true the first time I said it to you, and it is still the truth today and tomorrow.”

“But we will have that conversation later,” he promised, thrusting the sword into my hand. “Make me feel incompetent and kill more than me, Princess.”

“In Atlantia, it is tradition to be given a second name, a middle one, so to speak. It's given in honor of a cherished family member or friend, usually picked by the mother, and it is a well-guarded secret only shared outside of the family with the closest of friends and with those who hold a special place in one’s life. My mother chose my middle name in honor of her brother. His name was Hawkethrone. My full name is Casteel Hawkethrone Da’Neer. When I was a small child, my mother took to calling me an abbreviated form of that name. And so did my brother. They, and only they had ever known me as Hawke,” he said. “Until you.”

He was both the villain and the hero, the monster and the monster-slayer.

“Why did you tell me?” I whispered, not even sure if he was still awake or why I was asking. He’d already answered. “Why did you have to tell me that Hawke was your middle name?” The fire crackled, spitting sparks, and I closed my eyes. Seconds, maybe minutes later, Casteel said, “Because you needed to know that not everything was a lie.”

Slowly, he looked over at me. “Would you like me to cut your food for you?” “Would you like me to knock you off this bench?” He chuckled deeply. “Cas is right. You are incredibly violent.” “No, I’m not.” I pointed my fork at him. “I’m just not a child. I don’t need someone else cutting my meat.”

“You’re beautiful when you’re quiet and somber, but when you laugh? You rival the sunrise over the Skotos Mountains.”

He flinched. It was small, but I saw it. “But in private, you’ll fight me tooth and nail?” he surmised. “Kieran knows what you’ve planned, doesn’t he?” He nodded. I met his stare. “Then in front of him and in private, I will fight you tooth and nail. I will not pretend to be the docile fiancée without an audience.” “Understandable.” He dragged his thumb over his glass. “But if you want to pretend to be just that in private—” “Not going to happen.” Something glimmered in his golden eyes. “I think you will find that I can be impossibly charming.” I glared at him.

“Remember what you said about impossibilities?” I did. “But this is truly impossible.” “I guess we will see.” “I guess we will,” I told him, relaxing. This banter felt normal. At least, for us. Casteel eyed me. “I feel like this is a trick, and you’re two seconds from trying to plunge that knife into my heart again.” I coughed out a dry laugh. “What good would that do? You’d only be annoyed, and the knife is not nearly sharp enough to sever your head or pierce your incredibly thick skull.” He smirked, finishing off the whiskey left in his glass before moving away from the mantel. “But it would give you great satisfaction.” I considered that. It would. “I knew it,” he murmured, placing the glass on the table.

“I want a ring,” I announced. “I want an obscenely big one like I’ve seen some of the wives of wealthy merchants have. Their diamonds are so large they look like they should weigh down their hands.” He angled his body toward me. “I will find you a diamond so big it will enter the room before you do.” “Good.” It took me a moment to realize that I was smiling.

“Just so you know, Penellaphe doesn’t need protection. She is more than capable of handling things herself. But that is my future you are walking away with. Guard her well. Your life depends on it.”

The world, no matter how big, is often smaller than we realize.”

“Thank you.” “For what?” The touch of his fingertips was light, but a shiver still rolled through me. “For choosing me.”

“No. Yours are the color of an Atlantian spring—of dew-kissed leaves.”

Two fingers pressed under my chin and lifted my gaze to his. “Your scars are beautiful,” he said, and there was a swift, swelling motion in my chest that couldn’t be deflated no matter what my brain yelled at it. “But I refuse to allow your body to be scarred again.” My heart started thumping once more. “You say that like you mean it.” “Because I do.”

“But I was once told that the best relationships are the ones where passions run high.”

“Told him that if a woman fights with that kind of passion and makes you work that hard to earn even a smile, then that’s the kind of woman you want by your side in and out of the bedchamber.”

“The most beautiful things in all the kingdom often have jagged and uneven lines, scars which intensify the beauty in intricate ways our eyes nor our minds can detect or even begin to understand,” the Queen had said as she turned the diamond in her hand, light catching on its irregular dips and peaks. “Without them, they would just be common and ordinary, like all the other smoothly cut diamonds you can find anywhere you look. Beauty, my sweet child, is often broken and barbed, and always unexpected."