A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire, #2)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

had no idea if this was one of the Shadowlands gods that I hadn’t met. “Pale-haired.” He looked me over, his eyes narrowing. “Freckled. You must be her.” The god’s head tilted to the side as he began to smile. “And here I thought I would have to go inside to find you. But you are…charmed.” “Fuck,” I whispered. This was a powerful god. “Maybe later.” He winked as I lifted the spear. His gaze flicked behind me. “Or not.”

think…there’s something wrong with me.” The shadows stilled under his flesh, deepening as the eather pulsed through his eyes, momentarily erasing his irises once more. His arm lifted. My breath caught as his warm fingers touched my cheek, sending a faint energy shock through me. “Because you just tore apart a god with your hands, and I found that…kind of hot.”

“We do not hold ceremonies for the dead,” he told me. “We believe that forcing those who cared for the deceased to see them in their death does nothing to honor the dead. We know they know the soul has already left the body to enter Arcadia. When possible, one who was not close to the deceased burns the dead within hours of

their death, and each one mourns how they see fit—either together or alone.”

“You never know how much you can take until you can’t take more,”

“Ector?” Nyktos cut in. There was a beat of silence, and then the fair-haired, sharp-featured god appeared in the doorway. “Yes?” Nyktos pinned him with a cold stare. “This is one of those times I’ve discussed with you on multiple occasions.” I frowned. “When I need to…” Ector cleared his throat. “Shut the fuck up?” “Exactly.”

“It’s this…constant feeling that something bad is about to go down, even when nothing is happening. And when there’s a chance that things can go bad? It becomes the only thing that can happen.”

Thankfully, Cauldra Manor is a lovely place. As is the Balfour family. Their name will be

honored long after the great kingdoms fall.”

“Fate even fucks with the Fates.”