Page 93 of Burn of the Everflame

Taran looked at me, his expression clear: Want me to tell him to fuck off?

I gave my head a subtle shake. Taran clapped my arm, then dragged himself to his feet. “Sure thing, Remis,” he said with a smirk. He whistled a Descended funeral dirge as he strolled away.

My father’s sour look shifted to me. “You could have warned me before sharing our secret with all of Lumnos.”

Hot, vengeful sparks leapt to my palms. How dare he reduce my mother’s life, her murder, to “our secret”?

“Avana is mortified,” he said archly. “The Hanoverres won’t even speak to us.”

I leaned back against the wall, staring at the door that kept me from my Queen. “Good.”

He shook his head. “You and Diem are rubbing off on each other. She’s turning spiteful, just like you, and she is making you reckless.”

My vision went red. My father’s head cracked against stone as I leapt up and pinned him to the wall by his throat. It was strange to see no trace of magic glowing in his wide, alarmed eyes. Though he’d been the furthest thing from my mind when I stepped forward at the Challenging to trade Diem’s life for mine, snapping their bonded bargain and stripping him of his magic forever had been a delightful reward.

“You’re lucky to be alive, after everything you’ve done,” I growled.

“So are you. Both of you. If not for my intervention⁠—”

My fingers squeezed tighter, his racing pulse thumping beneath my grip. “Like when you warned the Fortos King we were coming to free her mother?”

“I told him Diem was coming to murder her mother for being a rebel traitor. Then I reminded him he had a duty to keep Crown prisoners alive, and I told him to turn you and Diem away. It was the only thing I could think of to protect you.”

I studied his face, looking for the lie. Not that I would find it—no one lied better than my father. I let go and shoved him away.

“Luther, be smart,” he said between coughs. “If I wanted either of you dead, you think I couldn’t have arranged it? You two think your strength makes you invincible. I assure you, son, you are not, and neither is she. Every day, I pray to the Blessed Mother that the enemies you consider weak don’t slit your throats while you look away.”

“And you’re not the enemy? You took my titles, you tried to push us apart—don’t deny it.”

He huffed. “That was before the Challenging.”

“What changed at the Challenging?”

“Everything.”

The lock clicked, and the meeting room door swung open. Diem emerged, followed by Nidara—and Eleanor. Apparently, Alixe wasn’t the only advisor whose counsel Diem valued over mine.

The axe in my heart sliced a little deeper.

“Thank you for your candor,” Diem said to Nidara, then turned to Eleanor. “Send a hawk at the first sign of trouble, and I’ll rush right back.”

Eleanor bit her lip in a way I knew meant she was fighting some rising insecurity. She looked at my father, then back to Diem. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather Remis⁠—”

“Very sure,” Diem cut in. “You’re my Regent . . .” She hesitated. “ . . . in Lumnos. You have my full trust to handle this realm in my absence.”

Eleanor stood a little straighter. She gave me a quick smile, then left with Nidara.

Diem spun to my father, her glare pointed enough to chisel stone. “I have been waiting so long for this moment,” she said slowly, as if savoring every syllable. “Remis Corbois, you are hereby stripped of all titles. You may broker no deals on behalf of the Crown or House Corbois.”

“Everyone knows now that you’re not Corbois,” he said hotly. “You can’t take my place as Head of House.”

“Luther can.”

Both of their stares turned to me, one amused and one furious. My jaw tightened to hold back my frustration. I wanted to fight in her name, not manage my cousins’ squabbles and politick with nobles on behalf of House Corbois.

“If that is your wish,” I gritted out.

Diem frowned.