Burn of the Everflame — Chapter 41

41

HENRI

Several months ago

histling swirled through the leafless branches, the tune jolly and light.W It was an old mortal hymn, something about traitorous blood running in the streets. An odd theme for a song so cheery.

“Nice day for a mission,” Brant said, staring up at the cloudless blue sky.

“Unusually sunny for this time of year,” Vance agreed. “The Old Gods must be smiling on us.” The two men shared a look. Behind them, the whistler stopped to snicker.

Though the day was bright, my mood was dark. Every step we took down the secluded forest path, it got a little darker.

“Did you do what I told you, Brother Henri?” Vance asked.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and set my jaw. “Lana agreed to say I was with her, if anyone asks.”

Guilt chewed at me for bringing Lana into this. I’d been pulling her closer when I should have been breaking things off. I’d turned to her at a low point, when I’d been certain Diem was going to say no to my proposal.

I’d felt rejected and alone, and Lana was there for me in a way Diem wasn’t. And sure, maybe I did want to make Diem a little jealous. If I could show her that other women desired me, maybe she would, too. I hadn’t counted on my feelings for Lana growing so strong.

I’d been in love with Diem all my life. Every future I’d ever imagined had her in it. She’d said she wanted to marry me, but what good was that

when she treated me like I didn’t exist?

Then she’d betrayed me at the ball. She let me rot in a musty cell while she drank and danced with that fucking Prince, who was clearly in love with her. Could I compete with that? I wasn’t even sure I wanted to anymore.

“You’re thinking about that bitch again, aren’t you?” Brant asked.

“You’ve got that stupid scowl on your face.”

“Don’t call her that,” I muttered.

“That’s what she is. Showed her true colors last night. Descended always pick their own over us.” He jabbed a finger in my shoulder. “Stop bein’ lovesick over a traitor.”

“Henri isn’t lovesick, Brother Brant,” Vance said. “He’s strategic. The girl is useful. Once he marries her and becomes King, we’ll have all the power.”

My teeth ground together. Of course I wanted the power to get back at the Descended, but that wasn’t why I was marrying Diem.

Was it?

“After today,” Vance said, “the girl will be back on our side.”

I frowned. “You really think we can talk Andrei into helping us convince her?”

Vance’s lips curled into a smirk. “When we’re done today, she’ll be more motivated to help us than ever.”

The men behind us shared another round of laughter.

I glanced back at them, my frown dragging deeper. When Vance suggested we go talk to Diem’s father, I hadn’t expected him to bring anyone else, let alone nearly every strong male in the Lumnos cell. There were more than fifty men in our group, and all of them seemed to know

more about the plan than me.

“Do we need this many people?” I asked.

“You know, Brother Henri might be right.” Vance waved a hand at Francis, his third-in-command. “Why don’t you take the others through the forest? Keep an eye on those guards from afar.”

“I’d rather stay with you,” Francis said, looking uneasy. “I’m sure Brother Brant would be happy to go.”

“It wasn’t a request,” Vance clipped. “Set a good example to Brother Henri here, and don’t question orders.”

I bristled. That wasn’t how Auralie had run things. She always said anyone was free to question a plan or say no to any mission. That’s why the Guardians had grown so large under her leadership.

But Auralie wasn’t here.

Francis shot me a long look, then shook his head. “You all, come with me,” he mumbled, gesturing to the back half of the pack, who split off and followed him into the trees.

The path opened up to a grassy field with a small cottage not far from the water’s edge. For as long as I could remember, this place had been my second home. I’d made thousands of happy memories here. Andrei Bellator was in the background of many—shouting feedback as Diem and I sparred, fishing from the shore while we swam, scolding us when we got caught sneaking sips from his whiskey. He’d never really warmed to me—and frankly, neither had I to him, given his loyalty to the Crowns—but he’d always been kind.

“Halt,” a Descended guard yelled from the front door. He held up a hand, and a shimmering wall formed to block our path. “Who are you?”

Vance elbowed me forward. “Henri Albanon,” I called out. “I’m here to

see Andrei Bellator.”

“And the rest of you?”

“Friends of the family,” Vance chimed in.

“He’s not expecting you.” The Descended’s condescending sneer as he looked us over took me right back to last night in the palace, when Diem’s guards had treated me like I was shit on their boot. My temper boiled at the

reminder.

“It’s a surprise,” I gritted out.

The Descended narrowed his eyes.

Vance let out a hearty laugh and slapped me on the shoulder. “What Henri means is that we’ve come to congratulate our dear friend Andrei on his daughter’s betrothal.”

“Her Majesty isn’t betrothed,” the guard said.

“Yes, she is,” I said. “To me.”

He visibly recoiled. “You? A mortal?” He looked around at the other guards scattered over the clearing, who shared the same disgusted look.

Was this how they all would react? Maybe that was the real reason Diem uninvited me from her ball. She was ashamed of me. She wanted

these worthless Descended scum to respect her, and with me on her arm,

they never would.

Well, I was no one’s shameful secret.

“That’s right, I’m going to be your King.” I slammed my fist on the glittering shield. “So do as you’re told and let me in that house.”

The front door cracked open, and a head popped out. “What’s going on out h—Henri, is that you?”

“Andrei,” Vance called out. “Just the man we’ve come to see.”

Andrei’s gaze drifted over our group, then Vance, then me. I fought an urge to shrink away like I was doing something wrong. I’d always felt that way around Diem’s father, like he could see right through every scheme and half-truth. Only with Diem did he seem to look the other way.

I used to think she was his weak spot out of fondness. Now I wondered if he knew somehow she’d become a Crown, and he was submitting to her just like he knelt to all the others.

My fists balled tighter. “This guard won’t let us through. I thought they were supposed to protect you, not decide who you can and can’t see.”

Andrei slipped outside and exchanged words with the guard. The longer they talked, the angrier I got. What was there to discuss? Since when did I need permission to enter the Bellator home?

Finally, Andrei beckoned us forward. The guard beside him leveled us with a nasty glare before lowering his shield. As we filed in the house, I heard Andrei thank him for his vigilance, offering to bring out a tray of hot tea once we left.

Foolish old man, I thought bitterly. If your daughter wasn’t Queen, these guards would kill you without a second thought.

“That’s enough,” Andrei said when half of our group had packed inside.

“The rest of you can wait out here.”

To my surprise, no one objected. The others made themselves at home on the porch, sprawling out on the stairs or leaning against the railings. The guard raised a shield around himself, and one of the Guardians snorted.

“Look, boys, this Descended is scared of us. He’s shakin’ in his fancy boots. Guess their magic ain’t as strong as they want us to think.” He nudged the Guardian next to him. “Good to know, eh?”

“Lucky me,” the other said. He squinted at the glittering wall. “Always wanted to study one of these things up close.”

The guard scowled, and his shield disappeared.

“What brings you boys all the way out here?” Andrei asked as he followed us inside. He left the door ajar, though Brant quickly closed it.

Vance strolled around the large central room, picking up objects at random and turning them over in his hands. “Do old friends need a reason to talk?”

Andrei’s jaw twitched as he watched him. “I wasn’t aware you and I were ‘old friends.’ Last time we spoke, you called me a traitor.”

“Well, those were different times, weren’t they? A different ass sat on the throne.” He tore a paper from the wall—a child’s sketch of a little girl holding a sword. “The one that’s there now . . .”

Andrei snatched the drawing from his hand. “Watch your mouth,” he warned, pinning it back in place. “I’ve ignored your slander for years, Vance. I’ll not do the same when it comes to my daughter.”

Vance chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Great things will come from her reign. Especially with young Henri at her side.”

Andrei’s expression hardened as it shifted to me. “If you’ve come because you want me to tell Diem to accept your proposal, you’re wasting your time. I made that mistake already, and she didn’t speak to me for days.”

I was stunned to hear that Diem’s father had urged her to say yes. Was that the only reason she did?

Vance’s eyebrows shot up. “So you don’t know, then . . . I guess Her Majesty wanted to keep the happy news all to herself.”

Vance glanced at me, and there was so much pity in it—like my engagement was a sham, and I was the last man in Emarion to see it.

Andrei glanced between us. “Diem said yes?”

“Henri’s going to be your new son,” Vance said, hauling me into his

side. “And our new King.”

“King Consort,” Andrei corrected.

“She didn’t tell you?” I asked.

He hesitated. “She’s been very busy. She has a realm to run now. She and I . . . we’ve hardly spoken.”

“Is that so?” Vance asked. “Because I hear you were just at the palace this morning for a meeting with House Benette.” Vance glanced at me.

“Strange that she didn’t invite you.”

“How do you know that?” Andrei demanded. “Those meetings are private.”

Vance shrugged. “Guardians have sources everywhere. Now that Auralie’s gone, those sources are mine.”

My head jerked toward him. Auralie was adamant that her family never know about her involvement with the Guardians, but Vance had just declared it outright. She was going to be furious when she returned. She might even kick Vance out of the Guardians for breaking our most sacred rule.

Oddly, I was the only Guardian in the room that looked unsettled by the breach. Even Diem’s father seemed more irritated than shocked.

“Are you the reason she’s gone?” Andrei growled.

Vance laughed. “Must be difficult, to know the women in your life trust you so little. Don’t worry, though.” He winked. “I know all their secrets.”

Andrei’s hands rose to his hip, reaching for blades that weren’t there.

His weapons belt lay on an armchair by the hearth—a chair that three Guardians now surrounded.

“Don’t you want to have a drink with your future son?” Brant chimed in. “He came all this way.”

Andrei eyed me with a cold suspicion he’d never shown toward me before. I didn’t blame him. Vance was clearly pushing his buttons, trying to goad him into a fight.

I was beginning to think this meeting was a mistake. Strained as things were between me and Diem, I didn’t need Vance making it worse.

I cleared my throat. “Vance, I think we should g—”

“Come on, Andrei,” Vance interrupted. “Let’s toast to your daughter’s happiness. One drink, then we’ll go.”

Brant didn’t wait for Andrei’s answer. He bounded into the Bellator kitchen, loudly slamming cabinet doors open and shut. Andrei grunted and followed behind to call him off. Brant raised his hands in surrender and stepped back, placing himself in front of some cooking knives laid out on the counter.

“What are you doing?” I whispered to Vance. “Andrei’s not going to help us if you keep making him mad.”

Vance smiled as he dragged me to the kitchen and shoved me forward.

Andrei had poured a splash of amber liquid into two glasses, one of which he offered to me. When I took it, he leveled me with a hard stare.

“My daughter is a very special woman, Henri. She is courageous.

Compassionate to a fault. If there’s a battle to fight, she’ll take every blow

herself to spare anyone else a cut, and then she’ll hide the wounds so no one sees her bleed.”

I struggled to hold his eyes. I was angrier with Diem than I’d ever been.

She was stubborn as hell and so naive it drove me mad. Lately, her loyalty seemed to change with the wind. Loving her required nerves of Fortosian steel.

But she was also all the things he’d said. The worst part of admitting he was right was accepting that it might be the real reason she’d sent us away last night.

Maybe she hadn’t betrayed us, after all.

Andrei’s chin lowered at my silence. “Do you think I’m wrong?”

I took a sip before answering. “No, I do not.”

“Good. Because it will be your job as her husband to stop her.”

A snort broke free. “Even the Old Gods couldn’t stop Diem from doing something she’s set her mind to do.”

“You can’t stop her from fighting whatever battle she has decided to fight,” he agreed, “but you can keep her from doing it alone. You can try your best to protect her, and you can help her find people she can trust.” His eyes darted briefly to Vance. “People she can trust, Henri, not the people you do. A husband’s oath to his wife should outweigh any cause.” He set a hand on my shoulder. “Is that something you’re willing to do?”

I masked the stiffness of my nod with another sip. The liquor felt like sawdust in my throat.

Three more Guardians edged into the kitchen and stood at Andrei’s back. His head shifted slightly as he noted the movement. He glanced at Vance, then at the two Guardians by the door. He let out a slow sigh. When his eyes returned to me, he seemed to have aged ten years in a single breath.

His hand gripped me hard. “I hope someday you know the joys of fatherhood. I pray that you know a love that is as pure as what I feel for my daughter and my son. They are the most treasured things in my world. I’m entrusting one of them to you. Take care . . .” His voice caught. His fingers dug into my flesh as he slowly, with effort, cleared his throat. “Please take care of her. Swear to me now, no matter what happens between the two of you, you’ll protect my little girl.”

The look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. He looked oddly

urgent, and maybe a little sad.

“I will,” I promised, nodding intently.

Andrei downed his drink in a single gulp, then set the empty glass aside.

He smoothed his palms over his shirt and straightened his vest, then lifted his chin to Vance. “Do what you came to do, Vance, or get out of my house.”

“War is coming, Andrei,” Vance said. “The future of our people is at

stake. It’s time to pick a side.”

“I’m on my daughter’s side.”

Vance moved closer, as did the other men. “Even if she aligns herself with the Descended?”

“Always,” Andrei rumbled. “Better still if it’s a side you aren’t on.”

The air in the room turned to ice. Vance had just drawn a line in the sand, and Andrei had kicked it in his face. I looked around, hair rising on my neck.

“Let’s discuss this another time,” I offered nervously.

Vance kept his stare on Andrei. “You know, when Auralie told me where she was going on her mission, I knew the Old Gods were handing me a gift.”

Andrei’s eyes widened. “You know where she is?” He stepped forward, and two Guardians grabbed his shoulders to yank him back. “Auralie’s alive?”

“Indeed, she is.” Vance gave a heaving sigh. “It’s too bad you won’t be here when she returns.”

A spray of red splattered over my face, blinding me as I saw it—Brant’s hand, a silver blade, and a bloody line across Andrei Bellator’s throat.

I screamed.

Everything that came next was a blur.

The front door slamming open. The guard’s shout, cut short by another swinging blade. On the porch, the thud of a head hitting the floor, then another thud for its corpse. Outside, a whistle. The sounds of fighting, over

too soon. A loud, triumphant cheer.

“No!” I begged.

Andrei clawed at the Guardians holding him up, scratching deep gouges down their forearms. They hissed and let go, and he lunged for the knife in Brant’s hand.

But his wound had already done its job. His chest was drenched in scarlet, and his face was quickly turning pale. Brant ripped the knife back

with little effort. The others pelted Andrei with fists and boots that went unanswered, and he collapsed to his knees.

Maura can heal him, I told myself. There’s still time to fix this.

I reached to grab him, and Vance seized me by the collar. “Hold on,

Brother Henri. We’re not done yet.”

“He’s going to die!” I shouted.

The others began to laugh.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Vance said. He pulled back his coat and unsheathed a Fortosian steel dagger that we’d stolen during the armory attack. The pink gemstones in its black-and-copper handle glinted as he held it out to me. “Finish him off.”

I stared dumbly at the other Guardians. Surely, one of them would stop this. We killed Descended, not mortals.

But they didn’t help, nor did they object.

They stared and they smiled and they laughed.

“We have to get him into town,” I begged them. “If we hurry, the healers can save him.”

Brant snorted. “Not the smartest, are ya, kid?”

I grabbed the knife from Vance and jabbed it toward him, sending him jumping back. “Let him go!”

The laughter silenced. The others pulled their weapons and closed in around me. I swung the blade wildly to keep them away, but there were so many of them, and Andrei’s eyes were drooping fast.

Vance held up a hand. “Everyone, calm down. Brother Henri is just a little surprised, that’s all. He needs a moment to get his thoughts in order.”

“Better do it fast.” Brant grabbed Andrei by the hair and yanked his sagging head upright. “He won’t last much longer.”

Vance turned to me, eyes crinkling with an amicable smile. It was a jarring shift from the frosty bite he’d shown toward Andrei. That’s how Vance had always been—warm and encouraging to those he took under his wing, merciless to everyone else.

Though it was the opposite of Auralie, it made him an effective leader, as well. Vance split the world in two. If you were one of us, you were cared for. Respected. We were family. We risked everything for each other, even our lives.

But if you were one of them, then you were the enemy.

And enemies had to die.

“Brother Henri,” Vance said, “it’s time to prove your loyalty to the Guardians.”

“I already have,” I protested. “I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked.”

“You got engaged to a Descended,” Brant spat. “How are we supposed to trust that you won’t betray us for her?”

“Maybe he already did,” another Guardian said. “For all we know, he led us there last night knowing exactly what she’d do.”

“That’s why they closed the hole in the garden wall,” another growled.

“He told her we were coming.”

Their glares grew darker.

Vance placed his body between me and the points of their blades.

“Henri would never do that.” He turned to face me. “Isn’t that right, Brother? You swore an oath to the Guardians. You’re still with us, aren’t you?”

I began to tremble. How was I going to save Andrei? I wasn’t sure I was even going to survive this myself.

“You said we wanted Diem to join us,” I rasped, nearly choking on the lump in my throat.

“What better way to convince her?” Vance said, gesturing to Andrei.

“She’ll blame the Descended. She’ll want them all dead, just as we do. It will bring her back to our side for good.”

I realized just how stupid I had been. How had I not seen this coming?

When the Umbros magic wore off this morning, I’d been furious at Diem, but I’d been even more scared that Vance would order her execution. I’d been fucking relieved when he’d suggested this instead.

Gods, I was in so far over my head.

Vance motioned to the others, and they hauled Andrei to his feet. He was barely moving, and his lips had gone grey.

“You brought us here,” Vance told me, “so you have to be the one to do it. Prove to everyone that your loyalty is to the Guardians, and finish what

you started.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“You’re not leaving this house without spilling blood, boy. It’s either his or yours.”

Francis’s face appeared in the doorway. “The guards got off a warning flare before we killed them, we need to g—” He froze, staring at the knife in my hand, then at Andrei. His body seemed to deflate.

“Make your choice fast, Brother Henri,” Vance warned. “Are you with us or against us?”

Andrei’s eyes were fighting to stay on me, but I was too ashamed to meet them. I’d never killed anyone before. I’d begged Vance to let me join the armory attack, itching for a chance to shed Descended blood, but at the last minute, I’d lost my nerve and asked to serve as lookout instead.

I was a gods-damned hypocrite. I’d lectured Diem about the cost of war, but when my turn came, I wasn’t willing to pay.

Andrei’s lips moved, though with his throat cut, all that came out was a gurgle.

“Do it for your poor dead mother,” Vance growled in my ear. “She suffered because of laws this man spent his career enforcing. He’d let her die all over again, if some prick with a Crown ordered him to do it.”

My grip tightened on the knife to keep it from rattling out of my shaking hands. Maybe Vance had a point. Andrei proudly served the Crowns. He’d killed plenty of rebels just like us. And if his death convinced Diem to help the mortals, wasn’t that a fair trade? The freedom of our people was worth more than one man’s life, no matter who he was.

But she would never forgive me.

“Kill him,” Vance snapped, his paternal kindness firmly gone.

“P . . .” Andrei’s mouth gave its final, dying gasp. “Promise.”

“Do it!” Vance roared.

My hand jerked forward. The blade slid through flesh, through heart.

Through friendships and love and lifelong bonds.

Through a future I wanted but didn’t deserve.

Through the life of a complicated man. A war hero and a traitor. A husband. A father.

Andrei’s eyes went wide . . . then they didn’t move again.

The Guardians let out a cheer. Vance grinned and clapped a hand on my back. “Good job, Brother Henri. Now you’re truly one of us.”

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