The Kindred's Curse Saga, #2
Glow of the Everflame
by Penn Cole
Contents
Chapter 2
Overview
At the royal lodge, Diem confirms her royal blood via bloodlock and faces Prince Luther, who arrives armed and accuses her of killing the King. After a volatile standoff, she denies involvement and agrees to go to the palace to control her narrative. On the ride, she recognizes Luther as the rider who killed a mortal boy, hardening her resolve to survive the Challenging, complete the Rite, and turn the Crown against the Descended.
Summary
Alone at the royal hunting lodge, Diem opens the bloodlocked door with her own blood, confirming her royal lineage and unwanted claim to the Crown. Haunted by the armory inferno and her improbable survival, she steels herself with her father’s mantra to keep moving rather than hide.
Expecting Lily, Diem opens the door to Prince Luther, sword drawn and aura flaring. Convinced she killed the King, Luther presses her for answers. Diem denies knowing her nature or harming the King and counters by demanding information about her missing mother. Their confrontation frays with sharp barbs and charged attraction until Luther notices the Crown, reassesses, and sheathes his weapon.
Luther orders Diem to come to the palace, warning that the Crown’s gryvern, Sorae, is bound to her and will reveal her location. Diem insists she wants no part of ruling and claims she has no magic, which Luther dismisses as dangerous self-deception. Prioritizing control of what to reveal, Diem reluctantly agrees to go with him, believing Lily alerted him; Luther says Lily thought she was helping.
They depart on a single horse, the enforced closeness unsettling Diem as old sparks resurface. As they ride, Diem recognizes the distinctive white horse from Henri’s story about a Descended rider who trampled a mortal boy. Realizing it was Luther, Diem’s anger eclipses any lingering trust or attraction.
By the ride’s end, Diem commits to a new course: survive the Challenging, complete the Rite of Coronation, and wield the Crown not to join the Descended but to bring them to justice—beginning with Luther.
Who Appears
- Diem BellatorNewly manifested Queen; confirms royal blood, denies regicide, agrees to go to the palace, and vows to use the Crown against the Descended.
- Prince Luther CorboisArrives armed, accuses Diem of killing the King, insists she come to the palace; revealed as the rider who killed a mortal boy.
- LilyLeaves to fetch supplies but leads Luther to the lodge, believing she is helping Diem.
- SoraeThe Crown’s gryvern; magically bound to Diem and able to track her, forcing Diem’s hand to go to the palace.
- The King (Luther’s uncle)Recently dead; Luther suspects Diem of killing him after she met him alone before his death.
- HenriDiem’s former lover; his account of a boy trampled by a white horse reveals Luther’s past cruelty.