The Kindred's Curse Saga, #3
Heat of the Everflame
by Penn Cole
Contents
Chapter 61
Overview
Diem reads a prophetic letter to Montios’s heir, then rides with Luther and her mother toward the Forgotten Lands to confront the silvery-eyed foe. Tensions flare as her mother admits killing Diem’s sire. In a blighted village with Vance rallying Guardians, Diem’s lethal shot is absorbed. The foe reveals himself as Diem’s father and greets Auralie—her mother—by name.
Summary
Diem receives a letter to Montios’s heir bearing a prophecy: eleven must fall, share the gift, a dying star rekindles, and what’s forgotten isn’t lost, with warnings about a sister and a brother. She and Luther debate reinforcements and magic reserves while her mother distrusts Luther. When Diem presses about her birth father, her mother admits killing him with a godstone dagger the day Diem was born.
They ride into the Forgotten Lands. The land’s corruption hungrily drains Luther’s magic as Diem’s godhood swells, forcing Diem to wrest control of the Forging to release him. From a hill they observe a hidden village with thriving crops in winter and Guardians gathered. They spot Vance, now one-armed and carrying Luther’s old sword, rousing the mortals.
Family tensions erupt—Diem claims House Corbois; her mother and Luther argue over past violence—until Diem refocuses them on the threat. A radiant, overwhelmingly powerful man appears; Luther urges Diem to strike from range. Diem crafts a shadow arrow, wrestling with the morality of a calculated killing but deciding to act to prevent further slaughter.
Diem fires for the spine, but the arrow vanishes into the man’s skin and fuels his aura. Realizing they are outmatched, Luther calls for retreat. The man turns, finds them immediately, and speaks with effortless reach. As Diem’s mother panics, he greets her—“Hello, Auralie”—then calls Diem “daughter,” revealing himself as her father.
Who Appears
- DiemProtagonist-Queen; deciphers a prophecy, confronts family truths, leads a hunt, fires on the foe whose body absorbs her magic.
- LutherSteadfast ally and lover; urges caution, suffers magic drain from the land, shields Diem, counsels a lethal shot, pushes for retreat.
- Auralie (Diem’s mother)Leader of Guardians; clashes with Luther, reveals she killed Diem’s sire, recognizes the foe, is addressed by name.
- Silvery-eyed manOverwhelming Descended; radiates power, absorbs Diem’s attack, locates them instantly, claims to be Diem’s father.
- VanceGuardian firebrand; one-armed, carries Luther’s old sword, rallies mortals with anti-Descended zeal in the hidden village.