A Light in the Flame: A Flesh and Fire Novel

We all need someone to watch over us.”
Heat crawled up my throat. “Do you?”
“Desperately,” he whispered.

“And there’s…more important stuff to deal with.”
“I’m dealing with the most important stuff right now.”

“Your safety is worth everything.”
“Even the Shadowlands?”
His now-swirling eyes had never left mine, but, somehow, he’d moved without me even realizing, crossing the space between us. “ Yes.”

“Your presence will cost me nothing.”

“But if he—” I started.
“I won’t let him lay a finger on you,” Nyktos swore,

Ash was quiet for some time. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. “Thank you.”
My eyes opened. “What are you thanking me for?”
“For just… Just for being you,” he said.

“Rise for the One who is born of Blood and Ash, the Light and the Fire, and the Brightest Moon,”

“Bow for the Asher, the One who is Blessed.”
The slide of slippers and boots over stone echoed, somehow drowning out the sudden pounding of my heart. Ash squeezed my hand, and I felt that. I felt him. Only him.
“The Guardian of Souls,” Rhain continued, and I swore the stars above pulsed. “And the Primal God of Common Men and Endings, the ruler of the Shadowlands. The Primal of Death.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, liessa.”

“ You are the heir to the lands and seas, skies and realms. A Queen instead of a King. You are the Primal of Life,”