The War of Two Queens

“No matter what the prophecy says, I have free will. I control my actions. I wouldn’t do something like that. I won’t take part in whatever Isbeth thinks I will do.”

“Her name is a shadow in the ember, a light in the flame, and the fire in the flesh. The Primal of Life has forbidden us to speak or write her name.”

“If you somehow, in the unlikely event, make it past us, she will know, and she will kill him. She’ll tell you she didn’t want to, and a part of her will be speaking the truth because she knows what that will do. What pain it will cause you.”

“We are not brothers of the same blood. We are not friends due to some bond. We are not loyal to each other because of courtesy or tradition or title. We have always been above all that. And, in a lot of ways, we’re two halves of the same whole. Different than Poppy and me, but not that much different. You know that.”

“Because I can’t become something capable of leveling cities. I couldn’t live with myself. You know that. You couldn’t live with allowing me to become that. Neither could Casteel. Maybe that will never happen. I will do everything I can to not let it. But if it does? You would be doing the right thing. You know that. You would be doing the thing that needed to be done.

“Go get our King, my Queen.”

“My beautiful, brave Queen. I could stay here, holding you, forever.”

“I will take the time, but I know my answer won’t change. I want to do the Joining.

“Nyktos would be conflicted over your actions. On one hand, he would never not be happy about a renewal of life. On the other, he would worry about the nature of things. The course of life and death and how such an intervention alters the balance—the fairness. When it comes to the Consort and choice to act or not, she would weigh the concerns, toss them aside, hope no one was paying attention, and just do it.”

“I was born with the flesh and fire of the Primal god in my blood. Make no mistake, with each passing day, I feel less like a mortal than I did the day before.”

“You have faced Craven and vamprys, men wearing masks of mortal flesh. Stared down Atlantians who’ve wanted to harm you, seized cities, and freed me. You’re more than a Queen. More than a goddess on the verge of becoming a Primal. You’re Penellaphe Da’Neer, and you’re fearless.”

“Feedings can get intense,” he reminded me, drawing my gaze to his. “Whatever you feel or don’t feel during this doesn’t matter. What does is that you know that this—all of it—is natural. There’s no shame here. No judgment. I know that. Cas knows that. You need to know that, Poppy.”

“Either you find me something else to wear, or I go like this. And if that is unsuitable, I will go to her with nothing but the skin I was born in.”

“I would tell you that I would kill Isbeth for that, but my Queen is a god. She will kill her.”

“You once told me that I didn’t always have to be strong when I was with you. That it was safe for me not to be okay. You told me that it was your duty as my husband to make sure I knew that I didn’t have to pretend. Well, it’s my duty as your wife to make sure you know that, too. You’re my shelter, Cas. My roof and my walls—my foundation. And I am yours.”

“I don’t give a damn about leadership right now. It’s you that I’m concerned about. You are the Queen, but you are also my daughter-in-law.”

“Don’t forget that vamprys were once mortal, Penellaphe. And while they have left many of those trappings behind, they still see only what they want to see. Because looking too closely at things often makes one uncomfortable. Unsure. Not even vamprys enjoy living like that. So, like those mortals upstairs, and in all of Solis, they’d rather be oblivious to what is right in front of them than feel doubt or fear.”

“You’re right. Casteel would never want me to take such a risk, not even for him. Not even when he would do the same if it were me who had been taken. But he also wouldn’t try to stop me.”