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.”

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

“I’ll call you whatever you like, as long as you call me yours.”

“You can’t stay up there, my Queen. We need to get Malec, and we may need your extra-special Primal badassery to do it.”

“I think it’s exactly what you believe. Soul walking between heartmates. My son said he believed you were his heartmate—not that he needed to tell me that. I saw it for myself after the attack at the Chambers of Nyktos when he awoke to find that you’d been taken. I saw it in your eyes and heard it in your voice when you spoke of your plans to go to Carsodonia. You two have found something so very few ever experience.”

“That’s…gods, that’s my Queen.”

“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.”

“Nothing except that I’m in love with you. That I will always be in love with you, from now until our last breaths.”

“You can heal, but once the soul parts a being of two worlds, you cannot restore life.”

“Don’t forget what he means to me, Poppy. I’ve known him my whole damn life. We shared the same crib more times than not. We took our first steps together. Sat at the same table most nights, refusing to eat the same vegetables. We explored tunnels and lakes, pretended that fields were new, undiscovered kingdoms. We were inseparable. And that didn’t change as we grew older. He was and still is a part of me.”

“But you and I both know that if you had to choose, there would be no choice. To be honest, I’m relieved to hear that. Casteel deserves someone who will burn the realm for him.”

“Nearly everything I’ve done is for her. She’s my heartmate.”

“You want to make her pay for what she did. I do, too. We all do. But if you do this—if you go anywhere like this—people will die. Innocents you want to help. People Cas wants to protect.”

“That kind of magic, that kind of power this Blood Queen has learned? You just saw what it is capable of. It can only be used for death and decay. She is a far more dangerous foe than I think anyone has realized.”

“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.”

“Whether she ruled over all the lands and seas or was the Queen of nothing but a pile of ashes and bones, she would—will—always be my Queen. Love is too weak an emotion to describe how she consumes me and what I feel for her. She is my everything.”

“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 am not the Harbinger. I carry the blood of the King of Gods in me, and those who reside in these walls do not speak to any god—or for them. They are your enemy. Not us.”