Heat of the Everflame

Remis demands that Diem let him rule until the other Crowns decide what to do about her coronation. An argument ensues about the future of Emarion. Remis is uninterested in a civil war and has no concern for the mortals. Finally, Diem cedes her ruling power to Remis because she knows the Crown is loyal to her. He agrees to support her in the meantime.

Diem reconvenes with Luther, Alixe, Taran, Eleanor, and Teller. In private together, they discover Diem’s ability to read minds. They decide to use this new power to free Auralie from Fortos.

Diem heads to Mortal City with Sorae, where she encounters Henri and Lana (a healer Diem worked with in the past) kissing in the woods. Diem and Henri share a private conversation where they discuss their former relationship and Henri’s new relationship with Lana. Diem is shocked to learn that Henri was seeing Lana before they broke up. Henri is still furious with Diem for seeing Luther and working with the Descended. Diem reminds him that she is half-Descended. While discussing her magical capabilities, Diem wonders if she is gaining the power of all the Kindred and what this will mean for her future.

Diem heads to Fortos, where she is shocked to encounter Teller. He relocated, abandoning Lily and starting a new life. The siblings have a difficult conversation. Teller now knows Auralie is the Guardians’ leader and doesn’t want Diem to rescue her anymore. He’s tired of Diem trying to protect him and frustrated that she’s endangering herself and hiding things from him. Nevertheless, Diem has to keep her word to her kingdom and the plans she’s made to free Auralie.

Fortos soldiers arrive and try to keep Diem and Luther from advancing. Diem unleashes her magic, killing numerous soldiers. She feels guilty but unsure how else to defend herself. Diem realizes she’ll need to go directly to the King of Fortos.

Diem and Luther head out to find the Fortos King. On the way, they have a heartfelt conversation about love and their relationship.

Diem and Luther secure an audience with the King. They demand to see Auralie but the King reminds Diem she isn’t Queen and is “implicated in [Auralie’s] crimes” (495). Diem unleashes her magic again. Impressed and annoyed, the King agrees to take her to the prison.

Diem’s mind races through recent events on her way to the prison. Inside, she is horrified when she sees women and children chained up. The voice in her head tells her to fight. Then she sees her mother inside a cage.

Diem and Auralie reunite. Diem immediately realizes she has been tortured. The mother and daughter discuss all that has happened, including Andrei’s death. Auralie is grief-stricken. Diem also informs Auralie she thinks her biological father is alive and looking for her. Auralie argues otherwise, as she killed him to put him out of his misery. Diem is skeptical.

The King interrupts, insisting Diem leave. On her way out, Diem uses her telepathic magic from Umbros to communicate with Auralie; she promises she will free her, mentally communicating an escape plan. Then she overhears Fortos whispering in the hall and discovers his plans to kill her and Auralie. She realizes Remis has betrayed her.

Diem tells Auralie they have to escape immediately. When she realizes Luther is injured, she fights Fortos and his guards. She casts her magic and godstone appears in its wake. A shocked Fortos taunts Diem. Diem continues fighting.

Amidst the chaos, a man’s voice emerges, calling Diem the Daughter of the Forgotten again. Diem’s magic intensifies and she kills Fortos. After his death, Diem becomes Fortos’s Queen.

Diem tries to recover from Fortos’s death. She, Auralie, and a wounded Luther move to escape the prison. Diem promises to free the mortal prisoners. She tells them who she is and her plans for their future.

Diem, Luther, and Auralie leave the prison, the mortals following behind. They arrive in the court, where Diem announces her new queenly role. She is weighed by guilt for killing Fortos as she talks. Then Diem makes a display and heals a sick Descended named Enness. Grateful, Enness promises Diem he’ll help protect the Fortos mortals.

Diem and Enness return to the prison to free the rest of the mortals. On their way out, they encounter hordes of Fortos soldiers. Diem transmits a vision of the ensuing battle to Luther. He races to her aid. The High General demands that Diem stop fighting. As her magic fades, she goads him. His attacks only strengthen her magic. Then she enters his mind and gives him instructions to die by suicide. A shocked Diem struggles to recover.

Diem, Luther, Sorae, Auralie and Enness head back to Lumnos. Diem instructs Enness to find Vance in Mortal City. Upon arrival, Diem and her companions find the palace encircled with soldiers and the Royal Guard. Remis instructs the soldiers to attack Diem and her companions. They manage to narrowly escape.

Unable to return to Lumnos, Diem and her companions head towards Montios. They make a camp that night. Diem and Auralie talk about Luther; Auralie expresses concerns. Later, Diem and Luther discuss their relationship and all that happened that day. Diem wonders if she should fully give her heart to him.

Diem and her friends arrive in Montios. As they approach, the voice emerges from the ether again, goading Diem. The Montios forces attack Diem. She lets it happen because she needs their magic. Once they make it past the danger, Diem, Auralie, and Luther head towards a cave on the outskirts of the palace. Luther and Auralie get into an argument about Diem. They encounter a young girl outside the cave. She warns the companions about entering as Diem has arrived in Montios uninvited.

Although the Montios guards insist Diem and Auralie are prisoners of the Crowns, the young girl, Maybell, leads Diem and her companions through “a tunnel of carved stone” (583) and to a woman named Hepta. Luther tells Diem they’re safe; he doesn’t think Montios really wants to hurt Diem after what she’s done in the other realms. Hepta tells Diem and Luther about the Forgotten Lands, an abandoned part of the realm the Descended fear where Diem might be safe. She also reminds Diem she is the Crown.

Diem doesn’t understand how she could rule more than one realm at a time. Hepta reminds her of what happened on Coeurîle. Diem realizes her coronation began to change the Crown, meaning her powers might be more significant than she thought.

Suddenly, the man’s voice appears, again addressing Diem as the Daughter of the Forgotten. Diem realizes the man is in the Forgotten Lands and insists she must find and kill him.