Page 32 of Hearts on Fire

My throat felt dry, like sandpaper, making me cough. I shifted to my side, waiting for the bout of cough to subside. My nose was clogged, too, making it harder to breathe. I had a nasty flu once when I was a kid. This felt very much like that.

I finished coughing and dropped my head back into the poofy pillow. It was as soft as a cloud. This wasn’t my usual hard, narrow bed. This one was at least five times as wide and covered by blankets as light and soft as a feather. A pile of them lay on the floor by the bed, along with the few soft pelts of thick, light fur. I grabbed one and dragged it over myself.

Clearly, I wasn’t in thesalamandras’room anymore. There were no other perches here other than the one I was lying on. It also had some real furniture, not just slabs of rocks. There was a recliner by the fireplace with a low table next to it. A trunk stood next to the bed. It also served as a nightstand. In the glow of the moonlight, I spotted a wide metal jug and a large bowl on top of the trunk.

My hand shook when I reached for the jug. Sitting up, I lifted it with both hands. Something sloshed inside it. Water. I brought the jug to my mouth and drank until my stomach was so full, I feared it’d burst.

Snuggling back under the furs and blankets, I turned to my other side and…came face-to-face with Elex.

He was sitting on the floor with his forearm placed on the bed. His spread wings shielded me from the breeze from the open window. His stone face frozen in a frown of concern. His eyes were open, their gaze directed at my head on the pillow. The sunset had caught him as he was staring at me.

He looked so worried, I wanted to reassure him somehow, whether he heard me or not.

“I feel like shit,” I confessed with a weak smile. “But at least I feel something, right? I’m awake and alert now. I’ll be fine, Elex.”

The frown on his face didn’t ease, of course. The deep crease between his eyebrows didn’t smooth out. But if his concern was for me, I hoped he saw me awake, and I hoped it made him feel a tiny bit better.

I crawled closer to him and pressed my face to his forearm. It felt smooth and pleasantly cool against my feverish skin.

“Good night, Elex,” I whispered, as a dizzy sleep started to take over. “And… Thank you. For whatever you did.”

* * *

The next time I woke, it was bright. Sunlight flooded the room through the open window.

The snow had melted from most of the mountains. Only the deep crevasses where sunlight didn’t reach it still glistened with white.

“You’re awake.” Elex plopped onto the bed next to me while I squinted and blinked in the sunlight. “Are you cold? Hot? How are you feeling?”

He was wearing a pair of loose-fitting pants and a long burgundy tunic with gold embroidery on the sleeves and around the neckline. Without a belt or his usual dagger, his outfit looked rather casual, but his expression was far from relaxed. It was a mix of both concern and excitement.

Seeing his face was like a breath of fresh air after being cooped up in a hot oven somewhere. That was what it had felt like before. All I remembered was the scorching heat that had made me shake from head to toe.

“How are you feeling?” he asked again, brushing a sticky, sweaty strand of hair from my forehead.

“Both hot and cold.” I drew the covers high to my face. My nose felt cold like an icicle.

Elex stared at me.“Both?How do I fix that?”

He looked so adorable with his wild tousled hair and his gorgeous dark eyes open wide in confusion, I couldn’t hold back a smile, reaching for his hand.

“There isn’t much anyone can do, Elex. I must’ve caught something.”

“Caughtwhat?” He laced his fingers with mine, and I promptly dragged his hand under the covers with me.

“A cold. Or a bug. A virus, I mean.” I shrugged. With all the constant winds and bitter drafts in the castle, it was a miracle I didn’t get sick sooner. “Did you know you had viruses in Nerifir? Or maybe I brought some with me. In which case, it’s good you guys don’t react to them.”

It was a lot of words at once. My throat felt dry again.

“I need some water,” I croaked, turning to look for the jug.

Elex beat me to it. There was a silver goblet next to the jug this time, and he filled it with water. With his arm around my shoulders, he lifted me into a sitting position, then shifted behind me, propping my body with his.

“Here.” He brought the goblet to my lips. “I saw you drink last night.”

I emptied the goblet quickly. He poured me another one, but I declined, thinking I should visit a bathroom first before taking in any more liquids.

“You saw me? So, you weren’t sleeping when I woke up earlier? Were you worried about me?”