Page 39 of Hearts on Fire

“Were you scared when I did that?” he asked.

“No.” I smiled, blinking droplets of water out of my eyes. “Not at all. Why would I be?”

He stared at me with a faint smile playing on his lips. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but it seemed to mean something to him.

“Should I have been scared?” I asked.

“A while back, if I did that, you would’ve clung to me, sputtered, and yelled like a wild cat. Damn, you would’ve slapped me, too,” he chuckled.

“That wasa while back.” I shrugged. “Now I know you wouldn’t let me drown. Just like I know you wouldn’t drop me when we fly.”

“You trust me.” It wasn’t a question, but there was a challenge in his voice, like he dared me to disagree.

I didn’t argue. I just stared at him, hit by the realization of how much he was right. I literally put my life into his hands without a second thought now. There was no doubt in my mind, no inner debate of talking myself into it. The trust came naturally. And it was…weird.

“I do,” I mumbled, flabbergasted.

“It took a long time to happen.” He grinned.

It wasn’t long at all. I’d known Elex only for several weeks. So much had happened in that time, however, that it felt like forever.

“Hmm.” I poked at the fragrant suds from my hair floating on the surface of the pool. This was new, this discovery of my unconditional trust in this man. I had no idea how to feel about it. I released a sigh. “The last time I trusted a man, I almost got shot.”

“Was it back at the portal in your world?”

I glanced up at him. “How did you know?”

“The man in the leather jacket shouted your name. He knew you. Which didn’t stop him from sending armed people after you.”

I kept chasing the soap bubbles in the water.

“I… I didn’t have much experience with men when I met Chris. I was too young to have much experience in anything, really. He seemed to care about me. And maybe he did, in some way, at some point in our relationship. But it was never unconditional. I always felt I had to do what he wanted and be what he wished to earn his affection.”

“Did you steal me from Ghata for him?”

I nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. “Chris was the one who got that job for me. Yes.”

“I see,” he said softly.

There was no judgment in his voice, yet I felt the need to clarify, “We weren’t together anymore.”

“But he still had some hold over you, didn’t he?”

“He wanted to,” I admitted. Somehow, things were easier to see more clearly from a world away. “Chris never really let me go even after I left. He just allowed me to play at independence for a little while. Kind of giving some slack to the leash while knowing he could always yank me back whenever he wished.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “One thing is for sure, it feels good to know I’ll never have to face that man ever again.”

I had nothing in this world, not a penny to my name, but here I felt more free than ever before.

“He’ll never find you here,” Elex assured me. “He’s as good as dead to you now.”

It was so good to hear.

Elex slid his hands up my arms, and I stepped into his embrace. It felt as natural as coming home. He pressed his lips to my temple. “I’ll have to leave tomorrow, my little spark.”

I leaned back to see his face. “Leave? Where?”

“Just for a little while.” He stroked my wet hair soothingly. “The king wants me to fly down to the foothills of the Bozyr Peak, to the place where the battle will take place in two days.”

I winced at the reminder of the war. “Why do you have to go there?”