Page 46 of Hearts on Fire

I already balanced precariously on the very end of his knee. Yanking on his arm threw me off balance. I tipped sideways and fell off his leg, crashing to the ground.

Baring his teeth in a snarl, the king launched after me.

But then, someone laughed. One of the king’s men was laughing so hard, he grabbed his sides. The others joined him. They pointed their fingers at me, slapped their thighs, and laughed so loud, the crystals suspended under the dome-ceiling danced and clinked.

The king glanced around. As he realized the merriment was at my expense, not his, a smirk parted his beard. Leaning back in his throne, he snorted a laugh, too.

“Get up, you clumsy human.” He poked at me with his foot. “Go tell Mother I want you cleaned up and brought to my room after this meal.”

I didn’t mind the humiliation. I couldn’t care less if the entire world was laughing at me as long as I could leave here. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed my robe from the floor, and fled.

Instead of searching for Mother as the king ordered, I ran straight to Elex’s room. Once inside, I locked the door, then pulled out a satchel from one of the trunks.

My midday meal had been delivered while I’d been in the Great Hall. The tray sat on the small table by the window where I usually ate. I grabbed from the tray everything I could safely pack into the satchel—flat bread, plums, cheese, and cherries. Then I forced myself to eat some of the stew in a bowl. Once I left the castle, who knew when my next meal would come?

The dish was tasty, but I could barely swallow a few spoonfuls. Everything inside me vibrated with urgency. And fear. I was shaking with fear at how easily everything could be taken away from me—my dignity, my body, and any sense of security.

I couldn’t let it happen. I had to get out of this castle as soon as possible.

My plan was simple. Once past the castle walls, I’d head down to the valley. Making it on my own would be hard, but not impossible. I was not the same woman whom thesalamandrashad found by the river weeks ago. I might not know all about this world, but I’d learned the most important thing—I knew the dangers to avoid.

I also had a very important advantage over everyone in this kingdom—I could move at night unimpeded.

Since I had no spare clothes of my own, I packed some of Elex’s in my bag. I didn’t dare wear my red robe, but I took it with me. It was still chilly outside, especially at night. I could use it for sleeping if not for anything else.

In one of the trunks, I also found Elex’s cloak. Warm and soft, it enveloped me like a cloud. I closed my eyes, inhaling his familiar scent. I’d find Elex somehow. Once I was far away from here, once the war was over, I would find a way to send him a message. And this time, I had no doubts that he would come for me.

Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I padded to the door and pressed my ear to it. All seemed quiet out there, so I cracked the door open just a little. The corridor behind it was deserted. The king’s men would still be in the Great Hall with him and thesalamandras. The servants and the guards would be having their own midday meal, taking a break from running around all day on royal orders. That didn’t mean someone couldn’t be around to see me. I had to be careful and fast.

Slipping out through the door, I hurried to the tower and the winding stairs inside it. Then I went down to the floor with the kitchen. Taking the side corridor, I tiptoed by the bedroom of thesalamandras. Most of them were with the king in the Great Hall. But the few that went unclaimed might be inside, along with Mother.

Thankfully, I made it past their bedroom undetected. Then I turned left, toward the small door down the corridor that led outside.

Before I got sick, I’d used this route daily for sneaking out of the palace to practice shooting my bow and arrows. Past that door and to the right, a section of the inner castle wall had crumbled, neglected like so many other things in this place. I would climb over it, then make my way to the main gate in the outer wall that would be open at this time of the day.

All I had to do was to get out of the castle.

“Amber.”

Mother’s voice wasn’t loud—it never was—but the sound of it had the effect of a whip cracked in the silence. Startled, I froze in my tracks.

She stood in the corridor behind me, her hands clasped in front of her, not a single fold of her robe out of place.

“You have nowhere to go,” she stated the simple truth.

Only at this point, it wasn’t about me goingsomewhereas much as it was about me escaping this place.

I shook my head. “I can’t stay here. Please don’t try to stop me.”

Even one on one, I couldn’t fight her if she chose to stand in my way. As a gargoyle, she had far superior strength. But I might be faster. I took a tentative step toward the door.

Mother didn’t move.

If I ran, would she chase me?

“Please don’t do anything you may regret,” Mother implored. “King Edkhar is a very powerful man. It’s unwise to anger him.”

I gritted my teeth at the mention of the king.