Page 62 of Hearts on Fire
“I did what you told me to do. I left. You’re all that matters to me, Amber. And since you said you wouldn’t be in the castle, there was no need for me to stay, either. I spent the morning searching for you.”
“And you found me.” I snuggled against him. “Tell me, how do you keep finding me?”
“Well, that is a curious thing, sweetheart. I have this little spark burning right here.” He placed my hand on his chest, over the spot where his heart was beating inside. “The spark is not of my fire, yet it feels just as close to me. It’s a part of me. It hurts when you’re hurting. It glows warmly when you’re content, like you are right now. It burns, driving me wild with lust when you want me,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “And it flutters against my ribs like a trapped firefly, not letting me rest, when you’re scared. It was rather quiet this morning, though. I could hardly feel it at all.”
“I slept this morning, hiding.”
He nodded. “That’s why it took me longer to find you. But you were scared last night, Amber. Ifeltit. I couldn’t spend a night away from you. I had to come back.”
Gratitude for him filled me. “Thank you so much for coming for me.” I kissed his chest and didn’t move away, leaving my face pressed to his warm skin. “Was the king mad at sunrise?”
“Was he ever!” His chest vibrated with a chuckle. “I wish I could’ve stayed longer to watch them all struggle this morning. But even the little I saw was extremely entertaining.”
“You saw what I did?”
“I sure did. At sunrise, the guards all tumbled over each other. It was just one huge pile of limbs, weapons, and bed sheets.” He laughed. “The king thrashed around on the leash you put on him, while trying to shake off the blankets you tied over his head. It’s a shame I had to leave, really.”
I laughed, too, now. The darkness was still there inside me, but it no longer consumed me. Among all the death and devastation, I felt fully alive again.
Nineteen
AMBER
“Do you want a plum?” I offered Elex the fruit I had in my satchel.
He’d refused any of the bread and cheese I’d offered to share with him before. And now he was shaking his head again.
“Are you not hungry at all?”
He took a drink of water he’d brought from a creek outside of the cave. “I’ll be fine without food for a while. There’s no need to waste it on me. Not until we at least know where your next meal will come from.”
I sat cross-legged on my robe spread in the middle of the cave. The sun was setting, leaving us no choice but to spend the night here. But my thoughts went to our future beyond tonight.
The war had been looming over all of us like a dark shroud. Now that it was over, however, the shroud didn’t disappear. There was no relief. The fact that the king had destroyed his opposition and was free to do whatever he wanted didn’t feel like a victory to me.
“What’s next, Elex? What are we going to do now?”
He sat down behind me and pulled me closer, my back to his chest. We remained naked. His clothes were gone wherever he had last shifted to his dragon form. Mine lay mostly torn to pieces by the wall where he’d ripped them off me.
“Now, we get to figure out our own future,” he said.
“What will it be?”
“Whatever we want it to be. We can go far away from the Bozyr Peak. Live in a small village somewhere, where no one knows us. Or I can build you a home on a mountain peak far away from here, where no one can find us. We can also go elsewhere in Nerifir. I’d stay away from the Lorsan Wetlands—gorgonians can kill with just a look. But the Sarnala Plains are nice, especially this time of the year. Or we can live on an island in the Olathana Ocean and listen to the sirens sing under the stars. Their voices are magical, the most beautiful thing you’ll ever hear. But we can only listen to them when I’m in my stone form. And I’d have to hold you tight, so you can’t get away. The sirens’ voices sometimes make people follow them to the bottom of the ocean— Well,” he interrupted himself. “I don’t like the idea of moving to the Olathana Ocean, after all. Let’s not do that.”
“Let’s not,” I laughed.
Though, I wouldn’t mind hearing a siren sing at least once. When I’m securely held in Elex’s arms, of course.
Hugging me from behind, he stroked my side. The tips of his fingers touched the underside of my breast, sending a rush of tingles through my lower belly.
“Elex? That spark in your chest you were talking about, remember? The one that tells you how I’m feeling?”
“Hmm.” He nuzzled just below my ear, then kissed my neck gently.
“What is it doing right now?”
“It pulses hotly, telling me you like my hands on you.” He circled my breast with his fingers in a slow, deliberate caress that felt like teasing.