Page 76 of Hearts on Fire
The pleading look in her eyes made him forget about everything for a moment. Grabbing her chin in his hand, he kissed her, all danger be damned. She half-whimpered, half-moaned against his lips, then staggered back when he let her go, her hands fisted in his shirt on his chest.
His voice was coarse, his throat tight when he told her, “Stay close to the wall. Out of sight.”
She nodded before quietly slipping behind the door and heading back toward the crack in the inner wall. A part of him stayed with her. But he could focus a little better, knowing she was in relative safety out of the castle that was about to be attacked.
The servants scurried out of his way when he exited the corridor. They either hadn’t heard about him attacking their king or didn’t know what to do about the king’s former favorite. Startled, they kept quiet, letting him through.
That wouldn’t last long. Sooner or later, someone would let the guards know he was in the castle. He had to hurry.
He ran up the tower stairs to the floor with the Throne Room. Located in the very heart of the Bozyr Peak, this room was used by his father for all formal functions and many family celebrations. Elex had yet to see King Edkhar use it for anything. But the royal guards were there. Six of them were lined up along the wall by the carved double doors.
“Get him!” Pointing their weapons at him menacingly, they moved his way.
He touched the nearest wall, calling on the magic of the mountain that the royal castle was carved into. It tingled under his palm with a burst of sparks between his fingers.
“Stand back,” he warned the guards. “Unless you wish to burn to death.”
They hesitated, but only for a moment. These six must’ve not heard about what he did in the dungeon the day he became the “king’s favorite.” Either that or their memory was short.
He met their first attack with his sword, not wishing to waste the magic on the guards. Using the magic depleted his strength, and he still had a lot of gates and windows to open. He managed to stab a guard through his heart and slashed another one across his chest. The remaining four swarmed him, with more guards running down the hall to their aid.
Someone hit the back of his legs, dropping him onto his knees. He splayed his hands on the floor and sent a swell of fire in a circle around him.
The guards didn’t get a chance to scream, instantly bursting into flames. The stench of burned flesh filled the hallway, drifting from the piles of their ashes on the floor.
He shoved the Throne Room’s doors open. The large room was completely deserted. The high throne platform with stairs carved into it stood empty. The throne had been moved to the Great Hall with thebiqirellecrystals under the ceiling where King Edkhar preferred to spend most of his time, drinking with his men and “celebrating” withsalamandras.
The black granite floor of the Throne Room was inlaid with blood-red garnets that made the image of a flame curled into a circle in the middle of the room. Here, the magic was the strongest.
In the center of the circle, Elex got down on one knee and pressed both hands to the floor. The stone vibrated, both with magic and from the approaching footsteps outside of the room—the king’s men were coming.
He took a deep breath, reaching deep through the castle and into the mountain it was carved into. Across time and through distance, he merged with the long line of his ancestors—his family.
The magic coursed through his veins, seeping through his fingers. Sparks scattered along the floor like gemstones. Through the rock of the mountain, he drew the ancient flames toward him. Then forced them out along the floor and through the walls.
The fiery explosion thundered under the tall ceiling, shaking every wall of the castle. Flames shot through the doors, incinerating the king’s men who were rushing in. Window shutters exploded everywhere. The echo of the crash resonated through all floors of the Bozyr Peak as every single window, door, and gate burst open.
Sunshine flooded the Throne Room. Screams and the clanking of weapons sounded from the lower floors as his people moved in. The Bozyr Peak was under attack by the men who’d been banished from here before, found lacking and useless by their king.
Now they’d returned. With a vengeance.
Elex tried to get up. His legs refused to hold him, sending him back to his knees. Using the Dakath magic had consequences. He’d never reached the limit before. And now it seemed that he had.
With his hands on the floor, he breathed deeply, gathering his strength.
He felt a tug against his fingers. The power flowed away from him, following the call of another. Elsewhere in the castle, King Edkhar wished to tap into their family magic, too.
Closing his eyes, Elex willed the power to remain in his command, defying the king’s call.
Generation after generation, royal matches were carefully selected to breed more powerful monarchs. With three generations between them, Elex was that much stronger than his great-great-grandfather.
His arms shook. His teeth clenched, he held on to what was his by birthright, not letting the king use Dakath power against the men storming the castle.
His vision dimmed, his head spinning. Red sparks appeared out of nowhere, dancing before his eyes. Finally, the king’s pull on the other end ceased.
And Elex crashed, collapsing to the floor.
Twenty-Three