Page 89 of Hearts on Fire
My hand with the pear slice paused on the way to my mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“There is a point to Zenada’s concerns about her son’s future,” he explained. “Since I pose as King Edkhar’s son, it will make Ahrit my younger brother if we admit the king was his father, too. The moment I have a child of my own, Ahrit will no longer be in the direct succession line. To guarantee he gets the crown after me, he’ll have to be presented to the world asmyson, not King Edkhar’s. That also fits into the future history of Dakath, remember? King Elex is the son of King Edkhar, with King Ahrit being the son of King Elex.”
“Right.” I twisted the pear in my fingers. “But how does it work, exactly? If you acknowledge Zenada’s son as yourlegitimatechild, doesn’t it mean the two of you will have to get married?”
My stomach roiled. The pastry left a nasty taste in my mouth. It wasn’t easy to accept that the man I loved might have his entire family pre-planned. And those plans did not include me. It was a hard pill to swallow, no matter how important this arrangement might be for the future of Dakath. Not to mention the icky feeling at the idea of Elex marrying his great-great-grandma.
My brain felt swollen from all of this. My head threatened to explode. I dropped the pear back onto the tray, suddenly losing my appetite.
“I need a coffee…” I mumbled.
“Amber.” Elex slid a finger under my chin, making me meet his eyes. “I wish to get married. With all of my heart. But not to Zenada.”
“Okay, but then—”
He silenced me with a kiss. I couldn’t push him away. It’d felt like forever since he’d kissed me like this—long, unhurriedly, and so sweet, my heart ached. I hooked my right arm around his neck, drawing him closer.
Elex got what he wanted. The Crown of Dakath was his. Buthewas mine. And I was not letting him go, no matter what.
He broke the kiss but didn’t pull away from me.
“I’ve given you a ring, as is customary in your culture.” He took my hand with the ruby lizard curled around my finger and kissed the inside of my wrist. “I’ve taken you flying, as is customary in Dakath. But I’ve never actually asked you the question.” He took out a small box from his pocket. “Amber, my dearest spark of life and fire, will you marry me?”
Breath caught in my throat. Love and excitement pulsed inside me, begging for me to let them out. To laugh. To cry. To hug and kiss the living hell out of him. I struggled to hold it all in.
He popped the lid of the box open. A single scarlet spark glistened on the black velvet inside.
“What is it?” I asked, holding my breath.
He produced a tiny stud earring from the box. A speck of red in a golden setting.
“It’s for here.” He tapped the side of my nose where the hole of my favorite piercing remained empty ever since Mother had made me remove the small steel ring I’d had in there before.
“You got a stud for my nose?” I smiled widely.
He watched me carefully as he spoke. “It’s a simple garnet set in gold. It doesn’t cost much. It has no value other than what we put in it.”
“Sentimental value,” I said softly. “You remembered.”
My heart felt like it was melting, filling my chest with sunshine and warmth.
“You haven’t answered my question, my spark.” There was some tension in his voice, filled with anticipation.
Did he worry, even for a second, that I might reject him? He was my life, my entire world. There was no future for me without him, no happiness.
“Of course it’s a yes, Elex. I will marry you.” I laughed as tears filled my eyes. “I’ll marry the shit out of you, my love.” I hugged him around his neck so tightly that he made a choking sound. I leaned back as concern reared its head again. “But what about Ahrit and Zenada?”
He beamed, looking so happy. Nothing marred his excitement at getting me as his bride.
“We’ll take care of them. But there is no one else I want at my side as my wife but you.”
He helped me put the stud into my nostril. I enjoyed the sensation of its slight weight. The gargoyle king proposed to me with a nose stud. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Nothing is more important to me than you, sweetheart. You’re my one and only. My soulmate. My bonded one. You’ll live as long as I do now. We have centuries together ahead of us. Do you feel me right here?” He pressed a hand to my chest, over my heart where happiness and love pulsed the strongest, where his very essence had lived rent free for days now. “Do you know who you are, Amber? You are the legendary Fire Queen, King Elex’s wife. You proved it.”
“Oh… Me?” I recalled what he told me about that particular ancestor of his. She was the fierce fire bending queen. “I’m her?”