Page 93 of Hearts on Fire
“So?” he prompted. “Will your royal husband give mea liftback to where I came from?”
“Of course.” I nodded, without even having to ask Elex. If he wouldn’t do it for any reason, I was certain we’d find someone who would. If Voron wished to return home, I would find a way to make it happen.
“I’ll miss you,” I said to him.
“Don’t.” He leaned back in his chair. “Missing someone is a weakness, and a queen can’t afford to have too many weaknesses.” He took another swig of his wine. “I certainly am not going to miss you.”
I didn’t take it personally. There was some truth to his words. Missing someone left an open wound in one’s heart, and there were just so many wounds a heart could bear.
“So, we’ll never see you again, Voron?”
“No. But I wish you both well, you and your gargoyle king.”
* * *
The afternoon sun moved closer to the mountains on the horizon as I stood in the window of the royal chamber.
The royal rooms had completely been re-done in the days since our wedding. I’d made sure every trace of King Edkhar had been removed from our space.
Soft, handwoven rugs made by the weavers from the valley covered the stone floors. Colorful silk curtains hung in the tall windows that had panes of stained glass in them instead of wooden shutters. The windows were wide open, letting the fresh evening air in.
The fireplace wasn’t lit, but it was warm without the fire. Spring had won full reign over the Dakath Mountains at last.
A gentle breeze played in the gauzy skirts of my pink-and-yellow dress as I stood by the open window. Shielding my eyes from the sunlight with my hand, I peered into the sky, searching for a winged shape among the white puffy clouds.
At last, it appeared. Like a tiny dot at first, it grew to the size of a sparrow. But I knew that the shape moving toward the Bozyr Peak was actually much bigger than any bird.
It was a dragon.
My dragon-king.
Letting go of the window frame, I stretched my arms toward him as he approached.
“Got you,” he rumbled softly, snatching me from the royal chamber and taking me up into the sky.
I laughed, spreading my arms wide. Tilting my head back, I let the wind play with my hair and caress my face.
Strong arms replaced the hard claws around my waist. Elex had shifted from a dragon to a man.
“You’re back.” I threw my arms around his neck.
His hair was mussed by the wind. His cheeks looked flushed after the long flight.
“How is the Sky Kingdom?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Gods help them, now that Voron is back.”
I hoped with all my heart that the sky fae would find what he was looking for in his old world.
“Did you miss me?” Elex murmured.
Keeping one hand under my butt, he used the other to slide down the thin, golden chain that served as a shoulder strap of my dress.
I nuzzled his hair as he kissed my bare shoulder. “I always miss you. No matter how short your absence is.”
It was true. A part of me seemed to hang in suspense when Elex wasn’t around, waiting for him to come back. Everything fell into place only when he was near.
He tugged my dress down, exposing my breast.