Page 23 of Hearts on Fire

There weren’t any guards on this part of the wall. The sky above the castle was guarded from much higher lookout points. The outer wall on this side was built directly over a steep drop off of the cliff, inaccessible by land, which made guarding it a waste of time and resources.

Amber had figured it out, too, as she had been coming here daily while the king and his courtiers had their midday meal.

She’d refused to move to his room. And after everything she’d told him about life in the Sanctuary, he was sick with worry that something terrible might happen to her while she was with thesalamandras, fragile and defenseless.

Having Amber close would make watching over her easier. But since she refused even to look at him lately, he did his best to guard her from a distance. He’d spent his nights on the castle wall, with a view of the window of the room where she slept. Over a week ago, he’d spotted her while exercising his healed wing in flight. Ever since, he made sure to be here every day just before noon, waiting for her to appear.

The sound of light footfalls reached his hearing, sending a shiver of anticipation through him.

Amber padded between the inner and outer walls of the castle. Like every day before, she carried a bow and a quiver with arrows. She only had six, but these were real arrows, tipped with iron and meant to kill.

With a quick glance around, she pulled out a square piece of wood she kept tucked by the inner wall, then propped it on the base of a turret. In the middle of the square she had a circle painted in red, just one circle, about the size of a large apple.

Turning with her back to her target, she walked away from it. Her lips moved as she counted the steps. After counting to thirty, she turned around and squinted at the wood with the circle. Taking a red plum out of the pocket of her robe, she bit into it, staring at her target as she ate.

Elex loved seeing the shadows under her eyes disappear during the past week. Her cheeks had filled out, too, a little. By twisting the rules and using the king’s name, he’d arranged for trays of food to be sent to thesalamandras’room every morning. Humans needed breakfast, and he made sure Amber got one daily.

He’d found out she liked the red plums from the valley, so he’d requested them to be added to the trays, as well as the flaky pastries that looked similar to those she’d fed him back in the human realm. And coffee of course, the best coffee Dakath had to offer.

After finishing the plum, she chucked the pit over the wall then nocked an arrow into her bow. The first shot ended up landing a bit off, but the next five hit within the red circle.

She’d been getting better. Even in the days that he’d been watching her, her aim had improved as did her confidence and strength.

She pulled the arrows out of the board, then untied her robe. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching her, she shrugged out of her robe and adjusted the cloth on her head.

Elex nearly groaned with disapproval. She still hadn’t learned that in Dakath one had to watch the sky just as much as the ground. Though, he was glad her negligence allowed him to remain undetected.

Her simple dress and the stiff linen shirt hid most of her figure. But seeing her without her robe sent a warm shiver of excitement through his body. His blood heated. His fire surged whenever Amber was near.

She caught his interest the first time he’d seen her. But from the very beginning, he’d tried to keep their interactions fair, dealing with her in an almost business-like manner. She’d agreed to take him to the portal, he’d paid her with his great-grandmother’s ruby ring. She’d let him touch her, and he’d made sure she enjoyed it.

Despite his best efforts, however, things had gotten rather messy after that. They had no straightforward agreements anymore, and she’d been taking from him, without him even realizing when and how she did it.

First, she took his sleep. Before she even came to the Bozyr Peak, he would sit on the perch outside his bedroom, stare at the dark night sky, often until sunrise, thoughts about her keeping him awake.

He’d only spent two nights with Amber in the human world, but he had somehow gotten addicted to having her close. He had a difficult time falling asleep now without the sound of her breathing mixed with her cute, soft snoring. Gargoyles didn’t breathe at night, staying completely still in their stone form. And he missed the sounds she made in her sleep, resenting the complete stillness of his lonely nights.

On those rare occasions when he managed to fall asleep, he’d wake up panicking in dead silence. Not hearing her soft, measured breaths felt like she was gone, like he’d lost her.

Next, she took his sanity along with his sleep. Worry about her wouldn’t let him rest even during the day.

Was she safe? Had she eaten? Was she warm enough in this place with no glass on the windows to trap in the heat? Gargoyles could keep themselves warm even in the constant drafts of King Edkhar’s castle. But Amber was a human. She had no fire in her veins and needed to be kept warm by external sources.

Watching her rub her hands now and blowing on them to warm up her fingers before nocking another arrow, he wished he could just grab her and bring her to his room despite her stubborn protests. He could keep her warm in his arms.

The only reason he hadn’t done that yet was because he sensed she would be forever lost to him if he did. She’d built thick walls around her heart for protection, and he couldn’t break through them without damaging the fragile being inside.

He wanted her to trust him, fully and completely. And for that, he had to be patient.

Trust couldn’t be stolen, it had to be earned.

So there he was, hiding and watching, learning what he could about this woman, hoping to figure out how to earn her trust, her heart, and ultimately, her love. Right now, however, he would give everything just to have her look at him without a scowl.

She bit her lip, her eyes trained on her target, the string of her bow pulled back. Halting her breath, she released the arrow. It sang through the air and embedded into the wood, in the very center of the red circle.

“Yes!” she hissed triumphantly, her cheeks glowing with pleasure.

He wished he could kiss her. He wished he could do many other things to her. The memory of her slender fingers around his cock had kept him semi-hard ever since the king’s celebration. It sent a rush of heat to his groin right now, making him shift his position to allow for more space in his pants.

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