Page 61 of Hearts on Fire

“The war is over, Amber. It really is, now.”

I drew in a shaky breath. “The king won?”

“He did.”

I stared at my hands. They were covered in dirt and grime from the smoke. The fingers were scratched from climbing up the mountain when trying to escape the dragons. Or maybe that was from gripping the wall while Elex fucked me?

“Just as you wanted,” I said.

“Right,” he echoed.

“Only it doesn’t feel right, does it?”

His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh.

“He’s not my king, Amber. I don’t serve him. I certainly don’t want to die for him. And last night, I came close to killing him myself. But if King Edkhar dies before his son is born, I would cease to exist. My life is tied with his, whether I like it or not.”

“I understand. It’s self-preservation—”

“It’s more than that, my spark. Can’t you see? All of this around us. The injustice, the death, the pointless violence. All of it will come to an end eventually, if we just allow history to take its course.”

He’d said that before. And just like then, his assurance wasn’t enough.

“What will happen until then, though? More people will die. More cruelties will happen. Have you not seen enough?”

I paused, shutting my eyes for a moment. I hated arguing with him. I saw his point, and I knew he saw mine. Neither of us could do anything about the current situation. But I needed him to know everything I’d seen and lived through since coming to his world.

“Elex, the king has a dungeon, deep below the castle. It’s a dark, gloomy place. I went there last night. He has one of thesalamandrasfrom the Sanctuary imprisoned in there. Remember I told you about her? Her crime is that she was born with venom in her teeth. The king’s men had been draining it from her…” I held my breath, trying to push the images of Isar’s torture out of my head or I would scream. “I tried to free her. I hope it worked. But the dungeon is a vile, horrible place, Elex.”

He stroked my hair, falling silent for a few breaths. His voice sounded hollow when he finally spoke.

“I know. I spent a few days in King Edkhar’s dungeon myself. They tried to torture me too, before I proved I was of the royal blood.”

Shock sliced through me like a sword. “They did? And you never told me?”

He exhaled a sad laugh. “It’s not a fun topic to talk about.”

“Did they hurt you?” Anger against anyone who dared to harm him bubbled inside me, making my voice sound low and rough.

He pressed his lips together firmly before replying carefully. “They didn’t inflict any new injuries.”

That didn’t mean they didn’t hurt him in many other ways. Clearly, he was sparing me the details. I understood he didn’t feel like rehashing his “not fun” memories. Compassion tightened around my heart.

“Elex, I’m so sorry.” I leaned my forehead to the side of his face. “They tortured you on King Edkhar’s orders. And you still agreed to serve him after that?”

“I didn’t do it for the king. Not even for myself. But for the better life I want for Dakath one day.”

I said nothing to that. His commitment to his kingdom was admirable. No one could fault Elex for loving his homeland so much. I certainly wasn’t going to do that.

“But I’m not serving him anymore,” he said with determination.

“You’re not?” I tilted my head back to see his face. “Is it because the war is over? He doesn’t need you anymore?”

“No. It’s because of what he’s done toyou.” His jaw moved and his eyes glistened dangerously. “I could ignore the king’s lack of ethics, his ruthless politics, his crimes against me, but the moment I saw him on top of you…” His throat bobbed with a swallow and he drew in a long shuddering breath. “It was all I could do not to kill him this morning.”

As much as I would’ve loved to strangle the king with my own hands by now, I was glad the bastard escaped with his life. And that was our tragedy. The life of the man I loved depended on the life of the one I hated so fiercely.

“What did you do at sunrise?” I asked.

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