Page 74 of Hearts on Fire

Voron got up, too. Shaking the dust off his black velvet pants, he gave us an amused glance.

“I need to talk to your men,” Elex said.

The sky fae nodded. “That you do.”

* * *

“Who are you?” A red-haired gargoyle asked.

Thousands of Voron’s men were tightly packed into the spacious cave under the Desolate Peak. Thousands more filled the adjoining tunnels. A large number of them clung to the mountain from the outside, peeking through the large cracks and wide openings in the rock.

Voron stood back, not saying a word. He’d made it clear this wasn’t his war or his battle. If Elex wanted his men to fight and die for him, he was the one to convince them to accept him as their leader.

“I’m Elex, the Crown Prince of the Dakath Mountains,” he boldly introduced himself with his rightful title.

“Prince?” The gargoyle narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“That’s Lord Elex,” someone shouted from the crowd. “The king’s favorite.”

Elex smirked. “No longer a favorite. Not after I went against the king yesterday.” He moved his gaze over the many faces turned to him. “I have a rightful claim to Dakath’s throne. And I need your help to take it. I want you to storm the Bozyr Peak with me.”

A murmur rolled among the men.

“And why would we do that?” another gargoyle asked. This one was shirtless with only two leather belts crisscrossing his broad chest.

“Because you are warriors.” Elex raised his voice. “Strong and capable. Warriors who, until now, have been denied every chance to prove yourselves in battle. I’m giving you that chance.”

A man with a russet brown beard tamed into braids scoffed, “One battle to get you on the throne? Then what?”

Elex met his stare straight on.

“Then, you can do as you please. If you wish to remain in my royal army, I’ll gladly keep you. Under my rule, you will be judged based on the kind of men you are, your loyalty and your courage, not on the size of your wings or the lack of them. That is my promise to you.”

The murmur among the men grew louder as a wave of magic spread through the room, sealing Elex’s promise.

As his words echoed through the giant cave, I watched the faces of the men he tried to rouse to go into battle for him. Some stared at him gloomily. Suspicion was still clearly visible in the eyes of many. But there was also hope. A spark of excitement lit up their faces as the magic of Elex’s promise drifted through the air.

The man with the belt-crossed torso spat on the floor, then folded his arms across his wide chest. “When do you want to storm the castle?”

“Today.”

Shocked sounds rolled through the crowd.

“We’d head out right now,” Elex clarified.

“Now?” Several men exclaimed at once, their astonishment resonating through the crowd.

Elex took a wider stance. “Why not?”

The man with the braided beard shook his head. “Isn’t that too soon?”

“What’s your name?” Elex asked him.

“Gabrik.”

“How much time have you spent in the Desolate Peak so far, Gabrik?”

“A hundred and twenty-four years.”

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