Page 5 of Hearts on Fire

A group of courtiers followed their sovereign. They spread along both sides of the long table, taking their seats in tall-backed wooden chairs.

A man dressed in black, with an eye patch over his eye, took a seat to the king’s right.

“That’s the High General on the king’s right,” Iolena, who was sitting close to me, whispered. “But I don’t know who’s on his left.”

I peered through the lace over my face at the dark-haired man taking a seat at the king’s left, and my heart leaped with recognition.

Oh, I knew that man!

The last time I saw him, he wore a red t-shirt and a pair of cheap sweatpants. Now, he was dressed in a gorgeous black coat stitched with golden poppy flowers and pants of the same material, either a very fine suede or black velvet; I couldn’t tell from a distance. A scarlet cape, trimmed with short black fur, was draped over his shoulders, and a long dagger with a bejeweled handle hung at his hip.

Elex.

I hardly recognized him in all that finery, but it was most definitely him. He survived the crossing of the River of Mists. He hadn’t been carried off to another world by its milky-pink stream.

He was here.

For a few long moments, I just stared at him as the servants served the food, setting the tables with delicious-smelling dishes.

He’d shaved his beard, though his facial hair was so dark, the shadow of it permanently remained on his cheeks and jawline. His hair had been trimmed, too, but not by much. It was long enough to still curl over his ears and frame his handsome face in thick, glossy curls, one of them falling over the side of his forehead.

Sitting at the king’s table, he ran his eyes over the row of thesalamandras.

My heart fluttered and raced. Excitement filled me, bursting through with a smile I couldn’t contain. Elex needed to know I was here. Surely, he’d been wondering what happened to me. He must be worried about me, too.

I brought my hand to my hood and shoved it back to reveal my face. Lifting the lace, I waited until his gaze crossed with mine. Joy flooded me in a wave of warmth when his onyx-black eyes met mine. He was the only one in this entire world who knew me from before I came here.

For one tiny moment, the castle ceased to exist as memories took over. The memories of the open skies and his strong arms around me. Of the two of us flying far above the ground and away from any problems it brought.

A flash of recognition flickered in his eyes, then…his expression dulled. He turned to face the servant who was filling his goblet with wine.

My heart dropped. And with it, my spirit plummeted from the sky where it had soared.

“Amber,” Mother hissed in warning.

I yanked my hood back down and lowered the lace over my eyes once again.

Did Elex not recognize me? Was I mistaken by that spark in his eyes?

I lifted my hand to my shoulder, displaying Elex’s ruby ring on my finger for him to see. But he didn’t look my way again.

My shoulders drooped, weighted down by bitter disappointment and…hurt. I didn’t know what I’d expected his reaction at seeing me to be. Happiness? Excitement? Joy? I didn’t know. But I certainly hadn’t expected this complete and utter indifference.

Through the golden haze of the lace, I studied him furtively.

He lifted his goblet of wine to toast the king. The gems in the rings on his fingers twinkled, reflecting the light of the fireplace. In his fine clothes, at the king’s side, Elex looked every bit the prince he was born to be.

I smoothed my hands down my robe, its material worn, the red color faded from the fabric due to it being scrubbed in the water of the cursed well at the Sanctuary way too many times.

I’d been blind, not seeing the distance between Elex and me before. It was far, far greater than the several yards separating our tables. The distance between us might not have been that apparent back in the human world. But here in Dakath, it became glaringly obvious.

Elex was a prince, born into royalty and raised in a castle. He looked so natural at the king’s table, as if he’d always dined here. Despite his previous absence, he’d fit right back in upon his return.

He must have recognized me. He just didn’twantto know me.

I didn’t belong in any castle. I didn’t even belong in this world. But I was stuck here now, and no one would be able to help me.

Elex might be a prince, but he wasn’t my Prince Charming. He didn’t show up here to rescue me. On the contrary, I was trapped in this world because of him. He was the one who brought me here. I should never forget that.

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