Page 243 of Heat of the Everflame

I felt more on edge, more desperate to run, than in any combat I’d ever faced. Sword-wielding enemies, I could handle. Battle and blood were where I thrived most. But love and heartbreak? That’s what I truly feared.

My breath came shallow as I crept along the building’s side. Henri’s hair wavered again—and I froze.

It wasn’t the wind that had jostled it. It was a hand—a distinctly feminine hand, tangled in his unkempt curls.

Then came the unmissable sound ofkissing. Deep, impassioned kissing, with its smacks and muffled moans. Another hand appeared on his back, clutching at the fabric of his shirt.

My feet moved forward, drawn more by habit than conscious thought. The wooden overhang came into view—and with it, two intertwined bodies. I knew Henri’s instantly, but the other...

Petite and slender. Skin so porcelain it might never have seen the sun. Gold curls stretching down her back, neatly tied with a mint green ribbon.

Their kiss broke apart. Henri gazed down at her with his impish, lopsided grin, the one I’d looked at nearly every day I could remember.

She looked down, whispering something followed by a pretty tinkling bell of a laugh. He poked her in the side—

Then I saw the apron.

An apron I’d clung to, as a toddler. An apron I’d longed for, as a young girl. An apron I’d earned, as a grown woman.

A healer’s apron.

I laughed.

I laughed.

It burst out without warning—abrupt, but loud.

Too loud.

Loud enough that two heads swung my way, two pairs of brown eyes flaring in matching shock.

I couldn’t help it—I laughed again. I wasn’t angry or jealous. I wasrelieved.

“Diem,” Lana gasped, yanking violently out of Henri’s grasp. “I mean, um, Your Majesty.” She curtsied, her gaze falling to the floor.

“Hello, Lana,” I said. “I told you before, you can call me Diem. After all, we’ve worked together forso manyyears at the healer’s center.”

Fine, perhaps I was a little bit angry.

Lana’s face flushed fiery red.

Henri’s surprise twisted into a scornful glare. “You’ve got some nerve giving hera hard time, after what you did.”

“I guess that means Vance is back in town,” I drawled. “How’s his arm?”

“Gone,” Henri snapped. “How’s your new lover’s godstone wound?”

“Healed.” I smiled tightly. “A miracle from the gods.”

Henri spat at his feet.

“Diem, I’m so sorry,” Lana pleaded. “We wanted to tell you, but you were out of town.”

“Out of town?I was drugged and chained up as a prisoner. Tell me, Lana, did you know about that plan too, or was it only my betrothed who kept it from me?”

Her eyes widened. Henri’s narrowed.

“Don’t apologize to her, Lana. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

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