Heart of Fire

by Kristen Painter

  Ertemis lost himself in her trembling mouth. Another rush of heat coursed through her. Holding her meant being burned. A small price to pay for having her whole. He braced himself for the pain, unwilling to release her even as she pushed him away.

  “Let me hold you, lelaya,” he whispered. “I’m not afraid of the pain, just of letting you go.”

  She clung to him then, and he imagined he felt her open herself up to the sweltering surge. Flames danced over her skin, biting into his. Sryka’s low guttural wail flooded the room as the old woman struggled against Jessalyne’s swelling power. Energy exploded out of her, bathing the chamber with incandescent heat and incinerating Sryka’s hold.

  The pain rocked him to the core, but he clung to her until her head dropped against his shoulder and the flames vanished. The stone floor around them was scorched. Bits of charred cloth floated down. Their clothes were tattered and singed.

  Jessalyne’s eyes flickered open. She blinked a few times. Her hand came to his cheek and choking back tears, she laughed and kissed his hot skin. “I love you.”

  “Then why are you laughing at me?” He grinned as she covered him in fiery kisses.

  “Because your ears are smoking.”

  He kissed her nose. “I get the feeling that if I had let you go, I’d be ashes right now.”

  “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

  He clasped her against his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.”

  “Jessalyne! Are you all right? It smells like smoke in here.” Fynna hovered near the cell door, her wings shimmering in the lantern light.

  “Aye, she’s fine. I’ll explain the rest later. Where’s Valduuk?”

  “He’s keeping Erebus at bay. You best come.” She glanced around the chamber, clicking her tongue. “Salena. I should have known.”

  Ertemis followed her line of sight. “The girl from the castle.”

  Fynna nodded. “Sryka finally got her due as well, I see.”

  Jessalyne wrapped her arms around Ertemis’s neck. “More than you know.”

  He lifted her and started up the stairs.

  “I can walk.”

  “So can I.” He winked as he bounded after the pixie. The thin glow of firstlight seeped into the passageway, brightening as they approached the stairs to the main chamber.

  Valduuk’s battle-ax rested on his shoulder while the tip of his short sword hovered beneath Erebus’ chin. “Move again and I’ll see for myself what color royal blood is.”

  Erebus lifted his chin higher. “You don’t frighten me, you fetid animal.”

  “Fetid?” The point of his blade tickled the prince’s flesh.

  Ertemis shook his head. “Poor choice of words, Erebus. My brother takes his hygiene rather seriously.”

  Erebus scoffed. “This creature is your brother? Your mother wasn’t particular about what she bedded, was she?”

  Valduuk whistled low and took a step back, notching his battle-ax back onto his belt. “Not a good idea to insult the elf’s lady mother.”

  Ertemis narrowed his eyes and let his magic brighten them with an eerie gleam. “He’s the only brother I’ve known, Legion or otherwise.” He nodded to Valduuk. “Take Jessalyne and Fynna outside.” He eased Jessalyne into the troll’s arms. Fynna fluttered behind Valduuk as they left.

  Erebus brandished his weapon and winced. Blisters covered his hands. “I am not afraid to fight you.”

  Ertemis shook his head. “I don’t plan on fighting you.”

  “Hah! I knew you were a coward. That muddy skin hides yellow blood.”

  “I plan on killing you.”

  Erebus paled and backed up. “You cannot fault me for trying to protect my right to the throne.”

  Ertemis stepped closer. “The throne means nothing to me compared to Jessalyne.”

  “You can have her back. All is settled.” Erebus edged around the room keeping the wall at his back.

  “All is not settled. You hurt her. Now I will hurt you.”

  “It was all Sryka’s idea.” Sweat drenched Erebus’s brow. He swallowed, raising his sword a little higher. “I never touched her. I swear it.”

  Suddenly, the blisters made sense. “You put your filthy hands on her.” Ertemis stepped closer. Blisters speckled Erebus’s mouth as well.

  He shook his head. “Nay, I did not…”

  The rage in Ertemis colored everything red. “You put your mouth on her.”

  Erebus shuddered. “Never! I swear—”

  “You lie!” Ertemis growled the words through gritted teeth. He leveled his blade at the cowering man. “The blisters on your hands and face betray you.”

  The desperation in his half-brother’s eyes gave way to terror. “You would kill your own flesh and blood over a wench?”

  “Now you claim me? Should that soften me? Perhaps instead of killing you, I’ll take you back to stand trial before the kingdom.”

  “Fine. I’ll throw my fate upon the mercy of Shaldar’s judges.”

  Ertemis shook his head, moving closer as he spoke. “I am the only judge you will ever see. I sentence you to die.”

  “No!” A woman screamed and sharp pain erupted in his back. He spun around, his sword singing in the air. The dagger in his shoulder begged to be ripped out.

  Salena tottered in the doorway. “How dare you threaten your king, you dark devil.” Her eyes shifted behind him.

  Ertemis turned as Erebus made his move. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, he came at his brother with a wild cry.

  Ertemis crouched and pivoted backwards, leading with his elbow. He caught Erebus in the gut, doubling him over and throwing him to the ground. Salena leapt onto Ertemis, using the dagger in his back for leverage.

  As her weight torn the dagger through his flesh Ertemis thrust up and tossed her onto Erebus. Blood drenched his side, spilling into his boot.

  Excruciating pain radiated from the wound, but the legion had taught him to ignore pain. He trained his blade on Erebus’s chest.

  Valduuk ran back in, Jessalyne still in his arms. Fynna buzzed behind. “I heard the yelling, thought you might need help.”

  Ertemis staggered but kept his eyes on the pair beneath his blade. “Aye.”

  Jessalyne gasped. Valduuk held her in one arm and drew his blade. “You’re hurt.”

  Ertemis nodded, unable to speak. He listed to one side, losing the grip on his sword. The floor tilted. His blade clattered to the stone. Fresh pain wrenched his body. His knees buckled, slamming him into the hard floor. Haze clouded his vision and the room pitched again, tilting up to meet him as he keeled over.

  * * *

  “Let me go.” Jessalyne struggled to get out of Valduuk’s arms. Ertemis needed her.

  Erebus pushed Salena aside and stood. He looked at Ertemis, lying motionless in the crimson puddle, and a crazed grin lit his face.

  Valduuk helped her stand but held her back. He hefted his battle ax over his shoulder. “Stay with Fynna. I’ll take care of this.”

  Erebus lifted his sword over Ertemis’s fallen body.

  “No,” Jessalyne pleaded. Fynna whimpered softly.

  Valduuk lunged forward and Erebus plunged the sword halfway down, stopping the troll dead.

  “Say goodbye to your precious half-breed, witchling.” Erebus laughed. Light glinted off the sword as he raised it again.

  He was going to kill Ertemis. Molten anger spilled through Jessalyne. The same incandescent rush as when she’d burned Sryka. And her father. She embraced the viscous heat, welcoming the savage power. She shook her head, tendrils of dirty hair grazing her cheeks. “Not today.” She thrust her hands forward and white-hot fire flared from her fingertips, casting everything in bright light and deep shadow. The fire danced over her skin, sparking and spitting like a fighting dog straining to be loosed.

  Erebus’ eyes widened but the unhinged look stayed. “Too late, too late,” he trilled, plunging the sword toward Ertemis’s heart.


  Jessalyne unleashed the fire.

  With a great crackling whoosh, the flames leapt from her hands and struck him, splintering his sword in a shower of sparks and hot metal. The flames shoved him back and pinned him against the garrison wall. Fire danced over him, hissing and snapping while he shrieked, vanishing only as he dropped to the floor, lifeless and smoldering.

  She’d killed him. She’d done exactly the thing she’d vowed not to, but what else could she have done? Let him take Ertemis from her? Suddenly she understood how Ertemis had killed the men that had chased them down. Her heart broke at the heavy burden he bore for every soul he’d taken.

  Drained, she stumbled to his side. She bent to kiss him and saw sparks of her own. Her head swam. She rested her head against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. Please be alive, please. She clung to consciousness, desperate to know if he lived, but using so much power in such a short time had exhausted her.

  Without hearing an answer to her plea, she slipped into darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Ertemis moaned when Jessalyne sponged his brow with a cool, damp cloth. He nuzzled his face against the soft skin of her arm. She smiled at the caress. How much she’d missed him, worried over him. He shifted, entwining his fingers with hers and pulling her with him as he turned.

  She tumbled onto the bed beside him. She shook his shoulder gently, trying to free her other hand. He was unmovable.

  “Stay,” he mumbled, circling her with his free arm and nestling her closer.

  Kissing his shoulder, she trailed her fingers down the angle of his ear, stirring a throaty moan of a different sort out of him. His eyes opened, heavy with a mix of sleep and desire. They widened at the sight of her bruised face.

  He leaned up on one elbow and his fingers traced the edge of her jaw as he studied the evidence of her ordeal. “Are you all right? Where’s Erebus? He will pay for what he did to you.” He rolled his shoulders and stretched. “How long have I been abed? Whose bed is this?”

  “So many questions! I’m sore and stiff but otherwise fine. You’ve been abed two days in your father’s chambers. He insisted. Erebus...” She paused, staring at her hands. “He was buried yesterday.” She sighed. “I vowed not to use my gifts to harm anyone ever again. But he gave me no choice.” Her words ran together, one long exhale.

  “Don’t blame yourself, lelaya. Your father was an accident. And Erebus, well, you saved my life. Are you sorry for that?”

  “No, never, of course not.” She glanced up but quickly shifted her gaze back to the bed linens.

  “Look at me.” He lifted her chin with his fingers and stared. “Your eyes...”

  She pulled away, looking down. She should have known she couldn’t hide that from him. “You weren’t getting any better. You lost so much blood. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you again.” She hesitated. “I healed you.”

  “And?”

  She met his gaze and let him see just what the result of that healing was. Her eyes no longer held just a hint of lavender. They were as violet as the amethyst pendant she wore around her neck.

  He started to speak, then dropped his gaze to her neck. “You’re wearing the necklace I gave you.” He glanced at her hand. “And my mother’s ring. I thought they were lost.”

  “Fynna found them in Salena’s waist pouch, who by the way, your father sent home with an accompaniment of guards. She’ll be under house arrest for the remainder of her life.”

  “Very well. Now tell me what happened to your eyes.”

  “It happened when I healed you. But my eyes are only part of it.” She shook her head, searching for words. “Something changed.” It was all so confusing. “The strangest sounds fill my head, sounds I could never hear before. And I can pick out the color of a man’s tunic when others can only barely see him.” She raised her brows. “Even at night.”

  He tipped his head. “When you heal someone, what happens?”

  She gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?”

  “How does it work?”

  “I absorb whatever is wrong with them into me and then my gifts just sort of burn it away.”

  “You did that when you healed me?”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of things can you hear?”

  “Sounds I don’t understand.”

  “Listen right now and describe to me what you hear.”

  She closed her eyes, listening intently. “Birds outside, people talking…”

  “Listen past that. What else?”

  She was quiet for a moment. “Soft thumping, like a distant muffled drum, but not quite.”

  He pressed her hand to his lips.

  She opened her eyes. “Why are you smiling at me like that?”

  “I think you absorbed some of my elven senses. Odd. I didn’t think anything like that was possible. I’m certain you just heard the beat of my heart.”

  “Truly?”

  “Aye.”

  Pausing, she closed her eyes and listened again. He placed her hand against his chest, over his heart.

  “It’s amazing,” she whispered, opening her eyes again.

  He pulled her onto his lap, feathering kisses over her bruised skin. You’re amazing.

  Her eyes went wide. “Did you say that? I heard your voice in my head!”

  Aye, I said that and it’s true, you are amazing. I never knew a woman could cast such a spell over me.

  Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve done no such thing. In fact,” she rested her elbow on his shoulder, stroking his ear with her fingers, “I think you’re the one charming me.”

  His eyelids closed and a low, throaty moan vibrated out of him. “You have no idea what that does to me, woman.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “My ears are very,” he swallowed, “sensitive.” He spoke while she caressed the edge of his ear, running her nails from the pointed tip to his lobe. A shudder coursed through him.

  She slipped out of his lap to kneel beside him on the bed. Brushing his black locks off his broad shoulders, she bent to kiss the first rune marking his skin. A deep, rumbling sigh escaped him. He grasped her about the waist and spread his fingers over her hips, kneading her flesh. He arched his head back. Her tongue grazed his ear and he jolted. She smiled softly, her lips never leaving his skin.

  “You like that?” she murmured, knowing full well the effect it was having on him. The sense of power was more delicious than any chocolate biscuit she’d ever eaten.

  “Saucy wench,” he whispered, his eyes never opening. “I warned you once about teasing me this way...”

  She leaned back. “I guess I should stop, then. We do have a wedding to prepare for.”

  He grinned, a flicker of things to come dancing in his eyes. “I almost forgot. Tomorrow is our wedding day.” His gaze darkened. “And our wedding night.”

  “Actually, I postponed our wedding until you were recovered.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You just said we had a wedding to get ready for.”

  “We do.” She smiled. “But it’s not ours.”

  Ertemis rubbed his temples. “Who then?”

  “While we were gone, your father asked your mother for her hand and she said yes.”

  His jaw hung slack. “They’re to be wed? Truly?”

  She nodded. “Shaylana will be Queen Mother of Shaldar and no one will ever be able to question your right to the throne again.”

  “I cannot fathom it.” He eased back against the headboard, trying to take it all in. “But when will we marry?”

  “Whenever you like.”

  “I like sooner better than later.”

  “Is the day after tomorrow soon enough?”

  “Nay, but it will do.” He reached for her, his voice low and liquid. “Let me show you what else your teasing does to me.”

  * * *

  After standing beside Ertemis during his parent’s simple ceremony, Jessalyne thought she might never again glimpse such pure joy in his eyes as s
he saw that day. She was wrong. The light in his eyes outshone the sun as she walked the aisle toward him on the day of their nuptials.

  Her breath caught at the sight of him. He was magnificent. Silver-tipped plaits hung from his temples while the rest of his shimmering black locks flowed over his shoulders. To match the tunic she had given him, the king’s clothiers had sewn him a pair of white linen trousers and tucked into knee-high silver-buckled boots they fit like a second skin. His flowing grey cloak bore the royal crest of Shaldar. His sword glinted at his side. Ertemis was every inch royalty. She swallowed, overwhelmed. This man was about to be her husband. And her husband was about to be king of Shaldar.

  Beneath her intricately embroidered overdress of lilac silk with its long bell sleeves grazing the floor, she trembled. Her gaze drifted to the cluster of white roses in her hands, the heady scent almost too much. Her undergown of white silk clung to her steadily warming skin, the air stuck in her lungs. So many eyes watched her.

  I’m right here, lelaya. Just a few more steps and you can lean on me. Like a cool caress, Ertemis’s words calmed her. She smiled to let him know she heard.

  That’s right, keep your eyes on me, sweeting. His gaze echoed his words and she relaxed, the steps coming easier now.

  I love you. So much it made her ache.

  His smile widened slightly. And I you, with all my heart.

  The gathered crowd of nobles and dignitaries receded from her sight as she laid her hand on top of his. The feel of his skin against hers, the connection of flesh, centered her.

  Raythus bound their hands with gold cord symbolic of their commitment to one another and the people of Shaldar. Ertemis’s strength flowed through her; his confident smile reminded her she was no longer alone and never would be again.

  Endless litanies were recited before the vows were spoken and the cord removed. Ertemis held her hand as they knelt together. Raythus crowned them with circlets of gold, a shimmer of tears in his eyes and Shaylana at his side

  He nodded for them to stand and he raised his hands before the assembled crowd. “It is my great pleasure to present to you as husband and wife the new king and queen of Shaldar, Lord and Lady Ertemis Maelthorn.” His voice echoed through the cathedral as the congregation erupted in loud hurrahs and shouts of “Hail the King.”