Heart of Fire (44 page)

“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.”