Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Back on the ground, Jasyn barely basked in the glory before he was sliding on his knees to Iskra in her human form. She was bare, and he hugged her tightly, feeling her shivering. All that fire must have blanked out of her the instant she had killed Kryth.
“Iskra, my Sundrop,” he whispered as he stroked her auburn hair. Her real hair. He brushed the tangles out, begging for her to wake up.
This couldn’t be the end for them both. He had too much to tell her.
Bron knelt beside him, taking her wrist in his hand. Jasyn wanted to yank it away from him, but Jasyn saw how he was applying pressure.
“There’s a pulse,” Bron said.
Jasyn didn’t realize how much he needed that reassurance, because he shattered. His body shook as he tightened his hold on Iskra, never wanting to let her go.
Iskra woke up surrounded by warmth. A part of her thought she was returned to Slone, but her body felt too real, too mundane, to be with the Gods.
Her head pounded as she tried sitting up, but it was like she was tied down.
“I told Jasyn he tucked you in too tight,” a familiar female voice said.
Swaths of dark hair appeared in Iskra’s vision, and it was almost like looking in a mirror.
She realized then that everything seemed muted around her, like everything was washed in a hazy gray.
She went to touch her eyes, but they were obstructed by a pair of eyeglasses.
Her brows scrunched, but she ignored that for now, focusing on the person in the room.
“Esi…” Iskra’s voice was hoarse, her throat inflamed. She coughed, but that only made it hurt more, and Esi huffed.
“That’s what you get for being a dragon.”
Iskra ignored the jibe. “What happened?”
“Jasyn decided to bend the rules. He refused to kill you.”
“The Heart?”
“Is his,” Esi responded and crossed her arms. “With a little help from Bron along the way.”
Flashes of the Undertaking came back to her, but it was still a blur. She doubted it would ever clearly come back to her, not with the herbal drugs Kryth had pumped into her.
“Why was Bron there?” Iskra felt she already knew the answer.
Esi sighed. “His history with the minister runs deep, and he felt like the only way out of his situation was becoming king and inheriting the royals’ wealth.”
Iskra blinked rapidly, letting the words sink in. It made sense why Bron chose to enter. He had been no way out of his dire situation with his uncle, but it still left a shooting ache in her chest to think of Bron competing against Jasyn.
Iskra’s heart raced as she asked a question she had been dreading. “When are you and Jasyn going to be wed?”
Esi didn’t say anything at first, wringing her hands together. That was when Iskra noticed her fingers were empty.
“We are not,” Esi finally replied.
Iskra shook her head, unable to comprehend her words. “What do you mean you are not? That was the whole plan.”
“Jasyn and I decided to forego the arrangement, to follow our hearts instead.”
“Meaning?” Iskra pushed, and she didn’t care how harsh it sounded.
Esi sat on the bed with Iskra. “Meaning I will marry Dominik, even if my parents disown me.”
“Jasyn?”
“It’s not my place to say.”
Iskra nodded, frustrated to not get answers but also understanding. Then, Iskra asked the second question she had been dreading. “What has Kryth said?”
Esi eyed her. “Do you truly not remember?”
Iskra shook her head, trying to think back, but it was still too fuzzy.
“You killed him.”
Iskra blinked, not believing the words. Kryth couldn’t be dead. Could he?
“I told you to get me as soon as she woke up,” Jasyn snapped as he entered the room.
Iskra’s heart stopped and restarted at the sight of him.
“You don’t own her,” Esi said, but her voice was lighthearted. “I wanted to speak with her, too.”
Jasyn stilled but bowed his head. “Of course. Thank you for making sure she didn’t awaken alone.”
Esi pointed at Jasyn. “That’s the respect I deserve.”
Then, she was out the door with a quick wink at him.
Iskra tried fixing her hair slyly—she had no doubt it was a tangled mess—but Jasyn immediately clocked her movements. He shook his head, and she anticipated disapproval and anger, but instead, a soft smile lit his face.
“The color suits you,” he said.
Iskra dipped her head in shame. “I’m so sorry for lying.”
Jasyn put his hands out, and she immediately silenced herself.
“I’ve already spoken with Esi. She explained everything, and…” Iskra worried her bottom lip. “I understand why.”
Iskra released a deep breath.
Jasyn kept talking. “I understand why you two decided to switch lives. Esi deserved that time with Dominik. You deserved freedom.”
“It shouldn’t have come at your expense,” Iskra said.
“Reflecting on the whole situation now, it’s a blessing.”
Iskra scrunched her brows, but it caused a headache, so she relaxed her face again. “In what way?”
Jasyn sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped from his weight, and Iskra suddenly had the urge to tug him to her, to wrap her arms around his body.
“Esi loves Dominik. There’s no changing that. If we married, she would be miserable, and I don’t want a loveless marriage.”
“So…”
“So she should marry Dominik. She has the future king’s blessing. That should appease her parents.”
The words hit her: Jasyn would soon be king. He fought and almost died, but he came out of the Undertaking alive, the Heart in his hand. He did it. Pride swelled in her chest.
“And you? What do your parents think about ending the engagement?”
Jasyn shrugged. “I think they’re just relieved their final child is still alive.”
“It must help that you won the Heart.”
He nodded, and both were silent after that. Iskra let herself assess Jasyn. He had a large bruise along his cheek, and she instinctively reached out at the bandages on his neck. She wondered how many injuries she was directly responsible for.
“Don’t blame yourself.”
Iskra snapped her attention to Jasyn’s face. “I hurt you,” Iskra said plainly.
“I think you saved me,” Jasyn responded. “I read your letter.”
Iskra’s face heated. “I know it was inappropriate for me to write that, especially given the circumstances.
“I’m glad I came out of the Undertaking alive to read it.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t know if you remember anything from the Undertaking, but I love you, Iskra.
I’ve loved you for a long time now, but I was scared to admit it, especially since I was falling for someone different than I thought.
It terrified me when I learned you weren’t Esi, because that meant I wouldn’t be marrying the person who made my heart glow. ”
As if on command, his body burst with light. Iskra looked through her tinted eyeglasses in adoration before she had to quickly turn away from the light, her eyes watering.
“You showed me what kind of king I could be, how my version of leading may be different but just as worthy. You showed me how to appreciate living again.”
Iskra felt a hot tear run down her cheek. Jasyn was there, wiping it with his thumb, and then he was leaning his forehead against hers. She shut her eyes with how overwhelmed she was.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
She felt him shudder, and she finally wrapped her arms around him. He fell on top of her, but she didn’t care. The weight of him was comforting. He adjusted himself and climbed under the silk sheets with her, trailing his finger along her shoulder. “How do your eyes feel?”
Iskra blinked, a bit shocked by the question, but then she remembered the new addition to her face. She took the eyeglasses off and immediately regretted it. She squinted as she put them back on.
“I’m sorry,” Jasyn said. “I blasted light directly in your eyes, and I think that may have impacted your vision. Looks like there is some sensitivity, like we guessed.”
“I must look ridiculous.” She pouted.
“You’re still as beautiful as the sun.”
“I thought I was prettier than the sun.”
Jasyn snorted, and then a wild laugh escaped his lips, and Iskra laughed, too. It was an adjustment, no doubt, but...
“I’m alive because of you. I get to keep living, perhaps see more of the continent, because of you. I can live with having to wear these.”
Jasyn smiled, but it didn’t fill his face this time. “I think it’s only in the daytime. We’ll eventually tint the glass of the castle so you can walk around without them.”
Iskra’s face slackened. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll get out of your way, especially with your coronation coming up.”
Jasyn pulled her in, and she fit perfectly against him. “You’re not leaving me, Sundrop. Wherever you go, I follow.”
“But—”
“Shh. Right now, you need rest, and this bed is too comfortable not to take advantage.”
Iskra snorted, but he was right. Her body was tired.
“It’ll be night soon.”
“You haven’t shifted since the Undertaking,” Jasyn mumbled into her skin.
Her heart deflated at the words for some reason. Being a dragon had been a curse under Kryth’s ownership. But now? It would have been a dream to be able to shift without that cage in her way, though she wondered how her eyes would be in that form.
“When you’re better, we’ll go out into a secluded field to test your powers. I have a feeling that since Kryth is dead, you’ll be able to shift freely again.”
Iskra could cry again. Jasyn wasn’t afraid of her powers and understood they were special to her. Her heart didn’t know if she could love him more.
Perhaps her love for him was like a plant. As each day a new branch sprouted, her love for him would grow.