Page 84 of Hearts Lost

I blink. “Excuse me?”

Orryen waves his hand in the air.

“Years ago,” he says. “You said we had to keep the magicians and the Royal Guard separate. That the magicians shouldn’t work security, especially if we were going to allow anyone with magical talents to be a court magician.”

Did I? I frown as the memory slowly surfaces. I’d been so young that I couldn’t believe anyone had taken me seriously. But Orryen had. Orryen always took me seriously.

“Voids, I was so paranoid,” I whisper.

The ghost of a smile crosses Orryen’s lips, there and then gone.

“Well, I guess you grew up with a dragon in your basement, huh?” he says.

Our eyes meet, and a rush of gratitude surges up inside my chest so sudden and powerful I almost feel like crying.

“Thanks,” I whisper.

My voice sounds like it’s been forced through a crack in the barrier. Thanks for taking me seriously, I think. Thanks for understanding that I am not my upbringing, or my family’s estate, or our horrible secrets. Thanks for coming back to me.

Orryen grabs my shoulder with his free hand. For a moment we’re all linked, me and my best friend and his betrothed, the Princess of the Kingdom of the Summer, and for just a heartbeat I feel like everything might actually turn out okay. Then Orryen drops his hand, and reality slams back in.

“I have some ideas,” Elanerill begins.

“And we need to tell Rowan,” Orryen adds. “Because I’d be willing to bet you’re not the only person the dragon is going to send after that bastard.”