“What is a heart-place?”
“You don’t know?”
She shook her head.
He was quiet for a long moment.
She tensed, heaving herself out of the lulling haze of his presence. Hadn’t she sent him away? “You don’t need to explain—”
“A heart-place is where an Elf leaves his heart, pieces of it. Not literally, but the spirit of his heart. The more an Elf gives away of his heart, the stronger he will be. So long as those places remain strong, so shall he. If they are weakened and destroyed, so shall his heart be. There are many aspects of it that would take a long time to explain.”
“That sounds dangerous,” she said.
“It is very dangerous,” he said. “But it can give you strength that you would never be capable of on your own.”
“And do you have heart-places?”
He winced as if she’d shouted at him.
“My counselors,” he said with a weary smile, “just reminded me that an Elf does not speak of his heart-places with...”
“An enemy?”
“I do have them, but far fewer than Princes of the past,” he said. “The Realms are not safe any longer.”
“Then why have them at all?”
“Because I would not be fit to rule if I were so distrustful and selfish that I could not give my heart away, nor would I be allowed to ascend the Throne. That is the law.”
“I shouldn’t be listening to you. I shouldn’t be talking to you.”
“Why? Because you might realize that Elves are not the villains you thought they were?”
“A villain would certainly want me to believe that, wouldn’t he? Even if you are telling me the truth, that means you’re lying to Lavana. It seems far more likely you’re lying to both of us. But it’s not important, because you are going to go back to your Realms and you are going to stay away from me.”
She released her twin-dragon blades, the ring and middle fingers of her right hand. The two blades joined, twining together to form a horn-like spear. One straight thrust to the stomach would cause a slow, painful death. A bit higher and upwards, a killing strike to the heart.
His gaze flicked to the blade and then back up to her eyes. “You know I am not lying about how I feel for you.”
“You’re a Prince. I am a Rae. There is nothing special about what we feel. It is instinct. Nothing more.”
“Itissomething more,” he said, taking a small step closer. “Lavana is a Rae. I feel nothing for her.”
“Liar.”
“Nothing like what I feel for you.”
“Yes, I know. You like me better. But there’s nothing special in that either. I like chocolate ice cream more than vanilla, but at the end of the day ice cream is ice cream. Just as whoever becomes the Radiant is who you will take, or try to. But you’d better hope it’s Lavana, because if not, your ambitions will be thwarted, Your Majesty.”
He cocked his head. “What is ice cream?”
“That’s not important.”
Leaves rustled somewhere back by the camp. The firelight was a dim, ebbing dome against the pressing darkness. They both fell silent. In that quiet moment, the ache in her seized her thoughts, struggling for control over her good sense.
But Endreas didn’t seem to notice her spear retracting ever so slightly before she regained control of herself. He was too busy gazing towards the camp.
“Tell me about your Prince,” he said.
