Page 10 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

Umara roared in the back of my mind, loud enough to make my ears ring.

But what was surprising was how the other dragons reacted, how they shifted.

Aurelia’s silver dragon actually dipped its head.

Aurelia, in turn, flinched ever so slightly but didn’t back down from her statement and stared resentfully at me.

“And I don’t want to befriend a stuck-up bitch. Looks like we can agree on that.”

Her face contorted with rage, ready to fire back, but Kieran cut her off when he snapped, “That’s enough.” His hard eyes narrowed at me. “Until you succeed in your first flight, I wouldn’t be so cocky. Umara can still reject you.”

Aurelia went back to smiling. I wanted to punch that look off her face.

Ben’s eyes twinkled when Gareth motioned for him to go next. “We were just introduced. If you ever need to de-stress, let me know. It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

Aurelia scoffed. “I wouldn’t. Not unless you want to get fleas.”

Oh, that’s it. “Listen here, bitch—”

“That’s enough,” Kieran commanded. I gritted my teeth but fell silent like everyone else.

“We’ve done our introductions. Get back in line.

” He folded his arms and surveyed us. “Luther says our little thief here will accompany us for training for the rest of the week. Assuming that doesn’t go to shit, she’ll bond with her dragon at the end of the week. Our job is to prepare her for that.”

Aurelia huffed. “I hope the bond drives her crazy.”

“What will she do if she can’t participate in the drills?” Ben asked. “It’s a waste of our time if she’s just fetching water or doing regular training. She could do that on her own time with another trainer.”

“She’ll be doing exactly that for this week. We’ll spar against her to gauge her skill level. When we’re done strength training, she’ll observe us and assist when needed.” I did not like the glint in his eyes. “You all have slacked on your conditioning. It’s time we correct that.”

Ben groaned, muttering a curse under his breath.

“First up is sparring.” Kieran’s eyes met mine. “I’ll challenge her first.”

“Kieran—” Nimue protested.

“I’m fighting her first. Consider that an order from your captain.” Those heated eyes never left mine. A chill swept down my spine. This man was known for his cruelty. Fuck me. I could hold my own in a tavern brawl but not against someone trained for war.

Gareth shot me a guilty look. Not that it did me much good.

I stepped onto the mat, a sinking feeling in my gut. Kieran’s eyes glinted, and that was all the warning I had before he struck. Brutal and precise. He kicked me in the chest, and I stumbled back. My lungs burned , and I gasped for breath. I clutched my stomach, my vision blurring .

“Pathetic,” Kieran snapped. “I thought you had more fire than that, little thief.”

I jerked my head up to see him standing there, his dark brows knitted together.

“Asshole,” I croaked. Fire kindled in my belly when he laughed.

I forced myself upright and threw a punch.

Kieran easily blocked the blow, and his leg swept mine, sending me flying on my back with a thud. My head throbbed.

He sent another kick to my way—right at my ribs, but I rolled out of the way just in time. But not fast enough to dodge his next kick—this one getting me right in my calf.

My pulse raced. Fuck. He was toying with me. That much was obvious. And he’s totally kicking my ass. I stood no chance, and that infuriated me.

“End the fight!” Nimue shouted.

Kieran’s stormy eyes never left me. My heart stuttered, and I jumped to my feet, throwing another punch. This time when he blocked it, I kicked, trying to mimic his move. Kieran grinned and sent a punch to my stomach.

I bowled over, choking, and my vision blurred.

I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.

I couldn’t even say what happened next. He was fast. Brutal.

Efficient. Ruthless. The rest of the fight—if it could even be called that—he ignored my cries and Nimue’s shouts for mercy.

A beatdown. Just another way for him to show off, to prove that I was worthless.

Pain seized my body as I lay face first onto the mat with my left arm pinned backward. Kieran’s weight pressed against me. Red dotted my vision, and I was so pissed I could cry.

“Just as I thought.” He leaned down to whisper in my ear, pulling my arms back another inch sending another jolt of pain rippling through me. “Pathetic.”

My eyes burned. I jerked in his hold. “Bastard.”

His grip tightened, and I bit back a cry.

But the pressure was gone as soon as it came, and Kieran immediately got off me.

It took a second for the pain to fade, and I immediately jumped to my feet.

From the looks of everyone’s faces… I touched a nerve there, apparently.

Whatever. He was the asshole who took it too far.

I couldn’t read a single emotion on Kieran’s face. “The fight showed how utterly incapable you are. We have a lot of work to do. Nimue, you’re up next. Don’t go easy on her, or you’ll run laps until the sun goes down.”

“She’s exhausted,” Nimue argued. “What good will sparring matches do if she’s already out of breath?”

Kieran’s lips curved into a smile. “It’ll push her to not be so weak. ”

“Kieran—”

“He’s our captain.” Gareth cut her off and levied Kieran with a look. “If he thinks it’s best for her training, then we’ll comply.” The look he gave me was one of pity.

I earned that look after what I went through.

The matches that followed were beatdowns plain and simple.

I’d never been more bruised. It stung even more to lose against the prim Aurelia.

That fancy dress she wore the other day hid lean muscle.

That was on me for thinking she wouldn’t have been trained.

One of these days, I was going to give that noble a bloody nose.

She sent me a haughty look and went back to the rest of the group while I lay on the mat.

“Quite a display,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

I lifted my head from the mat, fighting a groan as my muscles screamed at me.

King Luther strode toward us, a smirk on his face.

“How utterly unremarkable. Though it does put my mind at ease. We’ve been discussing you rather heatedly these past few weeks.

Were you a poor little wretch caught up by the money or a conniving little peasant trying to get a rise out of me?

This little display confirms what I suspected.

Of course you were only following orders. A peasant like you has no potential.”

Luther turned his gaze to Kieran, as if I had stopped existing and wasn’t worthy of his attention. Prick. “You have a lot of work to do to bring her up to an acceptable level. In three days, you will have her ride along with one of the dragons. That’ll show her what she has to look forward to.”

Kieran scowled. “She’s too green. If a dragon allows her to ride alongside them, she’ll surely fall to her death.”

Luther shrugged. “If she dies, she wasn’t meant to be a dragonsguard.”