Page 21 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

I jolted but didn’t move. Cries for help were frequent. Shoving your nose into other people’s business was just another way for you to get into trouble, trouble I couldn’t afford when I was looking after Clara.

“Someone help!”

If Clara could see me now, she’d be horrified. But Clara wasn’t here. Why should I stick my neck out?

But then the voice and the muffled struggling went silent. My stomach tightened. I took a step toward the alleyway.

“You’re a real bitch,” a new voice said behind me, sending chills down my spine. I turned around just in time to avoid the swipe of a knife. As I stumbled backward, I got further away from the tavern. Just like the man wanted.

My heart raced. I barely had a second to get a glimpse of the man. He was well fed, clearly, judging by the thickness of his shoulders and arms. Another swipe. Another step back. “I know when something’s not right.”

He chuckled. “Not dragonsguard material.” He swiped at me again. I hissed as the blade grazed my arm, sending my blood spattering to the ground.

“Asshole.”

Another swish of the knife. Another step back. My pulse skyrocketed. I looked up to see Kieran at the entrance of the tavern. “A little help here?”

I reached into my boots and unsheathed my blade.

As much as I loathed Kieran, he could end this fight in seconds.

So why the fuck wasn’t he doing anything?

But I didn’t have time to waste thinking on that.

I kicked, and my foot connected with the man’s ribs.

He grunted and staggered. “Who the hell sent you?” He wasn’t a common thug.

I didn’t recognize his face, for one. And for another, he wasn’t dressed like someone from the capital would.

The fabrics he wore… they were too fancy.

His tunic was a bit too long to match th e style here.

Kieran didn’t move. “Show him who he’s messing with, Selena.”

“You ass !”

The man laughed. “You’re going to let me paint the streets with her blood? What a—”

His breath hitched. He looked down at my blade protruding into his abdomen. A fatal shot. I grinned as he sunk to his knees. “Who said I was ever going to let you win?”

“Bitch,” he hissed. Blood trickled down his lips, and he faceplanted onto the ground with a dull thud .

I crouched and pressed my fingers to his neck. No pulse. Good. I rolled him over to get my knife, wiped the blood off using his shirt, and then looked up at Kieran with a scowl. “What the fuck? Why didn’t you help? And who the hell is this?”

Kieran smirked and sauntered over to me. “Andovan assassins, most likely.” He nudged the body with his boot. “Good job.”

“Why didn’t you help?” I gripped my knife, my knuckles whitening.

Kieran’s gaze flicked down to the knife and then my face. “Because I wanted to see what you could do.”

I had half a mind to stab him, and he knew it. But he didn’t care, wasn’t even a little wary despite seeing me stab a man. “Will there be more?”

“Of course.” He took another step. I was so busy looking at his smug little face that I missed his hands swiping my knife. In a blink, he had it pressed against my own throat. My blood ran cold.

“What the—”

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead,” he crooned, a wicked glint in his eyes.

“If you’re to survive, you’re going to need to be more attentive.

Andova’s pissed. Umara claiming you has shifted the balance.

” He pressed the knife deeper against my skin.

Just when I thought he might slit my throat, he lowered the blade and handed it to me.

I kept my gaze trained on him as I sheathed it in my boot.

Asshole. While he might’ve stopped the thug if the fight actually turned lethal, he clearly had no problem putting me in danger.

I needed to get stronger. How else would I be able to run away with Clara if I had to rely on Kieran and the others at every turn? “Kick rocks.”

His lips twitched. “What?”

“You heard me.” I raised my chin.

“Childish.” But he still looked amused as he lazily waved his hand, and shadows enveloped the body until nothing remained but a puddle of blood. “We might gain some information from his corpse.”

My arm throbbed. Asshole. But before I could say another word, Nimue stumbled out of the tavern. “You have the best friends,” she said dreamily and swayed where she stood. She frowned when she noticed Kieran and me. “Where’s Ben? Do you think he’s staying?”

Kieran scowled. “One moment.” He flicked his hand and shadows crawled through the bar. I heard a shout, and within a minute, shadows dragged Ben by his wrist out of the bar. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“Anti-fun militia,” Ben muttered.

Nimue blinked. “What happened?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.” Nothing I was ready to talk about anyways. Nowhere is safe. I need to remember that.

Nimue poked my cheek. “I told Brynn I’ll send her a raven tomorrow, so we can exchange messages. Does she like roses or something more practical? I want to take her to a restaurant where she can be waited on. How does that sound? Do you think she’ll like it?”

I laughed. “We’ll talk about that when you’re not drunk.”