Page 23 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

“You get used to it,” Ben said. “One time, I had to deliver a message across the country, and my legs were so numb, Gareth had to help me out of my saddle because that prick refused.” He pointed a finger at Kieran.

When Kieran arched a brow, Ben raised his hands in defeat.

“Of course your time is more valuable than helping a poor fellow dragonsguard, O Fearless Captain.” He shot me a wink when Kieran exhaled.

“We both fell off Eutimio’s back,” Gareth chimed in. “Then I had to heal the both of us because Ben broke his elbow, and I twisted my ankle. After that, we practiced rescue dismounts for hours.” The haunted look in his eyes made me smile.

“That’s nothing. Try being on your monthly bleed and having to fly across the country to deliver war supplies.” Nimue rubbed her thighs. “Honestly, so unfair.”

Kieran cleared his throat, and we all looked at him. “We're going to practice running mounts. This is a review, so I expect perfection. Especially since our dragons will be stationary.” The glare he leveled us could cut glass. “If you fuck up, we’ll all run laps until we puke.”

“Too easy.” Ben grinned before looking at me sheepishly. “Except for Selena. Sorry, Selena.”

I shrugged. “It’s fine.”

We started the drill by having our dragons lined up, and Kieran went first. “Watch and learn. Try not to fuck it up too badly. We don’t need Gareth wasting energy by healing you.

” Asshole. But I kept silent because I was too nervous at the thought of mounting Umara.

Not when it took me a good couple minutes to climb up her scales.

Kieran did the mount effortlessly. Was the man even human?

It took him less than thirty seconds to scale Hesperos.

Lethal. Precise. Powerful. I swallowed as I watched his lean muscles contract as he climbed.

Damn. He earned his titles. Dragonslayer.

Shadow King. Reaper. I could imagine it as if the scene were right before me: Kieran taking charge and ending the battle before it even begun.

Kieran slid down Hesperos’s back. “After the rest of you go, Selena will keep practicing until she reaches an adequate time. Then we’ll practice running dismounts—one with a little danger.”

I so didn’t like that look in his eyes. By the time it was my turn, my stomach was in knots. I didn’t want to look stupid in front of everyone or disappoint Umara. What did she see in me anyways?

Umara growled, and I shoved down my thoughts, wiping my sweaty palms on my sides. That’s right. I couldn’t doubt myself. Not right now. If I did, I’d fail.

Taking a deep breath, I charged. Upon the jump, my boot slid. Shit. My heart hammered against my ribcage, and I scrambled to gain my footing. Fuck. Her scales scraped my hands. Double fuck. But I was too hopped up on adrenaline to process the pain.

My arms screamed at me in protest, not used to carrying my body weight, but I continued to scale, faster than I ever had until finally, I sat atop Umara’s back.

Though I stumbled when I slid down Umara’s side.

I knew what I’d done wrong. When Kieran and the others dismounted, they did it in a fluid motion.

They worked with the scales instead of against them.

One stray movement had caused her scales to dig painfully into my ribs and throw me off balance.

“If this was a real attack, you’d be dead.

” Kieran’s harsh tone cut across the training grounds.

“Not only did you stumble on the mount, but you also stumbled during the dismount. In a real battle, you won’t have it so easy.

There’ll be people attacking you or even a gryphon.

You were so focused on doing it right, you let down your guard—that’s even more dangerous than fumbling. ”

I couldn’t even bother with a retort. He was right .

“Do we all have to run laps?” Ben asked. When we both swirled on him, he raised his hands. “She’s a newbie. She shouldn’t be expected to run it perfectly.”

Kieran narrowed his eyes. “New plan. Everyone, run three more laps. After you finish, little thief, practice the mount and dismount ten more times. I expect you to have it down without stumbling at least once. The rest of you will do moving dismounts. Now go. ”

What followed next was hell on earth. My poor lungs were getting used to being in such a terrible state. Though, at least, I didn’t come in last this time—Ben did. I couldn’t help but grin at him, though he obviously couldn’t care less about losing.

I managed to mount and dismount once without stumbling. I couldn’t cheer myself on too much. Not when I looked at the others and saw what they were doing. While their dragons flew toward the ground, those crazy assholes jumped off their dragons and landed in a battle pose.

They’re not human.

They’re fucking crazy.

Kieran looked especially lethal as he slid down Hesperos’s back.

He landed with a dagger gripped in his hands.

His outfit perfectly hugged his body, and the veins in his arms bulged.

The wind rustled his messy black hair, making him look especially dangerous.

Damn. I couldn’t deny he looked good, even if his personality was awful.

“If you have time to gawk, you’re not working hard enough,” he snapped.

Handsome jerk .

“Let's take a ten minute break,” Gareth suggested.

“She has to learn.” Kieran folded his arms. “If she doesn’t, she’ll get herself killed.”

“She can't be at her best when she's exhausted, you know that. We could use a break. I’m tired, and I know Ben’s dying. His stamina has always been the worst.”

“Rude.” Ben grinned and sat on the ground. “But fair. I’m dying.”

Kieran exhaled through his nose. “Fine. Seven minutes.”

It took all of my strength not to collapse to the ground. I claimed a spot by Nimue and lay on my back. “Is he being a dick, or is he right?”

Nimue took a sip of her water. “The last Kalimera rider died because he fumbled his dismount when gryphons attacked. It took his left leg, and he bled to death before they could get help. Not only that, but danger aside, the better you do in the mission, the more Luther will be convinced to let you see your sister.”

I sighed. “Do you think…” I glanced at the others. They were far enough away where they wouldn’t overhear us. “Could I go see her in secret? I won’t run away, I swear. I just… I need to know she’s okay.” I had to see for myself if the letters were a lie or not.

Nimue grimaced. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where she is. Luther kept it from us. He knew we’d get close to you and want to help. Aurelia probably knows, but she’s a vault. And if you try to get it out of her, she’ll go tattling to Luther. If I knew it, I’d tell you in a heartbeat.”

Fuck. So my only hope was going on a mission and impressing Luther. I took another gulp of water. Within a blink, our break ended, and we ran more drills. I considered it a victory when I managed to do another dismount without falling on my face.

But Kieran wasn’t satisfied and continued to be merciless.

“We’ll practice catching each other.” He had that cocky smirk of his as he focused on me, sending another flare of heat through my body.

Asshole knew I was exhausted, knew I was ready to collapse to the ground.

He probably thought it was funny to push me until I dropped.

“The fuck?” The words escaped me before I could stop them. “You want us to willingly fall off our dragons? I’m nowhere near ready for that.” Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he didn’t see me as useful enough to keep around anymore.

His lips quirked. “Are you scared?”

“Any sane person would be. I barely trust any of you assholes.”

Aurelia put her hands on her hips. “I don't want to catch her.”

The corners of his mouth curved. “Then she’ll be the one to catch you. Though not for the first training exercise. Selena would drop you, no doubt about that. So I’ll catch you.”

“What’s the point in this?” I folded my arms. “Aren’t we chained to our dragons for a reason?”

“It’s impractical to assume we’ll always be tethered,” Gareth said before Kieran could say something biting.

“The main reason being Andova. If we face them in battle, they’ll try to use their fire against us, and since only Luther is immune to their flames, the rest of us need to make a quick getaway.

Worst case, you die. Best case, you break a bone or someone catches you. But better than guaranteed death.”

I glowered. “Lovely.” I looked at Nimue and Ben for support, but they nodded along. “You all are crazy.”

“If it helps, we do practice under a huge net. So if you fail, you won't die,” Gareth said.

“Of course, if you land wrong, you might break something,” Ben added helpfully. “But Gareth can heal you right up. And the fall is pretty fun when you don’t land wrong. A huge rush of energy.”

“Awesome,” I muttered and looked at Aurelia. “You know, I think you were right, Kieran. We do need to trust each other. So why don't I catch Aurelia? I mean worst thing that happens is she lands in the net, right?”

“If you think I’ll allow—”

“Alright.” Kieran raised a brow. “But if you fail to catch her, I’ll have you running laps until you physically collapse. Got that?”

I bared my teeth in a smile. “Get new material or kick rocks.”

Kieran’s eyes flashed, but I could’ve sworn I saw a glint of amusement in them.

“You can’t be serious!” Aurelia balled her hands into fists. “She has no experience! ”

“We all had no experience at first,” Nimue countered. “Besides, there’s a net. And it’s only fair. After this, you’ll be even. Think of it as a trust building exercise.” Her smile belied her soothing words.

Aurelia huffed but relented against our united front. “If you drop me, I’ll have you in the dungeon for a week,” she hissed before she mounted Enmei.

“Any strategies for how to catch a person?” I asked the others.

“Don’t drop them?” Ben suggested.

“I prefer not to answer,” Nimue muttered. “I suck at catching people.”