Page 24 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

“It’s easier when Ben or Kieran do the catching,” Gareth said.

“They’re the ones who can actually slow our falls or use their powers to catch us.

The rest of us… we do our best. Really, the most we can do is try to redirect their fall so they don’t land on their heads.

But in a real situation, if you’re close enough, try to get your dragon underneath them, so that they land on or by you.

But don’t have them land just on your dragon.

” He grimaced. “Past riders have been impaled that way.”

I blanched. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”

“The drill can save the lives of your teammate should the worst arise. Or are you saying you don’t have what it takes?” Kieran cocked a brow.

Fury burned under my skin. I knew he was manipulating me, and yet…

all these nobles were so confident in their skills.

Granted, they had years of riding under their belt, but I was sure some of th em, maybe even unconsciously, thought that I, a commoner, couldn’t handle something like this. “Shut up. I’ll get it done.”

“See that you do.”

Even Aurelia was nervous as we flew up, though she tried to hide it. When Kieran issued the command, I saw her do a prayer to The Family, placing two fingers on her forehead for The Mother, then to her lips for The Father, and to her heart for The Child. Then she jumped off her dragon.

Umara dipped down. My stomach rolled as Aurelia tumbled through the sky.

I reached out my hands and grunted when Aurelia’s body weight slammed into me.

My teeth rattled. The action was about as smooth as if she had jumped on top of me.

We both slammed into Umara’s scales, and if it wasn’t for me being strapped in, we both would’ve tumbled off her back. Everything ached.

“Fucking awful catch,” she snarled into my ear.

“I caught you, didn’t I?” I swallowed down the blood in my mouth and tried to ignore the way my head pounded.

I had half a mind to let her go, but Aurelia wasn’t stupid.

She clutched at me, and in a smooth motion that I was envious of, she adjusted herself so that she sat behind me in the saddle and gripped my waist.

We both looked at Kieran, who still had a scowl on his face. “You didn’t drop her, but you’re running laps.”

“What?” I snapped once we landed. “But you said— ”

“You almost brained yourself on Umara’s back.” His jaw flexed. “In a real fight, you two would be dead. You still have to run laps.” He grinned. “But not until you collapse or puke. Just until I’m satisfied.”

Asshole. I looked at the others, to see if they agreed with the injustice, but even Nimue avoided my gaze. So I started the laps while Kieran continued the drills. My lungs burned, and every time I reached the end of the lap, Kieran barked at me to continue on.

On the third lap, I heard footsteps behind me. I looked back, nearly falling on my face when I did so. “What are you doing?” I asked through my pants.

Kieran jogged behind me. The bastard. He didn’t look the least bit tired. “You think the laps are unfair. I’m showing you why it’s not.” How was he not out of breath when he’d been running drills all day long?

Kieran passed me. Asshole. It was a shame the man had a body the Mother had personally sculpted. Talk about unfair. The uniform left nothing to imagination. Even the beads of sweat at his temples were unfairly attractive. I couldn’t help but think of how it’d look in bed.

I’d run him ragged.

DAMMIT. I shoved the thoughts away. I would NOT think of that jerk in that way. But damn did he look good. His top clung to his torso, and the collar of his shirt hugged his neck. The veins in his arms bulged—

Fuck me.

“Run faster,” he ordered, his voice level as he lapped me .

The stamina. The endurance. I watched the muscles in his thighs contract with every powerful move of his legs. My core tightened. It had a mind of its own.

It only got worse from there. Every lap, he surpassed me. After what had to be the twentieth lap, Kieran allowed me to stop. My legs gave out, and I fell to the ground. I pressed my head to the grass and struggled to get any air in. Fuck, it hurt to breathe.

“Not like that,” Kieran’s voice broke through the fog.

I barely processed when he grabbed my hands and pulled them behind my head, gently lifting me so that I sat on my ass.

I opened my eyes, and his piercing gray eyes met mine.

“Breathe slowly. Inhale through your nose. Then exhale through your mouth. Slow. Take your time.”

I watched dizzily as he mimicked the movements. And I realized, he was slotted between my thighs. Heat trailed up my spine. Slowly, I mimicked his movements. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. With every minute that passed, the burning in my lungs dissipated.

“She’s slowing us down,” Aurelia said off to the side.

“My eyes,” Ben muttered.

But I ignored them, too caught in Kieran’s gaze to look away. “You’re not a quitter,” he murmured, and his lips quirked into an impossible smile. “I’m impressed.” When he pulled back and released my arms, they tingled. I didn’t want to admit that I lamented the loss.

When we flew back, the others headed toward the dragon caves, but I knew that wasn’t where Umara wanted to stay so we went to the courtyard. “You did good. Thank you for being patient.” In more ways than one. Really, she put up with all this bullshit that she’d been able to ignore for centuries.

I slid down her back and managed not to fuck up the landing.

A smile formed on my lips. I might’ve been behind the others, but with the hell Kieran was putting me through, I’d catch up soon.

I ignored the small crowd that had gathered to watch.

The courtyard was open to the public, but since it was a known spot where dragons landed, only a few tended to linger in the area.

“Disgusting.”

I turned to see a man standing in the courtyard. “What is?” My skin tingled. At least I had Umara behind me. The man looked out of place. He wore all black. Dirt smudged his face, and his hands were calloused. Clearly, he lived a hard life.

“That scum like you can become a rider.” But despite the harshness of his words, there was no fire to his tone. “Umara should have stayed riderless.”

I grabbed my blade from my boot. The man’s eyes followed me, and he grabbed his own blade, which was holstered against his thigh. But before he could so much as move, Umara roared, sending flames that enveloped him in seconds.

A knife sliced the back of my arm .

I looked down at my now bleeding skin. What the hell? I turned to see another man. He was older. Maybe in his early forties. In his palm, a knife glittered with my blood. The first attacker was a decoy, meant to lower my guard.

Fuck.

I stumbled back, barely avoiding getting my throat slit. How the hell was this happening again? And right in front of Umara? Did these people have a death wish? I switched my blade to my right hand. Shit. Whether it was intentional or not, he cut my dominant arm.

The blood drained from the man’s face. His eyes widened. But he wasn’t looking at me. No, he was looking over my shoulder.

And I knew why. Flames enveloped the two of us. Red covered my vision, and the heat kissed my skin. The second attacker turned to ash before me.