Page 31 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

Bile rose up my throat. I bit my tongue so it wouldn’t escape.

William always helped everyone when he could.

From buying people an apple here or there, giving them water…

or just pointing toward someone who might be hiring.

The man struggled to feed himself and yet…

and yet he always had room in his heart to care for others.

There’s no way he’s behind this. There’s no way.

I hadn’t realized I had tried to step forward until a hand grabbed my wrist in a bruising grip. “Don’t,” Nimue hissed. There was no amusement in her tone, no softness, only steel and a hint of fear. “Don’t take another step.”

“He’s innocent.” My mouth tasted like ash. “He didn’t do this.”

William couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone another person.

And if he were to, it’d never be against another street rat.

When we could, we looked out for our own.

“He wouldn't do this.” My voice raised ever so slightly, still a whisper, but enough to where the rest of the dragonsguard looked at me. I ignored Kieran’s warning look.

“This is bullshit.” No wonder everyone kept me in the dark. There was no way they bought this shit.

Kieran’s jaw flexed. “He has conspired against the kingdom.”

I saw red. “He didn’t do that, and you know it.” I looked at Nimue, at her hand still gripping my wrist. “We have to do something.”

“We can’t,” Nimue whispered, her grip sending a shockwave of pain down my bones. “He’s the only one we were able to trace back to you, and multiple people named him. Selena, we have to do this. It’ll set the public at ease. They’ll know we won’t tolerate any slight against you or the dragonsguard.”

“So what, we’re just going to execute him for the crime of talking to me? And you’re all okay with this?”

“Of course we’re not,” Ben said in a low voice. “But we needed a fall guy.”

“You could have picked someone else. Someone that actually did something awful. How could you harm that man?” I stiffened when a cool, shadowy tendril crawled up my shirt and circled my neck.

It squeezed and stole my breath for the briefest of seconds.

I jerked my head to Kieran, but his expression remained blank. The warning was clear. Act out and die.

I knew he wasn’t as noble as he said he was. If this was what it meant to serve the greater good, I wanted no part in it. “You all are murderers,” I hissed. “This isn’t—”

Hesperos roared. The flames exploded over the pavilion, consuming William in an instant and leaving behind only cuffs.

A numbness settled over me. This isn’t right, and they know it.

Time blurred. My mind settled off in the distance as I mounted Umara.

She stopped before the cave entrance, not even moving once I dismounted.

“It’s that sort of day, huh?” I rubbed her thigh. “You don’t have to go in there if you don’t want to.”

She chuffed, leaning down to nuzzle my cheek before launching herself into the air.

I walked down to the caves where the others were dismounting their dragons.

The buzzing sound in my ears grew louder.

William spent the last decade of his life—possibly even longer—helping everyone who needed help.

And what did it get him? Tortured, branded a traitor, and burned to death.

I bit my tongue when we walked through the secret passageways, but I dragged behind the rest. All of them were silent, but I had a feeling it was more because of my reaction.

The thought of it made my blood boil. All of them were just as guilty, just as culpable.

Kieran might have pulled the trigger, but they all had participated in his torture.

As soon as I stepped inside our quarters, I exploded. “You’re a monster.” I narrowed my eyes at Kieran. “And a coward. You knew he wasn’t the one who did this. He's an old man.”

“Was,” Aurelia corrected .

Fuck all reason, all restraint. I lunged forward, raising my fist. But I didn’t even get to take a step before a shadow snatched my wrist and yanked me back. I snarled. “Stop doing that!” I tugged my wrist away from the shadows, surprised when he actually let me pull away from the binds.

“We did what we had to do.” Gareth tugged at the edges of his gloves, a haunted look in his eyes.

Bullshit. If he really felt bad, he wouldn’t have done it. “I don’t care. You call yourself protectors, and yet you do that to someone. He didn’t deserve that. He was the kindest person I’ve ever met, and you burned him to death. You tortured him—an old man who did nothing wrong.”

“Yet again, you prove why you can’t be trusted with anything,” Kieran taunted in that low voice of his. “You only know how to act with your emotions.”

“Well, at least I have them.” I balled my hands into fists and ignored the tingling in my wrist from where his shadow had touched me.

“You’ve been working with Luther for so long you forgot what it's like to do the right thing. No protector would do that. I don’t know why I let myself think you could be anything more than Kieran the Executioner.

Someone who cares for the commoners wouldn’t execute an innocent man. ”

“The public didn’t know he was innocent. They only knew that two men attacked you.” Ben frowned. “Both of them were seen talking to William. He was the most obvious choice to put the public at ease. We have a reputation to uphold—an attack against the dragonsguard cannot stand.”

My eyes burned. The one man that had ever shown me kindness was dead.

All of his kindness, all of his pointless little offers of assistance, I’d always brushed it off.

But it meant something. He helped when he had nothing.

And his kindness backfired on him. “You should focus on finding who’s actually behind it instead of slaughtering innocent people. You’re all so fucking incompetent.”

“Watch your tone.” Kieran’s eyes flashed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, and if you keep reacting like this then you never will. If we can’t trust you to control your emotions like any ten year old can, then you’ll never be a true dragonsguard.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be.” I couldn’t stop shaking, but I never felt surer than I did in this moment. I slapped Nimue’s hand when she tried to touch my arm. “If you do things like this, then I don’t want to be.”

Kieran stilled. “Go cool off. Now.”

I raised my chin. Energy pulsed under my skin, ready to explode. “You can’t tell me what to do.” I stepped closer to him and jabbed a finger into his chest, meeting his steel gaze. “I’m not going to kill innocent people for Luther.”

“Kieran,” Nimue snapped, breaking the tension between us. I’d forgotten about our audience.

Kieran’s jaw flexed, and his gaze flicked to the others before settling on me. “Think of the bigger picture.” He raised his hands and shadows enveloped us into darkness. When we reappeared, we stood in the center of my room. “The dragon eggs.”

A laugh bubbled up in my throat. “I don’t give a shit about those dragon eggs.”

“You will if Andova gets them. Don’t you realize they’ll use those eggs to retaliate against us?” He stepped closer, so that we were inches apart. I could feel his breath on my lips. “Do you think anywhere on this continent is safe if they’re hatched?”

I shoved him. “Leave me alone.”

“Think on it. There’s more at stake than your morals.”

He vanished just before the hairbrush I grabbed could smack him in the face.

I let out a ragged breath, scanning the shadows for any sign of him.

When he didn’t reappear, I sagged against my bed and flopped onto my back.

Why did I think I could do this? Even with my sister having a better life…

could I go through with it? Could I paint my soul black for her?

I thought I’d already been corrupted, stealing and robbing to put food in our bellies.

I’d injured people before but never killed.

And if people had succumbed to the wounds I’d given them—I didn’t lose sleep over that.

It’d all been for my sister, and they were the fools who didn’t settle down during a robbery.

But this? This was so far from what I was comfortable with.

I pulled out the letter from underneath my pillow.

No doubt Aurelia would report this back to Luther, and he’d dangle seeing my sister even farther away from me.

I groaned and tugged at the base of my scalp, relishing in the small amount of pain that the action brought.

I didn’t want to be a pawn. I didn't want to be a murderer. I’m sorry, William. I’m sorry you met me.

If I allowed myself to stay with Luther, even for my sister, then I’d be allowing myself to be corrupted.

It was like when I first started taking jobs from Randall.

I’d take a risk, and the next job would be even riskier.

Again and again until I did something truly stupid like trying to rob a royal carriage.

How long will it take until murdering someone like William becomes an acceptable option?

I yanked off my flight leathers until I stood in my breastband and underwear.

Then I stalked over to the mirror and wanted to scream.

The changes now were all too obvious. I’d always been lean, but more on the starved side.

Now, I had more meat on my bones. My cheeks were fuller as were my thighs and breasts.

But that wasn’t even the most drastic change.

My light brown skin looked nicer. More polished.

Perfect. My dark brown hair had a shine to it and had grown even faster—now reaching my ass.

And my ears… they were fully pointed now.

A stranger. A fae. The thought was ridiculous, but I could see now why people believed in those stories.

I didn’t look human anymore, not completely.

My breath quickened. I panted, but no matter how deeply I breathed, it wasn’t enough. My lungs burned, and I raised my palm to the mirror. I’m not going to let them turn me into something ugly.

The king’s going to die. Tonight.

And for the first time since I got thrown in this castle, I found myself smiling.