Page 34 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

It took an additional four hours of flying to get to whatever the hell Kieran had hinted at.

My eyes widened when I took in the sight—a small village with expansive farming lands nestled between a circle of steep, grassy mountains.

Without dragons, this place would’ve been nearly impossible to live in, since it would’ve needed to be almost entirely self-reliant.

But, like the sunrise fast approaching, it was clear this village wasn’t struggling.

Farmers and shop owners were already up, toiling away.

When they spotted Kieran, they waved up at him—Kieran the Executioner, Kieran the Reaper.

Am I hallucinating?

They kept smiling as Kieran flew toward the castle tucked against the northern mountain, practically a part of the mountain itself. Our dragons landed on a cave right next to the castle’s rooftop. I slid down Umara’s back, never taking my eyes off Kieran.

There was a tightness to his shoulders that wasn’t there before.

He looked… nervous. He kept glancing down at the street and then at me.

“What is this place?” Quaint was the word that came to mind.

All the houses were lovingly built, but there was no finesse to it.

Like many outlying villages, it prioritized practicality over needless decoration.

“A little village called Daeza, given to me after I became a dragonsguard. Normally, given my bastard status, I’d get nothing. But after my new title, my stepmother had no choice.” His lips quirked. “She considered the land she gave me to be ‘uninhabitable.’ I proved her wrong.”

“Sure looks uninhabitable.” I rolled my eyes. This place was doomed to be reliant on Kieran. And if something happened… they’d have a hell of a time trying to escape.

He ignored me and walked to the edge of the rooftop, staring down at the streets below. After a beat, I joined him. “When dragons fight, it’s villages like this that get caught in the crossfire. Those that don’t die, their livelihoods are destroyed, and the crown offers little to no support.”

My heart clenched. “What are you getting at?”

Kieran leaned against the ledge. “You’re a rider now.

You have to think about these things. Killing Luther would lead to Andova attacking, and all those villages around us would be caught in the middle of it.

There’s no guarantee your sister would make it out of that. She’s safe, Selena. You know this.”

“But I don’t.” I raised my chin. “I only have letters, and letters can easily be forged. She could be suffering for all I know, and I haven’t been able to do anything, haven’t been able to see that she’s okay.”

Kieran scoffed. “That’s a load of bullshit. You’re not the king. You can’t just get what you want because you want it. You have to play the game, but you’re too thick to see that.”

I ground my teeth together. “Maybe I don’t want to play this stupid fucking game.

I don’t want to kill innocent people just because the king tells me to.

And you’re right, maybe it was a little selfish and impulsive.

That’s why I haven’t left yet. But you’re full of shit too.

You talk about helping everyone and yet you have no problem murdering people. ”

Kieran’s spine stiffened. “There’s a difference between the two of us. You sit on your ass and complain. You moan about how awful everything is, but you don’t do shit to change it.”

“Need I remind you why I got caught? That job I took was supposed to set me and my sister up for life. No more rolling around in the dirt.”

He huffed a laugh. “And that backfired. But now, once again, you have the same offer, but in a different role than you thought. The only reason I saved you from Aurelia’s attempt was because I thought you’d do anything for your sister. But I was wrong.”

My hands trembled at my sides. “Shut. Up.” I didn’t need this asshole making me feel bad about my fuck-up, because if I thought about the consequences of tonight, I’d break.

“Your morality is more important than her life.”

A punch to the gut would’ve been less painful. “Is it such a bad thing to have a line I don’t want to cross?”

Kieran looked back at me, the wind ruffling his black hair. “That willingness to sacrifice everything for something—someone—you believe in was why I backed you. I thought we were similar.”

I groaned. “Just fucking say it, okay? You can stop acting like you’re better than me. We’re not getting anywhere like this. I won’t kill innocent people no matter how much you push me. Why do you keep going on about that?”

“Because I keep trying to tell you, but you keep focusing on the short term. You will see your sister once you gain Luther’s trust, and even if he tries to prevent it, then after your first mission, I will take you to see her, regardless of his approval.

But you need to focus on long term survival.

You’re not in the streets anymore, little thief.

Can you do that? Can you get that through your thick skull? ”

“Fuck you.”

“Selena.” He said my name like a warning and a promise all at once.

I exhaled. “Fine. But I still don’t get why. I just tried to kill Luther. How can you seriously want to work with me?” For all his talk about using me, it didn’t make sense. Why would a noble want to help commoners? There had to be an angle here.

Kieran pointedly looked down at the small village. Faint laughter and cheer echoed up at us. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. “You haven’t traveled much, understandably so. But because of that, you haven’t seen the way our borders are ravaged by dragonfire and past battles. It’s disgusting.”

His eyes had a glossy look to them, no longer seeing me, but some faraway village.

“I’ll never forget when I was called to the border—right after Luther fought off one of Andova’s riders.

It was my first time out on the field.” His hands tightened.

“Seeing a charred body of a toddler—just one body in a village of ashes, completely wiped off the map. I can still see them when I close my eyes.”

Kieran let out a ragged breath. “I never learned the name of the child, whether they were a boy or girl. But I knew they died terrified and alone. And I knew then that I wanted nothing like that to ever happen again. Luther had already gotten used to seeing all the gore, because the last rider died about five years prior. The guards, too, were used to it. But that was his first time, I think, actually being the cause of such destruction. He even puked when we were alone.”

Kieran turned to me. “That moment, that battle, hardened my resolve. I didn’t want this war to continue, for all the commoners to suffer because some royals can’t decide on a territory line.

I don’t care for Lusadia or Andova. They don’t matter, but the people do.

The only reason I’m here, on this side, is because the odds are in our favor.

Once we have those dragon eggs in our hands and hatched, we can end this war.

For good. And for that to happen, we need the peoples’ voices to be heard.

You speak for them, Selena, whether you want to or not. You do.”

My eyes widened. Out of everything I expected the king’s executioner to say, it sure as hell wasn’t that. “You say that, but you kill people in Luther’s name, even those who are innocent. Like William. How do you expect all this change to happen? You want to start another war, is that it? ”

The annoyed look he sent me was entirely undeserved.

“Think about the world we live in. An everyday citizen has no power, no influence. As a rider, I’m in the king’s ear.

I’m guiding him, whether or not that arrogant ass realizes it.

There are many ways I’m helpless, but there are also many ways I’m not.

If I have to dirty my hands to help on a grand scale, then so be it. ”

“How are you helping people? Back at the capital, everyone’s terrified of you, Kieran the Executioner. ” But the answer was staring me in the face, and I knew it.

All Kieran had to do was sweep his hand out toward the village below as an answer.

“After I was gifted the land, I decided I wanted it to be a refuge, to make something considered uninhabitable, habitable. It took a while to gain Luther’s favor and get him to assist me in making this place somewhere people could live.

The mountains locking this village in are treacherous to get through without dragon assistance.

I have to do monthly imports while they’re still gaining their footing, but…

it’s something. I saw what I wanted to do, and I’m doing it.

I’m not where I want to be, not yet, but I’m working toward my goal.

” He cocked his head to the side as he studied me from the corner of his eye. “That’s why I find you so infuriating.”

I blinked. “First off, you’re an ass. Second off, I’m not doing nothing. ” I trained with the dragonsguard before I… before I tried to run off and ruin everything.

He laughed. “You’re only thinking of yourself and your comfort. ”

“You’ve had the privilege of having money to think of others.”

“You’re right, I have had that privilege.

But you don’t always need money to think of people other than yourself.

” There was a careful look in his eyes. “Like William. I looked into his life. Out of all the times I’ve stained my hands…

I never forget names, but his name will always be at the top of the list.” His jaw flexed as he looked at me.

“His actions proved you don’t need money to help people. ”

I scoffed. “And look at where that got him. Dead. Offered up like a lamb.”