Page 39 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

Kieran’s jaw flexed. “I’ll play you another song.” But this time, he kept up a wall the whole time. His eyes remained open, and his stance stiff. I lamented the loss. There was something so… addicting seeing him lost to his music and letting his guard down.

But I was nothing if not patient. Kieran didn’t say anything about stopping, and I didn’t want to leave this bubble of ours. Because as soon as I did, I’d have to think about the gryphons and William and me almost ruining everything.

Maybe Kieran felt the same and that’s why he continued to play song after song. When he finally put his violin down, my stomach flipped. “You should play more often. It’ll make people like you.”

He laughed, and the sound chased away the chill that had crept back up my body. “Do you have any hobbies?”

I snorted. “Hobbies are a rich man’s luxury.”

He rolled his eyes. “Everyone has something they like to do no matter their income.”

I had to fight my instinct to argue with him. After so long of fighting, we’d finally found some common ground, and I didn’t want to ruin it. So I thought back. While I loved a good pickpocketing spree, it didn’t count as a hobby, even if the thrill of succeeding was fun. “I guess I like to sing.”

Kieran’s eyes glittered. “Sing for me.”

“Hell no.”

He raised a brow. “I played for you. ”

My cheeks flushed. “It’s not the same.”

“I beg to differ.” He narrowed his eyes. “I can play while you sing. Do you know ‘Queen of Roses?’”

I snorted. “Of course I know it.” Every tavern goer knew it. It was about someone singing about their love for the ‘queen of roses.’ Surprisingly, it wasn’t bawdy at all like almost all tavern songs. I arched a brow when Kieran began the familiar beat. “I never said I was singing.”

“Are you scared?” he drawled.

I puffed out my cheeks. “I know what you’re doing. I’m not falling for it.”

He drew out the beat. “Of course.”

The melody echoed around the room. “Seriously, I’m not.”

He smiled as he played. “I know.”

“It’s not like I’m scared. I just…”

“I get it.”

“Ugh. Start it from the beginning.” I ignored his smug smile. When he started the beginning notes again, I closed my eyes. Am I seriously going to do this? The only person I’d ever sung in front of was Clara. But he played for me.

And with that in mind, I started to sing.

The first notes were slow and hesitant, but after the first verse, my nerves eased.

My face remained hot, but I continued the song with a steady rhythm and volume.

The entire time, I could feel the weight of his gaze on me.

Don’t think about it. Don’t acknowledge it.

And yet, it filled me with warmth and grounded me.

He played perfectly, matching the beat with almost telepathic precision. ‘Queen of Roses’ could be sung in many different ways, but not once did Kieran stumble to match my pace.

What am I doing? Why do I want him to keep looking?

I sang the last note and opened my eyes. A glance confirmed my suspicions. Not once had Kieran looked away. I swallowed, butterflies smacking around my stomach. “What are we doing?” Not even twenty-four hours ago, I couldn’t stand this man.

Kieran set his violin down into his case. “Distracting ourselves.”

I exhaled and sat down onto the couch. It’s too much. I needed to get back to safer territory. “What do you think of the mission?”

Kieran’s gaze darkened. “It’s not my first choice.

A single gryphon is dangerous, but the nest we’ve stumbled on…

it could be catastrophic. I’ve never seen more than five grouped together before, so this will be new for all of us.

And we won’t be able to go in the dead of night, because what’s better for me isn’t better for all of you. ”

His jaw wound tight, and despite my fear, my heart went out to him. He bore the weight of all of our lives in the dragonsguard. Not only that, but the lives of the civilians. It was obvious how much that burden troubled him.

My stomach flipped. “That’s insane.” The number was ridiculously low. I wouldn’t have believed they could cause so much destruction if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

“We’ve had far too many sightings in the last year. We need to find a way to get rid of them before they tear the continent apart.”

“So no pressure?” Shit. Maybe he was right.

Maybe it was better I stayed here instead of running.

Especially after the gryphon attack… Why did they attack me?

But it was a question with no clear answer.

And I didn’t want to go down that line of thinking because…

what if my presence was too dangerous for Clara to come near me?

It has to be a fluke. Stop thinking about it.

His lips twitched. “No, absolutely pressure. This week, we’re going to train before we take on the nest. In the meantime, we’ll send patrols every day to manage the nest until we’re ready to take them on. You won’t be a part of that though. You’re not ready or used to long distance flying.”

My thighs agreed with that. After nearly ten hours of flying yesterday, they were sore as fuck. But if I managed this, if I didn’t die, I’d finally get to see Clara. That alone was enough to give me strength.