Page 4 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

My legs threatened to buckle. “But…” I looked at the delicate tears that threatened to fall down Clara’s cheeks.

“What happens to her?” It was like the rest of the world ceased to exist, and I barely processed that we were walking closer and closer to my doom.

All that mattered was that my sister got out of here alive.

“Your punishment is to die. As for your sister, she’ll receive the Traitor’s Brand tomorrow morning after a day of confinement.”

My mouth tasted like sawdust. It wasn’t a fate I wanted for her, but I couldn’t do anything.

And it was better than death. Brynn would watch over her.

There was a chance Kieran was lying to me, but deep in my bones, I knew he wasn’t.

I wasn’t one to go off of faith, but this felt as if it were etched into stone.

My body went pleasantly numb as I walked over to the execution pavilion—far enough away that the audience wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. By the time I blinked, Kieran had clipped the front of my chains to a small latch at the bottom of a simple concrete platform.

I spared one last glance at my sister, at the tears falling down her face.

‘ It’s okay, ’ I mouthed at her and then looked over at Brynn.

Despite her reddened eyes and blotchy cheeks, no tears fell from her face.

When she nodded at me, a wave of relief crashed over me so strong I almost fell to my knees.

Brynn would take care of her. Thank the Mother.

Kieran waited silently until I looked back at him.

He thumbed the iron chains, almost as if he was testing their security.

“It’ll be fast. Don't do anything stupid or your sister will pay for it.” Something flickered in those cold gray eyes, but before I could speak a word, he turned and stood under his dragon.

I looked down at the concrete platform at the other traitors slated to die. Of them all, I spotted Pascal. Sweat dripped down his brow, and he whispered prayers under his breath, never once looking up.

The man next to me was older and looked to be in his fifties. “The Child save us both,” he murmured. “May our afterlife be a balm to the pain we’ve suffered.”

I swallowed down a lump in my throat and jerked a short nod. The Child, the god of the afterlife, wouldn’t save me. If they existed at all. But maybe… maybe I’d catch a glimpse of my mother on the other side. Or maybe the Child will lead me to the torture pits for eternity.

Hesperos roared up at the sky, lighting it with red flames.

His cry made my eardrums ache, and I flinched when he stomped his front legs, rattling the ground and my chains.

When I looked at him, I could’ve sworn I saw cruel amusement in his black eyes.

It was said dragons and their riders were two sides of the same coin.

It wasn’t hard to see when I looked at Hesperos, a being who truly belonged in the shadows.

Kieran raised his hand, and the hushed murmurs of the crowd fell silent.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was a king.

He certainly had the presence of one. “These five traitors have betrayed King Luther Aesvara and Lusadia. As such, they will meet Hesperos’s flames by order of the king.

Traitors, you have one last chance to speak your peace.

Pascal, you have been charged with conspiring against Lusadia and allying with Andova. Do you have any last words?”

Pascal shuddered. “The Mother brought me into this world, and I have let her down.” He glanced at the crowd.

His words were measured and calculated. I knew then he also had family here.

“The Father has granted me a swift death, and I can only thank the king’s mercy for doing so.

I pray that The Child forgives me in the afterlife and that I can atone for my sins. ” He closed his eyes .

“Fire,” Kieran commanded.

Hesperos roared, engulfing Pascal in flames. Pascal didn’t even have time to scream. Two blinks, and the man was ash in the wind, the cuffs smacking against the concrete pavilion.

The man beside Pascal’s empty spot whimpered, and the foul stench of urine distracted me from the blinding terror that gripped my heart. I looked at the older man, who had fallen to his knees.

“Sorry,” he croaked. “Sorry.” No words left my lips. “My name’s Harold, by the way. I, uh”—he laughed—“I don’t think we were introduced.”

“Selena,” I murmured and looked back at Kieran. My heart pounded in my eardrums.

“The Child grant us mercy,” Harold muttered and didn’t get up from the ground, didn’t even seem aware of the piss coating his pants. “Oh gods.”

I saw Kieran talking, but I couldn’t hear him over the ringing in my ears. Another fire. And clanking of cuffs hitting the ground. More speeches. More flames. Another set of cuffs smacking against concrete.

“—any last words?” Kieran’s bored tone cut through the crowd.

Harold trembled, tears pooling in his eyes. “Forgive me. Forgive me, please. Forgive me, the Mother, the Father, the Child. Forgive me, please. Please grant me mercy.”

“Fire.”

I flinched as heat singed my skin, but we were far enough apart that the flames didn’t directly get me. My eyes burned when the cuffs smacked against the ground, and Harold was no more.

Someone screamed, and my chest tightened. I recognized the voice. Clara. I didn’t look at her, didn’t want her to see me like this. I knew the script I had to follow. The best option for Clara would be to praise the bastard king. I’d do it. I’d swallow my pride before I entered the Child’s domain.

Kieran’s eyes met mine. “Selena, you have been charged with reckless deeds resulting in an unwitting alliance with Andova. Your actions have put Lusadia at risk, and you have been sentenced to die. Do you have any last words?”

I let out a shaky breath. “I don’t deny my guilt, and it’s mine alone to bear. The king’s judgment was sound.” I raised my chin and didn’t say another word.

Kieran set his jaw. “Fire.”

Hesperos growled and stepped closer. I couldn’t look away from those furious eyes as he opened his jaws, revealing teeth as big as my forearms. Fire swelled in the base of his throat.

I’m so sorry, Clara.

Time slowed, and I had to fight the urge to look at my sister one last time, to plead for her forgiveness. You were right. I messed everything up. I’m sorry. I braced myself for the end.

But then a massive golden dragon swooped across the pavilion and rammed into the black dragon. My jaw dropped. The golden dragon. Umara. A wild dragon who’d been riderless for centuries. What was she doing here?

Hesperos didn’t fall, but he did stumble ever so slightly before regaining his footing. He roared at Umara and gnashed his jaws. Umara lunged forward and nipped at his neck, inches from his throat.

I hadn’t blamed Harold for peeing himself.

I was sure if I had drunk anything these last twenty-four hours, I would have pissed myself already.

A dragon fight. In the civil war a hundred years ago, fights between dragons killed hundreds.

No one was safe. Not dragons. Not riders.

Whole villages crumbled. Dragon fights were the stuff of nightmares. Something to be avoided at all costs.

I knew in my bones how this fight would go. Umara would win. She was massive. The biggest and baddest dragon in the kingdom. She didn’t listen to anyone, and her fire could turn someone to ash in a second, not the handful of seconds it took every other dragon.

Just when I was certain that we were all about to witness a legendary nightmarish battle, Hesperos stilled. Umara gnashed her teeth, unmoving from her spot inches from his throat. Then Hesperos shuffled back, keeping his head low. Umara growled one more time before turning to me.

What the fuck?

I found myself trapped in place, unable to look away from those golden eyes shining so bright they could have been mini suns.

The intelligence in those eyes… the fighting spirit…

and even more unbelievable, the compassion within them.

I stood there, watching her as she searched deep within my soul, judging my wort hiness.

Why are you doing this?

My skin tingled, both on the inside and outside. Emotions crashed over me, strong and ancient. Those feelings… they didn’t belong to me. Something close to pride caressed the back of my head and sorrow pushed against my heart.

The moment ended when Umara opened her jaws, disconnecting me from those ancient emotions and leaving me hollow. It was as if all warmth had left my body, and I almost tumbled to the ground. Bring it back, I wanted to cry. Don’t leave me alone.

But I spoke too soon. Umara roared. I had half a second to see the fire in the back of her throat before flames consumed me. My brain went haywire. I waited for the pain to kick in, for every nerve in my body to scream. But nothing came.

Shock. It has to be shock. But when I looked down at my bound hands… nothing happened. The flames had engulfed me, yes, but they weren’t harming me. And that’s when I realized. The flames. They’re gold.

My right arm throbbed, and another glance down confirmed it. A swirling black tattoo, going all the way from my fingertips to my neck, had formed.

It’s not possible. It can’t be possible.

“Umara has claimed her rider.” Kieran’s voice rang out among the crowd.

I jerked my head up. Now that the flames died down, I could see clearly again. Umara hovered in front of me, her unflinching gaze never wavering. She raised her head higher, and the sunlight clung to her golden scales.

This can’t be possible.

The mark tingled. A burst of emotion swept through me. Pride. Smugness. Wistfulness. Joy.

Kieran’s stormy grey eyes locked onto me. His fury couldn’t have been more obvious. “The dragonsguard is now complete.” His voice cut through the crowd, which had gone dead silent since Umara’s appearance.

My breath hitched. I didn’t die. But as I looked at Kieran and then to the dragonsguard, I knew I wasn’t safe.

Afterlife, I was still chained to the fucking pavilion.

But Umara had claimed me and saved me from death.

That meant something, regardless of my past crimes.

And she did it in front of an entire godsdamn crowd.

A crowd that thinks the dragonsguard are a step down from the gods.

Umara huffed smoke in my face. A tendril of amusement echoed in the back of my mind.

It’s her emotions, I realized. The legendary dragon rider’s bond. Umara could have chosen anyone, but she didn’t. She chose me, a fucking criminal set to be executed for treason.

“Shit,” I breathed. Everything just got a lot more complicated.