Page 47 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

It didn’t take Luther long to order us out on a mission to test my power.

Those past two weeks, I had considered Kieran’s words.

Luther planned on using me regardless. If he thought this was my power, then maybe I could keep my real Gift hidden.

Maybe when the time came, I could use it against him.

After all, whatever Kieran planned after the dragon eggs were found, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be involved.

I didn’t want to fight some greedy king’s war.

I wasn’t against the mission to test my powers.

I needed answers. Especially if I were to break out on my own.

Would only nearby gryphons attack me or would they be drawn from miles away?

We needed to know. Especially if my presence would lead to a bunch of gryphons attacking us.

It didn’t seem likely since I’d already been bonded for a while, but it definitely didn’t hurt to have more concrete answers.

As I suspected, Kieran went back to keeping his distance.

It was like the night at the bar never happened.

He pushed everyone hard in training, but besides Gareth, he avoided us all.

At least, this time the distance seemed more even.

Still, I was fucking over it. I was over him toying with my heart and being pushed away.

But most of all, I was over that I couldn’t resist him.

Once we set out on the mission and after about seven hours of flying, Gareth broke the tense silence.

“Let’s stop there.” Gareth pointed to a cave in the middle of a clearing.

“Gryphons are known to stay in caves. We should go inside and see if one’s there and if we can draw it out.

If it’s not, staying here for the rest of the week will show us if Selena’s power truly brings them to her. ”

I stared at the wide entrance of the cave. “Isn’t that a bad idea? Aren’t gryphons dangerous as hell?”

“We’ll only go in for about ten minutes to an hour,” Gareth said.

“If there are any inside, they’ll be deep in the cave systems. I know this one goes on for about a mile.

Entering will alert them that you’re there.

Then we can see if they will attack you.

If they’re not in the cave, camping here will allow us to see if they’re merely drawn to you if they’re nearby or if they will actively target you.

Kieran will partner up with you. If one appears, Kieran will shadow you both out, and then the rest of us will handle the attack. ”

I furrowed my brow. “That seems reckless.” One look at Nimue, and it seemed like she agreed.

Even Kieran had his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed at Gareth. “It is.”

“Kieran knows what he’s doing,” Gareth said quickly.

“He has fast reflexes. If we all go, we’ll be helpless if gryphons appear outside the cave.

We don’t want to get trapped.” He said that last bit at Kieran.

“We need to know Selena’s abilities, and this is the best way to test it.

Yes, there’s a little bit of danger, but with you there, that’s minimized. ”

I looked at Nimue for support, but she only shrugged at me, clearly won over by Gareth’s argument or just not wanting to go into the cave herself. “Fine,” I bit out.

Kieran ignored me as he trudged inside the cave.

I exhaled. Great. The two of us would be trapped together.

So much for sticking to my backbone and ignoring him.

Rolling my eyes, I followed him. It didn’t take long for it to be completely dark.

The only thing that helped was the lantern we’d brought with us.

“Maybe we should have brought Aurelia.” I hated her, but she could’ve provided light instead of me having to hold this heavy ass lantern.

Kieran arched a brow. “Do you want her here?”

“No.” I studied him. The shadows in the cave flocked to him and caressed his body, practically begging for his attention. Of course he looks right at home. It’s because he’s shady as hell. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

“I thought you wanted me to keep my distance.”

“Don’t try to twist my words, asshole.” Maybe before I would have, but not after that night. Not after he played for me and we made our deal. And despite his ‘distance’ he kept coming back to talk to me.

I wasn’t expecting his warm laugh. “Is there no pleasing you?”

My cheeks heated. “You know what I mean. You spew all that bullshit about wanting to work together. I thought…” I thought we had made progress. I thought I didn’t have to totally hate him. “You—”

I yelped, falling face first into a rock. My foot and my ankle exploded in pain. I groaned. “Fucking shit,” I cursed. My nose throbbed, and blood dripped down my face. When I tried to pull myself up, I sliced my hand on a sharp rock. “Godsdammit.” The world hated me.

Strong arms lifted me off the ground and pressed me against Kieran’s chest. He cradled me like I was something precious. Fuck.

“What—what are you doing?” My face burned, almost making me forget the pain in my ankle and my face. His touch jolted my body like lightning.

“You can’t walk.” He said it like it was obvious. Like I was stupid. “Do you want me to set you down?”

“N-no.” Smug jerk. But I couldn’t help but admire the hard lines in his jaw, and the way he effortlessly supported me. “Let’s finish this mission.” I looked away so he wouldn’t see the heavy blush on my cheeks.

“So stubborn.” But his proud smile betrayed his true feelings. “Are you sure you don’t just want me to keep carrying you? I’ve never known you to be so patriotic.”

“S-shut up.” I smacked his shoulder. As embarrassed as I felt, I couldn’t deny how nice it was to be cradled in his arms and pressed against his muscled chest. “I don’t want to waste the day.

And I’m pretty fucking eager to make sure I’m not gryphon bait.

” I expelled a breath and looked at Kieran.

Gods, this conversation was giving me whiplash.

I wasn’t going to let him pretend he hadn’t been a dick to me.

“Can’t you just admit you were ignoring me? ”

“I was.”

I blinked. I expected him to bullshit his way out of it. “Why?”

He avoided my gaze. “I haven’t brought anyone to my tower before.”

“What?” My eyes widened.

“I didn’t realize until I was playing for you. I don’t know what it is about you, but you make me want to break down all my walls, Selena. You have a power over me.” He shook his head. “I have so many plans, and you delight in destroying them. It’s incredibly frustrating.”

My eyes widened. A ribbon wrapped around my heart, squeezing it so tight, I could barely breathe.

So it’s not just me. But I didn’t want to think about that or the fact that I sang in front of Kieran when I hadn’t done so for anyone else.

Or the fact that I hadn’t wanted him to ignore me.

Just as he claimed I had power over him, he had too much over me.

“You still want to work together, right?” That was a safer conversation.

He looked down, his stormy eyes leaving me breathless. “I already said I do.”

I lifted my chin and refused to back down. “Then stop ignoring me. This arrangement won’t work otherwise.”

Kieran’s jaw flexed. For a moment, I was certain he’d change his mind. “This is what I’m talking about. ”

Holy shit. Did I actually just win against Kieran Motherfucking Caddel? “So you’ll stop ignoring me?”

He exhaled a breath. “Do you want to be my friend that badly?”

I could lie. I should lie. I’d be giving him more ammunition to use against me.

“Maybe. Yes,” I admitted when he narrowed his eyes.

My heart pounded so loud, I was sure he could hear it.

Fuck. Why was I telling him this? “I want to work together. You help me, and I help you, right?” I was heavily aware of his arm wrapped around me, carrying me like I was the most precious being in existence.

He arched a brow. “And we need to be friends to do that?”

“Why the hell are you pushing this so hard? It’s not that complicated.”

“Why can’t you answer it?”

I exhaled. “Fine. Yes. So, are you going to be my friend or not? Because I can’t really trust an ally, but I can a friend.” And that was the crux of it. I didn’t trust Randall with my life, but I trusted Nimue. If we really were to work together, I needed to trust him.

For a moment, we stared at each other. Me, glaring, and him looking coolly at me. But then he smiled and shook his head fondly. “Fine. Consider us friends from now on.”

We didn’t find any gryphons, a fact I was grateful for. When Kieran shadowed us back to camp after an hour passed, my blush returned full force. The others were finishing set up pitching their tents in a circle around a budding fire.

All eyes went to us, and I squirmed in Kieran’s grip.

Though Kieran, that prick, only tightened his grip and didn’t allow me to escape.

Gareth jumped up from his log by the fire and rushed over to me.

“What happened?” he demanded. “How did she get injured? When did she get injured? Set her down in her tent. We placed it in the center next to yours.”

I fought the urge to close my eyes. This was all so unnecessary. All this attention, this worry, I wasn’t used to it. Usually, it was the other way around.

“She tripped on a rock and twisted her ankle. It happened about an hour ago, but we decided to complete the mission first.”

The words made my heart twist, even though his reason wasn’t a surprise. I couldn’t let myself forget, even with us being ‘friends’ Kieran wouldn’t hesitate to use me.

“Next time, I decide that,” Gareth snapped. “Lay her inside. Be gentle.”

Kieran didn’t argue with Gareth’s frayed orders and placed me on top of the sleeping mat inside the relatively spacious tent. Rich people. A tent this big wasn’t needed.

“You’re a trouble magnet,” Nimue murmured, opening the flap in my tent and standing at the entrance.