Page 50 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

I kept crying as Kieran led me to my tent.

It was like once I started, I couldn’t stop.

I barely processed when he laid me down on my bedroll and handed me my canteen with a soft order to drink.

I gulped down the fresh liquid, grateful to get the taste of vomit out of my mouth.

“S-sorry.” I wished I could stop crying.

Kieran positioned me on my side. I shuddered when he brushed my hair away from my face. “Remember this the next time you call me an asshole.”

That sparked a watery laugh from me. “Asshole.” Because of course he’d want to use this moment of weakness to his advantage. But that was Kieran. And it made me smile despite the hollowness in my chest.

Kieran’s soft chuckle was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

The next morning, my head pounded something fierce.

I hated life, and I only had myself to blame.

Fighting a groan, I staggered out to where the others were already gathered around the campfire, all of them in similar states.

Aurelia looked the most put together, but even she had a paleness to her, and her signature scowl was more of a grimace.

Gareth sat slumped over with his fingers pressed hard against his temple, almost as if he could will the headache away.

Kieran sat closest by the fire, stirring a large pot. My brows rose when I saw it. What happened to him not making anyone breakfast? When our eyes locked, my cheeks heated, and I glanced away. Gods, I cried like a baby in front of him. I wished the ground would swallow me up.

“Never again,” I murmured to Nimue. She groaned in response. I closed my eyes. My bond with Umara flared, and her fond exasperation made me smile. At least she’d gotten over her irritation with me.

“Take it.” I opened my eyes to see Kieran offering me a bowl.

My blush returned. How could I ever look him in the eye again?

But at least Kieran wasn’t bringing it up.

I would’ve thought he’d mock me for it. Thank the gods.

I took the bowl, glancing around to see that Gareth had been given a bowl as well.

“The rest of you, go get your plates,” Kieran said and sat down next to me.

My eyes widened, and I whipped my head toward him on instinct.

Kieran arched a brow, daring me to comment.

I couldn’t speak. The weight of it all struck me.

Just a day ago, Kieran was ignoring me and practically made me beg him to be civil.

Now he was bringing me bowls of soup and holding my hair back when I threw up.

“Favoritism,” Ben complained but stood up and served himself. “Are the rest of us not as important?”

“You’re not,” Kieran agreed bluntly. I had to fight to keep my expression blank. “Selena’s Gift can save Lusadia. That deserves a bit of favoritism. ”

“What about Gareth?” Ben squawked.

“I like him more than you.”

I snorted at Kieran’s deadpan tone. Gareth and I shared a smile, and finally, I looked down at my bowl. That’s when I realized. The soup. He made my favorite meal—a simple dish of corn, diced potatoes, little pieces of meat, and green beans. He remembered. I looked at him, my mouth slightly agape.

“I don’t have a taste reference to compare it to, but I hope you enjoy it,” Kieran murmured. His gaze went from my eyes to my lips.

I wanted to kiss him, wanted to throw away all my uncertainty toward him and just let go. But I couldn’t. “Thank you,” I breathed. “It’s amazing.”

“You haven’t even tried it,” he countered, but the corner of his mouth curve into a slight smile.

I took a bite. As expected, it was amazing. He made it slightly different, and he found a way to elevate the simple dish, but he hadn’t changed the recipe. One taste, and I was brought right back to sitting in the tent with Clara. I could’ve cried again. “Now I have. It’s amazing. Thank you.”

“Really. This is what you made?” Aurelia curled her lip in distaste. Just that, our little moment shattered.

“You’re not allowed to bitch unless you cook for us,” Nimue said and grabbed the ladle to pour herself a bowl.

“Thank you, Kieran, because we're all hungover as fuck and I really didn’t have the energy to make myself anything. See, Aurelia, it's not that hard to have some manners. I would think you’d know that. ”

Aurelia's cheeks heated, but she raised her chin. “He prepared a commoner dish. It’s insulting.”

“I think it tastes awesome.” Ben let out an exaggerated moan when he took a bite. “The commoners have the right idea.”

“It’s really good,” Gareth said quietly.

My chest warmed at their support. After we finished eating, Kieran and Aurelia went to patrol. Kieran promised the rest of us two hours of training when he returned. At least I was excused from that. It’d be fucking miserable with my headache.

A light atmosphere settled over the group.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d feel like we were on a vacation.

The others took advantage of Kieran being gone and relaxed while they could.

Gareth claimed the hammock and grabbed one of his books—this one wearing the plain black sleeve to hide the cover’s illustration.

“Is that the sequel book you were talking about?”

Gareth shot me a wary look. “A new one. The first in a series.”

I grinned. “Have they started fucking yet?”

Gareth groaned and lifted the cover to hide his face. “They have,” he admitted in a low voice.

“You’re only on the tenth page!”

“They’re soul mates, they don’t need a drawn out romance. They know what they want.” He lowered his book and shot me a knowing look. “It’s frustrating when people are too stubborn to see their perfect match. ”

I squirmed, but I wasn’t one to back down. “I thought Ben was all talk with his hookups. He proved me wrong last night. Or rather, you did with your tongue down his throat.”

The man had such a pretty blush. “Ben and I have an agreement. Mostly, it’s when we’re drunk, but it’s whenever we feel the itch.

” I definitely didn’t expect that from Gareth of all people.

He seemed like the type to lock in and commit to a relationship.

At my surprised look, Gareth added, “It’s not easy to date in the ’guard.

It’s—a hassle. Especially with”—he raised his gloved hand—“but we’re both happy with the arrangement, so it works. ”

I regretted my question. “As long as you’re happy with it. I’d offer to set you up, but Nimue took my only friend. Actually, is my friend even the right gender? Do you have a preference?”

Gareth’s lips twitched. “Men only, I’m afraid.” He relaxed into the hammock. “I’m glad you settled things with Kieran. We all hated the tension.”

After dinner’s patrol, we had the rest of the night to ourselves.

No gryphons were spotted, and I prayed that none would show up.

I needed that not to be my Gift. If nearby gryphons were drawn to me like a short distance beacon, it was one thing.

It was another to have them seek me out from across the country.

The awkwardness between me and Kieran faded.

He didn’t bring up last night, but this morning was an acknowledgement in itself.

He’d known I felt shitty and homesick and just sad, so he made that dish despite saying he wouldn’t cook for us.

Gods, I should’ve asked the man to be friends in the very beginning.

If he went back to being a dick, I’d be pissed.

“Let’s continue your lessons,” Nimue said, prodding me with a sharp nail. I yelped and nearly fell out of the hammock.

I peeked an eye open and spotted Kieran going through drills with his sword. The sweat dripping from his brow shouldn’t have been so hot. When he lifted his shirt to wipe his face, my brain stopped. I rubbed my thighs together. Gods, I needed to get laid.

“Stop spacing out.” I yelped when Nimue flicked my forehead. “Come on. Play with me. That’s an order from your superior officer.”

I huffed a laugh. “Really? Do we even have rankings?”

“Gareth’s second in command.” Nimue tugged me out of the hammock and led me toward the small table we’d packed. As expected, Nimue slaughtered me. I put up a valiant fight, and at least she didn’t take me down in two moves. Which I hadn’t thought was possible until she did it a week ago.

I fought the urge to tense when Kieran wandered over. “You shouldn’t do that,” he murmured in my ear when I hovered my knight to the left. “She’ll kill him as soon as you set it down.”

I yelped and barely managed to not drop the piece. “Like you—” Immediately, I flushed. He probably could do better. The asshole was perfect like that. It wasn’t fair. “Nimue, make him shut up.”

“Unfortunately, he’s right,” she said dryly.

I groaned and hovered the piece to the right.

“Wouldn’t do that either.”

I messed up by asking him to be my friend. “Then why don’t you play?” I scowled and shoved the piece into his hands.

He snorted and raised a brow at Nimue. “Am I allowed to interfere, Grandmaster?”

Nimue waved magnanimously. “Go right ahead. It was a lost battle anyway.”

I shoved down my irritation. The Mother, I hated losing. I moved over and sat on the ground while Kieran took my chair. Gareth and Ben joined me. I grinned when Kieran ended up losing. “Looks like you can’t be great at everything,” I said cheerfully.

“I had a disadvantage.”

“Says the loser.” I grinned, my chest light for the first time in what felt like ages.

“Are you really in a position to taunt me?” He raised a brow.

I grabbed a cherry and popped it into my mouth. “Hell yeah, because you suuuuck.”

Kieran stared at my lips, stained from the cherry.

“Someone stab me with a knife,” Nimue muttered.

I smirked and grabbed another cherry, wrapping my lips around it before biting down. “If you’re so good, why don’t you face off with Nimue properly? If you lose, I get out of training tomorrow.”

“What about me?” Nimue arched a brow.

“Do you want to get out of training?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “I don’t mind the strength training, but I hate the laps. That’s what I want out of.” We turned to face Kieran. “Is that a deal, Captain?”

Kieran narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”

Most of the game was lost on me, but the two trash talked each other like it was nobody’s business.

The game went on for a while, and it was close.

Both of them only had a handful of pieces left, but Nimue won in the end.

Then Ben demanded his own match against Kieran, with the promise of being exempted from running laps if he won.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Kieran’s intense gaze, at the focus radiating off him. I watched as his lip curved into a grin and as he traded barbs with Ben.

“I thought he was a hardass,” I murmured to Nimue. I felt like if I so much as breathed wrong, Kieran would snap back to his distanced self.

An unreadable expression crossed her face. “He usually is.” Nimue locked eyes with me. “Usually, the only one he’s relaxed around is Gareth.”

Ben’s groan cut off our conversation, and when I looked back at the table, Kieran’s teasing eyes met mine. My heart stuttered when his lips curved into a smile. Did I do that or was I being arrogant in thinking so?