Page 53 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

The next two months were a special kind of hell.

I thought training was bad, but preparing to be perfect little dolls for the capital was even worse.

We mainly did drills with our dragons, not for our safety, but to make sure we could ‘control’ our dragons, and so they’d listen to us during the performance.

When we weren’t practicing that or training, the others were constantly called in for missions to take out spotted gryphons.

It was becoming a weekly thing—something that pissed Aurelia off to no end, since having one person missing ‘ruined’ performance practice according to her.

Nimue was right. If Andova attacked us during the festival, Aurelia would be madder about the disturbance of ‘her day’ than the actual invasion.

I tried not to worry so much about the increased gryphon activity. We had more proof that they didn’t seek me out since we hadn’t been ambushed, but I still hated how often my friends had to go risk their lives. If this kept happening, nowhere would be safe.

I’d gone on a few missions myself to assist, but thankfully, the damage was nowhere near as severe as it’d been with the nest. With me being bait, we did manage to minimize casualties since all the beasts wanted to eat me.

Ever since those missions, I’d noticed whispers from the villagers.

I wasn’t just ‘the commoner dragonsguard’ anymore, but someone who actually belonged in the dragonsguard.

While I was happy for it, I also felt a bit uneasy by it.

My lessons with Gareth started up again.

He drilled into my head all the Noble Houses and their extended family.

“How the hell do you remember all this stuff?” I stared at the list of names, their descriptions, and the beliefs he had listed under their name.

The amount of detail he’d included was scary.

Gareth grinned, but it had an edge to it. “Every Noble House learns this stuff, but you and I… we have a lot to prove. People want us to fail.”

If the noble lessons weren’t bad enough, I also had etiquette lessons with Aurelia, who delighted in showing me all the ways I was ‘inferior’ and a ‘mannerless street rat.’

“I won’t have you embarrass us,” she hissed. “As future queen, it’s my job to get you in line. If I can’t even do that, I might as well resign.”

The Family help me once she took up the mantle. She’d be even more of a disaster. “Looking forward to it.”

Aurelia bared her teeth in a smile. “Don’t be mistaken, wretch.

You might think of this as merely a festival, but it’s a battlefield.

You will be quizzed for information. The Houses will see what you let loose.

Raghnall will be listening in as well as Andovan spies.

If they spot weakness, they will think the entire dragonsguard is weak.

And I will not tolerate that. If you fail, you’ll have even more people calling for your death, and next time, you won’t get so lucky with your life. ”

At training one afternoon, a servant handed Kieran a slip of paper. Kieran instantly tensed as he read the missive. He clenched his jaw. “Training is over for today.”

“What a child,” Aurelia scoffed. Kieran ignored her and took off on Hesperos without a word.

I looked around at the others. They weren’t the least bit curious. Did they know the letter’s contents? “What’s going on? Is it another gryphon sighting?” I wouldn’t be surprised. There were already two this past week.

Gareth’s eyes glinted. “It’s probably a letter from House Caddel confirming who all is coming to the festival.” Oh. That explained Kieran’s tension. Gareth straightened his shoulders. “We might as well head back.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Ben stretched. “It won’t be long before my father sends his own missive. If only he’d stay home.”

I frowned and looked at the sky, where Hesperos was slowly becoming too small to see. He wasn’t headed toward the castle but somewhere else. Where did he plan on going?

“Don’t cave to his pouting,” Aurelia surprised me by saying. “If he can’t manage his emotions that’s his problem.”

“Thanks for making my decision a lot easier.” I flashed her a grin and turned to Gareth. “I’ll train in the gym later after I talk to him.”

Gareth smiled. I didn’t bother looking at the rest to see their reactions. Instead, I mounted Umara and took off after Kieran. Umara purred down the bond as we flew. She loved anytime we left the castle. I couldn’t blame her. It was nice to just fly and not be weighed down by any rules.

It didn’t take long for us to catch up with Kieran and Hesperos. Whether Kieran wanted to admit it or not, it was obvious to me that he wanted someone to talk to him. After all, Hesperos wasn’t flying at top speed. Still, Kieran tensed when he spotted me. “I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“Good, because neither am I.” I patted Umara’s side, and she glided forward so that her and Hesperos flew side by side.

Neither of us talked for the next hour. My thighs began to cramp, still unused to flying for long stretches especially after a day of training, but I didn’t complain.

Kieran was there for me when I was at my lowest. I’d be there for him.

Kieran kept flying until we came to a series of rocky cliffs, about a hundred feet tall and all with steep drops.

Hesperos landed with a rumble, sending some pebbles flying down into the void below.

Kieran used his shadows to dismount and looked up at me when Umara landed next to Hesperos.

“Let me use my shadows to take you to the spot where I usually go. ”

I arched a brow. “You don’t think I can manage it myself?”

He exhaled, and I instantly felt bad. He had dark circles under his eyes.

I knew these missions had been weighing on him.

They were constant, especially this past week.

As captain, he took responsibility for all the lives lost. I wished he wouldn’t.

“I know you can, little thief, but you haven’t climbed something like this before, and it’s dangerous.

Even Gareth’s almost fallen to his death climbing the trail.

It’s been a long day, and I don’t want to take any needless risks. ”

I’m such an asshole. I nodded silently, and shadows curled around me.

For a moment, I was weightless as his shadows cradled me off Umara.

Surprisingly, Kieran didn’t grab me and instead had his shadows cradle me in the air, trailing after him while he deftly walked the gravel path.

My heart was in my throat as I watched. He was way too close to the edge for comfort.

After about a ten minute walk, Kieran sat down and his shadows lowered me until I rested right beside him, our thighs touching.

The moment I felt secure, I looked down below us.

My stomach rolled at the sight. The wind kicked at my feet, making me all too aware that a fall down here would end with my demise.

Jagged rocks lay below, but several hundred yards down was a meadow with a small, bustling river that was surrounded by the deathly mountain cliffs.

Straight across from us was a waterfall that gushed down below.

It was beautiful, in a dangerous sort of way.

How did Kieran discover this place? From the sounds of it, it wasn’t a random spot .

“You’re thinking too loudly,” Kieran said. “You should work on that. It makes it too easy to manipulate you.”

I shot him a look. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to push me away.”

“Is it working?”

Maybe it would’ve in the beginning when I didn’t care about him. But somehow, Kieran managed to worm his way into my heart. Even if I wasn’t entirely sure where I stood with him. “No. It just makes me want to annoy you longer and stay here.”

He huffed a laugh. “To answer the question you’re so obviously thinking about—this is where I come when I want to be alone and think. The Irinae Cliffs.”

“I thought that was Rafferty Tower?”

He cocked a brow. “Can’t a person have more than one place?”

“Seems a bit greedy.” I smiled at him, my chest warming when Kieran smiled back. He trusts me. I had no actual confirmation, and I doubted Kieran would say it aloud, but he trusted me. At least, a little bit. This place was important to him, and he showed it to me anyway.

A comfortable silence stretched between us. I could see why he came here. Sitting atop this cliff, I felt so small and insignificant. It was a stark reminder how insignificant my problems were in contrast to everything.

“I thought you would push.”

I tilted my head. “Do you want me to? ”

He exhaled. For someone who said I wore my thoughts too much, I could see the debate as clear as day in his eyes. “My sister isn’t coming.”

My brows rose. “You have a sister? How old is she? Are you close?”

He closed his eyes. “Definitely not close. Regina was only a baby when I left for the castle. With how everything ended, let’s just say the relationship was over before it even began.”

My heart went out to him. I couldn’t imagine a world where I wasn’t close to Clara. Kieran had his opportunity ripped away by his family. That had to hurt. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s how the world works. With her in my stepmother’s grasp, there’s no chance in hell I’ll ever have a relationship.

She’s sixteen now and was raised to hate my very being.

” He shook his head. “I spent so many years trying to chase my family’s approval and even when I cast it away, there’s a part of me that…

It’s better Regina keeps her distance from me.

We don’t often live long lives in the dragonsguard. At least I can spare her that pain.”