Page 61 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

“No ya not.” Finn’s voice took a hard edge. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. What was with this nonsense? If someone wanted to give you something for free, you took it. “Ya’ve shown me too much kindness for me to charge ya.”

“I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t—”

“Let me have my pride.”

At that, Kieran merely nodded and took his apple tart. I’d already grabbed mine. Finn winked at me, and I grinned. “Now ya two run along. I have a business to run. Can’t have ya distractin’ me.”

As we walked away, I arched a brow at Kieran. “You really going to let him win?”

Kieran didn’t look back but said under his breath, “My shadow’s delivering the coin as we speak.”

I bit into the tart and hummed in delight. “It’s good.” I took another bite. I never had an apple tart before, but clearly I’d been missing out.

“Of course it is. Finn’s the best in the business.”

I smiled at the pride in his voice. “How do you know him?”

“He practically helped raise me. The few times Adelaide kicked me out, he offered me a cot in his spare room. He’s a good man.”

The more I heard about Kieran’s stepmother, the more I hated her. “He seems like it.”

Kieran slipped his arm around my elbow and guided me toward another booth.

I stared when I realized just where he was taking us.

It was a game booth, one obviously rigged.

At the booth, there were three rows of bottles.

The shelves were set up so that the highest shelf was the farthest away from the customers and the bottom shelf had bottles that were closest to us.

So it made the first shelf, the bottom shelf, the easiest to hit.

The top shelf was just inches from the back of the booth, so the bottles on its shelf were the hardest to hit, not only because of the height but because they were the farthest away.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to play this?” I arched a brow.

“Are you against having fun, little thief?”

I scoffed. “Not when you can’t win this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re glued down.”

“I would never!” the vendor protested and grabbed one of the bottles, showing that it wasn’t glued down. “I run this stand with honor.”

At that, I snorted. “Then maybe you wouldn’t mind letting me have a free shot?”

The vendor’s brows rose. “T-that’s—” But he stopped when he took in our outfits, obviously signifying us as the dragonsguard. “Fine. Just one. I have a business to run.” He handed me a ball.

I lobbed it perfectly at the first bottle on the bottom shelf. As expected, it barely even shifted when it should’ve toppled over. I looked at Kieran. “Still want to go?”

“Don’t be a spoilsport,” he murmured and passed a coin to the vender. “I’d like a turn.”

“On the house.”

“I could never.” Kieran grinned. I thought he was being annoyingly noble until he grabbed the ball and tossed it.

That’s when his plan became clear. Shadows enveloped the ball.

At first, his shadows only coated the ball, but as soon as the ball connected with the topmost bottle, his shadows gave the ball an extra oomph until the bottle toppled over.

“You cheater.” I couldn’t stop grinning.

“B-but sir!”

Kieran’s smile sharpened. “I’ll take that one.

” He pointed at one of the stuffed animals that hung from the top of the booth.

The vender tried valiantly to withhold his glare, but I didn’t feel bad considering how rigged this game was.

Kieran huffed a laugh as he claimed his prize and then held it out to me. “For you.”

It was a large stuffed animal of Umara. For a moment, I was too amused to even remember that Kieran annoyed me or that I didn’t trust him.

The stuffed animal was adorable after all, though inaccurate since it didn’t have scales.

But a good amount of work had been done to stitch on the floppy wings.

“I’m calling her Amara, since she’s a knock-off. ”

Kieran merely smiled. “I’ll leave her in your room.” With a flick of his wrists, the shadows made the stuffed animal disappear.

Once we were a safe distance away, I said, “If you think feeding me and gifting me a stuffed animal will make me want to sleep with you, you’re sorely mistaken.” Or rather, I wouldn’t forget the dangers of giving in just because he treated me to an almost date.

He snorted. “And what makes you think I'm trying to seduce you?” Before I could get a word out, I let out a yelp of surprise when he yanked me forward into an abandoned alleyway and pressed my back against the wall.

He pinned my hands on either side of my head, and his stormy eyes trapped me in place.

“If I wanted to seduce you, you would know. And you wouldn't be able to resist.”

I swallowed, my heart pounding against my ribcage.

My body reacted, fight or flight mode engaging as my leg swept forward to kick him.

His shadows easily captured my leg, stroking my upper thigh like a promise.

I shuddered. “You think you’re so irresistible, don’t you?

” Dammit he was, and it took everything I had not to make it too obvious how badly he affected me.

His lips curved into a smile. “What can I say. I see you, Selena. I know what you like.”

Asshole. “I don’t want to be another notch on your bedpost.” And if this got out, if I gave in like my body desperately begged me to, it could be catastrophic for me.

His brother guarded my sister. What if they changed her guard?

What if Kieran really was using me? For a man who usually thought everything over, he was being too fucking reckless for my liking.

His shadow still caressed my thigh even as I lowered my leg. “Never. You’re too important to me.”

I scoffed. “And that’s supposed to be flattering? What about all the other women you fucked? What happened to them?” What will happen to me? Will we stay a secret? How honest are your feelings?

“I’ve only ever been honest with those I take to my bed.

It’s different, being a rider. The everyday citizens can never truly understand what it’s like.

” His hands shifted at his sides, and the shadows slithered upward to clutch my waist, sending another pulse of heat to my core.

“I kept thinking about your words, about whether wearing a mask was exhausting. It was. It is. And it’s something that won’t ever stop. And then I thought—”

“With your dick?” I arched a brow.

There was no hint of a smile on his lips, and his eyes burned with desire.

“I want someone to stand by my side, to know me beyond the mask. Sure, you could find someone like Ben to scratch the itch”—my lips twitched at the bitterness he laced Ben’s name with—“but he doesn’t understand.

Not like I do. I know what it’s like to claw your way up, to fight for everything you want and to never give up.

To have the deck stacked against you. Ben has made his sacrifices, yes, but not like ours.

He won’t turn himself into a monster for his goals, but I will. And so will you.”

He took another step forward, and my back pressed even further against the wall.

Energy crackled along my body. Slowly, ever so slowly, he released my wrists to cup my cheek.

I couldn’t look away. His shadows hadn’t left my hips, but their grip loosened slightly.

If I wanted to, I could pull away. But fuck, I didn’t want to.

“Why not be monsters together?” he murmured.

“No,” I whispered, my lips brushing against his. All my senses came alive. I wanted to just give in and jump into his arms. But what happens if someone finds out? What if he’s lying to me? What if I’m being selfish ?

Kieran smiled and stepped back, his shadows retreating with him. I immediately missed the warmth his touch brought. “Okay.”

I scowled at his easy response. This wasn’t the look of a man who just got rejected. No, it was the look of the man certain he’d get what he wanted. “I’m serious. I’m not going to sleep with you.”

But that infuriating smile never left his lips. “I know.”

I kicked off the wall. “I mean it. Don’t be so confident in yourself.”

“Okay.”

This fucker. That easy-going tone of his made me want to snap. “You’re so annoying.”

“You two aren’t going anywhere,” a voice said from behind us. I turned to see an individual with a long black cloak on with the hood pulled over his head, casting a shadow over his face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I looked at Kieran. “Tell me they’re not this stupid.”

“They are.”

“Hey!”

But with a flick of Kieran’s hand, shadows from underneath the hood wrapped around the man’s neck, and crack! The man’s head whipped to the side, and he collapsed to the ground.

“I bet Andova hired some poor ignorant fool to take you out without informing them of my Gift.” Kieran used his boot to pull back the man’s hood.

I grimaced at the bone sticking out of the man’s neck.

Given his features—his hook nose and dark skin—he must’ve been from one of the isles technically under Andova.

And judging by the gauntness, Kieran’s guess was probably accurate.

I knew I should’ve felt something seeing this bastard dead in front of me, but I didn’t. Maybe Kieran was right. Maybe I was already on my way to becoming a monster. “We can’t let them shake me.” I frowned. “We should get back to the festival.”

Kieran eyed me, an unreadable expression crossing his face before it faded.

With a flick of his wrist, shadows enveloped the man.

If I had to guess, Kieran probably dropped him off at the castle or a prison.

“Keep your guard up. This one was a moron, but it might’ve been a suicide mission meant to lower our guard.

Andova wants you dead, Selena, don’t forget that. ”

“How could I?” It wasn’t just Andova after all. The rest of the Noble Houses did too.