Page 9 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury (House of Embers #1)

But my gaze went to a large painting to the left of the room. “How vain is he? I’ve seen that portrait like four fucking times.”

Gareth hid a smile behind his hand. The painting in question depicted Luther riding his dragon, both of them glaring fiercely at the viewer.

“To be fair, we have to project a certain image. The king especially. He’s the reason we’re able to have riders after all.

It was his ancestor that made the union between people and dragons. ”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Is today’s lesson going to be how awesome and special he is?”

Gareth snorted and hopped onto the desk, swinging his feet. “Gods no. But it’s important to understand our history, or at least, our people’s interpretation of it.”

I raised my brow. “What do you mean?”

“The stories say his ancestor, Godric Aesvara, had a special connection to dragons. That’s why he’s gifted with full immunity to fire, even against other dragon’s fires.

Luther, like his ancestors before him, is the one who directs the dragons to choose their riders, though its ultimately up to the dragons themselves if they accept. ”

“But he didn’t pick me.”

“He didn’t,” Gareth agreed. “Which goes against public perception. Not great for his image, is it?”

I found myself smiling. “No, it’s not.” Though immediately, guilt ate at my insides. What was Clara doing? How far away was she?

“It’s incredibly important how we’re viewed amongst our people, our peers, and our enemies. What do you know about the dragonsguard and what we do to protect the realm?”

I smirked. “That they’re the savior of the realm, and we’re oh-so-lucky to have them because they’ll save us from the evil and greedy southern kingdom of Andova and the twisted gryphons that gather in the night.

” Gareth didn’t react to my sarcasm. With a huff, I continued.

“The dragonsguard has been around since Godric Aesvara claimed his first dragon.

We were fine for centuries, but we got greedy, so greedy that we cannibalized ourselves when the two royal twins were born.

“The civil war decimated a lot of the dragon population. Lusadia split into northern and southern halves—the southern half becoming Andova, named after the twin’s mother’s maiden name.

Ever since then, the dragonsguard have protected the border and fought off gryphons that appear randomly—but it’s not like any gryphons are ever really seen.

Seems like a hoax to me, really. Anyways, the kingdom caused its own problems. It’s been a constant fight for control even after the peace treaty was signed,” I said.

“You’re right. Not about the gryphons—we’ll talk about that later, but about the kingdom’s greed.” His lips twitched when I sent him a shocked look. “When Lusadia split, it created a rift. We can’t feel secure until the other side is under our control. Dragons aren’t a threat to be taken lightly.

“A single dragon was all it took to get the western kingdom of Raghnall to back down. There’s so much at stake.

We have more dragons than Andova, but if we were to ever fall to them, we’d be like Raghnall.

Helpless and powerless. That is why the dragonsguard is primarily around, to ensure we don’t fall to Andova.

And what’s even worse—we could end up like Ethava. What do you know about it?”

I shifted. “That it’s a wasteland. The people rebelled or something. They were dangerous, so we built the magic wall to keep them out, and then we killed them before they could turn on us. ”

“Why do you think the wall stays?”

My mouth dried. “As a reminder to our people. A warning and a promise of safety.” I shook my head. “I already know all this. It’s nothing new.”

Gareth hummed. “Maybe some of it. Though I can assure you, gryphons aren’t a hoax. They’re very real and very dangerous.”

I leaned back on the desk. “Then why haven’t we seen them in the capital?” It wasn’t that I thought they weren’t real. I’d seen some on display, but I was confident the king was playing it up. No one ever talked about gryphon attacks. Ever.

“Gryphons avoid dragons and their riders. It’s a phenomenon we can’t explain, but they never attack us, only civilians.

” He pointed to his ears. “My best bet is that the changes our dragons put us through protects us. Other than that, it’s part of the image we project.

We’ve taken out many gryphons, more in the last two years than ever before, but we don’t go telling the public and raising their fears.

We release the information when we need to. ”

“I always knew you guys lied to us.”

Gareth shrugged. “If we told the kingdom everything that went on, people would run screaming through the streets. Our job is a very important one, Selena. It’s not just for the glory or the prestige or for some royal stuck in a castle. We’re saving people.”

I averted my gaze. I didn’t care about other people. Clara was the only person in the world who mattered to me. “Okay. ”

“You’ll see once you go out on the field.

” He straightened, playing with the edges of his leather gloves.

“Speaking of that, we’ve touched down on it briefly, but your features will change slightly once you’re fully bonded to Umara.

The changes will ensure you’re a qualified rider.

” He pointed to his ears. “This is the most obvious change. For reasons we can’t quite explain, our ears get pointed.

But less obvious to the public, is that our vision gets sharper and our hearing improves.

Our eyes also get more protection against the wind, so we don’t have to wear goggles when we fly.

Our strength, durability, and lifespan are increased as well. ”

I thought about the whispered rumors earlier and how the townsfolk thought of the dragonsguard as almost gods. “A lot of peasants believe the nobles are descended from fae and that the dragons bring out your fae blood. What do you think of that?”

“I’ve heard the same rumors. Some regions believe in that rumor more, and others don’t.

Personally, I’m not sure. Dragons exist. Why not fae?

We’ll never know the truth. The answer has been lost to time, and our science is limited.

It’s not as if we can ask our dragons. So…

we have myths to make up for what we don’t know.

” He cocked his head to the side. “It does make you wonder, why are some people chosen and others aren’t?

Is it due to fae blood? When my dragon, Eutimio, claimed me, it was for emotional reasons.

He saw something in me.” His lips twitched into a faint smile.

“But maybe he had other requirements. Who knows.”

“But aren’t you curious? ”

“Oh, it drives me crazy.” Gareth laughed.

“But I’m more than content with my bond to Eutimio, so I’ll settle for the non-answer.

Anyway, to get back on track, you can expect these physical changes to occur within the first year of the bonding.

And usually within one to three years, your Gift will manifest—the power given to you from your dragon.

For myself, that’s healing. You already know Kieran’s—the ability to manipulate shadows. ”

He tapped the back of the desk. “In the meantime, you’ll train with us. It’s essential we learn how to work as a unit. We’ll also work on your hand-to-hand combat as well as dragon combat. Until King Luther deems you ready, we’ll keep up your history lessons.”

I looked down at the swirling black mark on my arm. “I didn’t ask to be drafted.”

“I know you didn’t.” Gareth exhaled and jumped off the desk. “But the moment you took on that heist, you sealed your fate. As much as we may wish it, we can’t undo what we’ve done. The only way through is forward.”

My mouth dried. “What was in the treasure chest?” For the heist, I didn’t say aloud, but I knew he understood what I meant.

Gareth stiffened. “That’s classified. Even I don’t know. Perhaps once you’ve gained the king’s trust, he might answer your question in the future. Now that’s enough for today. We’ll get dressed and then head out to training.”

The training field was pretty far from the castle—a little over an hour by horseback. By the time Gareth and I arrived, everyone else was already there. Aurelia sneered when I looked at her, Kieran scowled, and Benjiro waved. At least Luther wasn’t here.

I studied Benjiro. It was the first time I’d gotten to take a proper look at him. He had straight black hair, teasing dark eyes, and a tall build. “I’m Benjiro Markos, but my friends call me Ben.” He sauntered over to me, his lips curling into an easy grin. “So can you.”

“Great.” I didn’t need someone to flirt with.

I needed someone to get me the fuck out of here.

I looked over his shoulder at the five dragons scattered alongside the field and Umara nowhere in sight.

My heart twisted, and I found myself struggling to stand as a wave of anger, disappointment, sorrow crashed over me.

“Luther asked Umara to stay away for today,” Gareth said. “We weren’t sure whether she’d listen or not, but I guess she decided to play nice.”

Kieran straightened. “Everyone, line up. Gareth and Selena, come here.” His tone left no room for argument. With just a few simple words, everyone scrambled to get into a line. Like a king. “Gareth, introduce everyone.”

Gods, I hated him so much. It was just like how Luther had acted, like he was too good to do the introductions himself. Gareth didn’t look bothered though. “You’ve already met Nimue and Kieran. This is Aurelia.”

Aurelia folded her arms. “I’m not interested in breaking bread with a criminal. She should be ashes.”