Page 1 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
CHAPTER ONE
“Please don’t go,” Clara pleaded as I laced up my boots. “We don’t need the money. We’ll be fine.”
I winced as I finished tying the knots and turned to face her. Immediately my gaze went to the slight flush on her cheeks. How long had that been there? Without thinking, I pressed my hand to her forehead, but she batted it away and puffed out her cheeks.
“I’mfine,Selena. I had my morning draught.”
But I couldn’t stop frowning as I looked her over. We were total opposites beyond both being half-starved and boney, a courtesy of living from job to job. Everything about my kid sister was delicate. From her full lips to her blue-green eyes. Not to mention the illnesses she took to like a moth to the flame. I resisted the urge to pull her sleek brown hair into a ponytail. She hated it down when she got sick.
“Of course you’re fine,” I muttered. My sister was the type of person that could be literally puking her guts out before smiling and saying she felt okay. I grabbed my dark brown jacket and flung it over my shoulders.
Clara’s frown deepened. “You don’t need to go. It’ll be dangerous. It has to be if they’re paying so much.”
I ignored my sister’s angry look and buttoned up my jacket. I should never have told her the pay. She wasn’t stupid. This jobwasdangerous. “Look, I’m not sure I’m going to take it. But Randall offered me a week’s worth of food moneyjustto attend the meeting. I have to go.”
Clara wilted. “This is different. You know it’s different. Maybe I could—”
“No.” I folded my arms. “You’ll catch a cold or worse. And we’re low on draughts, Clara. I can’t…” I let out a ragged breath and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “I know you don’t like this, but we can’t keep living like this.”
“Then why can’t I help? Or… or you can do another job?”
Those guilty, nervous eyes almost made me stay, but I couldn’t. “It’s just this one job. I know you don’t like it, but I don’t want this for us, okay? I’m tired of sleeping in the dirt and letting people treat us like shit. After I do this job, we’ll have enough money to get a cottage and move somewhere better.”
Clara closed her eyes. “Okay.” She took off her necklace and handed it to me wordlessly. “If you’re going to ignore me, then take the pendant with you.”
I stared at the plum blossom etched onto the pendant. “I can’t take this.” I’d been the one to give it to her. Mom had given it to me, and after she passed, I gave it to Clara. Resentful as I felt towards our mother and her naivete, this was the one thing she gave to us and on her deathbed, she told me not to lose it.
“Sit down,” Clara said, her voice so soft that it didn’t sound like an order. It was only because I knew I wasgoing directly against her wishes that I complied and let her drop the chain around my throat. “It’s your good luck charm since I can’t come with. Make sure to give it back to me.”
“You drive a hard bargain. Come on, let’s get you to The Dragon’s Hearth. Brynn’s working tonight.” I ran my fingers along the old pendant as I stood up. My memories of Mom weren’t the best. She let her heart ruin not just her life but mine and my sister’s. The pendant was given to my mom by my father, some random patron at the brothel she worked at. She always believed he’d come back for us and if something happened to her, he’d see the pendant and take us in. What a load of bullshit.
Clara exhaled and stood up, trying to hide the way her legs wobbled but doing a terrible job of it. “I don’t need a sitter.”
She was right. She wasn’t a little kid anymore now that she was eighteen. “You won’t be able to defend yourself if someone comes in to raid the tent.” I spared a glance at our meager belongings lying around the tiny shack we called home. We weren’t stupid—we didn’t put everything in here, but we’d still be screwed if someone came to take our belongings. In this rundown area of the village, it was entirely likely someone would come. Especially if they knew Clara was by herself.
Clara’s lips pressed into a tight line but thankfully she didn’t argue. We walked past the slums and toward the heart of the village, specifically the tavern Brynn worked at. People eyed us as we passed. We were street rats, and they knew it.
I stepped into The Dragon’s Hearth, a shabby little tavern that the poor flocked to, and scanned the area. As usual, it was packed to the brim. It took a couple minutes for Brynn to notice us since she was being worked to the bone. Her dad was too cheap to hire outside help. When she finally noticed us, her expression went pinched. She sauntered over to me and grabbed my arm. “You’re really going through with the job?” she hissed in my ear.
“Why don’t we talk in the back?”
Brynn scoffed and swirled on her heel, stalking toward the door which led to the backroom. When we stepped into the hallway we took a right—leading us to the private office. “I see you weren’t able to convince her,” she said to Clara, completely ignoring me.
Clara sat down on the raggedy couch. The back room was such a small, cramped space, and Clara knew it well, because I frequently dropped her off here when I had jobs. “We both knew it was a lost cause. All Selena cares about is money.”
“That's not true,” I snapped. “Don't say that. Ever.”
Clara looked away.
My anger vanished in an instant. “I love you, okay? It’s not a crime to want a better life for us.”For you.Clara’s bouts of sickness kept increasing. I always feared the day her illness would come, and we’d have no money for a healing draught.
Brynn glanced between the two of us and sighed. “Alright. Are you sure you have to do this, Selena? I can ask my father if he’d hire you.”
I couldn’t stand to look at the hope shining in Clara's eyes. “I can’t say no to this job. It’s too important. And you know your father would hire a dragon before he hired anyone of us.”
Brynn’s lips twitched. “Just be safe. If not for you, then for your sister. And for me too, I guess. I’ll be so mad if you get caught.” She reached into the box beside the couch and pulled out a blond wig. It was shorter than my waist-long dark brown hair, but that was an added benefit of the disguise because of how stark the differences were.
A blond wig stood out more in contrast to my light brown skin, but the combination wasn’t totally unheard of. I put on the wig and made sure to tuck in the two little strands of hair on either side of my face. The strands went just above my chin and perfectly framed my face.
