Page 111 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
He laughed again. “The first long flights are alwaysthe worst, but you’ll get used to it once Luther puts you to work.”
“Oh, joy.” My mouth watered when the food came impossibly fast. Steak, potatoes, some cheese, and two huge mugs of water. I chugged my drink. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the people, who did their best to pretend they weren’t gawking.It’s not just Kieran. I’m just as much of an anomaly to them.My ears tingled at that. Sometimes, I forgot they were pointed. Moments like this, I couldn’t forget.
“The Dragonslayer is here!” one person said.
“He’s so handsome in person!” said another.
“Her hair is so long and pretty.”
“Mom, can I grow my hair that long?”
“I love her braids!”
“I hear she took out seven gryphons all by herself!”
“That’s because she’s the Siren! With her, the dragonsguard’s complete and they’re finally gonna get rid of the gryphons!”
I flushed at the last line and shoved a bite of steak into my mouth. “So much for that title not spreading,” I muttered. “Finn’s a fucking liar.”
Kieran chuckled. “Every rider gains a title eventually. You may not like it, but you can use it. Think about the stories they’re spinning. They believe you will bring down the gryphons. If you gain their trust, you can force Luther’s hand.”
My stomach churned. I wanted it to be true, but it wasn’t that simple. If it was, Kieran would be runningthis place. “Do you think it’s actually possible we can take out the gryphons?”
Kieran studied me. “We need to know your… ability more. And, I suspect, we’d need to conduct a longer mission deep in the woods. That’s where more gryphons are usually found. There, we could draw them out. Another way could be you traveling across the country and bunkering down for a couple days each time. It’d be exhausting, and it may take years, but I believe we could do it.”
“I’ll put that down as a no. Sounds like the… rocks… are my best option to see Clara.” I didn’t want to think about the shittiness of my situation so I took a bite and groaned. “I missed real food.” Greasy, peasant food. It was the best. None of the health conscious crap Nimue forced down my throat.
“Don’t let Nimue hear you say that. She’ll be disappointed.”
I shoved another bite down. “Our secret then.” I eyed him. His posture was perfectly straight, and in comparison, I looked like an ogre. “How the hell are you not sore? It’s not fair.” It was easier to talk about this than the elephant in the room.
He cupped his glance. “Like I said, experience. Luther sends me on a lot of missions, as I’m sure you noticed.”
“You and everyone else.” Me not as much, but I knew that’d change. Especially with all the increased attacks. Without realizing it, my gaze went to his lips, and heat trailed down my back.Stop thinking about it.
After we finished eating, we headed upstairs to ourrooms. They were at opposite ends of the hallway. Kieran took the one closest to the staircase, and mine was tucked at the end of the hall. The rooms were nothing fancy—both of them small with only enough room for a bed and an empty dresser. They each had canteen sized windows with just enough of an opening to let in natural light during the day.
After I dropped off my pack in my room, I went into Kieran’s and sat down on his bed. “What’s the plan?”
“Ideally, I’d get to avoid Adelaide and my father, Evren. He’s always been passive and weak-willed, soshemanages the estate and him. As much as both of us would prefer to avoid each other, if she thinks it’ll hurt her images she’ll require us to do a formal meeting. However, I’m not going to leave it in her hands. We’ll stay at the edge of town while we investigate and keep a close eye on possible gryphon sightings.”
“Weren’t you the one saying we should get out there to win over the common people?”
His eyes glinted. “That’s what we’ll be doing. We’ll talk to the locals and see what they’ve heard. It’ll be far more effective than a removed noble’s report. Don’t worry, Siren, you’ve already done half the work already.”
My stomach flipped, both at the new title and the thought of more gryphons. “Do you think we’ll run into one?”
“I hope not, but as you’ve seen, Caddel Province has the most gryphon run-ins than any other territory.”
I fell silent, heavily aware that I sat on Kieran’s bed. The last time we were alone together… “Has Luther said anything about the eggs?” I asked, desperate not to think about that night and what my body craved. Now that we were alone together, we could talk freely.
“He said he’d let me know after this mission. He’s testing both of us. We can’t afford to fail.”
And that’s why I couldn’t risk it. If Luther realized Kieran favored me, he’d make my life harder. And if he knew we were together, there was a chance he’d take Clara from Wes. And as much as I disliked Wes, Clara liked him. I already ripped her from her home once. I couldn’t do that again. I stood up and stretched. “I’m going to bed.”
“Selena?” he asked before I could open the door.
I arched a brow. “Yes?”
