Page 116 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“It doesn’t matter how the great evil allied with the gryphons.” Kieran stepped forward. “What matters is you have a great enemy to fight. And to stand a chance, you all need to work together.”
The children’s eyes widened. When they faced him, their eyes practically had sparkles. It seemed notallof Elidad was immune to Kieran’s reputation.
The girl who’d spoken walked up to him. Her hands trembled at her sides from excitement. “Captain Kieran. You’re here!”
Kieran glanced back at me and then nodded, a soft smile on his lips. “I’m here to help you defeat the great evil. Unless... maybe I am the great evil.”
I watched in disbelief as Kieran joined in on the game. He lazily waved his hand, and shadows curled around him. Not one of the children looked afraid. If anything, they looked delighted he’d join them. One of the boys was blushing so brightly, I was sure he’d faint. The kids glanced at each other, their resolve hardening, and then they charged him.
It was such a stark contrast to the image Kieran presented to the public. The mock ‘battle’ only lasted a handful of minutes.Am I dreaming? I have to be dreaming.But even when I blinked, the image remained the same. Kieran, after doing a half-ass job of dodging their blows, ‘fell’ when the girl smacked her wooden sword against his abdomen.
“You mighty soldiers have defeated me,” he said dramatically and closed his eyes. “However... I have an assistant. And she will place a curse on you. That is, unless you defeat her.”
I blinked in surprise when the children’s expectant eyes turned to me. I hadn't expected them to want to play with me, and I sucked at playing pretend. I was too busy surviving and providing for Clara to indulge in childish games. I didn’t want to join in, but those pleading eyes wouldn’t go away and considering that Kieran joined them…
I raised my hands. “I, uh, curse you?”
My cheeks flooded with heat when Kieran snickered behind his hand. I scowled in his direction. “Kick rocks, a—jerk.And you’re dead. The dead don't get to speak.” He raised his hands and mimed sewing his mouth shut.
The kids giggled. One of them whispered, ‘kick rocks’in delight. I turned back to the kids, and they focused back on the game. The boy that had blushed earlier let out a battle cry and charged me, swiftly followed by the rest. Shoving down my lingering feelings of awkwardness, I stiffly ‘fought’ against them. I barely lasted a minute before I let myself get defeated and slumped to the ground. “You kids won. I’m defeated.”
The kids cheered and after a beat, Kieran sat up. “It looks like we’ll have to get going.” When the kids booed, Kieran offered them a smile. “We’ll come back tomorrow. Unfortunately, we have more investigating to do today. We need to keep the land safe and prevent another great evil.”
As we flew on our dragons, I couldn’t help but sneak glances at him. Just when I thought I’d unraveled all of Kieran’s layers, he threw another curveball at me. Since Lady Adelaide knew we were coming, she set up a cabin deep in the woods, far enough away for us to safely play bait. The plan was to stay there overnight for the first couple of nights and if nothing happened, we’d be able to stay in an inn.
Umara purred when we landed by the small, unassuming cabin. It was hardly big enough to sleep in, let alone stay in there overnight. I wondered if itwas an intentional slight or for practical reasons. I patted Umara’s side. “Someday, we’re going to travel together. No more stuffy castles for us.” I smiled when she arched into my touch.
The inside of the cabin already had two bedrolls strewn out, and there was just enough space to put our packs. After doing a quick patrol and finding nothing, we returned to the cabin. The plan was to stay outside until night set in and then play bait safely indoors.
I cleared my throat. “So, the kids. They all had fake pointed ears. What’s up with that?”
“A lot of the gryphons are in Caddel Province. And we’re right by the wall. With both of those a constant, well, superstitions follow. There’re other stories about why the wall formed, and not just because Ethava rebelled like we’ve been told. Some of the stories are backed by the historical records my family keep.”
My brows raised. “Like what?”
Kieran flicked his hand and shadows shot out from every direction. He tilted his head, his eyes going distant as his shadows checked the perimeter.
I glanced around the woods, my skin prickling. “What’s with the secrecy?”
His eyes darkened. “Because even Luther doesn’t know how extensive the Caddel library is. You know the stories of fae? They’re real.”
“You’re fucking with me.” But one look at his set jaw, and I knew he wasn’t. I shook my head. “That’s—that’s crazy.”
“It’s all recorded in my ancestors’ journals. The fae came here about seven hundred years ago and brought dragons with them. But five hundred years ago, all history and record of that event was covered up and wiped out. If it wasn’t for my ancestors’ journals, the Caddel line would have thought the same. There’s even an entry from one of my ancestors saying that the diaries directly contradicted what she remembered.”
“How does something like that happen?”
“It doesn’t take much to create a myth. Think about how fast the dragonsguard came into prominence or how you knew little about the Andros rebellion and subsequent punishment. House Caddel released some of this information in rumors and leaks, and it stuck. That’s why so many are certain we’re descended from fae.”
I frowned. “Why do you think they’d erase the history? We know the dragons appeared. Most of the stories say dragons didn’t consider us worthy until King Godric—it’s bullshit obviously, but if we can accept that as a so-called fact, why hide the fae?” That propaganda was what settled the Aesvara claim to the throne after a series of bloody revolutions.
“I can think of a lot of reasons. When the fae and dragons came, they changed everything. That’s how the continent unified, after all. I bet a lot of humans weren’t too happy with them, and fae were an easier target to direct that hatred towards.”
I shook my head. “It’s just insane that… that our history can change like that.” In a way, it made sense. We turned the dragonsguard into something powerful, an honor that the everyday citizen didn’t believe they could get but hoped to nonetheless. If what he said was true, then that meant… “So a lot of us are fae then, right?”
“Even though a lot of our records are scrubbed, from what we have recovered, yes. They integrated themselves into society. People believe that riders are chosen because of their fae blood, but they don’t realize fae blood is common. After seven hundred years, no doubt most of the population shares it.” His lips quirked. “I believe that our rider’s bond brings out the dormant fae features.”
“That sounds… crazy.” And frightening how fast fact was able to become myth.
