Page 123 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“It’s risky.” Nimue raised her chin. “Let me go with them, Luther.”
Luther’s lips tugged into a line. “Donotdoubt me. This is the best plan. It is not up for debate. Now, you are all dismissed. Ben and Aurelia, I want you to head out at dawn tomorrow to patrol the border for the next week.”
“This sounds like a fucking disaster.” Nimue folded her arms and stared us down. “We’re supposed to be a team. This is setting you two up for slaughter if things go south. And it sounds like they will!”
“It seems like simple math to me.” Ben looked between the two of us. “More dragons, better odds. I say we show up anyways.”
“No,” Kieran said bluntly. In just one word, he completely shut down all arguments.
“Why not?” I asked. It was the strangest thing. Despite my conflicting emotions earlier, I trusted Kieran. If he backed Luther’s plan, so did I.Look at me following authority. Clara would be so proud.
“None of you have witnessed a dragon on dragon fight. I have.” His jaw flexed. “It's something we haven't trained for, and for good reason. Even our dragons are unpredictable. If they get pissed off, there’s a good chance they’ll turn on each other.”
“They wouldn’t…” Ben’s easy smile fell.
Kieran glared. “That’s how Andova lost their fourth dragon and how I gained the name Dragonslayer. Luther likes to tell everyone it was because of him and his aid, but the truth was, the Andovan dragons, in the middle of the fight, kept ramming into each other. One of them got pissed off and tore out the other’s throat. That in-fight was theonlyreason I made it out of the battle alive. The only reason I gained the title was because Hesperos was right by the fallen dragon and provided another fatal blow, but the dragonwould’ve died anyways.”
“But our dragons are trained,” Ben argued. “You didn’t have any experience then. It won’t go down like that.”
Kieran shot him a flat look. “They’re not trained to fight against other dragons. They are wild creatures who listen to us, but they don’tobeyus. Don’t let your ego get in the way. That’ll get you killed.”
“I don’t want to leave you two to deal with it by yourselves.” Nimue frowned. “What if they bring all three dragons, and you don’t have time to get to the others? Then it’d be three on two, and it’s us who will be overwhelmed. I don’t think we should risk it, especially with the eggs involved.”
“I’m your captain. Are you doubting my capabilities?” Kieran’s voice had a hard edge.
“I’m not.” Her eyes flicked to me. “But Selena is a new rider with not even a year of experience under her belt. You’ll be watching out for her too if it comes to a fight. You should have someone with more experience by your side.”
I willed myself to ignore the sting of her words. She wasn’t wrong.
“The more dragons there are, the more chaotic and riskier it’ll be.” There was no arguing with Kieran. He had clearly made up his mind. “This is what needs to happen in order to avoid an all-out fight. Andova will think the same. And should the worst arise, most of you will be nearby to assist.”
By the time we ended the meeting an hour later, noone was happy.
The tension was still palpable, even once everyone retired to their rooms. Kieran had declared he was going to shower. Exhausted as I was, I still wanted to join him. But would that raise suspicion? Would Aurelia suspect anything?Everyone showers after a long day. You’re over thinking it.I grabbed my clothes and towel, but I waited a good five minutes before leaving my room.
By the time I entered the bathing chambers, he was already naked.
I took a moment to admire his form as he turned on the shower water. The man was too beautiful.Truly a blessing to us all.His wide shoulders, his chiseled abs, perfect tawny skin. Those long eyelashes, messy black hair, and a cutting gaze to match. The long fingers that could reach the deepest places inside of me. And his cock… long andthick.It filled me so good. Just staring at it made me long to have it inside me again. My core tightened.
“I’m starting to think you only like me for my body,” Kieran said dryly as he stepped under the water.
Fuck.Watching the water cascade down his chest sent a pulse between my thighs. I laughed as I got undressed and tried not to preen too obviously when he studied my breasts and my core before settling on my face.
“It’s certainly not that dazzling personality of yours.”
He snorted. “Have you come to yell at me?”
I studied him, at the exhaustion lining his face. Immediately, I felt guilty. “Do you want me to?” I stepped into his bath. Kieran turned to face me, and the water pelted his back. My nipples hardened under his gaze, and I shuddered. It was like a lightning storm brewed under my skin whenever we were together.
“Not particularly. But you wouldn’t be you if you held back.”
A ghost of a smile flickered on my lips. “I was pissed you volunteered me, but it makes sense. I don’t want people to die just because I don’t want to fight.” And if I stayed back and Clara paid the price for it, I wouldn’t forgive myself. “We’re in deep shit, aren’t we?”
His mouth tightened. “We are. The others don’t realize it. They haven’t fought against other dragons. They don’t know just how fast it can escalate.”
Kieran the Dragonslayer.The others didn’t want to believe him, but I did. I’d seen the haunted look in his eyes whenever he talked about it. “Feel free to tell me to fuck off, but when did you fight another dragon?” I reached up to stroke his jaw and then pressed my lips against his own.
Kieran groaned. He squeezed my ass, sending another pulse between my thighs. “When I was fifteen.” Damn. “And in the process a whole village got slaughtered.”
