Page 27 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“Should we—?”
Nimue laughed. “It’s fine. Look at them. Thaleia loves to tease her.”
For a moment, I was sure Nimue was crazy. Who could laugh at a potentialdragonfight? But when I studied them, I realized she was right. Thaleia was much smaller than Umara, who could easily buck the dragon off if she wanted to. Instead, she let Thaleia tease her.
Watching them, I could see it. That these two were mates. There was no animosity between them, only affection. When they finished wrestling, Thaleia slid over to us and growled at Umara. “What are they doing?”
Nimue tensed briefly. “I think… well, we’ll see, won’t we?”
Umara narrowed her eyes at Nimue before taking a step forward. She hovered over us, but her gaze remained on Nimue. Thaleia growled again, and Umara dipped down, her faces inches from Nimue. It was one of the few times I’d seen Nimue actually tense. Then Umara blew smoke in her face and pulled back instantly.
Nimue let out a ragged breath and clutched her heart. “Thank the Mother. I have her approval now.”
“She didn’t approve of you before?” I asked. Behind us, Thaleia growled again and nipped at Umara’s neck. The two of them shuffled further away from us and curled around each other.
“She doesn’t like anyone beside her mate and you. The last person who tried to bond with her was my great-grandmother. Umara burnt her to a crisp rightin front of my grandma.”
My eyes widened. “That’s… awful.” How could she stand to be here?
Nimue shrugged. “It sounds cruel, but I didn’t know my great-grandmother personally, so it didn’t overly affect me. Though after that incident, my grandma refused to let any of her direct descendants bond with a dragon. It was only distant cousins allowed until me.” She rubbed her mark. “It’s human arrogance to think we’re the ones who chose the bond. Our dragons look at us, and theyknow.I don’t blame Umara for being a little trigger happy. A bunch of humans kept ignoring her wishes and trying to bond with her.”
“What made you want to be a rider?”
Nimue walked over to where our dragons lay and sat next to Thaleia, who moved her head from Umara to lay it on Nimue’s lap. “I’m the firstborn in my family. By rights, the title of ‘Lady of House Kalimera’ was mine. But then my father had a son when I was seven and then another when I was ten. And suddenly, I went from his heir to third in line. By the time I was fourteen, he already had engagement plans for me. So I decided that instead of getting married off to some woman my father picked, I’d take the risk. He was furious when he found out I took my cousin’s place, but there was nothing to be done. Thaleia looked at me and shesawme. There was no going back.”
I wasn’t surprised by her story. A woman could inherit the title, but more often than not, the Noble Houses chose a man. Really, it was only House Caddel and House Andros that always picked their firstborn,regardless of gender. “You’re still working under another asshole man though.”
Nimue rolled her eyes. “And you’re looking at things all wrong. I was never going to have total freedom. We all have to answer to someone. This was the only path I wanted to follow, because when I’m with Thaleia up in the sky, it’s… indescribable. I’d suffer a thousand lifetimes so I could have those moments. And, because of Thaleia, I get to experience that.” She pointed at her ears. “We’ll have a long time together.”
I frowned. “But how long?” Gareth had hinted at an increased lifespan, but he hadn’t gone into detail for how long.
Nimue hesitated. “Has Gareth not told you? Of course he hasn’t. He doesn’t want to scare you, Round Ears.” She laughed when I bristled. “Can you keep your mouth shut? We keep this quiet from the public for a reason.”
My skin tingled. I looked at Umara, who had opened an eye to watch me. “Tell me.”
“Our aging significantly slows down. By the time we reach twenty-five, it practically stops, it’s so slow.”
“Then how come the public doesn’t know? Wouldn’t it be obvious?”
Nimue grimaced. “Because between patrolling the southern border and dealing with gryphons, we have a high mortality rate. But one of the past riders has calculated it. If we survive the job, then we’d live to be anywhere from five hundred to seven hundred. And that’s just an estimate!”
My ears rang.Seven hundred years.The Father, that was a long time.Clara will die before me.“W-why does that happen?”
“A leading theory was that it’s magic’s attempt to better match us for our dragons. Though they live so much longer than that. Umara’s over seven hundred, and she’s still going strong.” She kissed Thaleia’s temple and stood up. “Alright, you look good enough for us to go. We can’t afford to get caught down here.”
My ears rang. I looked into Umara’s calm eyes.Seven hundred years.The transformation wasn’t something I could control or opt out of.Seven hundred years.I stood up, heavily aware of Umara’s piercing gaze. She sent soothing cascades of warmth down the bond, but it did little to erase the chill creeping down my spine.
It was almost a relief to step away and enter the passageway once more. “I still don’t get how you can stand it. Not just the, uh, extra years, but you’re sentencing yourself to being inLuther’spresence. How can you follow that man, even with Thaleia?”
That stopped Nimue in her tracks. “He’s the king. And it’s not too bad if you stay out of his way. Plus, only a select few can and will join the dragonsguard. Like it or not, we’re important for the country’s defenses. Andova or Lusadia—only one of us will come out on top. Have you been out of the capital? See, so you don’t know how destructive dragon fire truly is. It’s awful. We don’t have border towns anymore because of that. Not like how we used to. I don’t just want my freedom. I want the country to be free from this endless cycle. But I know it’s hard for you to understand. You didn’t grow up expecting to care for awhole land of people.”
I bit back a retort. She wasn’t trying to insult me, and she wasn’t talking down to me. In fact, she spoke the truth. Clara was my only priority. “I don’t know how I can work for him, let alone forgive him.” Luther was the reason I couldn’t see my sister.
She knocked her shoulder against mine. “You don’t have to forgive him. But think about a month from now, not just tonight. Your sister is safe. She has a roof over her head and warm food every night. Would you rather she stay like that or be on the streets with you?” She ran her hand along the walls. “You don’t have to answer that. It just helps me when I’m feeling… unsettled. And you know what helps me go on even though Luther’s a total bastard?”
I snorted. “What?”
“Him and Aurelia are gonna have a child someday, and we’re going to be heavily involved in that child’s life. So I’m playing the long game. It’s my mission to ensure that child isn’t going to be a little asshole.”
