Page 64 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
The others watched silently and exchanged looks. Cowards. None of them wanted to invoke Kieran’s wrath by standing up for me.
He ground his teeth together. “Take this seriously or get off my training field.”
Gods, I wanted to storm off. My hands clenched at my sides. “You know I’m training hard. Stop fucking undermining that. I’m here longer than they are, staying behind to continue training.”
Kieran stalked toward me. I hated the way I noticed how his uniform perfectly accentuated his features. Like his muscled arms. Or how hot his Rider’s Mark looked as it caressed his neck. Gods, even the sweat on him looked good. Fucking prick. His good looks made me even more pissed off. “The gryphons won’t go easy on you. Do the dismount again. If you stumble, I’ll have you running laps until the sun goes down.”
I gave him a vulgar gesture before I stalked over to Umara. We did the drill again, and I thanked the gods I managed to stay on my feet. Not that Kieran cared. When we locked eyes, he merely arched a brow as if mocking me for even deigning to consider the successful dismount worthy of celebration. Jerk.
I wanted to revel in my anger, but considering that night and his promise, I didn’t want to backslide. As confusing as Kieran was, if he stayed good on his promise, he’d be an even better ally. So once dragonsguard training ended, I made my way over to him. “Kieran—”
The look in Kieran’s eyes could’ve turned me to stone. “I don’t have time for this. Train with Ben for two hours and then you may return,” he growled. He sidestepped me and went under the shadowed trees. There, his powers took over. Darkness clung to hisbody, and he reappeared atop Hesperos. The two of them took off without another word.
“Coward!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. He didn’t look back. What the fuck was his problem? I turned to the others and they immediately looked away, except for Aurelia who met my gaze head on. I stalked over to Gareth. “Is this normal behavior for him?”
Gareth wrung his gloved hands together. “It’s not.”
“I’m tired of his bullshit.”
“It’s like being in an open war zone.” Ben shuddered. “I might actually prefer that.”
I threw my waterskin at Ben, who dodged it with a laugh. Gods, why did I let Kieran make me feel so crazy?Not again.I was a grown woman. I wouldn’t chase after a man. Except… it wasn’t a simple as that. He had the key to my happiness—my sister. I needed him.
He needs me too.Fuck it. I’d give him a few days. Maybe he’d sort his shit out. And if he didn’t, I’d do something. My chest tightened in my ribcage. I wished I could stop thinking about that night. Wished I could ignore the way my whole body tingled when he so much as looked at me.
Nimue pulled me to the side. “Any chance you’re on your monthly bleed?”
I wished I hadn’t thrown my waterskin at Ben so that I could’ve thrown it at Nimue. “Really, Nimue?You’regoing to ask that?” I folded my arms. The others, except for Ben who waited for me to join himin our extra training, had already taken off. Ihatedwhen Randall asked if I was on my monthly bleed whenever I argued with him. And it always pissed me off even more when he said that and Iwason it. “So maybe I am, but that has nothing to do with me being mad. So don’t—don’t reduce it to that.” It was bad enough to get it from men, I didn’t need to get it from a woman.
Nimue had the decency to look a little shamefaced. “Sorry. I know Kieran can be a dick. I just… I think I have something that can help with your monthly bleed. It always sucks training during it.”
Too true. My limbsachedand the heaviness where my thighs met my groin made training as rigorously as we did hard. I wanted to lie in bed, not push through it. “What did you have in mind?”
Nimue grinned. “The bathing chamber once you finish. Come find me when you get back.”
I rubbed my thighs. “Alright.”
Once Ben and I finished our training and returned to the castle, I met up with Nimue, who took me to the same fancy bathing chamber the rest of the dragonsguard had taken me to. Since the men wouldn’t be joining us, we didn’t bother getting our wetsuits. Instead, I brought an extra pair of underwear and tight shorts for the soak.
I still couldn’t get over how fancy the place was. Nobles. Always having to make something needlessly expensive. First, we showered to wash the grime away.Well, I did. Nimue had already showered. After, I put on the fluffy bathing robe she’d given me and my shorts.
Once I dressed, Nimue ushered me toward the sofa next to the kitchenette and brushed my hair. I closed my eyes and sunk into the bliss of it all. Ilovedhaving my hair brushed. Clara liked to brush my hair most nights whenever she felt well. There was something so utterly relaxing having someone else do it.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“Figured you could use a bit of pampering.” Another long brush stroke. “We have a big day ahead next week. It’s going to be… well, a lot. And Kieran isn’t helping.”
I groaned. “I don’t even want to think about the mission.” I preferred to think aboutafter.When I’d finally have my proof.
Nimue finished her brushing and stood. “I get that. I do. And you’re right. We can talk about the mission tomorrow. I—I know Kieran’s an ass, but he’s worried. Hell, we all are.”
I shot her a pointed look. “Nimue.”
She raised her hands in submission. “I know. I’ll leave it be. You stay here. I’m going to make you some red raspberry leaf tea.”
I complied and watched her bustle about the kitchen, grabbing a small container from the cupboards. “Aurelia introduced me to this tea. It helps when our cycles are particularly rough. It soothes the worst of your aches. Really, it’s a miracle worker.” Shepoured two cups and tilted her chin at the pool. “Go inside the pool. I adjusted the temperature, so it’ll be even hotter. I’ll bring us a tray of nuts and dark chocolate. Now go. I brought out some water pillows to rest against for maximum comfort.”
I arched my brows. As much as it felt ridiculous to utilize something so needlessly extravagant like the rest pool—and the back of my mind whispered at how many people would kill for even a bucket of warm water to bathe in instead of using the stream—I had to admit it sounded nice. With a nod, I followed Nimue’s instructions.
