Page 80 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
Kieran positioned me on my side. I shuddered when he brushed my hair away from my face. “Remember this the next time you call me an asshole.”
That sparked a watery laugh from me. “Asshole.” Because of course he’d want to use this moment of weakness to his advantage. But that was Kieran. And it made me smile despite the hollowness in my chest.
Kieran’s soft chuckle was the last thing I heard before I passed out.
The next morning, my head pounded something fierce. I hated life, and I only had myself to blame. Fighting a groan, I staggered out to where the others were already gathered around the campfire, all of them in similar states. Aurelia looked the most put together, but even she had a paleness to her, and her signature scowl was more of a grimace. Gareth satslumped over with his fingers pressed hard against his temple, almost as if he could will the headache away.
Kieran sat closest by the fire, stirring a large pot. My brows rose when I saw it. What happened to him not making anyone breakfast? When our eyes locked, my cheeks heated, and I glanced away. Gods, I cried like a baby in front of him. I wished the ground would swallow me up.
“Never again,” I murmured to Nimue. She groaned in response. I closed my eyes. My bond with Umara flared, and her fond exasperation made me smile. At least she’d gotten over her irritation with me.
“Take it.” I opened my eyes to see Kieran offering me a bowl. My blush returned. How could I ever look him in the eye again? But at least Kieran wasn’t bringing it up. I would’ve thought he’d mock me for it.Thank the gods.I took the bowl, glancing around to see that Gareth had been given a bowl as well.
“The rest of you, go get your plates,” Kieran said and sat down next to me. My eyes widened, and I whipped my head toward him on instinct. Kieran arched a brow, daring me to comment. I couldn’t speak. The weight of it all struck me. Just a day ago, Kieran was ignoring me and practically made me beg him to be civil. Now he was bringing me bowls of soup and holding my hair back when I threw up.
“Favoritism,” Ben complained but stood up and served himself. “Are the rest of us not as important?”
“You’re not,” Kieran agreed bluntly. I had to fight to keep my expression blank. “Selena’s Gift can save Lusadia. That deserves a bit of favoritism.”
“What about Gareth?” Ben squawked.
“I like him more than you.”
I snorted at Kieran’s deadpan tone. Gareth and I shared a smile, and finally, I looked down at my bowl. That’s when I realized. The soup. He made my favorite meal—a simple dish of corn, diced potatoes, little pieces of meat, and green beans.He remembered.I looked at him, my mouth slightly agape.
“I don’t have a taste reference to compare it to, but I hope you enjoy it,” Kieran murmured. His gaze went from my eyes to my lips.
I wanted to kiss him, wanted to throw away all my uncertainty toward him and just let go. But I couldn’t. “Thank you,” I breathed. “It’s amazing.”
“You haven’t even tried it,” he countered, but the corner of his mouth curve into a slight smile.
I took a bite. As expected, it was amazing. He made it slightly different, and he found a way to elevate the simple dish, but he hadn’t changed the recipe. One taste, and I was brought right back to sitting in the tent with Clara. I could’ve cried again. “Now I have. It’s amazing. Thank you.”
“Really. This is what you made?” Aurelia curled her lip in distaste. Just that, our little moment shattered.
“You’re not allowed to bitch unless you cook for us,” Nimue said and grabbed the ladle to pour herself a bowl. “Thank you, Kieran, because we're all hungover as fuck and I really didn’t have the energy to make myself anything. See, Aurelia, it's not that hard to have some manners. I would think you’d know that.”
Aurelia's cheeks heated, but she raised her chin. “He prepared a commoner dish. It’s insulting.”
“I think it tastes awesome.” Ben let out an exaggerated moan when he took a bite. “The commoners have the right idea.”
“It’s really good,” Gareth said quietly.
My chest warmed at their support. After we finished eating, Kieran and Aurelia went to patrol. Kieran promised the rest of us two hours of training when he returned. At least I was excused from that. It’d be fucking miserable with my headache.
A light atmosphere settled over the group. If I didn’t know any better, I’d feel like we were on a vacation. The others took advantage of Kieran being gone and relaxed while they could. Gareth claimed the hammock and grabbed one of his books—this one wearing the plain black sleeve to hide the cover’s illustration.
“Is that the sequel book you were talking about?”
Gareth shot me a wary look. “A new one. The first in a series.”
I grinned. “Have they started fucking yet?”
Gareth groaned and lifted the cover to hide his face. “They have,” he admitted in a low voice.
“You’re only on the tenth page!”
“They’re soul mates, they don’t need a drawn out romance. They know what they want.” He lowered his book and shot me a knowing look. “It’s frustrating when people are too stubborn to see their perfect match.”
