Page 117 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“I almost didn’t believe it myself. Whoever scrubbed the fae’s arrival did a good job. Now even the idea of fae seems too fantastical to be true.”
“Is that why you trusted Madame Bareea when she said one of the travelers had a ‘feeling?’ I’ve seen some people pretend to be Gifted. It’s always been a scam to make a quick buck.” Hell, I knew some of the folks who did.
“It’s hard to believe but given it’s been seven hundred years since the fae lived with us and integrated, a good amount of the population must have fae blood. If I had to guess, bonding with our dragons activated that blood and strengthened our Gifts that are already inside us. I was skeptical myself, but I’ve seen things, Selena. Things I can’t explain. I know cons, and I’ve debunked several of them, butoccasionally, there are people who seem like us but without the blatant transformation.”
If this was months ago, I would’ve laughed in his face. A part of me still wanted to call him gullible, but Kieran wasn’t the type of man to be easily fooled. “That’s insane.”
“I know. We have a word for it in Caddel Province—Legacies. Those who are Gifted, but human.” He shook his head. “It’s never been confirmed, but if it is true, imagine how much stronger we’d be against the gryphons if we were able to activate dormant Gifts.”
“It sounds like a nightmare.” I knew what lied in the hearts of men—greed, a lust for power, and the ability to hurt. “It’s good not everyone has Gifts. We don’t deserve it.”
His eyes glittered. “Maybe so. There are so many unanswered questions. I can’t help but wonder where the fae come from. There’s the Second Continent, but with our limited contact, they have no records or myths of fae at all.”
“Who knows. Maybe they’re from an island we haven’t discovered.” I studied the wall dividing Lusadia and Ethava. I knew it stretched all the way from the top to the bottom of the continent. What was so bad we needed a wall to block it out? When we flew above earlier, there was nothing on the other side, only an endless series of grassy plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. “Do you think the story about the wall is the actual story?” It couldn’t be.
Gods. How the fuck are fae real?Even knowing dragons were real, it just seemed so… fantastical.
“The story goes that the people rebelled, that the Ethavan king was so awful, genocide was the only option to stop their beliefs from spreading. The wall was for Lusadia’s safety.” Kieran’s expression hardened. “It’s a load of shit, and millions suffered for it, no doubt. And all because of one greedy king. Or rather, two greedy kings. I don’t doubt there’s some hint of truth to the story. The best lies have some truth, after all. Something on the other side of the wall must’ve been so dangerous that even with our dragons to help defend us, we felt a need to create a barrier.”
Ice filled my veins. When he put it that way… “Do you think anything’s on the other side?”
Kieran tore his gaze from the wall to look at me. “I hope not.”
Goosebumps crawled along my arm. I shook my head. “Dammit, let’s change the subject, or I’m going to get too freaked out to focus.” Night was setting in already, and after our talk, I kept glancing between the shadowed trees. Kieran wanted to wait until it was dark before we entered the cabin, and I already couldn’t wait for it. “Do you think Raven sent the assassins?”
“I’d assume so, though we don’t know who directly is sending the assassins, just that they’re working with Andova.”
I exhaled. “I’m ready for people to stop trying to kill me.”
“You might dislike your title, but it benefits you. Right now, Andova’s overlooking it, but there’s achance—even if its slim—that if your ability reaches them, they might be forced to back off. But… don’t count on it. And, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ll always have a target on your back. I still have one, even with all my titles.”
“But people are too afraid to actually attack you. One glare from you, and they piss themselves.”
His lips twitched. “Then I’ve done my job. But you and I are different. You don’t want people to fear you. Not truly.”
He was right, but I was tired of this fear that hadn’t left me since Umara claimed me. “We should go into town tomorrow. You’re right. I think—I think we need ‘Selena the Siren’ to spread.”
He nodded. “It won’t always be this… drastic. Once Luther hatches the eggs, Andova will back off.”
“For a little bit. And then we’ll be in another war.” I glanced out at the woods.Humans are monsters too.And some of those monsters had dragons. I shuddered.
“Maybe we can avoid it.”
“Maybe.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “Can we go inside now? And are you sure we can’t go to an inn sooner?” I didn’t care that I was whining. Being out here wasn’t like that week we’d spent camping by the cave. With the wall looming over us, I felt like I was being watched and like the shadows were waiting for a moment of weakness to pounce.
He grinned. “After a week, if no gryphons appear, we can spend the next week in an inn—but it still needs to be in the outskirts of town.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
For the rest of the week, we stuck to the plan. Our evenings were spent out in the woods, but during the day, we explored Kieran’s hometown. We mostly stayed at the brothel where Madame Bareea delighted in sharing embarrassing stories about Kieran. Kieran scowled the entire time, but I knew he liked it. And I liked seeing that side of him. Out in public, we kept a slight distance between ourselves—close enough that we could only be considered coworkers and not… not what we both wanted to be.
I knew it was his way of proving himself. He never pushed for more since that night, but it was like he knew that sooner or later I’d fall into his arms. I wished I could, and I hated the part of me that wanted to be responsible. I considered these days a test as well, to see if we could actually make it through these two weeks and have no one evenwhisperabout us being together.
One of the evenings at the end of the week, we went out to the cabin once more. Our dragons lingered nearby as they hunted, leaving us with some alone time. It wasn’t as hard as I thought to be alone with Kieran. Yes, every cell in my body longed to be withhim, but I’d gotten good at resisting.
Right now, we both sat across from each other in the cabin. It was so small that our feet nearly brushed. “Do you ever wish that you stayed here? That you didn’t become Kieran the Executioner?”
“Before, I could only ever hope to support Wes and to repay the kindness the villagers had shown me somehow. I hate that I’ve had to hurt innocent people, but I don’t regret staining my soul. Not when it led to Daeza and when it will hopefully lead to the end of the war.” Kieran glanced at the wall through the window and then back at me.
