Page 141 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
Clara’s bloodcurdling scream echoed through the hall. I flinched, jerking forward, but it did no good. The guard was too strong, and Luther held all the power. I yelled again, my heart squeezing in my chest. “Stop hurting her! Stop it!”
Smack.The wood collided against her back once more, sending ripples through her whole body. Clara pressed her head against the ground and sobbed. Her hair covered her face, and her quick pants were impossibly loud in the near silent room.
Smack.
Smack.
Smack.
Clara sagged to the ground, too tired to keep screaming, but she let out pained gasps and choked cries.‘Help her,’I screamed through the bond.‘Help her. If you love me, you’ll help her.’
‘What’s… Selena… me…’came Kieran’s distant voice, so faint it was like he was shouting from across a field.
Tears pricked my eyes. My whole body trembled.Useless.Fire raged through me, tearing me apart from the inside out.A failure.Energy crackled, building under my skin, pulsing.I have to save her.“Stop!” I screamed, looking straight at Luther.
The fire raging within me exploded, bursting from my chest. Luther’s hand stilled mid-strike. His eyes bulged, and his muscles strained, clearly trying to move, but he stayed in that exact position. The air left the room. The guard holding me relaxed his grip. I yanked away and scrambled to my feet.
I panted for breath. Every cell in my body tingled. I looked at the rage that slowly filled Luther’s eyes. The hall was impossibly quiet. Or rather—they were forced to be quiet. Frozen by my will.What the fuck did I just do?
That’s when I felt it. A rush of power swept through my body, but it centered on my upper right thigh.My Gift Mark.I didn’t knowwhatit was, but I could feel it being etched onto my skin. My Rider’s Mark tingled alongside it.Holy shit.
I didn’t have time to waste. I grabbed the cane from Luther’s hand and threw it across the room. I wanted to pull my sister into my arms, but given how bruised her back was, the movement would only cause her needless pain. This surging power swirling in my veins—I knew I couldn’t hold it long enough to get us onto Umara’s back. So instead, I sat on the ground and lifted Clara’s head onto my lap.
My Gift loosened its hold and freed Clara from its grasp. She sobbed into my lap. How much of this was she even processing? Did she know what I’d just done?I stroked her hair and glared up at Luther. The man was a moron. I planned on fighting for Lusadia. My only condition was my sister’s safety and happiness. But now he burnt a bridge, and there was no going back. Now that I had this power… he couldn’t hurt me when I could easily force his body to stop.
Maybe I should run. Except I could feel it—the strain of this new power sapping my strength. Umara snarled in the back of my mind, her rage fueling mine. ‘Never again will he touch her,’I said to her. ‘He crossed a line.’
A roar cut through the devastating quiet of the room. The castle groaned, and piles of stone came crashing down. I knew, without looking, what had just happened. Umara easily broke through the castle, and hovered over me, baring her teeth at Luther.
My Gift’s hold slipped another inch. Luther could talk now, but he still couldn’t move. Not yet. His gaze darted between Umara and me, and he clenched his jaw. “You listen here—”
I smiled. “No,youlisten.” I didn’t get up from my spot on the ground. I didn’t need to. I wasn’t a wounded deer anymore but a dragon. “The only reason I agreed to fight for you is because my sister got a better life out of it.” And look at us now. Her quiet cries filled the room. “You don’t get to lay a finger on my sister.Ever.If you try to again…” I looked pointedly at his raised trembling arm and smiled.
The castle shuddered again. Luther’s dragon, Saanvi, launched herself at Umara with an earsplitting roar. But she should’ve known better. Umara was olderthan her and stronger. It took next to no effort for Umara to have her jaws around Saanvi’s neck.
Saanvi froze, her glittering gold eyes looking at Luther for instruction. My stomach tightened as Kieran’s warning rang in my mind. As much as we liked to think we controlled our dragons, we didn’t. There was a good chance everyone here would die if it came to a dragon brawl.
I clutched at Clara. I wasn’t fireproof like Luther, and Clara had no protection at all. “You might want to call her off.” I smiled, doing my best to act like I wasn’t inwardly shaking. “If I have to, I’ll keep you frozen.” Because if I was going down, he sure as hell was going down too.
Luther clenched his jaw. “Let. Me. Go.”
“Swear it. Swear you won’t hurt my sister again.”
“Selena—”
I grabbed my knife from my boot. “Swear it.”
His nostrils flared. “I swear.”
I released control of my Gift. Luther staggered back and clenched his hands into fists. “I should have your head for that.”
I raised my chin and smiled. “But you won’t. You need me to get the dragon eggs.” My Gift might be exhausted right now, but Luther didn’t know that.
“I have five other riders.”
I laughed. “If that was the case, you would’ve killed me ages ago. You need me.”
His jaw flexed. “And you need me. You can run allyou want, but you’ll never be safe. Not from Andova or Lusadia or what lies beyond the wall.” Umara roared, sending flames up at the ceiling right above our heads. Luther barely spared her a second glance.
