Page 54 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“Canyoufor once not be a condescending ass? It’s like you don’t even ca—”
“You’re mistaken.” He stepped toward me, his eyes blazing. “I’m furious.”
His gaze pinned me in place. All my fire, all my rage, vanished. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Because we need to talk in private, and you need to let out your frustration in a relatively safe space.”
I scoffed. “Safe place? That’s bullshit.”
“You’re right. Nowhere is safe. Not while we’re on the brink of war. And truthfully, this isn’t the place I wanted to bring you. But you’re too hot headed and childish to be trusted.”
“Again with the fucking secrets. Just talk plainly for once.”
“Funny to be criticized by someone who tried to murder her king.”
“Funny to be criticized by someone who murdered an innocent old man.”
He tilted his head in acknowledgement, the smile falling off his face. “I’ve let your insubordination fly because of how important you are. You’ve let that go to your head.” His eyes narrowed. “Today, you weren’t thinking about your sister. You were thinking about yourself.”
The words hurt more than they had any right to. “You’re wrong.” Who was he to act like he knew me?
“You were selfish. Trying to claim otherwise is merely lying to yourself. Or are you not allowed to behonestwith yourself?”
The mocking tilt to his lips had me clenching myteeth. Pressure built behind my eyes, making it hard to think. “You haven’t been in my shoes. It’s so fucking easy for you to judge me when you’re the king’s righthand man. He’s never looked at you like a traitor. You don’t know what it’s like.”
Kieran exhaled. “You’re right about some things. I’ve never been in your shoes. I was never considered a traitor. But I’ve darkened my soul to achieve my goals. Meanwhile you almost threw everything away, and for what? If you succeeded, you would have lost everything.”
“You—”
“I’m not here to mock you.” He stepped closer, and I barely stopped myself from stepping back. “What happened today can’t happen again. It’s time we reach an understanding. I want to show you something. If you’d let me.”
I searched his eyes. I could refuse, get on Umara’s back andflee,but everyone would know. There’d be no element of surprise. I’d be hunted down by Lusadians and Andovans alike, and I’d stand no chance of getting my sister before Luther. I exhaled. “Fine. But I’m riding my own dragon.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It took an additional four hours of flying to get to whatever the hell Kieran had hinted at. My eyes widened when I took in the sight—a small village with expansive farming lands nestled between a circle of steep, grassy mountains. Without dragons, this place would’ve been nearly impossible to live in, since it would’ve needed to be almost entirely self-reliant. But, like the sunrise fast approaching, it was clear this village wasn’t struggling. Farmers and shop owners were already up, toiling away. When they spotted Kieran, they waved up at him—Kieran the Executioner, Kieran the Reaper.
Am I hallucinating?
They kept smiling as Kieran flew toward the castle tucked against the northern mountain, practically a part of the mountain itself. Our dragons landed on a cave right next to the castle’s rooftop. I slid down Umara’s back, never taking my eyes off Kieran.
There was a tightness to his shoulders that wasn’t there before. He looked… nervous. He kept glancing down at the street and then at me. “What is this place?”Quaintwas the word that came to mind. All the houses were lovingly built, but there was nofinesse to it. Like many outlying villages, it prioritized practicality over needless decoration.
“A little village called Daeza, given to me after I became a dragonsguard. Normally, given my bastard status, I’d get nothing. But after my new title, my stepmother had no choice.” His lips quirked. “She considered the land she gave me to be ‘uninhabitable.’ I proved her wrong.”
“Sure looks uninhabitable.” I rolled my eyes. This place was doomed to be reliant on Kieran. And if something happened… they’d have a hell of a time trying to escape.
He ignored me and walked to the edge of the rooftop, staring down at the streets below. After a beat, I joined him. “When dragons fight, it’s villages like this that get caught in the crossfire. Those that don’t die, their livelihoods are destroyed, and the crown offers little to no support.”
My heart clenched. “What are you getting at?”
Kieran leaned against the ledge. “You’re a rider now. You have to think about these things. Killing Luther would lead to Andova attacking, and all those villages around us would be caught in the middle of it. There’s no guarantee your sister would make it out of that. She’s safe, Selena. You know this.”
“But I don’t.” I raised my chin. “I only have letters, and letters can easily be forged. She could be suffering for all I know, and I haven’t been able to do anything, haven’t been able to see that she’s okay.”
Kieran scoffed. “That’s a load of bullshit. You’re not the king. You can’t just get what you want because youwant it. You have to play the game, but you’re too thick to see that.”
I ground my teeth together. “Maybe I don’t want to play this stupid fucking game. I don’t want to kill innocent people just because the king tells me to. And you’re right, maybe it was a little selfish and impulsive. That’s why I haven’t left yet. But you’re full of shit too. You talk about helping everyone and yet you have no problem murdering people.”
