Page 62 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“I beg to differ.” He narrowed his eyes. “I can play while you sing. Do you know ‘Queen of Roses?’”
I snorted. “Of course I know it.” Every tavern goer knew it. It was about someone singing about their love for the ‘queen of roses.’ Surprisingly, it wasn’t bawdy at all like almost all tavern songs. I arched a brow when Kieran began the familiar beat. “I never said I was singing.”
“Are you scared?” he drawled.
I puffed out my cheeks. “I know what you’re doing. I’m not falling for it.”
He drew out the beat. “Of course.”
The melody echoed around the room. “Seriously, I’m not.”
He smiled as he played. “I know.”
“It’s not like I’m scared. I just…”
“I get it.”
“Ugh. Start it from the beginning.” I ignored his smug smile. When he started the beginning notes again, I closed my eyes.Am I seriously going to do this?The only person I’d ever sung in front of was Clara.But he played for me.
And with that in mind, I started to sing. The first notes were slow and hesitant, but after the first verse, my nerves eased. My face remained hot, but I continued the song with a steady rhythm and volume. The entire time, I could feel the weight of his gaze on me.Don’t think about it. Don’t acknowledge it.And yet,it filled me with warmth and grounded me.
He played perfectly, matching the beat with almost telepathic precision. ‘Queen of Roses’could be sung in many different ways, but not once did Kieran stumble to match my pace.
What am I doing? Why do I want him to keep looking?
I sang the last note and opened my eyes. A glance confirmed my suspicions. Not once had Kieran looked away. I swallowed, butterflies smacking around my stomach. “What are we doing?” Not even twenty-four hours ago, I couldn’t stand this man.
Kieran set his violin down into his case. “Distracting ourselves.”
I exhaled and sat down onto the couch.It’s too much.I needed to get back to safer territory. “What do you think of the mission?”
Kieran’s gaze darkened. “It’s not my first choice. A single gryphon is dangerous, but the nest we’ve stumbled on… it could be catastrophic. I’ve never seen more than five grouped together before, so this will be new for all of us. And we won’t be able to go in the dead of night, because what’s better for me isn’t better for all of you.”
His jaw wound tight, and despite my fear, my heart went out to him. He bore the weight of all of our lives in the dragonsguard. Not only that, but the lives of the civilians. It was obvious how much that burden troubled him.
My stomach flipped. “That’s insane.” The number was ridiculously low. I wouldn’t have believed theycould cause so much destruction if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
“We’ve had far too many sightings in the last year. We need to find a way to get rid of them before they tear the continent apart.”
“So no pressure?” Shit. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was better I stayed here instead of running. Especially after the gryphon attack…Why did they attack me?But it was a question with no clear answer. And I didn’t want to go down that line of thinking because… what if my presence was too dangerous for Clara to come near me?
It has to be a fluke. Stop thinking about it.
His lips twitched. “No, absolutely pressure. This week, we’re going to train before we take on the nest. In the meantime, we’ll send patrols every day to manage the nest until we’re ready to take them on. You won’t be a part of that though. You’re not ready or used to long distance flying.”
My thighs agreed with that. After nearly ten hours of flying yesterday, they were sore as fuck. But if I managed this, if I didn’t die, I’d finally get to see Clara. That alone was enough to give me strength.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I’d never been more relieved to be back in my room. Tomorrow, training would start again, but for the rest of the night, I got to recover. Maybe it was Kieran’s way of being nice. My lips twitched. That man. He was utterly frustrating. A part of me still wasn’t sure how I felt.
I couldn’t believe I sang in front him. I hadn’t even done that for Brynn. Only Clara. There was just something about Kieran that made me want to let down my walls. I thought I had him figured out. I thought he only cared for rules, and the crown, but his actions the past few days destroyed that notion. Kieran obeyed the crown only because doing so allowed him to achieve his goals.
I closed my eyes. His words on the castle rooftop had stung, but he had a point. All my life I had only ever survived. I hadn’tdoneanything, and the one time I tried, it almost got me executed. Now I had a chance to… to be a symbol. To potentially change the lives of the common people for the better.
But I don’t care about the common people.Clara was my one and only priority. And in about a week, I’d get to see her.What should I do if she’s happy over there?Should I let Kieran use me as a symbol? Even if I didn’t care about everyone else, maybe the benefits would outweigh the cost.
This is so confusing.
