Page 98 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
“She misses you, but she’s thriving. She looks forward to your letters. They come every first of the week. Whenever it gets delayed, she’s quiet for the rest of the night. It truly devastates her.”
That judging look made me see red. I dug my nails into his hand. “Listen here, asshole, you’re not her friend. You’re her jailor. I might’ve made mistakes with her, butI’mthe reason she’s alive.Iworked my ass off through her entire childhood.Imade sure she had food in her belly, and medicine when she needed it. I raised her. She’smine.You can fuck off with your concern. I’ve looked after her my whole life, and I’ll keep doing so. You can step off your high horse, because what you are to her? It can never compare to me.”
I pulled away, weaving my way through the crowd until I found a relatively safe space to sulk. Red dotted my vision, and my hands trembled. I wanted to throw something. Thenerveof him, the absolute fuckingnerve.Everything I did was for Clara. I snatched a strawberry from one of the dining tables and bit into it, too angry to appreciate the sweet taste that filled my mouth.Asshole. Prick. Cocky little—
“What did that poor strawberry do to you?”
I exhaled and turned to see Kieran striding toward me. “What do you want, Kieran? Aren’t you supposedto be kissing Queen Nasreen’s ass?”
He smirked. “Don’t be jealous because you want me to kiss yours.”
I flushed. “S-shut up.” I turned away, not wanting to see his gloating gaze. “Your brother came to warn me. He thinks I’m easily manipulated.” I looked up at Kieran through my lashes. “Are you trying to manipulate me?”
Kieran’s eyes darkened. “I want us to be a team, and I want to fuck you. If you consider that manipulation, sure. But you’re manipulating me too, little thief, making me want you. Absolutely despicable.”
I exhaled. He knew what he was doing. He’d done the same thing the night he stopped me from murdering Luther—pushing my buttons to get a reaction out of me. “You’re such a dick. So is your brother, by the way. Trying to lecture me about my own sister when he’s her jailor.”
“Don’t forget he’s loyal to the crown first and foremost.”
I arched a brow. “Couldn’t I say the same about you?”
He smiled. “You know what drives me, and it’s in Daeva. The same can’t be said for Wes. He’s a soldier through and through. I hope that’ll change, but don’t forget his priorities when you’re dealing with him.”
I glanced around the quad and spotted Nimue. Our eyes locked. She waved me off, giving me the all clear to not play buffer. I frowned but didn’t argue with her. Instead, I looked around at the other members of the dragonsguard. “What happened to avoiding theirfamilies?” Both Ben and Aurelia were in the middle of talking to their families.
“A necessary evil. The festival’s main goal is to make the major Noble Houses feel heard. The Houses will make their way around to all of us and do their bitching. In return, they’ll go back to their lands and talk up how important and powerful the dragonsguard is.”
I grimaced. “Do you think they’ll come up to me?”
He laughed. “Of course. They’re waiting for the perfect chance to annoy you. But what do you say we escape for a bit?” He held out his hand.
I glanced back at the nobles mingling. Now that he mentioned it, I could see them eyeing the two of us. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to any one of them. I laced our hands together. “Let’s do it.”
Kieran’s eyes glittered. I tried to ignore the way my chest squeezed at that, and the way my entire body tingled. The man had way too much power over me. As he tugged me through the crowd, I couldn’t help but look down at our joined palms and then back at him. For a brief second, I considered pulling away, but I didn’t.
It’s so I don’t get lost,I told myself.It’s for practical purposes.
Bullshit,a voice said in the back of my mind. My cheeks heated, and I looked back at Kieran. His eyes met mine for another half-second, and he smiled. I quickly looked away.
There was no real reason for us to hold hands.Not when the crowd parted as soon as they saw us. But I shoved those thoughts away and looked at the various booths we passed. The ones closest to the quad were more extravagant, clearly meant for nobles and the upper echelon. But the further we walked, the more normal the booths were. Good. I’d take fried and greasy street food over the uppity food the fancy booths served any day.
People watched us as we passed. A stern look from Kieran had them moving out of our way, but excited whispers followed us the entire time. “Where are we going?” I looked down at our palms and then at the booths. I wished I could go into The Dragon’s Hearth. Even though it’d be packed, I’d much rather be there than here.
“I’m starving, aren’t you?”
Now that he mentioned it, I was pretty hungry. The stress of the dragon dance had killed my appetite this morning. My stomach rumbled, and I flushed at the sound. Betrayed by my own body. At first I thought Kieran was just leading us without direction, but I realized pretty quickly he had a destination in mind. The twists and turns were too intentional to be anything otherwise.
That was made clearer when he stopped in front of a small, light yellow booth. An older man in his fifties smiled at Kieran, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Kieran!” the man greeted. “Ya managed to sneak away. Of course ya did.”
Kieran’s shoulders relaxed. “Once I heard you were manning a booth, I had to. You should’ve sent a raven.If I’d known earlier, I would’ve made sure to send more people your way.”
The man waved him off. “I wasn’t going to, but I decided to visit my son a month ago. He’s setting up a shop of his own, so I’m helping him expand his business while he enjoys the festivities with the missus.” The man’s eyes twinkled. “Been a good fifteen years since I last visited the capital.”
Kieran chuckled. “I’m happy to have you.”
“Look at ya, all grown up. The stories I’ve heard! We all knew ya’d make a name for yaself. Now, who’s this young lady?”
Clearly, he knew who I was, but I appreciated the faux surprise.
