Page 2 of House of Embers
“Let’s hope a fight doesn’t break out,” she grumbled.
“The only time I’ll ever hearyousay that,” Clover said.
“Well, wish me luck.”
Hadrian chuckled. “You won’t need it.”
With that vote of confidence, Kerrigan headed for the door. It swung open on a breath, and there stood Delle. Her mother, Adelaide, was Fordham’s chief attendant under the mountain, and Delle was to be his attendant while he was at Draco Mountain for the Society. Since that wasn’t happening any time soon, she had been reassigned to Kerrigan.
“Mistress Kerrigan,” Delle said with a short bow, “don’t you look lovely?”
“Thank you, Delle. Is Fordham ready?”
Delle stiffened at the informal use of Fordham’s name, butKerrigan didn’t care about formalities anymore. Not after all they had endured together to get to this point. Delle should be glad Kerrigan wasn’t calling him by his shortened nickname, Ford—or worse, princeling.
“His Majesty awaits you at the entrance to the throne room. I am to escort you.” Delle hesitated. “Are you sure you would not like a look at the crown jewels?”
Kerrigan remembered the last time she was here. How all the full-blood Fae had been festooned in gemstones, with them dripping from necks, wrists, fingers, and even attached to the sharp points of their ears. She had been left bare, an ornament herself to the crown prince. She was still a half-Fae to them, her mere presence anathema to their beliefs. She had enough shock value today without adding jewels to the mix.
The only jewelry she needed was her mother’s gold bangle. One of the most powerful magical artifacts in existence and a way for Kerrigan to portal between locations.
“No thank you, Delle.”
Though she looked concerned, she said nothing, just gestured for Kerrigan to leave the residence.
Kerrigan pulled Darby in for a hug. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Chin up.”
Then Kerrigan was breaking from her friend and following Delle down the corridor toward the throne room. Until her father had deposited her on the doorstep of the House of Dragons for the crime of being half-Fae, Kerrigan had been raised as a princess. Kerrigan Felicity Argon, first of the House of Cruse, destined for the Bryonican throne. She knew the drill. Even if she was walking into a pit of vipers, she had to appear unaffected. So she lifted her chin and walked straight to her waiting beau.
She felt Fordham before she saw him.
The weight of the mating bond was a taut rope between them.After having fractured into pieces, it was pulsing and alive, and she was still unaccustomed to its presence, even though it was the most natural thing in the world.
At the slight tug on the bond, Fordham turned around. Her breath caught. He was without a doubt the most devastatingly beautiful male she had ever seen. The first time she’d seen him had been across the dragon tournament arena, cloaked in black shadow, radiating sinister energy. She had thought him beautiful then, and as they went from enemies to allies to lovers to mates, she had found him more compelling every time.
He wore a black suit with silver stitching and a black cravat against his pale throat. His body was long and corded with muscle from years as a soldier, then as a dragon rider, and finally as a gladiator. His shoulders were broad and his waist narrow, the suit a touch tighter on him than when he’d last been here. His last six months of training had erased the final vestiges of youth and bulked out his immaculate figure. Despite that, the hollows under his eyes were a bluish purple that spoke of a soldier still haunted by memories of those he’d slain and the torment he’d endured. But when his liquid-silver eyes lit on Kerrigan, that all slipped away. And it was just a besotted man before the love of his life.
“Kerrigan,” he breathed, his eyes traveling the length of her.
“You look…” they both started at the same time.
He laughed. “A vision.”
“As are you,” she said, straightening his cravat. “Are you ready to speak to your subjects?”
“Not quite.”
She raised an eyebrow. “We’re doing the right thing.”
“I know.” His eyes dipped her to mouth and resolutely back up. “But I have been doing this all wrong from the beginning, and I don’t wish to mess this up.”
“You aren’t going to mess this up. You are the rightful king.”
“Not that,” he said.
Shadows appeared around his hand, and for a second, he slipped his hand into them. Kerrigan’s eyes widened as he removed a small, black velvet box.
