Page 30 of House of Embers
Fordham just shrugged. “I didn’t punch him.”
Kerrigan laughed. “You take a seat too.Scales.”
Fordham winked at her and then took up a spot to her left while everyone else settled in. Hadrian and Darby sat on a couch on the far wall. Clover smoked her cigarette on the balcony, her eyes never leaving the pair. Wynter sat straight-backed on a chair, glancing up at Dozan with all the grace of a feline ready to eat her prey. Dozan looked perpetually unconcerned, his antagonistic smile gracing his face. Were they both aware how obvious it was that they were circling each other?
The only person they were missing was—
“The stairs here are murder,” Kivrin said as he approached on crutches.
“Sorry, we picked the most secure location,” Kerrigan told him.
“Understandable. What’s this all about?”
“I’ll explain after we seal the room. How’re the sessions with Amond?”
Kivrin winced. “Here and there. He’s in worse shape than me at the moment.”
“Withdrawal?”
“Darby has been helping. She is much better at healing than she gives herself credit for, but Clover might have to give him some of that loch,orhe’s not going to survive.”
Clover’s head whipped to them at the sound of her name. “Amond?”
Kivrin nodded. “It’s not looking great.”
She took another inhale on her cigarette. “I’ll see him after this.”
Kerrigan shot her a concerned look. “Thank you.”
Kivrin took a seat opposite Wynter, and Kerrigan pressed the doors closed. A second later, she sensed Fordham draw on his magic to seal the room from prying eyes and ears. He nodded at her.
“So what’s the deal with this coronation?” Clover asked before anyone could start.
Hadrian cleared his throat. “I think what she means is: Is there a fight to the death, and should we be worried?”
Darby laughed. “Don’t put words in her mouth.”
“Seriously, I’m not worried about Fordham fighting anyone but Kerrigan,” Clover said. “More like I’m wondering why are we going through with this?”
Kerrigan arched an eyebrow at Ford. “You or me?”
“I’ll take this one,” he said, straightening his black suit. The silver cravat brought out the liquid silver of his eyes and made her wish they were back in his room using it for its intended purpose. “The coronation is a necessary step to secure my position on the throne. The army might not follow me without the show of strength. As a part of the coronation, a denouncement is where I can be challenged by anyone for my position. So if they killed me, they’d get the throne.”
“But you have shadow magic,” Darby said. She glanced around the room. “Right? He’ll be fine.”
Wynter scoffed and lifted a shoulder. “Each of the three royal families has a specialty. Ollivier has the shadows and shadow jumping.Blanchard has ice magic. Laurent has lightning, and their contender, Barron Laurent, is the most talented wielder they’ve seen since before the wall was put up.”
“Great,” Kivrin said with a groan. “And you’re going to fight him to the death?”
“If he challenges me, then yes.”
“But you’ll win,” Hadrian said, gesturing to him. “I mean, right?”
Fordham remained silent for a beat too long. “I have fought alongside Barron in the past. I have fought against him in a previous battle between our peoples. We’ve never gone one-on-one.”
The room went silent at the declaration. Kerrigan’s own heart was pounding. Fordham hadn’t mentioned any of this to her when they’d talked about the coronation. She’d thought Barron was an asshole, irritating, but she’d never considered that he’d be a real opponent.
“And if Fordham has to face more than one person before him,” Wynter added, “he wouldn’t be at top strength.”
