House of Dragons (Royal Houses #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,142
middle, and Hadrian joined in on the hug. He even opened his arm up to leave room for Clover.
“Not interested, sweetheart,” Clover teased.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Get in here, Clove.”
She arched an eyebrow. “So demanding.”
But she stepped in and joined the hug. All four of them teetering back and forth with excitement. When they finally released Kerrigan, they all beamed with pride.
“You’re really a Society member,” Darby gushed.
“It’s what you always wanted,” Hadrian said.
She flushed. “It is. It just never felt attainable.”
“Look at you, going around and changing the world,” Clover joked.
“I meant what I said about the Dregs.”
Clover nodded, reaching instinctively for another smoke. “I know. It’s a step.”
“We’ll get there together.”
“Nice to have someone on the inside at least.”
Kerrigan laughed. “Not sure how much sway I’ll have, but it’s a life appointment. I’ll spend my life working on it.”
“All right. Competitors, line up,” Layla yelled, corralling them into position with their dragons.
Kerrigan took up the rear of the line with Tieran at her side. She placed her hand on his flank. “Thank you for your help in the fight. We make a good team.”
We’ll see about that. I’ve heard about this year of training, Kerrigan. I don’t know if we’ll be able to hack it without the bond.
“But no one will know about that,” she said, lowering her voice as they stepped through the arena entrance and out to the parade route.
Hundreds of people lined the street and threw yellow lilies—the flower of Kinkadia—in their path.
Someone might find out if we’re not coordinated.
“Then, we’ll practice.”
He looked unconvinced. I’m afraid the easy part is behind us.
Kerrigan gulped. “We’ll figure it out. I got in, didn’t I?”
Luck.
She snorted. “As pleasant as ever, Tieran.”
We’re going to get caught.
“No, we won’t.”
And when we do, what will we tell them? That we thought we could make do without the bond? The binding has been in place for dragon riders for ten thousand years.
She groaned. “What would you rather do? Tell them? We both agreed that wasn’t possible.”
No, we can’t tell them.
“Then, we’ll figure it out.”
I am not optimistic.
“What else is new?” Kerrigan asked, waving her hand at the crowd and beaming as she tried to ignore the fear at the pit of her stomach.
If they find out, they won’t just tear us apart, they’ll kick you out of the Society. You’ll be adrift, an outcast. And I… I’ll have to return to Holy Mountain. A shiver seemed to run through him. “I never want to go back there.”
Kerrigan glanced over at him, concerned. “What happened in Holy Mountain?”
Nothing, he snapped.
Kerrigan frowned. She didn’t believe him, but he seemed set on not telling her. She plastered the smile back on her face and continued down the parade route. Tried to revel in the joy of winning something she’d never believed she could compete for. Tried to imagine that all of this fanfare was really for her.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and displayed her heritage for all to see. She was a Society member now. She might have been hunted and reviled for being half-Fae, but for the first time, she felt truly proud of who she was. She wanted everyone to see.
To soak all of this up and hope that Tieran’s words weren’t prophecy.
54
The Spirit
Kerrigan slept like a baby for the first time in weeks.
She slumbered so late that it was early afternoon when a knock finally woke her from the restorative—and thankfully, dreamless—sleep. Kerrigan yawned and rubbed at her crusty eyes before heading to the door to peek outside. She’d been expecting Fordham. Yesterday, he’d put off any talk about what they would do the next two weeks and if, like everyone else, they would visit his—now, her—tribe. She figured now would be the time.
What she hadn’t expected to find was Tara.
“Hello, Kerrigan,” she said with a smile. “May I come in?”
“Of course.” Kerrigan pushed the door open wider, and Tara stepped inside. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“No, but I wanted to come and congratulate you personally.”
“Thank you,” Kerrigan said, shutting the door behind her. “And thank you for what you did.”
Tara waved her hand away at Kerrigan. “The room let you through. Whether or not I had someone hastily close the barrier afterward didn’t matter. It’s a House of Dragons’ secret. The council need not know.”
“Well, you didn’t have to do it, and I’m grateful.”
Tara smiled mischievously. “Well, I, for one, wanted to see a Dragon Blessed in the Society.”