House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

“I’ll give you something to laugh at,” he said and then threw his fist toward her face.

She was drunk, not incapacitated.

She fluidly slid out of his reach. Her reflexes were a half-second slower than normal, but it wasn’t like he was Prince Fordham Ollivier. Fordham was the only person besting her four out of five bouts. This was just a Fae male who thought he was better than her.

The male overcorrected for the missed punch and tried to throw another one. She caught his fist in her hand and wrenched it sideways. He cried out.

“That isn’t very nice,” she slurred slightly. “Someone should teach you some manners.”

She jerked the man forward, bringing her knee up to his face with a satisfying crunch. Then, she threw him to the ground at her feet. She could have finished it then with the adrenaline coursing through her, but Darby put a hand on her shoulder.

“Kerrigan, everyone’s watching,” she whispered.

She came back to herself then, stepping away from the man. Her hands were shaking from the fight. It had happened in a matter of seconds, and she hadn’t even needed to use her magic. But this wasn’t the kind of place that erupted into brawls. The room had quieted, and all eyes were on her. They hadn’t seen this brute attack her, but they’d sure seen her finish it. Were they seeing a Society member enacting justice? Or a half-Fae getting revenge, knowing that no one could stop her now?

She shook her head and backed away from the man on the ground. He’d earned his beating, but she couldn’t be the pit fighter anymore. She had to uphold the Society laws. Gods, she’d messed up.

And the fire in the man’s eyes said that he hated her all the more. Just like these entitled Fae males always did.

“Let’s get out of here,” Clover said. Her hand landed on Kerrigan’s pale, freckled arm, still sticky with ale.

“Maybe I should …”

Hadrian shook his head. “Leaving is the right call.”

Kerrigan shot an apologetic look to the bartender, a middle-aged woman. She smiled back kindly as Kerrigan slid a dozen marks on the bar. “For the trouble.”

She waved Kerrigan off. “I saw what happened. Wouldn’t be the first time he needed a good beating.”

Kerrigan laughed tightly at the words and then let her friends pull her out of the crowded bar. The noise had returned to the establishment, and the brute had picked himself off of the ground, but Kerrigan still felt uneasy.

“I didn’t handle that right,” she said with a hand to her temple.

“You handled him just fine,” Clover said.

“You should have let it go,” Darby whispered. Clover glared at her. All of the usual flirtatious looks between them had evaporated in the last week. Kerrigan didn’t know what it meant, but she didn’t like it. Darby held up her hands. “What he did and said was terrible, but she’s a Society member now. That means something. She can’t get involved in bar fights.”

Clover opened her mouth to argue, but Kerrigan stopped her. “She’s right. I’m going to be held to a higher standard.”

“So, you just have to deal with people like him insulting you?” Clover asked.

Kerrigan shrugged. “I don’t know. This has never happened before. There’s never been a half-Fae Society member. Let alone one who earned her spot below the age requirement, who hadn’t officially entered, who didn’t have a tribe, and who was part of the House of Dragons.”

“It is unprecedented,” Hadrian agreed as they set off around the busy Square. A bonfire blazed at the center, and groups danced merrily late into the evening. “But he was wrong for saying something.”

“Whatever you say, sweetheart,” Clover said, purposely antagonizing Hadrian, as she always did.

“So, what should we do with the rest of our night?” Kerrigan asked before Hadrian could retaliate.

“Wastes!” Clover cried.

Darby yawned and put a hand to her mouth to cover it. “I think I’m done for the evening. Maybe we should all say good night. Don’t you have to leave in the morning, Kerrigan?”

Kerrigan frowned at the words. She did have to leave in the morning. But she didn’t want to think about it. It was half the reason that she’d allowed her friends to cajole her out into celebrating. Tomorrow, she would be leaving for the House of Shadows with Fordham. And he wasn’t out here tonight with her because things were complicated, to say the least.

“I’m not ready to go back,” Kerrigan said.

“But …” Darby began.

Hadrian put his hand on her arm to silence her. “Whatever you want to do, Ker.”

“Let’s go to the Wastes. No one cares that you’re a half-Fae there,” Clover said.

It was a lie. Someone always cared. But it was the closest thing she had to sanctuary.

“All right,” Kerrigan said. “Sure.”

“I’m going to escort Darby back,” Hadrian said. Such an official way of bowing out of the Wastes. He hated it there.