House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

Arbor and Prescott kept up an endless litany of trouble they had gotten into with Fordham when they were growing up. She hadn’t laughed this much in a while. It was nice to sit and listen to these stories, all while they polished off the rest of the bottle.

“So, there he was, in the treasury, half-hidden behind a statue of the first dragon rider, Irena, and his father walked into the room.”

“No,” she gasped.

The door banged open just then, and all three of them jumped at the sound. Fordham stepped inside with all the force of a tempest. The hinges creaked as he slammed the door shut behind him. He ran a hand back through his perfect black hair. Then, he found Kerrigan seated with his two cousins.

“Rough day?” Pres joked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he growled and then stormed into the bedroom. The door rattled on its hinges again.

Arbor and Prescott cringed. “Gods.”

“His father?” Kerrigan guessed.

They nodded.

“We should probably go,” Arbor said. “Come hang out with us later. We’ll show you that this place isn’t all terrible.”

Arbor brushed a kiss to her cheek, Pres winked at her, and then they disappeared silently through the door.

Kerrigan rose to her feet. She could leave Fordham to brood by himself, but after the conversation with Pres and Arbor, she didn’t want to. She wanted to find the Fordham that they’d told her about. The one who hadn’t yet been beaten down by his own court and expectations. Even if last night still weighed on her.

She knocked lightly on the door. “Fordham? May I come in?”

There was a heartbeat of silence before a resigned, “Yes.”

Kerrigan pushed the door open and found him shirtless with the laces of his pants undone. His muscled back was etched out of marble, and she had to swallow and glance away from where he stood with the wardrobe doors open.

“What happened?”

“My father is a bigot.”

Kerrigan almost laughed. “Well, yes.”

“He’s refusing you an audience.”

“I’m not surprised, Fordham. You weren’t even sure that he’d see you when you came back. Now, you’re the triumphant hero with a foothold in the Society for him. Do you think he wants to see you as someone who is friends with a half-Fae when he can use you for everything else?”

“I’m aware of my father’s machinations.” He threw a loose white tunic over his head. She’d never seen him in anything but black, and it was almost disconcerting. “I thought he’d want two dragon riders in his court. I thought his prejudice would be set aside for his love of power.”

“I threaten his power,” Kerrigan said. “You have to see that.”

Fordham ran another hand back through his hair. “About last night …”

“You know, let’s not. It was a mistake on both of our parts,” she said quickly. “I’ve already forgotten about it.”

He pursed his lips, as if he knew she was lying. Because she had hardly forgotten the taste of him or the press of his body against hers. Or the way he’d reacted to his ex’s name.

“So, what do we do now?” she asked.

“I have to complete my duties as prince while I’m here. I will keep trying with my father. You should spend time with Pres and Arbor. I trust them.”

“I went riding with Wynter,” she confessed.

“Be careful with her, Kerrigan. She isn’t like other people.”

“Don’t you think I know that? She can see my magic. You should have warned me.”

Fordham raised his eyebrows. “She can what?”

“Surely, you knew. She’s your sister.”

“Wynter can sense magic, but you haven’t used any magic. I also have the gift. I would know.”

“No, she can see it. And she took me out to the wall and said that I can bring it down.”

Fordham actually looked shocked. “She… what?”

“She said my magic is the same as the barrier and that I can take the walls down.”

“Can you?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t try.” Kerrigan bit her lip. “Should I try?”

“No,” he said at once. “Not under her tutelage at least.”

“I want to help the people here,” she said. “The people who are trapped.”

“But look at what you would be unleashing,” Fordham said. “This court is… it’s not fit for the outside world.”

“I know.”

He shook his head. “Do you think this has something to do with your spirit magic?”

“It must, but I didn’t tell Wynter that. I’m not stupid.”

“Good.” Fordham furrowed his brow. “She told you all this for a reason. I’m going to have to dig into it. I’ve heard whispers since I got here, but I was worried too much about us and not what she was up to.”

“Whispers?”

“That she’s recruiting from all three families.”

“For what?”

He jerked the white shirt off and went back in for black silk. “I’m going to have to find out, aren’t I?”

“I’m going with you.”

Fordham considered it for a moment. She was sure that he was going to object. He’d done nothing but leave her alone in this terrible room.