House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

“Gods,” Kivrin said, plucking the ring from her hand. “What a rock.”

“So ostentatious.”

“Is this about the dark prince?”

She rolled her eyes. “As if I would ever marry a man that I didn’t love.”

“Love is not usually in the cards, I’m afraid.”

“I’m not Bryonican.”

“No, but can you afford to lose the support of the tribe?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing,” he said, obviously not meaning it. “I’m prepared to deliver payment if that’s what he wants. I never relinquished your dowry. It’s a considerable amount.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “That’s quite generous.”

“I got you into this. I suppose I should help get you out.”

“Indeed.”

She looked at her father again. The man she had despised for so many years. She’d sworn she’d never forgive him for what he’d done, but he seemed so much… less alone in this big estate, than he when he was surrounded by so many others at his Row parties. As if the last twelve years hadn’t been as kind to him as he wanted her to believe.

“Thank you,” she said finally.

He nodded at her. “How long will I expect you to stay?”

“We’ll fly back the day of the party.”

“I’ll have the cook prepare food for you while you’re here.”

“And if March writes…”

“I’ll give you plenty of time alone with your prince.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what this is about.”

“I was once young and in love, Kerrigan,” he said easily. “I can recognize the signs.”

“We’re here to train.”

Kivrin smiled knowingly. “If you say so.”

Damn, if she couldn’t even fool her father, then who was she fooling?

39

The Flight

Kerrigan was born for the skies. Watching the others fly while she was grounded had been pure torture. And now that she and Fordham were at the clearing to begin training, she just wanted to lie back on Tieran’s back and let him take over.

Not that it was possible. They had a lot of work to do if they were going to keep up with the others. Ten days to catch up with what the others had been doing for an entire month. And they had to do it without a bond. It was impossible as far as she was concerned, but she refused to give up.

“We will make this work,” she said, letting the words whip away into the wind.

I’m willing to try, Tieran said into her mind. If you’re willing to try.

It was the most he’d said to her other than to make fun of her. He was still pissed that she’d been arrested. Which was all well and good because she was pissed too. What Lorian had done was outrageous. She wasn’t going to let him win this one by giving up.

“I’m definitely willing to try,” she told him.

They descended into Enara Meadow, named after her grandmother. She’d been on the Society Council for nearly a hundred years and leader of it for several decades. Kivrin never spoke of her. So, all Kerrigan had were legends.

“This is sufficient,” Fordham said as he jumped from Netta’s back.

“I would hope so, considering this was where my grandmother trained before the Great War.”

Fordham glanced around at the beautiful meadow—as if seeing it for more than the barren, snow-crusted land it was—to the stunning visage of wildflowers, grasses, and blossoming trees. It was easy to imagine this as the perfect place to train during the springtime when everything was alive in Corsica Forest.

Kerrigan jumped down next to him, landing hard in the snow. “Ready when you are, princeling.”

Fordham’s eyes snapped to hers. “I thought we were beyond that nickname.”

“Ah, but it’s so fitting.”

He shook his head and then moved into a military stance. She didn’t know if he even did it knowingly. “We’re going to begin with steering. Like with a horse, we can direct our dragons with the use of the bond.”

I take offense to the metaphor, Tieran grumbled.

As if we could ever be as dumb as a horse, Netta said, nettled.

Tieran shot Kerrigan a look, as if to say, See.

“Regardless,” Fordham said, smiling at Netta, “it’s the same principle. And as with horses, we want to use a light touch. Jerking a horse around is going to do nothing but make them mad at you, possibly buck you off. Bond-strengthening exercises help keep the bond taut but not painful for either involved.”

“Okay,” Kerrigan said uneasily.

“So, first, we’ll work on strengthening the bonds each day through meditation. And then we’ll begin steering.”

Kerrigan gulped and met Tieran’s stare. Well, this was going to be fun.

She and Fordham burned away the snow in a small circle and then sat cross-legged on the dead grass. She put her hands on her knees, closing her eyes, as instructed. Then, Fordham took them through breathing exercises. She spent an hour on the frigid ground, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, pulling on the bond to grow it between them. Except, of course, there was no bond. By the time they rose and stretched their muscles, Kerrigan felt nothing but tense.