House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

Kerrigan was rooted to the podium. She couldn’t believe the words that had come out of Malwin’s mouth. It couldn’t be true. It wasn’t possible. She’d done everything right. She’d kept to her probation. No matter what they’d said about Dozan, that hadn’t been why she was there to see him. And she was going to get her magic under control. That had been the point all along. Oh gods!

A guard appeared at her side and roughly grasped her elbow, yanking her away from the council. Kerrigan was numb. Completely in shock. She hadn’t had enough sleep, and she wasn’t supposed to be around stress. Her magic flickered at her fingertips. She tried to tamp it down, but it was a flood rushing through her. Ready to explode—or worse, disappear altogether. She couldn’t black out. She just couldn’t.

She reached the open doors, and Valia stood off to the side. Her eyes were wide with alarm.

“I am a steward of the Society. I can take it from here,” Valia said confidently.

“I’m here to escort her to her rooms,” a guard said gruffly.

“Come collect her in one hour for her meeting with the presiding officer,” Valia said, dismissing them. “Come along, Kerrigan.”

Kerrigan jerked out of the guard’s grasp and hastened after Valia, trying to hold onto her magic. “What are you doing?”

Valia waited until they were far enough away before whispering, “Getting you out of here. Fordham found me and sent me to help you. Hurry.”

Kerrigan didn’t ask questions. She needed to be out of the mountain and find Tieran. If she was kicked out of the program, then that meant he’d end up back at the Holy Mountain. That was something she would never allow. But if Fordham had sent Valia, that meant that Tieran had gotten through to him. Hopefully, he was safe. She couldn’t drop into the spirit plane to find out right now.

“Through here,” Valia said. She pushed a hidden lever, and a hallway opened before them.

“You really do know all the ways in and out.”

Valia shot her a grim look. “I hoped to never use them like this.”

She rushed ahead until they reached a set of stairs that led down. They came out on the other side of the mountain near the greenhouses.

“Good luck,” Valia said.

“Thank you. I owe you a great debt,” Kerrigan said to the girl.

Tieran was waiting for her as Valia shut the door behind her. She rushed to him, throwing her hands around his neck. “Oh, Tieran, you’re safe.”

For now. We need to go.

Kerrigan ran a hand down her face. “I can’t yet.”

What do you mean?

“There’s something else I need to do before I can depart. I want you to go somewhere and hide—somewhere they’d never think to find you—and I don’t want you to tell me where you’re going. Just get safe. I’ll reach for you when I’m ready to go.”

I don’t like this. We should go together.

“I know. They think they can silence me, but I won’t go easy. I can’t. I have to do what I always should have done.” She hugged him one more time. “Now, go. Find a place to hide.”

He nudged her gently. Don’t be long. I’m just starting to like you.

She laughed as tears welled in her eyes. Tieran took off, flying into the distance. What she hadn’t said was that they’d be safer apart, where they couldn’t be each other’s liability or weakness.

Kerrigan still had her cloak and pulled it back up around her curls. She took the long way to the Wastes, knowing there might be eyes and ears watching for her. She even took a back way inside, disappearing into the afternoon rush and reaching Clover’s table.

Her head popped up in alarm as she shuffled and reshuffled the deck in front of her. She motioned for the pit boss that she needed a break from cards and then dealt like a pro. There were only two people at her table, and both won. She was barely tipped and then rushed to her side.

“What’s going on?” Clover asked. “Shouldn’t you be in training?”

“No time to explain. I was kicked out of the Society.”

“Scales!” Clover gasped.

“Tell Thea that it’s time. I’m ready to be the symbol that everyone wants me to be,” Kerrigan said confidently. “It’s time the rest of the world knows the truth.”

49

The Rally

Dozan arched an eyebrow. “You’re ready for this?”

“Don’t I look ready?”

They waited inside his office for Thea to work her magic with her contacts. Getting a sizable enough crowd together on such short notice was a feat in and of itself. The fact that Kerrigan had demanded that it take place just outside of the Wastes was another matter altogether. Thea had tried to argue that it wouldn’t reach the Fae and members of the Society that most needed to hear her speech, but Kerrigan was tired of speaking for those who wouldn’t listen. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it for herself, for the humans and half-Fae, for the Dregs.