House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

As she climbed the few steps that led to the wooden stage, she kept her face neutral instead of the utter shock that she felt. Not just at the half-Fae and humans who had attended previous Rights For All events and were here again. They were primarily the well-off bunch. The ones who had the means and spare time to spend fighting for their own rights. Those few were drowned out by the working class in attendance. Her people—the literal Dregs of Kinkadia—had come out to see her. The ones who had cheered her name in the Dragon Ring, who gambled with Clover, who had bought her drinks for her victory. They had shown up, and they had shown up in droves. The sea of people vanished in the distance to a ripple of bodies. And every one of them was here for her.

Thea had shown her the air magic to use to amplify her voice, and she spun the magic as she took center stage. She held her hand up, and eventually, the noise quieted.

“Today was a day like any other,” she began, her voice carrying to the farthest reaches of the crowd with ease. “You woke up. You broke your fast. You went to work. You came home, expecting to wake up and do it all over again, weighted down by the judgment and prejudice against your existence. You feel it in the jeers about your ears and the pittance in your wages and the lack of respect afforded to you by the very people who are supposed to govern you. I have called you here because we cannot go on like this.”

Kerrigan raised her hands as a cheer rose up. She waited until it crested before continuing, “Nearly a year ago, I was named a member of the Society. To all eyes, it appeared a step in the right direction. Today, they showed how truly threatened they were by that step forward. Any achievement by one of us is a threat to their power, and they will react in turn. So, they responded by kicking me out of the Society.”

A gasp rang through the crowd. Apparently, word had not gotten out about what had happened. It had been a closed-door meeting. Kerrigan was supposed to have been “debriefed” by a council member and then shunted off somewhere to disappear. Oh, how wrong they were about her.

“Yes, it’s true,” she said with fire in her heart and eyes. “A half-Fae ascended to their government, and their response was to find the first available reason to get rid of her. The same excuses they use to keep you down, to keep you in your place.”

She met the gazes of those near her. “I see the hurt and pain that has been done to you over the years. The oppression that has not only made you suffer in poor jobs for less pay, but has also broken your spirit. There is a life in Kinkadia for the rich. The rest can be swept away to the Dregs, where the Society doesn’t have to pay attention.”

People were nodding through the crowd. They knew this life. They’d lived it.

“Where the Society doesn’t have to face the truth. And I think that time has ended.”

More cheers and cries. She could hear her name rising up from the crowd once more.

“I am Kerrigan Argon. I was born a Fae noble. I was abandoned at the age of five for having the audacity to be half-Fae. I rose up in the ranks of the House of Dragons, their very system, and still, they cast me aside because I was perceived as less than. Still, I joined the Society. You all watched me come back with a dragon. Finally, a voice for us that we have always deserved. And now, they expect us to be silent? We can no longer be silent!” Kerrigan cried. “We have demands. We demand a seat at the table. We demand representation in the government. We demand equal treatment and pay in our work. We demand equal treatment by the Guard. We demand to be known and heard as equals in the great city of Kinkadia.”

She increased the air magic, making her voice practically boom across the crowd. She wanted it to be loud enough that the mountain trembled.

“Only then—when all humans, half-Fae, and Fae live together as equals—will we rest. Only then will we be free!”

She threw her fist into the air to punctuate her closing statement. The crowd followed, pumping their arms and calling her name over and over again.

50

The Aftermath

Thea came back onstage then and directed the massive crowd on where to begin the march. Kerrigan ducked back inside and pressed her back to the door. They’d argued about whether or not Kerrigan should lead the march down out of the Dregs to the base of the mountain. She’d wanted to do it, but considering that she’d just escaped, they didn’t want to risk her being arrested again.