House of Dragons (Royal Houses 1)

Kerrigan rolled her eyes. “I don’t care who he’s sleeping with.”

Then, she brought her magic tight to her and pushed them both out of the way with a blast of air. She was past them and racing up the stairs before they even realized what she had done. She could hear them rushing after her, but she didn’t care. She was going to speak with Dozan, and she was going to do it right now.

“Stop!” the second guard yelled, breathing heavily.

Kerrigan should have been exhausted, but running wasn’t half as bad after all the training with Fordham. Adrenaline propelled her forward, and she yanked on the handle to the bedroom, pulling it wide. She startled when she saw who was inside.

“You,” she hissed.

Clare Rahllins turned slowly, a dagger in her hand. Her raven hair was once again over half of her face, but it didn’t cover her surprise. Flames erupted in Kerrigan’s hand, and she advanced on the woman who had her tortured.

“Stop,” Dozan drawled lazily. His hand was out, and he stepped between them.

The guards took that moment to barrel in, breathless. “Sir, we didn’t—”

Dozan shook his head. “It’s fine. Return to your post.”

They nodded reluctantly and eased out of the doorway. Kerrigan advanced another step.

“She tortured me,” Kerrigan snarled.

“You murdered half of my men,” Clare shot back.

Kerrigan winced at that. She hadn’t known their fates. She had guessed, but… gods, she’d killed them all?

Clare spun on Dozan. “She was working for you?”

“No,” Dozan said levelly. “She was working for herself. I would never send someone so sloppy in.”

Kerrigan bared her teeth at him. “I’ll show you sloppy.”

“Red,” he warned, his golden eyes boring into her. “Stop.”

She wanted to leap forward and attack the woman. Just the sight of her made her blood boil. But Dozan’s warning was clear—he was handling it. With effort, she released her flames, though she held her magic close, just in case.

Dozan nodded his head at Clare. “You can go. I’ll be in touch.”

Kerrigan pushed herself away from Clare. She stood stiffly, watching the woman with unease. Clare regarded her in the same way. She had just made a powerful enemy.

Dozan stepped forward and pulled the door closed behind Clare. He didn’t immediately face Kerrigan. Just stared at the door for a few precious minutes in silence.

“I can handle Clare,” he finally said.

“Handle her?”

“So that she doesn’t seek revenge on you.” His voice was barely a whisper but filled to the brim with power. “Though she refused to tell me who she’d sold those weapons to. I’m sure she knows it’s her only bargaining chip.”

“So, you have nothing.”

“I cleaned up your mess,” he growled.

She couldn’t take it any longer. “You knew,” she snarled. “You knew this whole time.”

He turned around to face her. His face was, as ever, unreadable. “Knew what?”

“You knew about my magic.”

“You told me about your magic.”

She stepped forward until she was right in front of him. “Don’t play games with me, Dozan. Five years ago, I was beaten to within an inch of my life. You found me. You brought me back here. You told me that you saved me, that you killed those men, that I was safe.”

“Did I?” he asked, a glint in his honey eyes.

“Yes,” she snarled. “You failed to mention that I used some kind of… I don’t know… energy bomb to kill all those Fae.”

“Do you regret killing the Fae who would have killed you?”

“No,” she immediately said, but her stomach twisted. “But you told me that you did it!”

“Did I?” he repeated. He brushed a lock of her hair out of her face, and she slapped his hand away. “Or did I let you come to your own conclusions? You didn’t know what had happened. You woke up here, with me, safe. You assumed that I’d killed the Fae who had done that to you and that I’d spirited you away to safety. There was no reason for me to let you think otherwise.”

“Other than the truth?”

“The truth? Kerrigan, you were twelve years old and had just been badly beaten. It was a mercy that I did not tell you that you had murdered a half-dozen Fae. How would you have reacted to that news?”

She stumbled at that thought. How would she have reacted? She never would have recovered. At the time, she had been young and innocent yet jaded. She had seen the world as having done her a great injustice. It was only through that beating and subsequent journey to help Cyrene that she had realized she wanted a bigger purpose in her life, to take action for herself. If she had known she was a murderer…

She shuddered.

“Exactly,” Dozan said.

“Don’t act like you were simply doing something altruistic,” Kerrigan said, taking a step away from him. “Everyone knows that you only act in your own self-interest. That you surround yourself with unique, magical people. I thought it was my visions that you coveted when I returned last year, but I should have known better.”