House of Dragons (Royal Houses 1)

She reached her room without running into anyone but paused at the door when she realized that it was ajar. Her heart rate kicked up as adrenaline coursed through her. Someone was in her room.

She could sense the person now that she was paying attention and not worrying about Fordham’s rejection or Helly finding her. Who the hell was in her room? And what did they want?

A minute was all she had to make her decision. She decided against using fire. It would blind both of them when it came down to it. Her eyes were adjusted enough to the dark. She silently pressed the door open.

Her stomach flipped as a figure stood at her dresser. She had a long mane of ash-blonde hair. Suddenly, Kerrigan felt like she was in the midst of her vision. The girl with the ash hair. Who was she? What was she doing here?

A sense of foreboding hung over the moment. Something was wrong. Was this person here to finish what Basem had started? Fear crept through her, and she tried to lash it down into place, but after everything that had happened tonight, she couldn’t stop it. She pulled up her magic quick, prepared to strike the assassin in her bedroom. She wouldn’t make the mistake she had made the last time in Ellerby’s home. She had trained that out of her. Now, she would attack first and ask questions later.

She whipped out with a tendril of air, grasping both of the girl’s wrists and twisting them tight together behind her back.

“Who are you?” Kerrigan demanded, stepping farther into the room and turning the girl around to face her.

“Kerrigan?” Valia asked in shock.

Kerrigan dropped her magic at once. A gasp of relief escaped her. It wasn’t an assassin or one of Basem’s men or anything. It was… it was just Valia.

“Valia!” Kerrigan gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Gods, Kerrigan, you attacked me!”

“You’re in my room at night!”

Kerrigan ignited a flame and set it into the lantern by her bed, illuminating the small, mostly empty space. Valia rubbed her bare wrists. Kerrigan could see a line of red around them.

“I’m sorry,” Kerrigan said with a sigh, sinking into her bed. “I just… I’m jumpy right now.”

“I noticed that,” Valia said indignantly.

“But, really… what are you doing here?”

“Helly was looking for you.”

“Scales.”

“Yeah. I covered for you and told her that you were training late. But I knew you had been sneaking out, and if she found out, the punishment would be severe. So, I waited to see if I’d have to cover for you again.”

Kerrigan frowned. “How did you know I was sneaking out?”

“Because you’re really not that good at it,” Valia said with a small laugh. “But that’s coming from someone who is used to being alone all the time and likes finding ways to avoid notice.”

“Well, thanks for covering for me. Do you know what she wanted?”

Valia shook her head. “Not sure. She seemed sad.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to her tomorrow, I guess.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll need it.”

Valia headed to the door, and then right before she walked through, she turned back around and looked at Kerrigan. “Where were you tonight anyway?”

Kerrigan laughed, trying for levity. “A party.”

“With Fordham?”

She nodded. “You’re only young once, right?”

“Right,” Valia said softly. “Night.”

Kerrigan watched her go with a pang in her heart. How had she ever thought Valia was a threat in her bedroom? It was odd that she’d been in here at all, but nothing was out of place.

She had judged Valia. After this tournament, she was going to make a more concerted effort to befriend the girl. She didn’t like that Valia had been left alone all this time.

Kerrigan lay down in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She put out the light with a snap of her fingers and waited for sleep to take her. After everything that had happened that night and the exhaustion settling into her bones, she thought it would come easy. But it was nearly dawn before sleep finally came, and where sleep was, nightmares followed.

44

The Big Fight

“You can do this,” Clover said in her best pep-talk voice.

Kerrigan sat with her head in her hands in the locker room the night of the big fight. Her stomach was in knots. Everything was riding on this moment. Her final confrontation with Basem Nix. The same place where this had all started.

“I know I can,” Kerrigan said weakly.

“Ker, come on. You need more energy than that.”

She did. She really did.

But sleep had eluded her all week. She didn’t know if it was fear of the impending fight, which she’d never had before, or growing anxiety toward the end of the tournament, or how much exactly depended on getting this right.

“It’s just so much more than a fight.”

“You can’t think of anything but what you’re about to do out there, Red. Play your part. Beat Basem. Let the rest of the pieces fall into place.”