Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 136009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“So what’s the deal with this coronation?” Clover asked before anyone could start.
Hadrian cleared his throat. “I think what she means is: Is there a fight to the death, and should we be worried?”
Darby laughed. “Don’t put words in her mouth.”
“Seriously, I’m not worried about Fordham fighting anyone but Kerrigan,” Clover said. “More like I’m wondering why are we going through with this?”
Kerrigan arched an eyebrow at Ford. “You or me?”
“I’ll take this one,” he said, straightening his black suit. The silver cravat brought out the liquid silver of his eyes and made her wish they were back in his room using it for its intended purpose. “The coronation is a necessary step to secure my position on the throne. The army might not follow me without the show of strength. As a part of the coronation, a denouncement is where I can be challenged by anyone for my position. So if they killed me, they’d get the throne.”
“But you have shadow magic,” Darby said. She glanced around the room. “Right? He’ll be fine.”
Wynter scoffed and lifted a shoulder. “Each of the three royal families has a specialty. Ollivier has the shadows and shadow jumping. Blanchard has ice magic. Laurent has lightning, and their contender, Barron Laurent, is the most talented wielder they’ve seen since before the wall was put up.”
“Great,” Kivrin said with a groan. “And you’re going to fight him to the death?”
“If he challenges me, then yes.”
“But you’ll win,” Hadrian said, gesturing to him. “I mean, right?”
Fordham remained silent for a beat too long. “I have fought alongside Barron in the past. I have fought against him in a previous battle between our peoples. We’ve never gone one-on-one.”
The room went silent at the declaration. Kerrigan’s own heart was pounding. Fordham hadn’t mentioned any of this to her when they’d talked about the coronation. She’d thought Barron was an asshole, irritating, but she’d never considered that he’d be a real opponent.
“And if Fordham has to face more than one person before him,” Wynter added, “he wouldn’t be at top strength.”
“Yes, thank you, Wynter,” Fordham added with a growl.
“That isn’t part of the discussion for today,” Kerrigan said quickly. “The real problem is that a dragon rider saw Wynter and me out on Tieran and Netta.” She quickly explained the chase and the interrogation to the rest of the room.
“And you believe this guy?” Kivrin asked in disbelief. “He sounds like a Society stooge.”
Wynter nodded. “I saw his aura. While I read magic auras, you can usually tell if someone, especially someone with a lot of magic like a Society member, is being purposely deceptive. It’s not a science. I’ve been misled in the past, but my”—Wynter paused over the word—“mental state is much improved. The ability is more defined.”
“Also, we spoke to Tieran and Netta, and they both separately vouched for his dragon,” Kerrigan said. “Henrley’s story about Gerrond’s involvement with the Society was nearly identical but with enough nuance in the telling that it didn’t sound rehearsed.”
“Also, to corroborate his story, we searched his pack and found the research he claimed to be doing with a dated notebook going back years,” Fordham added.
“So what are we doing with him?” Kivrin asked. “You can’t think to let him go?”
“We need allies,” Kerrigan said.
“Is he an ally though?” Clover asked. “No offense, but he just dropped out of the sky.”
“I think he could be,” Wynter said.
Clover snorted. “Why?”
“Because I’ve been spying on him,” Dozan said, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “We sent in servants with food and drinks. We had Delle ask him questions. We took off his manacles. And then I sent Wynter back in. She played a little,” Dozan admitted with a grin. “He remained steadfast. He never used his powers. He could be a plant, but he didn’t act like one.”
He’d done all this with Kerrigan’s permission, and still it unnerved her to think about how terrifying the pair of them could be.
“So we let him go?” Darby squeaked.
“We work with him,” Fordham said.
“Gerrond said that the houses aren’t with the Society yet. That they could be swayed. If we want to sway them, we need more people. We need more dragons,” Kerrigan said hastily. “Two isn’t enough to reach the entire continent and guard our back.”
“I could speak to Galanthea,” Hadrian said. “If he’d take me into Kinkadia, I could speak with Fallon and rally their support.”
Kerrigan nodded. “That’s a great idea. We have other allies in the capital and the houses. We need ways to reach them, and we can’t do it alone. This could help.”
“Not to throw us off topic,” Clover said, “but I may have to return to Kinkadia with Hadrian.”
Kerrigan opened her mouth to question her when magic erupted in Clover’s hand. Kerrigan gaped at her. Her perfectly human friend, who had not a stitch of magic in her, was holding fire in her palm the same way Kerrigan did.