House of Dragons: Royal Houses Book One

out of favor. Drame and Medallion were constantly intermarrying with Stoirm in the hopes of avoiding another war to claim the throne again. It was a big headache as far as Kerrigan was concerned.
A big headache that she had once been a part of. She had vague memories of castles in the Viland hills. Of dinners that lasted for hours as course after course was placed before her. Of banquets and balls set for kings. Even at five, she had been expected to act like any other noble.. She didn’t dislike the etiquette classes because she wasn’t any good at them. She hated them because they reminded her of the past.
Kerrigan blinked away the images she had plastered on top of Sonali’s home. She didn’t want to think about that. She wanted to drink until she couldn’t think about that anymore.
And then they were before Lady Sonali. She was stunning and the perfect example of a Bryonican noblewoman, dressed in the navy blues of her people. Her face unlined. Her smile coming easily.
“Darby,” she said, holding a hand out. “You made it.”
Darby executed a perfect curtsy. “My lady.”
Sonali’s expression didn’t change as her gaze slid over Hadrian, Lyam, and then Kerrigan. Kerrigan, who was accustomed to avoiding the eye of Bryonican nobility, lest they see what was hidden underneath—that she had once been one of them.
“I am so pleased you could join us. Come and sit with my ladies.”
Darby shot one desperate look at her friends. Kerrigan nodded, telling her to go. They could fend for themselves.
Kerrigan swept Lady Sonali an exquisite curtsy and then all but hustled the boys out of the hall.
“Shouldn’t we stay with her?” Hadrian asked anxiously.
“No. She will be fine with the lady of the house. And we should find the harder liquor.”
“I like where your mind is at, Ker,” Lyam said.
Hadrian groaned. “You two are going to get into trouble, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” they said at the same time.
She met Lyam’s eyes, and they both laughed. She’d forgotten how easy it was to be around him. How it had been… before he confessed his feelings. Feelings she didn’t reciprocate in the slightest.
She and Lyam pulled Hadrian into a room with an impressive wine cellar. Against one wall was a long bar with every manner of drink available for the evening. Even though these fancy parties were just supposed to serve wine, most parties in the city also had some variety of faerie punch available. Potent alcohol laced with magic. They addled senses, and depending on the spell, they could make you forget the evening, lower inhibitions, cause arousal, and any number of things. Kerrigan had tried them all in small quantities. She was a firm believer in knowing what magic could do to a person and how to escape it. She also just liked the feeling of getting out of her head.
“No,” Hadrian said when he caught sight of the faerie punch bowls.
“Have wine then,” Lyam said, pushing him toward the other side of the room.
Lyam and Kerrigan waited before the row of punches.
He tapped his foot restlessly. “Ker,” he said, an anxious note in his voice.
Kerrigan glanced over at him and found him staring at her intently. “Hmm?”
“Can we talk?”
“Talk?”
“Yes… somewhere private?”
“Right now?”
“Uh… after we get our drinks?”
Panic swept through her. She didn’t want to have this talk with Lyam. She’d been avoiding him for practically an entire year. He couldn’t think that things had changed.
“I just… miss our friendship,” he said faintly.
Kerrigan softened immediately. Ugh, scales. She missed their friendship too. “Miss having someone to get in trouble with?”
“Looks like you’ve been doing just fine with that on your own.”
She shrugged. “It’s my specialty.”
“Just please… a few minutes?” he asked. His eyes were wide and blue as the ocean.
She wished that she could fall for someone like Lyam. Wished those eyes made her insides squirm. But they didn’t. He was more like her brother than anything. And he hated hearing her say that.
“Uh…”
“What would you like?” the woman working the punch asked before she could answer Lyam.
Kerrigan looked at each punch. One was pink with slices of watermelon in it. One was bright green with pineapple and cherries. One was blood red with fresh strawberries on top. She pointed at the last one.
“Don’t you want to know which spell is on them?” Lyam asked.
She shook her head. “I’ll roll the dice.”
The woman poured her a glass of the red liquid, and Kerrigan walked away before she could hear what she’d ordered. Lyam liked to walk on the wild side, but he wasn’t reckless with his health. Not after they’d accidentally gotten into the Society’s punch stores and hallucinated for days. She just figured nothing could be worse than that.
Kerrigan stood at the edge of the room waiting for Hadrian and Lyam to make their selections and find her. She didn’t want to have this talk with Lyam, but it was overdue. Maybe it would be better to get it all out in the open. Hopefully then they’d be able to get past it all.
She sighed and took a sip of her punch. Her insides immediately loosened. Her mind stopped buzzing at a million miles a minute. She knew this feeling. She’d forget the night, forget all of her problems. She stared down at the liquid in question and was about to dump the entire contents down her throat when a hand reached out and plucked the drink from her.
“Hey!” she said furiously. “What are you…” She trailed off when she looked up and saw who stood before her.
“Hello, Kerrigan,” her father said. “We need to talk.”
Kerrigan furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth. “No.”
“This way.”
Lord Kivrin Argon, First of the House of Cruse, put his hand on the sleeve of her dress and all but pushed her down the hallway. As soon as he could, he dumped the contents of her drink in a plant and discarded the cup.
She glared at him. How dare he! How dare he!
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Saving