House of Dragons: Royal Houses Book One

you from yourself.”
“I don’t need saving, Kivrin.”
He didn’t flinch at his name. That she’d used it instead of Father or Dad. She’d stopped calling him anything else long ago. When he relinquished the right to be her father.
He didn’t even seem to care. He just opened a door and shoved her inside some sort of music room. A harp was strung against the window. A desk sat against another wall. Lots of plush cushions were in a circle about the room for lessons. Fancy place.
“Why did you drag me in here?” she demanded. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk about the ceremony.”
“Why?”
“We need to talk about who is courting your favor.”
Again, she repeated, “Why? It’s not like you’re going to pick me.”
He looked up at her, startled. “Me? No, of course not.”
She sagged in relief. She had always feared that. That, after all this time, he’d think he still had some claim, some ownership over her. That she’d be forced back into that sad, lonely castle in Bryonica.
“Who have you been talking to?”
“I don’t have to tell you that,” she said. “It’s confidential.”
He ran a hand back through his dark hair, and she realized for the first time that her father looked… uncertain. Could he be nervous? It made no sense. He was the playboy prince. He’d abandoned her. Why should he care?
“Have you spoken to Lorian?” he finally asked.
“Master Lorian?” she asked in surprise, wondering why he would be asking about the warrior tribe. “Of tribe Venatrix?”
“Yes.”
“No, he… he hasn’t approached me. Why would he? Isn’t he vocally against human and Fae commingling? Hasn’t he shredded his own daughter apart for wanting to marry a human? He hates half-Fae. Why would he talk to me?”
“All of that is true,” he agreed. “But he hates something more than that.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”
He met her gaze. “Me.”
“You? Because when you two were in the tournament? He won already.”
And you lost. She didn’t say it, but she wanted to.
Her father and Master Lorian had been in the dragon tournament together. Lorian was now in the Society, and her father was not. The end. The whole story.
“Yes, he won, and we’ve had a feud ever since,” he said evenly. “I fear that he might have discovered that I am your father.”
“And?”
“And he would take you into his household to hurt me.”
She shook her head. “Do you hear yourself? Nothing you are saying makes sense. One, wherever I go couldn’t possibly hurt you because you abandoned me. You left me at the doorstep of Draco Mountain and walked away. You have no feelings on the matter. And two, Master Lorian would never select me when he hates half-Fae. He was the person who convinced the Society to put down the rebellions five years ago. I would be a mark on his record. You have lost your mind.”
“Kerrigan,” he said evenly. “You don’t know Lorian like I do.”
“And I don’t want to. I don’t even want to know you. So… mind your own business.”
“Who?” he got out as she pushed toward the door. “Who are you speaking with?”
She ground her teeth. “Ellerby of Elsiande, if you must know.”
Kivrin froze, a look of horror crossing his face. “But you have magic. Elsiande refuses their magic. It would eat you from the inside out.”
“I’m aware of their beliefs. But it is not that simple. The younger generations are pushing back on that. They want people to use their magic. Ellerby believes in human and half-Fae rights,” she said valiantly. “He… he doesn’t care how much magic I have. And I’d rather have someone like him than… someone like you.”
Kivrin looked as stoic as ever when she said it. She didn’t think she’d wounded him. He didn’t have a heart to hurt.
Then, she strode through the door and back out to the party. But she was no longer feeling festive. She couldn’t see her friends to tell them where she had gone. Instead, she slunk out a side door and grabbed a carriage back to the mountain.
The ceremony was in six days. She wouldn’t have to deal with her father or his delusions about Lorian… or any of it ever again. Just six more days.

9
The Flight
“You just left!” Hadrian cried.
Kerrigan nodded. There wasn’t anything else to say to this ambush. Hadrian, Darby, and Lyam were all staring down at her as if she had lost her mind.
“You left and told no one,” he continued.
“We were worried,” Darby added.
“Clearly, I’m fine,” Kerrigan said.
“Yes, but we didn’t know that,” Lyam said.
Kerrigan rose to her feet and sighed. “I had a confrontation with my father.”
All three of them sucked in a sharp breath. They knew what that meant.
Darby sighed. “I’m sorry you had to deal with him.”
“He’s such an asshole,” Lyam grumbled.
Hadrian put his hand on her shoulder. All of the fight had gone out of him. He always seemed to understand without having to say anything.
But her father just made her want to scream. She didn’t want understanding. None of them could really understand. She just needed to get away. Get away from everything in her life that had made this complicated.
“I have to go check on Fordham. He’s my responsibility for the next six days,” she told them, taking a step back. “I have cleanup later, and then I’ll be around. We can do dinner.”
Hadrian nodded sympathetically. Darby just looked sad. Lyam… well, she couldn’t even really look at Lyam. She’d disappeared in part because she wasn’t ready to hear what he had to say. And she’d avoid it as long as she could… just like her father.
Kerrigan hastened out of the House of Dragons’ quarters and down toward the base of the mountain, where the tournament competitors were being kept. She’d missed their introductions yesterday, so she didn’t even know who else was competing alongside Fordham. She’d likely know at least one of them. Offspring of Society members frequently entered the tournament. She’d known Alura of Venatrix and Walston of Bryonica five years