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“Never gets old,” Clover whispered as they stared up at the heights of the mountain.
“It really doesn’t.”
“I’ll leave you here. I’ll miss you while you’re gone.”
Clover bounced back and forth on her feet, as if she were actually anxious. Kerrigan smiled and threw her arms around her friend.
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
“You’d better be. Dozan said those things to rile you up, but don’t let your guard down in the House of Shadows. I want you to come home.”
“I won’t let my guard down.”
“This thing with Fordham …”
Kerrigan shook her head and took a step back. “I don’t want to talk about Fordham.”
“You’re going to be alone with him for two weeks.”
“Just don’t.”
Clover sighed. “Okay. But I’ll kick his ass if he doesn’t take care of you.”
Kerrigan laughed. “I’d like to see that.”
“I’m scrappy.”
Kerrigan hugged her again and then hurried toward the mountain before she could get sappy. It was two weeks. How bad could it be?
Kerrigan’s steps slowed as she approached the front entrance to the mountain. A few days ago, she’d thought that she would leave the mountain behind, join a tribe, and become a full citizen. Now, the mountain was her forever home. So much had changed in so little time that it was hard to believe any of it was true. One day, she had been discreetly deposited into the care of the House of Dragons by her father. Twelve years later, she was a Society member.
Thinking of her father—Kivrin Argon, First of the House of Cruse—only soured her mood further. He was next in line for one of the four ruling families of Bryonica, and she’d been a princess, the lost Princess Felicity. Everyone had been looking for her after her “disappearance.” Unbeknownst to them, her father knew precisely where she was. He’d left her there himself before the softly pointed ears that revealed that she was half-Fae were visible. She’d hidden her heritage from all but her closest friends for twelve years, and now, her secret was out. She was almost happy to be out of Kinkadia to avoid Bryonican royals and the upcoming Season.
Almost.
She nodded at the guards at the entrance and then headed toward the dungeons. If news had already reached Dozan, from his spies inside the mountain, then others likely had already heard as well. Her first indication that something was wrong was the increase in guards. Guards patrolled inside Draco Mountain but not like this. She saw more guards here that she didn’t recognize than she did. She didn’t know what use it would be if the person who had murdered Basem Nix was a Society member. Guards didn’t even usually have much magic. Just enough to keep the populace in check.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a guard asked, stopping her at the entrance to the dungeons.
“Official Society business.”
The guard looked skeptical. Kerrigan didn’t blame her. Not only was she drunk, but she was also an underage half-Fae. Her eyes darted to Kerrigan’s softly pointed ears and back.
“I’ll look the part when I get my black robes,” she half-joked.
“Oh,” the guard said, hastily stepping back. “I didn’t realize it was you.”
Kerrigan shot her a hopefully warm smile before careening down the stairs. The temperature dropped precipitously, the farther she wound her way deeper into the dungeons. Kerrigan hadn’t been here in years. Lyam had dared her to run to the bottom of the dungeons one summer. She’d done so just to taunt him. But they’d also thought that the dungeons were empty. She shuddered at the thought of the man she’d found with his guts hanging out.
She gagged on the memory. Lyam had wanted to prove he could do it, too, but she hadn’t let him go. That was back before Lyam had confessed his feelings for her, back when he’d been the fourth member of their quartet, back when he’d been alive.
Voices drifted up out of the gloom, bringing her back into the present. Lyam was gone. His compass still tucked away in her pocket. There was nothing she could do to change that, but Basem’s death was a different story. A new mystery for her to solve.
“Yes, Corinna. Thank you so much for your assistance,” someone said. “We have all that we need here. I’ll let you continue with your investigation.”
“Thank you, Bastian,” Mistress Corinna said. Corinna was the current Chief of the Guard. She’d vouched for Kerrigan before the council when her place in the Society was being debated. “I have my best men here. We’ll find who did this.”
Kerrigan surreptitiously rounded the corner and found Master Bastian and Mistress Hellina standing before Mistress Corinna. Both Bastian and Helly were on the Society council—the highest rank of any member. Bastian had been a dragon tournament adjudicator this year, as Helly had been five years ago.
