A Promise of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles, #1)(81)

Griffin laughs, and right then he’s so compelling, so utterly unafraid of all the things that terrify me, that I want to jump on him and kiss him until my lips bruise.

“You think I’m kidding?” I demand. “You. Will. Die.”

“Worried about me?” He winks, and I see red. “And Cat? Modesty doesn’t suit you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

My jaw goes slack. My whole body does. Did he really just say that? In front of everyone? “Y-You’re delusional,” I sputter. “And I’m staying in the barracks!”

Griffin turns to his brother. “Piers! If Cat hasn’t moved into my room by tomorrow night, you will forcibly remove her from the barracks and bring her to the castle. Is that understood?”

Piers nods and then goes back to the scroll he couldn’t put down long enough to finish his dinner.

I’m stunned. Discussion over. Again. “How do you know I won’t incinerate him if he touches me?”

“I trust you,” Griffin says.

Those three words squeeze all the air from my lungs. I don’t deserve his trust. “Why?”

“Because I want to.”

“That’s idiotic!” I cry, ready to pull my hair out and wail. Protecting this family is going to be like trying to stop a Cyclops with nothing but a stick.

“Don’t leave the castle grounds while we’re gone,” Griffin says.

“Where do you even think I’d go? I’m bound to you for the rest of your life!”

“Just while we’re away.” His hands circle my upper arms, his eyes darkening with concern. “Promise, Cat. Please.”

Something in his tone annihilates my need to be stubborn. This time, anyway. “Fine. I promise I won’t leave unless there’s a dire emergency.”

“At all,” he grates, giving me a little shake. “I won’t leave the castle at all.”

“Unless there’s a dire emergency. If everything is burning down around us, or we’re under attack, do you really want me physically incapable of leaving this place?”

I can tell by the way his mouth flattens that he hadn’t thought of that. “Unless there’s a dire emergency,” Griffin concedes, giving me his hard look as the vow jolts through me, brutally taking hold. “And our definitions of ‘dire’ had better be the same.”





CHAPTER 19


I get up before dawn and stumble into Flynn’s room, rubbing my eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid,” I mumble sleepily. “Like die.”

He nods gravely, tying the straps on his leather bag. “I’ll scratch that off the list, then.”

I grunt. “How long will you be gone?”

“Not more than a week, probably less. Ios isn’t far, and Griffin and Egeria have to concentrate on the realm dinner next.”

Queasiness slithers around my insides at the thought of all those nobles here. I’ve been describing their magic and lineage for the family. I know of many of the people we’ll see, even though they’re Sintans and I’ve never met them in person. “I can’t believe you told Griffin I don’t have nightmares with him.”

Flynn shrugs. “It’s true.”

“He just snores so loudly you couldn’t hear me screaming.”

“Nice try,” Kato says, coming in behind me. He musses my loose hair, and I bite my lip, feeling empty and sad. The circus made me soft. Being here is making me something even worse—emotional.

Unable to shake the ache in my chest, I lay my head on Kato’s arm, feeling his biceps roll under my ear.

“What’s wrong with you?” Flynn peers at me with a frown. “Are you sick?”

I sigh. “I’m being left behind.”

“Plan something unpleasant for Daphne,” Kato suggests. “It’ll keep you busy.”

Of course they badgered her name out of me. “I think I’ll destroy Griffin’s room with the sword he bought me, make him regret forcing me in there.”

“Maybe you should hold off on the fits of martial irony,” Flynn suggests. “You’re only staying there while we’re away.”

I’m not sure any of us fully believes that. I’m scared to death Griffin is going to come back from Ios and somehow convince me to stay. Andromeda would merrily dismantle him piece by piece if she ever thought I needed him. She’d move Mount Olympus to get her hands on him, carve him up, and serve him to me for dinner. She’d probably call him Sintan Steak and present a slab of meat on Fisan pottery with a sprig of rosemary and my favorite crispy potatoes. I don’t think she’d expect me to eat. She’d smile like a knife’s blade and tell me the fun was in the cooking.

We make our way to the stables. I help Kato and Flynn saddle their mounts, my job mostly consisting of patting noses and sneaking apples to the horses from a barrel across from the stalls. Griffin shows up for Brown Horse and readies Egeria’s mare as well. Carver appears last but makes up for lost time by being efficient. Panotii looks as grumpy as I do about being left out.

“We’ll have our revenge,” I whisper into one of his donkey ears. He nudges my shoulder like he understands. Then again, he might just want another apple.