House of Shadows: Royal Houses Book Two Read online

  House of Shadows

  Royal Houses Book Two

  K.A. Linde

  Contents

  Also By K.A. Linde

  Pronunciation Guide

  Tribes

  1. The Celebration

  2. The Murder

  3. The Hangover

  4. The Journey

  5. The House of Shadows

  6. The Princess

  7. The Ball

  8. The King

  9. The Wall

  10. The Court

  11. The Masquerade

  12. The Light

  13. The Plot

  14. The Healing

  15. The Training

  16. The Masters

  17. The Problem

  18. The Meeting

  19. The Assassin

  20. The Testing

  21. The Course

  22. The Season

  23. The Lord

  24. The Star

  25. The Dragons

  26. The Protest

  27. The Library

  28. The Bond

  29. The Night of the Dead

  30. The Camp

  31. The Celebration

  32. The Suspect

  33. The Smoke

  34. The Martyr

  35. The Arrest

  36. The Probation

  37. The Holiday

  38. The Estate

  39. The Flight

  40. The Confession

  41. The Village

  42. The Hot Springs

  43. The Geivhrea

  44. The Winter Party

  45. The Heart

  46. The Blackouts

  47. The Symptoms

  48. The Council

  49. The Rally

  50. The Aftermath

  51. The Shift

  52. The Sickness

  53. The Spiritcaster

  54. The Awakening

  55. The Crux

  56. The Negotiations

  57. The River

  58. The Boats

  59. The Shadows

  60. The Battle

  61. The Defeat

  62. The Treaty

  63. The Trial

  64. The Execution

  65. The Father

  The Affiliate

  Also By K.A. Linde

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  House of Shadows

  Copyright © 2021 by K.A. Linde

  All rights reserved.

  * * *

  Visit my website at

  www.kalinde.com

  * * *

  Formatting and Map Design: Devin McCain, www.studio5twentyfive.com

  Cover Designer: Okay Creations., www.okaycreations.com

  Editor: Unforeseen Editing, www.unforeseenediting.com

  * * *

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  ISBN-13: 978-1948427531

  A L S O B Y K. A. L I N D E

  ROYAL HOUSES

  House of Dragons

  House of Shadows

  House of Curses

  * * *

  ASCENSION

  The Affiliate

  The Bound

  The Consort

  The Society

  The Domina

  Pronunciation Guide

  CHARACTERS

  * * *

  Mistress Alsia—Al-see-uh

  Alura—Uh-lure-uh

  Amond—Uh-mond

  Mistress Anahi—Anne-uh-ee

  Arbor—Ar-bur

  Ashby March—Ash-bee March

  Audria Ather—Aud-ree-uh Ath-er

  Basem Nix—Bay-sum Nix

  Master Bastian—Bast-yun

  Bayton—Bay-ton

  Benton—Ben-ton

  Master Boze—Boz

  Master Callian—Cal-yen

  Clare Rahllins—Clair Rah-Lihns

  Cleora—Klee-or-uh

  Clover—Clove-er

  Darby—Dar-bee

  Dozan Rook—Doe-zen Rook

  Fallon—Fal-uhn

  Prince Fordham Ollivier—Ford-um Ah-liv-ee-aye

  Hadrian—Hay-dree-en

  Mistress Hellina “Helly”—Hell-ee-nuh

  Irena—Ih-reen-uh

  Isa—Ee-suh

  Keres—Kerr-is

  Kerrigan Argon—Care-ih-gen Arh-gone

  Lord Kivrin Argon—Kiv-rin Arh-gone

  Master Kress—Kres

  Master Lockney—Lock-nee

  Master Lorian—Lor-ee-uhn

  Lyam—Lee-um

  Mistress Moran—Mor-in

  Mistress Movanna—Moh-Vahn-uh

  Noda—No-duh

  Parris—Pear-is

  Prescott—Press-cot

  Master Raysor—Ray-sore

  Roake—Roke

  Mistress Sencha—Sen-shuh

  Lady Sonali—Suh-nahl-ee

  Thea—Thee-uh

  Master Tippan—Tip-En

  Valia—Val-ee-uh

  Wynter—Win-ter

  Mistress Zahina “Zina”—Zuh-heen-uh “Zeen-uh”

  DRAGONS

  Androma—An-dro-muh

  Avirix—Uh-veer-ix

  Evien—Ev-ee-en

  Ferrinix—Fair-ih-nix

  Gelryn—Gehl-rin

  Luxor—Lux-er

  Netta—Net-uh

  Oria—Or-ee-uh

  Tavry—Tahv-ree

  Tieran—Teer-en

  Vox—Vaaks

  Tribes

  The twelve tribes of Alandria were split into four groups based on how they perceived the use of magic: Woodloch to the wooded west, Viland to the hills of the east, Tosin to the mountains of the north, and Moran to the rocky south. Though the twelve tribes are autonomous, the Society rules over all.

  * * *

  WOODLOCH

  Magic should be used for might.

  (warriors, weapons, armor)

  * * *

  Galanthea

  Herasi

  Venatrix

  * * *

  VILAND

  Magic should be used for good.

  (healing, medicine, art)

  * * *

  Bryonica

  Concha

  Ibarra

  * * *

  TOSIN

  Magic should be used for efficiency.

  (everyday tasks, mining, travel)

  * * *

  Erewa

  Sayair

  Zavala

  * * *

  MORAN

  Magic should be used for nothing.

  (magical artifacts)

  * * *

  Aude

  Elsiande

  Genoa

  1

  The Celebration

  “You just won the dragon tournament. What are you going to do next?”

  Kerrigan swatted at Clover. “Stop it. You’re ridiculous.”

  “I’m not ridiculous. I’m beyond excited for my best friend.” Clover leaned back against the bar. Her dark bob hanging severely in front of her face, her smile the brightest Kerrigan had ever seen.

  When Clover, Hadrian, and Darby had pulled her out of Draco Mountain, Kerrigan had tried to match their enthusiasm. A day earlier, s
he’d been fighting for her life in a tournament she hadn’t entered. She had ended victorious, becoming the first half-Fae full member of the Society and a dragon rider. In two week’s time, she was going to start a year of dragon training. It sounded miraculous. If only there wasn’t about a million reasons it was anything but.

  “Come on, Ker,” Hadrian said. His blue hair was coifed elegantly against the golden brown of his skin. The cravat at his neck, half-undone, was the only indication of his inebriation. “Don’t look like that. We’re celebrating.”

  “Agreed,” Darby said. “I’m out, aren’t I? If this isn’t a reason to overindulge, I don’t know what is.”

  Darby’s midnight skin was coated in a gold shimmer, and her long black tresses gleamed in the dying firelight. She technically wasn’t even supposed to be out with them now that she was a member of a royal Bryonican family, but she’d flouted authority and gone out to celebrate.

  It wasn’t every day that a Dragon Blessed from the House of Dragons became a full-fledged member of the Society—the governmental body of the city of Kinkadia and all of Alandria. Actually, it had never happened. It wasn’t even supposed to happen. The House of Dragons was a feeder program for underprivileged Fae to move up in the world. It had worked for Hadrian and Darby, but Kerrigan wasn’t like her friends. She was only half-Fae, and no one had wanted her.

  “Seriously, you need to let the last forty-eight hours go and have another drink,” Clover said, pushing an ale toward her. “Everyone else is buying anyway.”

  Which was true. The dragon tournament was the most lauded event in Alandrian history. The winners were treated like heroes, and everyone wanted to celebrate, which meant drink after drink after drink. She could feel that she had overindulged.

  “My head is already spinning,” she said with a laugh.

  Hadrian rolled his eyes. “When has that ever stopped you?”

  She raised a pint to him. “Fair point.”

  Kerrigan tipped back the ale and took a long drink. It was the good stuff. Not the swill she and Clover normally drank in the Wastes. No, tonight, they’d had to forgo the underground pit, where Clover worked as a card dealer, for a more reputable tavern. They’d ended up in The Dragon Scales on the Square in Central Kinkadia. It was fancier than anywhere but a royal home but still just a tavern. The same sort of customers and the same sort of drink.

  Kerrigan set her half-finished drink on the bar and forced down a yawn. She was about to suggest that they all join the dancing outside when a man sent her drink sprawling.

  “Scales,” Kerrigan gasped. She jumped away from the spilled ale, but it was too late. The drink coated her dress and down one side of her body.

  “Hey, watch what you’re doing!” Clover snarled at the man.

  The man stood to his considerable height, more than a head taller than Kerrigan. His ears were severely pointed, a clear indicator that he was full-blooded Fae. His skin was creamy white and eyes the darkest brown, and he was currently glaring at Kerrigan, having already discarded Clover’s comment.

  “Your kind isn’t welcome in this establishment,” he said coldly.

  Kerrigan straightened up. “My kind?”

  “We’ve been here all night,” Hadrian said as if he hadn’t heard the insinuation about her being half-Fae. “If you have a problem with that, then you can go somewhere else.”

  “They should never defile the Society halls with someone like you, leatha.”

  A sharp intake of breath was heard all around Kerrigan. A buzzing filled her ears at the horrid word. It was ancient Fae language, originally meaning half-Fae, but modern connotation had made it a slur, more commonly meaning half-breed bitch. It wasn’t slung around in polite society.

  Most people in this fancy tavern probably hadn’t heard it spoken aloud, except in jest. Not that Kerrigan ever found those jests funny. But Kerrigan had heard the word enough not to flinch from it.

  “Creative,” she crooned. She was too tipsy for this. “I’m so glad that you don’t get a vote.”

  He took a menacing step forward, but she just laughed. It was the wrong move. She had known it somewhere deep in her brain that laughing at this man would provoke him, but did he think he was frightening? She’d won the dragon tournament, and not that he knew this, but she was a prized fighter in the Wastes. He couldn’t touch her. His overconfidence was almost endearing, if not suicidal.

  “I’ll give you something to laugh at,” he said and then threw his fist toward her face.

  She was drunk, not incapacitated.

  She fluidly slid out of his reach. Her reflexes were a half-second slower than normal, but it wasn’t like he was Prince Fordham Ollivier. Fordham was the only person besting her four out of five bouts. This was just a Fae male who thought he was better than her.

  The male overcorrected for the missed punch and tried to throw another one. She caught his fist in her hand and wrenched it sideways. He cried out.

  “That isn’t very nice,” she slurred slightly. “Someone should teach you some manners.”

  She jerked the man forward, bringing her knee up to his face with a satisfying crunch. Then, she threw him to the ground at her feet. She could have finished it then with the adrenaline coursing through her, but Darby put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Kerrigan, everyone’s watching,” she whispered.

  She came back to herself then, stepping away from the man. Her hands were shaking from the fight. It had happened in a matter of seconds, and she hadn’t even needed to use her magic. But this wasn’t the kind of place that erupted into brawls. The room had quieted, and all eyes were on her. They hadn’t seen this brute attack her, but they’d sure seen her finish it. Were they seeing a Society member enacting justice? Or a half-Fae getting revenge, knowing that no one could stop her now?

  She shook her head and backed away from the man on the ground. He’d earned his beating, but she couldn’t be the pit fighter anymore. She had to uphold the Society laws. Gods, she’d messed up.

  And the fire in the man’s eyes said that he hated her all the more. Just like these entitled Fae males always did.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Clover said. Her hand landed on Kerrigan’s pale, freckled arm, still sticky with ale.

  “Maybe I should …”

  Hadrian shook his head. “Leaving is the right call.”

  Kerrigan shot an apologetic look to the bartender, a middle-aged woman. She smiled back kindly as Kerrigan slid a dozen marks on the bar. “For the trouble.”

  She waved Kerrigan off. “I saw what happened. Wouldn’t be the first time he needed a good beating.”

  Kerrigan laughed tightly at the words and then let her friends pull her out of the crowded bar. The noise had returned to the establishment, and the brute had picked himself off of the ground, but Kerrigan still felt uneasy.

  “I didn’t handle that right,” she said with a hand to her temple.

  “You handled him just fine,” Clover said.

  “You should have let it go,” Darby whispered. Clover glared at her. All of the usual flirtatious looks between them had evaporated in the last week. Kerrigan didn’t know what it meant, but she didn’t like it. Darby held up her hands. “What he did and said was terrible, but she’s a Society member now. That means something. She can’t get involved in bar fights.”

  Clover opened her mouth to argue, but Kerrigan stopped her. “She’s right. I’m going to be held to a higher standard.”

  “So, you just have to deal with people like him insulting you?” Clover asked.

  Kerrigan shrugged. “I don’t know. This has never happened before. There’s never been a half-Fae Society member. Let alone one who earned her spot below the age requirement, who hadn’t officially entered, who didn’t have a tribe, and who was part of the House of Dragons.”

  “It is unprecedented,” Hadrian agreed as they set off around the busy Square. A bonfire blazed at the center, and groups danced merrily late into the evening. “But he was wro
ng for saying something.”

  “Whatever you say, sweetheart,” Clover said, purposely antagonizing Hadrian, as she always did.

  “So, what should we do with the rest of our night?” Kerrigan asked before Hadrian could retaliate.

  “Wastes!” Clover cried.

  Darby yawned and put a hand to her mouth to cover it. “I think I’m done for the evening. Maybe we should all say good night. Don’t you have to leave in the morning, Kerrigan?”

  Kerrigan frowned at the words. She did have to leave in the morning. But she didn’t want to think about it. It was half the reason that she’d allowed her friends to cajole her out into celebrating. Tomorrow, she would be leaving for the House of Shadows with Fordham. And he wasn’t out here tonight with her because things were complicated, to say the least.