House of Dragons Royal Houses Book One K.A. Linde Contents Also By K.A. Linde Tribes 1. The Fight 2. The Wastes 3. The Tournament 4. The Punishment 5. The Dark Prince 6. The Testing 7. The Recovery 8. The Celebration 9. The Flight 10. The Ceremony 11. The Offer 12. The Arrest 13. The Shadow 14. The Dealer 15. The Bargain 16. The Job 17. The First 18. The Box 19. The Accident 20. The Funeral 21. The Dawn 22. The Disappointment 23. The Search 24. The Assassin 25. The Knife 26. The Training 27. The Baths 28. The Tip 29. The Weapons Deal 30. The Second 31. The Fall 32. The Black House 33. The Crime Lord 34. The Explosion 35. The Weapons Training 36. The Artisan Village 37. The South 38. The Threat 39. The Party 40. The Trio 41. The Past 42. The Hostages 43. The Guest 44. The Big Fight 45. The Rescue 46. The Third 47. The Forest 48. The Raven Flight 49. The Nightmare 50. The Bonding 51. The Return 52. The Smoke 53. The Ruling 54. The Spirit 55. The Red Mask The Affiliate Also By K.A. Linde Acknowledgments About the Author A L S O B Y K. A. L I N D E ROYAL HOUSES House of Dragons ASCENSION The Affiliate The Bound The Consort The Society The Domina House of Dragons Copyright © 2020 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: 978-1948427425 Pronunciation Guide CHARACTERS Amond—Uh-mond Audria Ather—Aud-ree-uh Ath-er Basem Nix—Bay-sum Nix Master Bastian—Bast-yun Master Callian—Cal-yen Chelcie—Chel-See Clare Rahllins —Clair Rah-lihns Clover—Clove-er Mistress Cressida—Cruh-see-duh Darby—Dar-bee Darrid—Dare-id Dozan Rook—Doe-zen Rook Ellerby Emberton—Ell-er-bee Em-ber-tun Ever—Ev-er Fallon—Fal-uhn Master Fillion—Fil-ee-un Hadrian—Hay-dree-en Mistress Hellina “Helly”—Hell-ee-nuh; Hell-ee Isa—Ee-suh Javel—Jah-vel Kamari—Kuh-mar-ee Kenris—Ken-ris Keres—Kerr-is Kerrigan Argon—Care-ih-gen Arh-gone Lord Kivrin Argon—Kiv-rin Arh-gone Mistress Layla—Lay-luh Master Lorian – Lor-ee-uhn Lyam—Lee-um Mistress Moran—Mor-in Noda—No-duh Parris—Pear-is Posana—Poe-sohn-uh Prince Fordham Ollivier—Ford-um Ah-liv-ee-aye Roake—Roke Mistress Sinead—Sih-nayd Lady Sonali—Suh-nahl-ee Taiga—Tay-guh Valero—Vuh-lair-o Valia—Val-ee-uh DRAGONS Avirix—Uh-veer-ix Evien—Ev-ee-en Gelryn—Gehl-rin Luxor—Lux-er Netta—Net-uh Tavry—Tahv-ree Tieran—Teer-en 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 Fight Kerrigan was losing. Blood dripped into her eye from a gash at her brow. Her feet danced back and forth on the hard stone floor, light and eager with her hands protecting her face—little good it had done. Her form was in complete contrast to the bruiser before her. He was nearly seven feet tall and built like the haunches of a dragon—massive and muscular. Though he was all power and no finesse. “You going to dance on your twinkle toes all day, or are we going to fight?” Bruiser grunted. “I was considering it,” she bit back. He laughed gruffly. “Fine. Make it easy for me, Red.” Bruiser stepped forward, using his limited elemental magic to give him an edge as he rushed toward her. The earth rattled beneath her feet, and she shuffled side to side in an attempt to stay upright. But then he was in front of her, his eyes keen on victory before his fist even shot for her face. She blocked him with her forearm, taking a bone-crunching amount of pressure. Then she dodged the second blow and used a trickle of air to shove his fist out of the way. She hated being on the defensive, but she’d never seen Bruiser fight before. She always spent the first couple of minutes discovering her opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, assessing the situation to her advantage. Unfortunately, that meant getting punched in the stomach with a giant rock. All the air gasped out of Kerrigan’s lungs as she was propelled backward into the ropes. She collapsed forward onto her knees, coughing spastically. She spat blood onto the floor. An offering to whatever gods were watching. Her eyes lifted. Bruiser was smirking, holding his hands up to the crowd as if he’d already won the match. Overconfident, arrogant bastard. She heaved herself back to her feet and kicked the rock he’d thrown off the edge of the ring. Her bright red mess of hair had come out of its braid with that throw, and now, unruly curls framed her narrow face. At least her gold headband still held. She had no interest in revealing her short, barely pointed ears. “You still in it?” Bruiser taunted as he sauntered in her direction. He didn’t even lift his defenses. He didn’t so much as reach for a speck of earth. He was used to using his fists and getting his way. “Poor little thing. I’m going to have to put you to sleep.” “We’ll see if you can, Bruiser.” Kerrigan’s eyes blurred at the edges. The fumes from the Wastes—the deplorable underground crime building where she was currently fighting—sure didn’t help matters. The Dragon Ring was on the bottom level and smelled like stale ale and blood and vomit. She preferred it down here to nearly everything up above but, gods, the smell. It was all the worse because her eyes teared up. Gods, she looked like an amateur. A small smile cracked her frightened facade. Sometimes, looking like an amateur worked to her advantage. Kerrigan jabbed out with her left hand, swirling the sand on the ground into a tight cyclone. She swung it in an arc before throwing it. Bruiser’s eyes widened in shock. Then he dove out of the way of the maelstrom. Too slow. The sand yanked him off his feet and threw him halfway across the ring. He rolled over his shoulder and came back up in a crouch. His beady eyes assessed her more strategically than when he’d casually tried to beat her face in. Kerrigan was losing …on purpose. After nearly a dozen fights, she had learned that no one wanted the fight to end too soon. And no one wanted it to end without
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