Fordham rushed out after her. The other man, whoever he was, looked at Kerrigan with a smug smile on his face. Clover didn’t know anything about him, but that smile told her all she needed to know. He had done all of that on purpose. And it hadn’t been for a good reason.

She didn’t think. She just dashed across the room with Hadrian on her heels. Kerrigan was speaking to Audria and then was out into the night. Fordham was going to catch her, and Clover couldn’t tell him how big a problem that was. Kerrigan’s feelings for Fordham were so blatant that he could only make things worse.

She grabbed his shoulder. “Wait,” she gasped.

He whipped around. His eyes set and hard. “Clover… what? I need to catch Kerrigan.”

“Let her go.”

They stood at the entrance to the party. A crowd milled around, waiting to see what would happen next. But then Kerrigan’s father appeared at her side.

“He’s handling it.”

“She hates her father,” Fordham spat.

“I know, but you will only make things worse.”

“Me and not him?”

“Oh, he probably will, too, but she expects that from him.”

He turned back to look at Clover. Hadrian had finally reached them as well.

“Explain,” he commanded.

“Have you changed your mind about Kerrigan?” Clover demanded.

His jaw clenched. “No.”

“I don’t understand,” Hadrian said. “Why are you two not together?”

Fordham shook his head. “It’s a curse.”

Clover rolled her eyes. “Melodramatic.”

“A literal curse,” he explained. “I am doomed to hurt the ones closest to me. It was given to me at birth.”

“Have you considered that simply by denying yourself the person you want, you are already hurting her?” Clover snapped.

Fordham’s face cleared for a moment. “No. I don’t want to hurt her, but …”

“But?”

He shook his head and turned to find Kerrigan piling into a carriage and leaving the party. Hope died in his face. “I don’t want to get her killed either.”

Hadrian put his hand on Fordham’s shoulder. “We all think we’re doing the best by her, but as someone who has known her most of my life, let me tell you that she does not like choices to be made for her. She would rather suffer the consequences than live with regret.”

Fordham’s face was pained at the words. “I’ll consider that.”

Clover watched him deal with the consequences of his actions. She wasn’t ready to return to the party to deal with the consequences of hers. So, she slipped into the night without Hadrian or Darby. Away from the life she could only ever halfway occupy as a human and back to the Wastes that accepted her wholly as she was. She lit a loch cigarette, wondering who that was anymore.

25

The Dragons