Page 3 of The Flame King's Queen

I reach out to Dad and grip his hand, steadying him as much as he’s steadying me. I can’t imagine what they both must be feeling, being dragged out of what must seem like a dream to be told that Ma and Waylen are dead, and now they’re surrounded by armed strangers.

On either side of me, my bodyguards Fiala and Dusan are brandishing their halberds to protect me. They’re wingrunners, soldiers who fly on whip-fast wyverns and wear a uniform of black and silver. I trust them with my life almost as much as I trust Zabriel.

However, the other three men…

There’s Stesha, a white-haired Alpha; Captain Ashton, the curly-haired Beta who leads the wingrunners; and Godric, an older, stocky Beta, and Zabriel’s right-hand man. Just before they surrounded me, I had a vision. A rare, true vision that my life is in danger from someone I couldn’t discern. Esmeral is not here to protect me, and Zabriel isn’t either.

No mate and no dragon, and I don’t know who I can trust.

Captain Ashton approached me with a forlorn manner, asking me why we haven’t rescued the witch Ravenna from her captor. She was taken away by a cruel Alpha called Kane, a former witchfinder who hates witches but who is paradoxically her mate. They are fated to each other, but Ravenna doesn’t feel one shred of the love or esteem for Kane. She agreed to be with him only because Kane claims he can use his warlock powers to weaken or destroy the magical southern barrier protecting Emmeric long enough for Zabriel’s dragon army to pass through it and kill Emmeric. Ravenna’s sacrifice makes me admire her and fear for her, and apparently I’m not the only one. It seems as though the captain has fallen for the beautiful Omega in the short time he knew her. Ashton holds no weapon in his hands, and he’s not armed except for the knife strapped to his thigh, but a knife is more than enough to kill me for the crime of being a witch. If he wants to kill me.

Then there’s Godric, a man I’ve spoken with on only a handful of occasions. Zabriel confides in him about all matters about protecting and defending Maledin, and my mate trusts him completely. Godric was one of several people who convinced me and Zabriel to participate in the Ritual of the First Heat. The ritual separated us, and we both suffered. I nearly died from dehydration and exhaustion brought on by one of theHratha’len, and when my former High Priest found me, he nearly finished me off. It was only because my mate defied the ritual to rescue me that I survived.

Does Godric harbor a hatred of witches or of me personally? He’s barely spoken to me. A man so loyal to Maledin and his king could despise an outsider of different blood.

Finally, there’s Stesha. The dragonmaster has never bothered to conceal his dislike of me, though I’m yet to see him approve of anyone or anything except his beautiful white Alpha dragon, Nilak. He’s loyal to the flare, and to Zabriel, most of the time. Right at this moment he’s brandishing a sword, the tip pointed toward the ground rather than at me. I’ve witnessed how fast and fiercely he fights. If he wished it, he could have already killed me. So if he’s the traitor, what is he waiting for?

Anise is shaking in my arms as she gazes up at the enormous, white-haired man. Alphas are intimidating. They’re just made that way. Tall, muscular, broad, and fierce.

“Are you going to kill me or not?” I ask him. “Or are you afraid that my bodyguards will attack you, or my family will witness your treachery?”

I watch Ashton’s and Godric’s faces because I’m not entirely convinced that Stesha is the traitor. If only my vision had given me a clearer view of the person who wishes to cause me harm.

“I’m not here to kill you, Lady Isavelle. I’d rather not be here at all.”

“Then why are you?”

“I blade swore with your mate. He protects mine, and I protect his.”

I hold Anise tight, wondering which way to run if someone lifts their sword. Can I stop them from hurting her? I keep talking in attempt to remain calm. “He swore to protect Zenevieve? Why do you care what happens to Zenevieve when you won’t even speak to her?”

Emmeric used Zenevieve to trick me into watching my mother and brother die. Zabriel was falling into a rut and so furious with her that he nearly had her executed, and Stesha offered himself to be punished instead. He was distraught, and yet he’s avoided Zenevieve ever since.

Stesha’s expression flickers with anger. “That’s not your concern, Lady Isavelle. Can we get on with this? Do you not know who’s trying to kill you?”

My gaze flickers between Stesha, Ashton, and Godric. Right now I don’t trust any of them.

The day is foggy, and all around us is gray. As I hold my family close to me, I see something shadowy moving toward us through the mist. Something huge.

Nilak, Stesha’s enormous white Alpha dragon, lowers her head just over Stesha’s shoulder, baring her teeth at us and protecting her rider.

Anise trembles harder, and Dad backs away, trying to keep us behind him.

“Isavelle,” Anise whispers. “How—are there two of them?”

I turn and see another dragon closing in on us from the other side, snarling and grunting with every step he takes. The ground trembles beneath his enormous, clawed feet, and his eyes glow red in the fog. Scourge is here, but where is Zabriel?

The black dragon comes to a halt, towering over us, his massive bulk blocking out what little sunlight there was. Both dragons bare dozens of huge, pointed white teeth. If either of them breathes fire, we will all burn to a crisp.

“Heavens protect us from these monsters,” Dad whispers.

“They’re not monsters, they’re dragons,” I tell him. “The black one belongs to my mate, but where is Zabriel?”

Dad and Anise seem to take little comfort from my words. Nothing about the enormous black dragon towering over us with his teeth bared saysfriend.

Stesha’s cold eyes move from me to my family, to Godric and Ashton, and back to me. “Lady Isavelle, take your family and get out of here. Allow Scourge and your bodyguards to protect you.”

Ashton nods in agreement. “Listen to the dragonmaster, Lady Isavelle. Scourge will protect you.”

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