Page 48 of The Flame King's Queen

She strokes the pale dragon’s neck. “Always, dragonmaster.”

“Are you looking forward to the games, dragonmaster?” Ravenna asks him.

Nilak paces over to us, and she blows a puff of air against Stesha’s nape, stirring his long, loose hair. Stesha turns his head and presses his brow against her snout, briefly closing his eyes.

“Of course we’re going to win, my beautiful dragon. I doubt the ability of certain others to even find the starting line.”

Kane looks like he’s swallowed a mouthful of poison. A moment later, he storms off, kicking rocks as he goes.

Stesha crouches down and returns his attention to Calyx’s talon. His expression is neutral, and I can’t tell if he enjoyed provoking Kane or not.

“I will be cheering for you and Nilak, dragonmaster,” Ravenna tells him.

“My dragon thanks you,” he replies in a bland tone.

He almost sounds as though he’s already won, and a competitive spark fires my belly. “Dragonmaster, I hope you will enjoy the games, but Zabriel and Scourge are going to win.”

Stesha looks up, his eyes narrowing. Slowly, he gets to his feet, and gazes down his long, sharp nose at me. “Respectfully, Lady Isavelle, I doubt it. Your mate and his dragon are content, whereas I have one or two things to prove.”

“To whom?”

He regards me in silence because he’s too courteous to tell me to mind my own business.

“Zabriel has things to prove,” I point out. “He’s far from content with Emmeric still out there somewhere. What is it that you have to prove?”

“I won’t bore you with a dragonmaster’s aspirations, Lady Isavelle.”

I smile at him, and decide to tease him a little. “But we are allflockedaround you, adoring the strongest Alpha in the country. You couldn’t possibly bore any of us with what you have to say.”

Stesha’s gaze grows chilly. “Best of luck to your mate. I’m sure he’ll be content with second place. He’s had many years to get used to it.”

My eyes widen in indignation as he turns and leaves. Zabriel may be King of Maledin, but Stesha is prince of the cutting remark.

Esmeral and Calyx settle onto the ground to soak up the warm sunshine, and I huffily slide down my dragon’s stomach and rest against her.

“Is the dragonmaster going to win?” Ravenna asks me, sitting cross-legged against Calyx.

“Of course not. Zabriel will win.”

Ravenna turns to Zenevieve. “I hope one of them will win. What is your opinion, Zenevieve?”

Zenevieve seems lost in thought as she watches Stesha return to his dragon. She sits down next to us, still stroking Calyx’s neck. “Hm? Well, Stesha always wins when he and Zabriel spar.”

“Not these days,” I tell her. “What about their dragons? Who would you say is faster, stronger, and has better stamina? Scourge or Nilak?”

No one could possibly say it’s Nilak.

Zenevieve muses on this. “I don’t know. They have never outright competed. Those two dragons are excessively polite to each other at all times. They have to be because it’s their job to protect the flare and all of Maledin. They fly into battle together. Stesha and Zabriel need them to work together.”

“I guess we will find out,” Ravenna says.

Calyx has fallen asleep again. The three of us are quite cozy between the two Omega dragons, and I find myself leaning against Esmeral’s stomach and growing sleepy in the warm sunshine.

“Of course, Kane may surprise everyone and beat both the king and the dragonmaster,” Ravenna says.

“I wouldn’t have thought he has a strong enough bond with Auryn to win any events,” I reply.

“If that were the case, Auryn would have torn Kane to pieces by now, especially after he was poisoned,” Zenevieve points out.

---