Page 56 of The Flame King's Queen

“Now all may know who the queen favors in this event. May the best rider win.”

“Is this a human tradition?” I ask.

“It is. All the young men of my village hope to wear a girl’s ribbon during the festival games…” She trails off, and her smile fades as something catches her eye.

Kane walks by, and tied around his upper arm over his black witchfinder uniform is a pale green ribbon. I’m not certain, but it resembles the hair ribbons that Ravenna wears.

“Did Ravenna…?” I begin to ask.

Isavelle frowns, and shakes her head. “Ravenna dropped a ribbon the day he returned to Lenhale, and he picked it up. That’s not how the tradition is supposed to work.”

I look around for Ravenna, and see her standing at the edge of the dragongrounds among the hundreds of excited onlookers. From her dress pocket she draws a streamer on a stick and it flutters in the breeze. Many of the onlookers are waving such streamers in the air, a lot of them red and black for Scourge and myself, and some of them turquoise and gold for Isavelle, though she’s not competing in this event. It is her coronation day so it seems they have decided to show their support and love for the new queen. Ravenna’s streamers are white and blue. She’s supporting her one-time rescuer and the man Kane most hates. A fated Omega flying another Alpha’s colors. I would hurl myself from a clifftop if Isavelle ever did such a thing.

I scoop Isavelle into my arms with a groan as I imagine it too vividly, and I bury my face in her nape.

“Does it worry you to see Ravenna goading Kane like this?” she asks me.

“No, but I’m imagining how I would feel if that was us. I think I would die.”

Isavelle is watching everyone around us. “Kane looks like he’s about to explode into a million furious pieces. Auryn is looking at Nilak like he wants to rip her wings off. I hope this event doesn’t turn nasty.”

It’s probably going to turn nasty. Thankfully Kane is outnumbered, even with the support of three dragons and riders from his flare. I haven’t had the time to pay much attention to the riders and dragons Kane brought to Lenhale, but I want a closer look at them before the event begins.

I put my hand on Isavelle’s shoulder and point up toward the castle. “The best place to watch this event will be those battlements. From there you will be able to see the dragongrounds and the lake. The event will start very soon.”

“I will be cheering for you and Scourge with all the breath in my lungs,” she tells me with an excited smile.

I press a kiss to Isavelle’s lips, and watch her for a moment as she joins her bodyguards and then heads up to the castle. Esmeral gives Scourge’s flank one last affectionate headbutt and then flies up to the place on the battlements that I indicated so that she may watch the event with her rider.

I look around for Stesha. Nilak is easy to spot. She isn’t far away, and she has her proud, fierce head raised as she glares at Auryn. I join Stesha’s side and find him polishing Nilak’s talons with a soft, fuzzy cloth. His mood seems buoyant, and he greets me with a friendly nod.

“The Five Tethers event,” Stesha says with satisfaction. “Those feral dragons may as well go home now. We’ll destroy them.”

“Don’t be overconfident,” I warn him. “And this is a friendly competition. We’re not here to destroy anyone.”

The dragonmaster gives me a sharp look. “You needn’t be the fair and even-handed King of Maledin around me. You are fighting to win your queen’s favor and the respect of your people. The Five Tethers event favors dragons and riders with strong bonds, not whelps who are being carted around as their dragons’ next snacks.”

“All right. We’re going to beat them.”

Stesha nods, pulling on his pale leather riding gloves. “We are. And I’m going to beat you.”

“We’ll see about that. By the way, did you see that Ravenna is bearing a dragon’s colors?”

Stesha folds his polishing cloth and puts it in his pocket. “Let me guess. Not yellow and black, but blue and white.”

“Do you mind?”

“She already made it clear that she’s using me to irritate her mate.”

“She’s put a target on your back.”

“The strongest Alpha always assumes that the lesser dragons and riders will attempt to unseat him from the top of the pack. You should know that. But then again, it’s probably not something you’ve ever had to worry about.”

I roll my eyes. “No, I never considered that anyone might challenge me for my place. I’m only the King of Maledin.”

“Ah, well, you didn’t earn that place or fight to keep it. It fell into your lap. Hardly the same thing as Nilak and I being at the top of the flare.”

“What a prick you are sometimes. I can’t believe you’re my best friend.”

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