Page 61 of The Flame King's Queen

Nearby, Isavelle is preparing with Esmeral, checking over her dragon’s scales and talons, her movements filled with nervous energy.

I go to my mate and take her hand, and go down on one knee. “Good skies to you, my queen. How are you feeling?”

Isavelle cups my cheek. “Nervous. I want the people to be proud of me and Esmeral. This might be the first look many of them are getting at two Omegas.”

She’s worried about looking weak and stupid in front of hundreds of people who are disposed to think of Omegas as weak and stupid. “You will never be anything but our formidable queen. Who fought Auryn and never received a scratch? Who brought all the villagers of western Maledin home? Who awoke the king beneath the mountain?”

Isavelle smiles. “Put like that, this event doesn’t seem like too much after all.”

“Exactly.” I get to my feet and kiss her. “I will be cheering for you, my queen. Thank you for gracing me with your colors.” I touch the golden ribbon tied around my arm, and then return to Scourge.

The Temple Crone arrives among us, and by her side is a very young, very frightened-looking Temple Maiden. She looks small and slight in the swaths of scarlet cloth.

“Please meet Janeza, our newest spellbreaker. She has been learning the protective incantation to repel the sound of the namyrs for several weeks. From now on, when you go into battle, she will be with you, and today she will show you her abilities.”

Janeza visibly swallows and takes a quick glance around us. It must be daunting to have so many dragonriders staring at her, but I give her a warm smile.

She turns pale, ducks her head in fearful respect, and squeaks, “M-Ma’len.”

So much for reassuring her.

Crowds have assembled atop the castle battlements to watch the competition. A Temple Maiden wearing a blindfold takes a folded piece of parchment from a golden cup, and the Temple Crone reads the name written on it aloud. Verdun is the first dragon to compete, and she and her rider Calliope move to the other end of the dragongrounds where three namyr players are assembled.

With a nod from the Temple Crone, the first namyr player lifts her instrument to her lips and sounds a single note. I feel a shudder pass through the dragons and a blaze of irritated fury from Scourge.

The Temple Crone turns to the spellbreaker. “Janeza.”

The young woman takes a deep breath and lowers her head. As she slowly raises her arms, I see flickers of red dragon magic in her eyes, her fingertips, and faintly in the sky above us.

The Temple Crone nods to the namyr player again, and this time when she plays, we hear it, but it’s muffled. The dragons ruffle their wings and watch the musician with narrow eyes.

A steady drumbeat begins, timing the event, and Verdun and Calliope approach the cliff face. Verdun is a practiced battle dragon, and I expect the pair to do well together, and they do, working steadily as a pair so that Calliope can snatch down flags. When the second and third namyr players join the howl, Calliope does little but beat her wings a few times in annoyance.

A few of the less experienced dragonriders around me start to relax. They made it look easy, but I know it’s anything but easy.

“Verdun and Calliope, successful completion of the Three Howls in two hundred and eighty-seven drumbeats,” the Temple Crone announces.

The crowd cheers. People clap their hands, and dragons beat their wings. It’s a good result, and I congratulate a smiling Calliope and her dragon as they return to us.

Omaira and her rider Menelope compete next. Omaira is visibly upset by the namyr playing, and the pair move slowly through the task. When a second instrument joins the howl, she flaps her wings in distress and lifts all four feet off the ground. Dragon and rider have signaled the end of their participation. Everyone cheers and applauds good-naturedly as the pair return to our side of the dragongrounds.

Merrex and Sundra are next, and I watch them closely. Like Calliope and Verdun, this battle-tested Alpha pair is likely going to do well. And they do. By the end of the event, Sundra has tucked all the colored flags into the waistband of her breeches, and when she does a victory twirl with a huge smile on her face, they flutter around her.

I exchange looks with Stesha as the result is called. One hundred and ninety-two drumbeats. That’s the time to beat.

Nilak and Stesha are called forward to compete next. The drumbeats begin, and Stesha’s bad-tempered dragon makes no show of hiding how much she loathes the sound of the namyr, and one of her back feet slams repeatedly against the ground as she and her rider work through the task. As soon as Stesha holds the last colored flag aloft for the judges to see, Nilak screams in fury and launches into the sky, flying a lap of the dragongrounds, and returning to the rest of us and the safety of Janeza’s spell.

The dragonmaster slides neatly to the ground. Nilak rests her huge head on his shoulder while he caresses her snout and speaks softly to her.

One hundred and ninety-nine drumbeats. Merrex and Sundra are still in the lead, but that was close.

Next is Kane and Auryn, and a hush drops over the crowd as the yellow dragon paces slowly and heavily to the base of the cliffs. From his stiffly held wings and darting eyes, Auryn already seems on edge.

The drumbeats begin, and the first namyr plays. Kane is reaching for the first flag, but instantly Auryn rebels. The rider has to grasp the dragon’s back ridges with both hands to prevent himself from being tossed to the ground. The ferocious yellow dragon slams his talons against the ground and shakes his head as if a bee has flown into his ear canal. For a moment it seems as though Kane is going to lose control of his dragon, but the rider is able to focus his mount, and he snatches the first flag. He seizes a second and is about to grasp a third when Auryn rears up again, and belches dragonfire high into the air.

There are jeers and booing from the crowd. A rider who can’t reassure his dragon is a weak rider. Still, once Auryn has made his protest known, he and Kane continue with the event, albeit slowly, and manage to collect every flag.

As soon as the last one is collected, Auryn roars and leaps into the air, a golden streak in the sky, and disappears from view beyond the castle.

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