Page 25 of Wild Flame

Leif pulled me back as Malik and his dragon strode into the empty space that had been created, and Azrun transformed. The red dragon was larger than Virath, and I gaped at seeing his massive bulk up close. I had thought my father’s dragon was intimidating, but this creature was another thing entirely. Azrun was one of the largest dragons in Palasia, second only to the black dragon, Naasir, bonded to the Baldorian spymaster. His long black horns framed his mammoth head and ran along his entire back to his whiplike tail, merging with his crimson and scarlet scales.

“Enough, brother!” Malik cried. His dragon stood like a sentry behind him, arched his long, spiked neck and let out a ferocious roar that echoed around us, reverberating throughout my entire body as I covered my ears.

Several things happened at once. Amir took a faltering step back from Nilfren, Virath cowered and shifted back to his minor form, and a nobleman near me stumbled back, lost his footing, and collided with a lit brazier in front of one of the marble pillars. The bowl of flaming oil tipped precariously before crashing to the ground and spilling its contents everywhere. The fire spread quickly and suddenly all I could see were the flames before me.

I forgot about the dragons, the confrontation, and the others in the hall. All I could hear was the crackling of the orange flames and the feel of heat on my skin. I fought to keep the panic at bay and was failing miserably when large hands gripped my arms and yanked me back from the flames.

I blinked to find Leif’s familiar face staring down at me in concern as he pulled me to a safe distance. “Are you all right, Princess?” he asked, cupping my face.

His skin felt rough against mine and I quickly nodded, blinking several times as I sucked in a large gulp of air and forced my breathing under control.

“I’m fine,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile that was probably more of a grimace before he nodded and dropped his hand, though I could still see the concern in his deep-set eyes. We never spoke about it, but Leif had been there the day I was brought back to the castle on a litter, my back a burned mess. He hadn’t known, however, about my resulting fear of fire.

He did now. I could see it in his eyes. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Then again, maybe he had always known. Helene could have told him during those many months I lay healing in my bed.

When I could finally focus on something other than my fear, I turned back to find the majority of the flames had already been put out, the broken furniture beginning to be cleared away, and the room set to rights. Amir and his dragon were no longer in the hall, and the musicians had started up again. But their efforts were in vain. The festive air of the celebration had been ruined, and I knew many would begin to seek their beds.

Across the hall, Azrun had shifted back to his minor form and stood beside Malik. One of Malik’s men was speaking to him, but the prince’s gaze wasn’t on him. It was on me. Considering. Those dark eyes moving stiffly between me and Leif.

Suddenly realizing how close Leif and I were standing, I made a point of putting some space between us. I also tried to look like my heart wasn’t still racing and my palms weren’t sweating from being scared out of my wits mere moments ago. But I knew those eyes of his missed nothing.

Leif’s jaw hardened as I stepped away, but he made no comment. Instead, he offered to escort me back to my room. I nodded and refused to acknowledge the continued stare I felt burning into my back as I left the hall.

Chapter Ten

The next morning, a stack of several scrolls arrived from Halmar. The one from Helene contained nothing of true importance, but it was the one I read first. I was grinning almost the entire time as she described a particularly disastrous flying lesson she had overseen with some of the younger riders. I ached to see her.

The second scroll had cold dread bubbling up inside me. It was sealed with black wax.

Silvanus.

I had known this was coming, but my hands still shook slightly as I broke the wax and unrolled the parchment.

Only two lines in a familiar pointed script.

Bile churned in my stomach. My first thought was that I needed to warn Zara . . . but how? How could I possibly warn her without implicating myself?Others have been sent.I had to protect her and keep this from happening.

All this went through my mind as I woodenly moved to the bedside table and lit the candle there, burning the scroll. After that, I was barely conscious of the guards following me as I made my way out into the hall. My mind raced as I considered and discarded several options, and I still wasn’t sure what to do when I finally paid attention to my surroundings. I had wandered to a terrace at the back of the palace that looked out over the desert several stories below.

Deciding to clear my mind for a moment, I moved to the edge and leaned on my elbows, letting my hands hang over the stone rail. I could hear my mother’s censuring voice in my head as I did.

Stand up straight. Ladies don’t slouch.

I didn’t budge, enjoying the slight rebellion, as pathetic as it was. I closed my eyes and took in a breath of the warm desert air, trying to clear my mind.

When I finally opened them again, a flash of color caught my attention. My eyes were inexorably drawn to the two dragons flying in the blue sky a distance away. The sun glinted off their scales, creating gleaming fractals of light as they moved. I recognized the larger crimson dragon with midnight horns asMalik’s dragon, Azrun. Despite his immense size, the beast flew in an easy, graceful line, his scarlet wings outstretched, while the smaller sea-green female flew beside him. The female dragon was Priya’s. My heart clenched at the sight.

I wasn’t sure why it had. I had only had a few encounters with the man. And so what if he had lent me a book? That didn’t mean anything. Besides, he was insufferable with that cocky smirk and those too-knowing eyes. I thought of how he looked at me in the library and a shiver went through me. No man had ever looked at me like that, or if they had, I hadn’t noticed.

Get ahold of yourself, Leida!I thought. He was Zehvitian. Sensual looks and flirtatious smiles were practically in their blood. It didn’t mean anything to him. And here was the proof right before my eyes. He was spending time with the woman—the rider—he was actually interested in.

They had flown slightly closer, and now I could just make out Malik in the saddle. A moment later, I gasped when Malik freed his legs from the straps and stood up on Azrun’s back. Then I watched dumbstruck as he strode confidently out onto his dragon’s wing.

The thought of doing something like that made me queasy.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” a man’s voice said from behind me.

I turned to find Rajar Salim, Priya’s father, coming to stand beside me.

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