Page 59 of Wild Flame

“Rin,” I repeated.

Everyone in Palasia knew the story of the thief that bonded a dragon despite being too old to do so. She had been twenty years old when she bonded the famous Jade Dragon, and it was usually unheard of to bond after your twelfth or thirteenth year. Then, she trained to become a dragon rider and passed the rider trials all in under a year—also unheard of.

“You may call me Leida,” I found myself saying.

Her grin broadened, and I realized she was quite striking with her pale hair and flashing eyes. And that grin—wild and guileless, yet somehow still shrewd. It made me think of Helene. She gestured to the dragon on her shoulder. “This is Skye.”

Skye had been staring at me curiously with wide emerald eyes since the pair had approached me.

“Skye,” I murmured and bowed my head slightly to the creature. She gave me a nod of acknowledgement back. The dragon was beautiful and uniquely colored, her scales shifting from cream to the darkest dusky green.

“I met your sister during the trials,” Rin said. “I liked her. You’re—”

“Different?” I ventured sardonically.

She shook her head. “I was going to say you’re not what I expected. I thought you were twins.”

I took a sip of my wine. “We are, but I take after our mother.”

She nodded. “Have you enjoyed your time here in Zehvi? We only just arrived for the coronation, and I feel like I want to see everything.”

The woman seemed oblivious to the curious, wary, and speculative stares she garnered from those around her. I was used to it, and perhaps she was as well. Or maybe she simply didn’t care.

“I will be sad to leave,” I admitted, refusing to let my gaze even twitch in Malik’s direction.

As if she could sense where my thoughts had gone, she mused, “So, is it true?”

My brow pinched. “True?”

“All I’ve heard all day is how Prince—I mean—King Malik has been paying you special attention since your arrival. I’ve seen for myself how he can’t keep his eyes off you, but . . .” She trailed off when she took in the suddenly uncomfortable look on my face. Her expression immediately turned contrite. “I’m sorry, Leida. I shouldn’t have asked. Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me and—”

“It’s fine,” I told her, seeing she was truly sincere. “I find it . . . refreshing, actually.”

Rin looked relieved, then a playful light lit her eyes, and she grinned again. “So is it true, then?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. This woman. Instead of finding her persistence rude as I might have in others, I instead found it endearing. Then I found myself countering with the same unabashed frankness, “Is it true that you and your queen’s spymaster are lovers?”

If rumors were to be believed, she was with Kyan Rakim, one of the three leaders of the Baldorian Rider Council, and one of the deadliest men on the continent.

Rin grinned at my equally impertinent question, but before she could speak, a deep voice confirmed, “That is true.”

We both looked towards the man who now stood at Rin’s shoulder. He was tall, with dark hair and lightly bronzed skin. I would have said he was Zehvitian, save for his shockingly blue eyes. His frame was broad and muscular, and I could just make out a hint of a tattoo on one arm peeking out from under the black dragonscale armor there. His expression remained neutral, while those blue eyes were like ice, cold and sharply assessing as he studied me. He was devastatingly handsome and utterly terrifying. I didn’t need Rin’s introduction to know who I was looking at. Commander Kyan Rakim was exactly what I thought he’d be.

Rin smiled up at him and greeted in a rather teasing tone, “Hello, commander.”

Commander Rakim said nothing, but he wasn’t able to disguise the hint of warmth in his eyes as he looked down at Rin. The devotion there . . . My heart clenched at the sight of it.

It was only as I glanced down that I finally took note of the menacing black dragon standing beside Rakim and staring directly at me.Realms!I gulped and only just stopped myself from taking an unconscious step back, clutching the talisman in my pocket. The beast was so large in his minor form that his head came up past his rider’s waist. He was even larger than Azrun.

“Naasir,” Rin scolded. “Stop it. She is not a threat.”

Skye fluttered down from Rin’s shoulder to land beside Naasir. To my shock, the much smaller female rubbed her body against his legs, and the black dragon bent down to nuzzle at her in response, releasing a contented huff as he did. Skye responded with a preening chirrup.

“You’ll have to excuse them,” Rin said. “They’ve recently mated and are, quite frankly, insufferable when they are together.”

Naasir released a rumbling growl, and Rakim shot him a warning glare. Dragon and rider stared at each other a moment before he returned to greeting his mate.

Unexpected humor bubbled up inside me at the interaction. But deciding it might be prudent to change the subject, I asked, “How long do you both intend to stay in Zehvi?”

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