Page 50 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

“I’m not leaving you,” I insisted.

“I’ll be fine.” He lifted his chin. “Go find Nyx and Jaxus.”

“No! Stay, bookworm. Watch us give your little friend a lesson in how dragons fight.” Koen said, his dragon’s grin setting my hairs on end. He looked from me to Luka. “You want to fight, don’t you, wannabe? It’s why you keep hanging around where you’re not wanted.”

My brows drew in. What was going on? It was clear this was an established issue between them and Luka, but he’d never said anything. How long had they been giving him a hard time?

“Go,” he pressed, drawing his dagger.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Koen growled. “I’ve been meaning to give her another flying lesson for so many years. You wouldn’t spoil my fun, would you?”

The three dragons closed in around us preventing my escape, and I knew this was going to end badly.

TWENTY-ONE

KIERA

Luka stood his ground when all I wanted to do was back away and run. Be anywhere but here. He was half their size, but he didn’t falter. I was in awe despite the deep concern I had for his mental state.

I couldn’t leave his side, though. He couldn’t take them on and I at least had magic with a mind to use it in ways that their pea brains had probably never even contemplated. I wouldn’t let him stand against them alone, even if fear almost had me paralyzed.

A low growl came from the mist beyond the flyers that I felt in my chest. “Step. Away.”

The dragons straightened but showed no sign of obeying the order.

Jaxus emerged behind them while his eyes, glowing gold with rage, found mine.

“Kiera, are you okay?” he asked, barely containing a snarl. His fury was palpable, and I knew he had heard everything.

“I’m fine.” I nodded.“You should have called me.”He spoke into my mind, hurt laced in with his anger.

Honestly, it hadn’t even occurred to me, but even if it had, I don’t think I would have.“I fix my own problems,”I informed him curtly in his mind so the rest could not hear.

“Or avoid them until they go away,” he grumbled low, so I only just caught it.

I jerked my chin in surprise. So far, I hadn’t known Jaxus to have such a smart mouth and it surprised me. He simply quirked a brow in challenge and then turned his attention back to the three meatheads trying to assert their dominance.

“Am I speaking in a foreign tongue? I told you to step away from my ryder.”

Koen scoffed, an act of blatant disrespect that shocked me. But they all took a step back.

Jaxus stepped around them, placing himself between Luka and me and the threat, hands on hips. Luka, not wanting to seem weak, stepped up beside him. I admired him for it as I wanted to cower and hide.

“Is someone going to tell me what exactly I walked up on?” he demanded, and I could sense it was as much directed at me as it was at them.

“Just making conversation,” Koen offered in a tone that clearly showed the lack of respect he felt for his leader. I wanted to ask Jaxus if he was facing this kind of insubordination all the time because it seemed like that might be the case. This lot was the absolute worst. I hated them all.

“It looked more like intimidation than conversation to me, flyer,” Jaxus returned.

Koen lifted his chin, nodding at Luka. “I was just talking to the healer. Her little friend here was acting the big male and needed to be put in his place. I was merely offering to help yourryder with her flying lessons. For old time’s sake.” He smirked, his companions tittering with juvenile laughter.

Jaxus went rigid.

I felt it, the tension radiated off him both physically and mentally.

“Kiera?”he said into my mind, deceptively softly.

“Yes?”

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