Page 12 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

“In past centuries, the horde tested that magic by attacking. They were swiftly defeated every time. Eventually, they realized that the goddess spoke true and they would never be a match for us. Now… the horde knows our family’s magic has been weakening since my husband died.”

My mother glances at me. There’s no blame or even disappointment in her words, but I feel a pang of guilt all the same. I’ve taken too long to ascend, and now, our people are paying with their lives.

Her grim expression lightens a little as she adds, “We will show them the full strength of our dragon king soon enough.”

“All hail the king,” Mag says with more sarcasm than he should.

I glare at him.

“We feared the worst with your disappearance,” Leo says quietly. “We thought maybe the horde had taken you, but when there was no ransom, no taunting… Some feared you had been killed.”

“I am alive and ready to fight,” I assure him, still not sure how to explain my sudden departure—or the fact that we left behind an enemy even more powerful and deadly than the orcs. “How many have we lost?”

“The first two villages were completely wiped out,” Leo says. “Our people just weren’t prepared. Since then, we’ve managed to relocate civilians from the outlying towns to the larger ones with more defensive structures in place. Our numbers are holding.”

He doesn’t have to addfor now.

“In between battles, we planned the wedding between Leo and Esma,” my mother adds tightly.

It’s clear she wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of welcoming Esma into the family. I can’t blame her.

“But would that have returned your dragon magic?” Paige asks, concern pinching her brow.

“It was a Band-aid at best,” Leo says. “Mostly because Esma isn’t my mate—in case you couldn’t tell.” He winks, but his grin vanishes quickly as he adds, “It was a gamble whether an unmated pair would have the same effect on our magic, but the council agreed that we had no choice but to try.”

“I take it you haven’t had the chance to be paraded past all of the beautiful maidens yet, then,” I tease.

“Oh, Mother did her best, believe me.” Leo rubs his hands together with glee. “Though, now that I am free, I think I would appreciate that parade very much.”

Bingo sits up from his place on the rug and snarls.

“Calm down, Bingo,” Paige says.

Leo turns toward the large black hound. “What’s wrong? Do you want to join me for the parade?”

“I think he just wants to make sure you don’t bring home any more flamingos,” Mag puts in.

“No more flamingos, I swear it,” Leo vows, his hand held up in oath.

My mother rolls her eyes and sighs, but even she is smiling as the rest of us join in the laughter.

Bingo seems a bit mollified, especially as Leo starts to feed him slivers of pheasant from his plate.

“So, if I have this straight,” Blossom says to me, “Your kingdom is jointly ruled?”

I nod. “Precisely.”

“By a dragon and his mate,” she continues.

“Well, the dragon could be a female,” I say, “but in recent generations, the dragon who has ruled has always been a son. Dragons tend to have more sons than daughters.”

“I am not a dragon,” my mother explains. “I am a fae, but as I was my husband’s fated mate, I ruled as his equal. And my children are both dragons.”

“Equal opportunity monarchy, I like it.” Blossom slowly nods and then winks at Paige. “Hear that, Paige? Your babies will all be dragons.”

Paige’s face flushes at that. Under the table, I find her hand and squeeze.

“I always knew you would go places, kid, but to become a full-blown queen? That’s impressive,” Mag says.

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