Page 20 of Dragon Fight

Don’t get hurt again, she replied, as she pulled away,so I’m not forced to.

And with that she jumped off the bed, nudging the door open with her muzzle before leaving the room.

“Gods, Pippin.”

That was the only warning I got before Ged rolled closer again and pulled me to him, holding me so hard I had to fight to take a breath, but I didn’t mind. I just rested my head against his chest and focussed on in the beat of his heart.

“Whiskey’s fine, the stupid beast, but you…” He held my head to his chest then stroked his hand back and forth, over and over, and I closed my eyes in bliss at the sensation of his touch on the velvety fuzz that my hair had now grown to. “Never do that again, ever.”

“I didn’t mean—” My sentence was interrupted by the door being suddenly thrust open to reveal Brom, with Soren and Flynn behind him.

“She’s awake?”

Each of them looked haggard and drawn. Brom rushed forward to my side, dropping down to take my hand in both of his when I rolled towards him.

“Gods, look at you…” he said in a reverent tone. “I thought—”

“We all did.” Flynn’s voice was sharp and hard, and so were his eyes. “I swore it was the hand of the gods, punishing us for this perfect pleasure, seeking what only the gods themselves must enjoy. But… Glimmer did this?” The sharpness in his tone fell away, and his jaw softened, as he seemed to allow himself to believe that I was alright.

“I think so,” I replied, reaching my other hand out to him, and he walked forward to sit beside me on the bed. He clutched at my fingers, like I’d tear them away again.

“Never heard of a dragon with that power,” Soren said, frowning as he moved to the foot of the bed to look down at me. “Not a queen, nor any male. Wraith didn’t know of any either.”

“Theyallseem bloody lost to explain what happened,” Ged said with a smile. “And even more smitten by your Glimmer. The sun shone from her arse before today. But now? Cloudy’s in my head the whole time, singing her praises.”

“He should sing them to her,” I told him with a smile. “She does love to be doted upon. But…” I grew serious as I looked at the four of them. “What happened? Do any of you know why Whiskey acted like she did?”

“Your horse had a devil’s burr under her saddle blanket.” The room grew crowded as Draven strolled in, shutting the door and locking it behind him. Taking a step forward, he reached into his pocket and produced a tiny piece of metal that looked like a geometric butterfly. Pressing it flat, he explained, “It’s a tiny thing made to lie flat under a horse’s saddle blanket, then spring loaded to release four blades.” As he took the pressure off the device it popped open, revealing each sharp edge. “They take a while to work their way through the blanket, making it easier for an assassin to put some distance between him and his target. Just like with Whiskey, the horse grows maddened by the sensation of having its flesh cut open by the blades, each thump of your arse in the saddle driving it deeper.”

The prince flattened it again, then tucked it into the pocket of his armour.

“The rider is thrown from the saddle, with the aim being that they will be either killed on impact or trampled by their mount, making the killer’s job easy and helping them avoid being detected.”

“Sorry to disappoint on that score,” I said. I breathed in sharply and stiffened, as I remembered his insistence on checking my saddle for fit. “And how is it you know so much about an assassin’s stock in trade?” My whole body felt ice cold, as though I’d plunged in a stream fed by the first snowmelts of spring. “Youput one in my saddle blanket when you forced me to let you check it.”

While the prince may have been used to being the centre of attention in every room he was in, it was never in the manner that every eye turned to him now. The silence that rose between us was thick with intent, my men’s gazes hardening as they waited for Draven’s response.

“I was checking to see if there was anything untoward with your saddle,” he corrected in a terse voice. “A job your… lovers will need to take on. You’re a liability, Pippin, no matter what you might think. You want to act like a minor noblewoman from some backwater, but you painted a target on your back the moment you bonded with Glimmer.”

Draven frowned slightly.

“But victims of the devil’s burr usually die of their injuries.” He looked me over more closely now, at least what he could see of me behind my mates. “You look—”

“Tired.” Brom got to his feet and stood between me and the prince. “My wife needs her rest after this ordeal, not more stress.”

It was clear that Draven wanted to say something to that, to push back. His brows knitted together, then smoothed as his habitual mask was resituated.

“Of course.” He nodded to Brom and then went to leave.

“The devil’s burr, Draven.” Had I ever heard Brom make such a direct demand of his prince before? Probably not, due to restrictions of rank, but… The prince stared up at him for a few heartbeats before shoving his hand in his pocket and placing the device in Brom’s outstretched hand. Then he turning and walked out without a word

“Someone’s trying to kill Pippin,” Ged said with a growl, pulling me closer.

“Again.” Flynn sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “I didn’t want to get my father involved in this at all, but—”

“Don’t.” Brom’s reply was quick and definite. “I understand the temptation to reach out to those who might support us but, as we saw at the ball, those with power are quick to make things become about their agenda, not ours.”

“So we keep the news within this circle,” Soren said with a nod. “Between us, there’s some brains and a lot of brawn. Seems to me it falls to us to find out who the hell is trying to kill our girl, even if we have to consider the threat is a royal one.”

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