Page 74 of Dragon Fight

“Now we begin the process of familiarisation,” the king said. “Over the next few weeks these candidates will visit the eggs often as Zafira cares for them. The bonding process begins even in the shell, each dragon selecting the young man or woman that they will bond with.”

Not allowing them to just choose willy nilly from the population, or to bond with no one at all.

The crystal egg at the queen’s breast began to glow as she gestured for the candidates from each duchy to step out onto the sand. She held the stone on her necklace up, watching it glow brighter and brighter, as if it would ward the broody Zafira away. Her dragon seemed transfixed by it, going perfectly still as a stream of boys and small clusters of girls were ushered closer, but one in particular made my whole body stiffen.

Beatrice’s red hair gleamed in what light there was, as if absorbing illumination meant for others, and somehow that was appropriate. She traded a sly smile with the queen, nodding with a show of respect, but it felt like much more. A moment of recognition amongst thieves perhaps, because that’s what they were about to do. Steal the damn future out from under everyone’s feet.

I could accept another woman as queen. Gods knew I didn’t want the throne. My eyes slid sideways, finding Draven straight away and he stared back at me, not at the cluster of young women who came to stand beside the queen dragon’s clutch, warily edging closer. It didn’t feel like there was time, space, sand or anything between us as it felt like his mask slipped for just a moment.

And then there he was. The man who’d whispered such desperate words against my skin, right before his lips and teeth and hands and tongue ground each one in. Those heated declarations of how I was his and he was mine. But there was a reason why he didn’t dare show that side of himself too often.

“Looks like the prince is not the problem.” The duke stared back at us with the kind of look men used when buying a horse on market day. I was shocked when he didn’t step closer and check my teeth. “I think he sees exactly what we see.”

“Draven!” His head whipped around at the girlish cry of his name. Beatrice clasped her hands to her chest in a gesture so bloody coquettish I wondered how she could do so without bursting out laughing. “You’re the only rider on the sands. You need to keep your future wife safe as I’m not sure if Zafira thinks we’re future bondmates for her babies or her next meal.”

“Yes, come closer, Draven,” the queen said, shooting me a piercing look before smiling at her son. “One of these lucky girls will become your wife. With proper introductions and familiarisation, the process should be a smooth one.”

Unlike with me. Draven hadn’t come to my estate with the egg, distancing himself from the whole process. It had only been when word was sent that I’d bonded with Glimmer, that then he’d roused himself. He’d sneered, smirked and ordered me around during our all too brief courtship and that’s what made this hurt so much. Whether he was a bloody good actor or following his own heart, the man who stepped in to watch over the ladies clustered around the eggs wasn’t my Draven.

His heart remains true,Glimmer told me, staring into my eyes.

True to what?I shot back.I’m not sure if that was ever established.

Because it killed me to listen to him pitch his voice in a low and friendly tone, his arms going out when one of the girls stumbled in the sands, righting one with a smile, then withdrawing respectfully. But the girl? She flushed at the attention, only belatedly looking back at the nest when another woman let out a little squeal of surprise as the eggs rocked slightly. He stepped in though, instructing them on what to do, getting all of the young men and women to crouch down and cluster close. When he held his hand out to hover over the eggs, they did the same, following his lead like a class full of students with their teacher. He was polite, gentle, helpful in ways he’d never been with me.

“You can’t trust us men,” Flynn rasped in a low voice.

“What?”

“You can’t trust the way we act or speak, especially not him.”

Flynn didn’t look at me, didn’t dare do so, not with so many eyes on the whole den, watching and waiting to see who would do what and formulating their own responses to that.

“We lie and we lie,” Flynn continued, his mouth twisting into a mirthless smile. “Even to ourselves. Especially to ourselves, because we’re too frightened to say what we really feel.”

The look Flynn gave me was a familiar one, full of searing heat, but so much more. Seeing it here, with such a potentially dangerous audience, had my heart clenching.

“Because to put everything out there for all to see?” He shook his head slightly. “Well, that’s always a dangerous thing, no matter your situation or standing. Then everyone knows what’s truly in your heart.” He reached out then, just shifting his hand into the small space between us, daring to graze my finger with his. “And they can use that against you.”

My focus was split entirely, my senses following that small caress, my skin coming alight at Flynn’s touch. And then my eyes? They followed the way the prince moved, measuring the distance between him and the other women, narrowing down when Beatrice placed her hand on his shoulder in an overly friendly way. She seemed to acknowledge as she glanced over her shoulder, managing to look into my eyes for just a second before Zafira shifted tighter around her eggs, making clear the Gathering was done.

46

The Gathering was over now, just the first step in the familiarisation process between the potential candidates and the embryonic dragons. There would be many much more low-key events going forward where the candidates would come to sit beside the growing dragons and try and impress upon them before the beasts even cracked their shells.

“You’ll sit with us,” the duke said, gesturing to a long table in the mess that had been dressed up with a fancy tablecloth and even fancier serving ware.

“The corps doesn’t recognise birthplace or station,” Flynn replied smoothly, putting a ‘friendly’ hand on my shoulder and going to steer me away. “We riders sit together as a wing.”

“Of course.” The duke sketched a simple bow to me, which was odd as he far outranked me. “We’ll catch up tomorrow night for dinner as a family. Perhaps you could bring the lovely Pippin and Glimmer?”

“With my husband?” I asked, my question feeling like it hung in the air. “I, of course, would hate to reject your kind offer, but going to have dinner with a bunch of strange men without Brom wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“And here was I thinking you were a woman of the world, unconstrained by social mores,” the duke answered with a smile.

“No woman is unconstrained by social mores,” I replied before doing my best to curtsey in my cadet’s uniform. “Least of all me. Now if you’ll excuse me?”

Do humans ever just say what they think?Glimmer asked me as we walked away.This must be what comes from not being able to link minds and share your thoughts. You all pretend you feel one thing when in truth it’s the opposite.

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