Zabriel and I catch each other’s eye, and then he grins and punches me lightly on the shoulder as he moves past me. “Try not to steal all the glory the first time we go on a group mission. You know Scourge and I can barely keep up with you and Minta.”
“We’ll try not to make you look too clumsy,” I call after him, and he laughs good-naturedly as he heads back to his enormous black dragon. Zabriel is one of the kindest, most even-tempered Alphas I’ve ever known. He must get his pleasant nature from his mother. He certainly doesn’t get it from his father.
Shar paces across the dragongrounds to greet his sister Minta. Shar is a dream of a dragon with glittering deep blue eyes and golden markings. The two dragons twine around each other happily in the afternoon sunshine, rubbing scales and butting heads.
I stroke Minta’s scales while I gaze around the dragongrounds for the man I have called my guardian for the past three years. Usually at this time of day, he’s inspecting his dragon’s wings or caring for another dragon. He’ll have his long white hair neatly tied at the nape of his neck, and I’ll admire the way his white shirt clings to his broad, muscular back. Stesha is the tallest Alpha in the kingdom. The best fighter. A thoughtful strategist. And though he’s not a patient teacher, he is a thorough one.
But Stesha is nowhere to be seen.
There’s a twinge of yearning in my heart, and I realize I was hoping he’d be the one to greet me as I returned frommy first official mission. I thought that things would change between us after I turned eighteen. I suppose they have, in a way, but for the worse. Some of the warmth has gone out of our relationship, and Stesha seems more distant and preoccupied. I don’t need a guardian anymore, but I’ve been reluctant to point that out to Stesha in case he decides I don’t need him and the shelter of his home any longer either. He may tell me to leave, and I really don’t want to. The two of us are so cozy in his apartment of rooms in the castle not far from the bridge to the dragongrounds. It would be even cozier if we didn’t just share a roof over our heads and our love of dragons, but a lot of other things as well. Personal things. Intimate things. Kisses. His bed.
Heat blooms in my cheeks. There’s an ache inside me, and it’s been there since I returned to Lenhale at fourteen. The ache has been growing stronger, and ever since I turned eighteen, it’s become almost unbearable. The only time the ache goes away is when I’m with Stesha.
Minta notices my hot cheeks and feels my yearning. She lowers her head and gently butts her snout against my shoulder. She’s long known about my feelings for the dragonmaster, and whether she believes there’s hope or not, she wants me to be happy. I stroke her sleek scales and see her emerald green eyes glimmering in my peripheral vision. Shar snuffles against my other cheek, his blue eyes like sapphires twined through with gold. While they’re both Beta dragons and nowhere near as large as Scourge or Nilak, they’re both bigger than houses.
Their tickling and snuffling make me forget my misery, and I laugh and cup their snouts. “You two are so sweet to me. Thank you.”
“Shar. Get away from her.”
The sharp, masculine command makes me open my eyes, and Shar flinches away. From across the dragongrounds, Prince Emmeric is striding toward us, nearly seven feet of powerful,angry Alpha. His hair is loose and silky black, and his eyes are burning blue. Shar lowers his head and backs away from me in such a cringing manner that it hurts my heart.
Minta gives Emmeric a low warning snarl.
Seeing how frightened Shar is, I say angrily, “Leave Shar alone. He was just greeting his sister.” It’s normal behavior for Beta dragons. They’re social creatures who crave the closeness of their flare.
“You’re making him soft by giving him too much affection,” Emmeric snaps. “He’s a battle dragon, not a cuddly toy.”
Emmeric wishes Shar would behave more like Scourge, Nilak, Merrex, or any of the Alpha dragons who rarely seek physical touch and whose attitudes are stoic. Nilak accepts Stesha’s grooming with her queenly head held high, and she will groom Betas and Omegas, but she doesn’t want the other dragons or riders to touch her. Scourge and Merrex won’t tolerate more than a firm pat on their flanks from their riders, and they dislike other dragons rubbing up against them. On the other hand, Shar, Minta, and the other Beta dragons are far more affectionate to each other. It’s in their nature to crave touch. A pang goes through me as I think of Stesha. I feel the same way.
“Shar wants to be caressed,” I tell Emmeric. “You should be proud of the dragon you have, not expect him to behave like a dragon you think you deserve.”
Emmeric’s lip curls, and he glances around for a reason to say something nasty. He doesn’t have to search far when he notices Stesha isn’t around.
“The dragonmaster is still ignoring you, even today when you’ve completed your first mission? How miserable for you.” Emmeric smiles with so much satisfaction that he reveals his dragines.
I don’t know why, but ever since I came to Lenhale, Prince Emmeric has resented my weakness for the dragonmaster. “You know nothing about me and Stesha.”
“There is noyou and Stesha, you stupid little girl. Alphas will fuck any willing Beta, but he’s never looked twice at you, has he?”
Humiliation pierces my heart. Seeing that he’s thoroughly spoiled my day, Emmeric laughs and saunters off. I feel sick to my stomach until two enormous figures stride right into the prince and knock him to the ground. Emmeric lands on his ass with his black hair in his face.
“Oh, sorry,” Zabriel says, not sounding the least bit sorry seeing his brother sprawled on the ground.
“Didn’t see you there,” Onderz says carelessly.
The two friends shoot surreptitious smiles at me, but I can’t manage a smile in return because I’m still thinking about what Emmeric said about Alphas sleeping with any Beta. But that’s not true. I mean, some Alphas take a lot of lovers, but Onderz has only ever had eyes for his mate, Mirelle, and Zabriel is waiting for his Omega. And Stesha…?
I would have noticed if Stesha had a fondness for Betas, or one particular Beta, wouldn’t I? But then again, he does have a habit of disappearing during his ruts, and I have no idea where he goes.
Unable to help myself, I turn and search again for the dragonmaster, needing reassurance that he hasn’t suddenly appeared with one of the hopeful unmated women who are often lingering around him.
My view of the dragongrounds has been blocked by an Alpha, Dandro, and his sky-blue dragon, Harkyn. Dandro watches Cariss, a pretty young woman in a black and silver wingrunner uniform, running across the dragongrounds and into his massive, welcoming arms. Dandro tilts her chin up andkisses her possessively. Her lips part, and he thrusts his tongue lovingly into her mouth. Cariss’s hands smooth up the Alpha’s biceps and wrap around his neck, and she’s lost completely in Dandro’s embrace.
My toes curl enviously in my shoes. It looks like a wonderful kiss.
“I can smell his rut from here,” Zabriel remarks.
Onderz nods. “We won’t see Dandro and Cariss for at least the next three days.”
