Page 67 of The Dragons’ Eternal Mate

“It’s one small fight with an old man. Orsen can do that with his eyes closed,” Grey reassured me.

“An old dragon. I don’t know if you know this, but dragons are fucking dangerous!” I ranted, running a hand roughly through my hair.

Bastian chuckled, and I whirled on him. “What are you laughing about?”

“I don’t know if you know this, but we all happen to be dragons. Stop freaking out, mate.”

I snarled, “I am freaking out! I love you stupid idiots. I don’t want any of you hurt! I am sick and tired of having to patch you guys up!”

Orsen tugged me into his arms. “I will be fine. I promise, mate. We love you too much to leave you.”

“You know you’re quite adorable when you’re freaking out,” Nix commented.

My hands reached for the first item I could find, which just so happened to be a throw pillow, hurling it at his head.

“If you think this is cute, you’re about to think I’m downright adorable,” I hissed, lunging toward him—only to be stopped when Orsen wrapped an arm around my waist from behind, holding me in place.

“Rowan. Mate. Please, let’s not maim any of our clanmates.” He buried his head in my hair, and every ounce of fight left me as I sagged in his arms.

“I’m scared,” I admitted in a small voice.

“Rowan…” Orsen turned me in his arms.

“The last time I saw a challenge, Griff nearly died.”

“Shit…” Greylen trailed off.

I sniffed. “How much do you know about what happened to him?”

Orsen sat down, dragging me onto his lap. “We know it was a challenge gone wrong, but he’s not told us many details. By the time he came back, he was still healing. That has to be some of your best work, by the way.”

I snorted lightly. “Thank you. He got into a challenge over something dumb, but the assholes decided not to play by the rules. It was three against one, and their claws were poisoned.”

Those months of healing Griff had been difficult. He had been grumpy and belligerent the first few weeks while the venom worked out of his system, but eventually he became the Griffin I know and love.

“That wasn’t a real challenge; it was a sham.”

“What’s to stop Byron from pulling some underhanded shit like that, though?” I asked, voicing my worst fears. “He must have something up his sleeve to willingly enter a fight with a much younger, stronger dragon.”

“Claws will be checked beforehand. There are so many witnesses; there’s no way he will try to do something underhanded. Both the hordes will be in attendance, watching closely.”

“For some reason, that isn’t comforting,” I muttered.

Bastian grimaced. “I think you should stay at the den when the challenge happens. There could be some stray dragon fire shots.”

My chest went cold.

Dragon fire.

Usually, my instinct was to avoid it at any cost.

Only, my mates were going to be there. I knew for a fact there was no way that Nix, Bastian, and Grey would let Orsen enter a challenge on his own. They would be standing on the sidelines, watching over him, protecting him.

“No.” I shook my head. “You need a healer there. There has to be a healer present at every challenge. I don’t trust whichever healer Byron brings with him. For all I know, he’s going to bring another Jenkins, who is more likely to hurt rather than heal.”

“Thank the gods above that the actual Jenkins is dead.” Bastian chuckled.

Usually, each side brought their own healer, but it was an unspoken rule that a healer would help either party once the challenge was over. I didn’t exactly like the idea of helping Byron, and I really didn’t want to, but if it meant I got to be there to take care of Orsen if he needed it, I would accept the duty. Then again, if he brought his own healer, I was off the hook.