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I get back to my digging, but I’ve only managed to extricate three tsetsor tubers from the ground when we’re interrupted by yet another dragon.
A huge, majestic white creature flutters gracefully to the ground and gleams a more radiant white than the snow. Its rider, dressed in white and tan leathers, swings his leg over the saddle and slides to the ground. I immediately recognize his haughty expression and long white hair.
Stesha.
He pretends to ignore me, turning around to check his dragon’s harness, so I ignore him.
Esmeral is gazing in awe at the beautiful white dragon, which is nosing around in the snow. Stesha pulls his riding gloves off one finger at a time as he watches her chewing on something crunchy. The dragon comes closer and closer to the patch of ground where I’m working.
I call out to him, “Is your dragon eating tsetsor tubers?”
Stesha doesn’t look at me. “Dandelion roots. She likes them in the winter.”
And he brought her here? That dragon has the whole world in which to dig for dandelion roots. “Did Zabriel tell you to keep an eye on me? He needn’t be so overprotective when I have my bodyguards.”
Stesha snorts in disgust. Even the white dragon pauses in her digging to glare disapprovingly at me. “I don’t babysit for other Alphas.”
But as he says it, he glances at Esmeral.
Maybe he’s here for her, not me. That would make more sense.
As I continue to work, Stesha keeps his eye on the turquoise dragon. She’s figured out what I’m digging for and scrabbles in the dirt with her talons. She uncovers a tuber, grasps it with her teeth, and pulls.
“Esmeral, please don’t—” The tuber snaps in two, one half in the ground and one half in the dragon’s mouth. I sit back on my heels and sigh. “This dragon does whatever she wants.”
“Annoying, isn’t it?” Stesha mutters.
Irritation prickles down my spine. He’s finding new ways to tell me I’m a brat.
Realizing I don’t want it anymore, Esmeral chews the broken tuber and swallows it down. While I’m glaring at the dragonmaster, she sidles up beside me and sticks her head in my basket, which I quickly hold out of her reach. “Don’t eat those. They’re for the Temple Crone, and I don’t know if they’re good for dragons.”
Esmeral gives an apologetic trill and steps back.
I watch her for a moment, wondering if she understands what I’m saying to her. She really is a pretty dragon. Hesitantly, I reach out and stroke my fingers along her smooth neck. Her scales are nothing like I’ve ever touched before. Supple and smooth, with a slight ridge where each scale meets. The scales are thicker and tougher along her spine and legs, but the underside of her neck is soft. Esmeral closes her eyes as I stroke her, delighting in the attention.
While I stroke her, my attention strays to the white dragon. It seems vaguely familiar somehow, and I realize why. I’ve seen it before in the skies during the invasion and along the Proxen Road when Zabriel stole me back from the Brethren.
“Is this your dragon?” I ask Stesha.
“She is. This is Nilak,” he says, and a proud look comes into his eyes.
I watch as the man who called me a brat reaches out to touch his dragon, his expression softens as he caresses the enormous white beast. He loves his dragon. Totally adores her. I wonder if he’s ever felt the same way about a person. Somehow I doubt it.
While he’s in a relatively good mood, I risk continuing the conversation. “I think I saw you during the invasion. Well, I saw Nilak. After I was nearly sacrificed and ran away, I saw her in the skies.”
“Yes, I was searching for the runaway instead of doing the thousand other things I should have been doing to reclaim my country,” he says, with an edge to his voice.
Stesha’s good moods have shorter lifespans than hot cups of tea.
“I saw you again on the Proxen Road. An archer shot at Zabriel and Nilak grabbed him and threw him out of the circle of fire.”
“Yes, I know. I was there. I killed for you that night.” He flicks me a glare. “You’re welcome.”
Irritation spikes in my chest. I was going to compliment Nilak for being such a formidable and talented dragon, but now I’m not going to. “You killed the Brethren Guard because Zabriel ordered it. You didn’t do it for me.”
“Yet here you are, alive and safe at the capital, thanks in part to Nilak and me.”
I roll my eyes and go back to digging, vowing that the wordsThank you, dragonmasterwill never pass my lips. I dig up four more tubers, resenting Stesha’s presence more and more. “I wish you’d take Nilak to look for dandelion roots somewhere else.”
