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That made him finally look away. His heart was too broken for him to want anyone to see.

“So, Thane.” Ronan plopped down in the seat next to him. “Will this new enemy bring other dragons?”

“Many.”

He nodded. “What else?”

“Frost giants, trolls, halfgods, goblins, monstrous creatures from other realms you’ve never heard of. Gods and goddesses who can’t be killed by any mortal weapon.”

“Mmmm sounds perilous, I like. These little squabbles with other dragon clans don’t get me all riled up anymore and a dragon craves battle. When will this happen?”

Thane lifted a shoulder. “It’s already been a few weeks since the portals opened. They’ve sent smaller-scale attacks. Soon they will have gathered enough fighters to invade. They won’t come here without certainty of victory.”

“And what of your elven curse? If the Black Mage is on your side, has he ended it?”

“He will use them to fight.”

Ronan shook his head. “Thane...”

“I know.” He had the same hesitancy after spending years fighting against them. “But they are loyal to him. He created this army for this purpose. The curse just went further than he thought it would.”

“Piper told me what he is to you. It’s all sort of mind-boggling if you ask me, but can he be trusted? If they turn on us…” He folded his arms and they both looked out as another wyvern in a cage rose up out of the ground. This one was both taller and broader, and forest green. The extra-long spikes along its spine made it a barbed-backed wyvern. Thane had seen many wyvern fights in his previous life. Size didn’t always matter, but barbed-backs were notoriously vicious. The two wyverns began to hiss and snarl at one another from across the arena.

“If the pale ones turn on us, then we all die, but he wants this revenge. He’s obsessed with it. He won’t let that happen.”

“What if he turns them against us on purpose so he adds more to his army to control? We’ve dealt with him in the past. We know his nature.”

“If he did, he would lose Valeen, and he won’t risk that, because there is one thing he wants more than he wants revenge, and that’s her.”

He took in a deep inhale through his nose. “Males do insane things for a female, don’t they?” He patted Thane’s back. “Enjoy the show.” He got up and went back to Piper at the railing. She barely reached his shoulder in height, and was petite in comparison, but somehow, they fit. He ran his fingertips across her shoulder blades then leaned down to whisper something in her ear. She looked up at him with an expression that said she was both scandalized and intrigued. After being around all the Ravens for so many years, she heard too much to be naive to the ways of males, but she was different with Ronan—more demure, like he tamed her warrior and brought out the feminine side inher. Maybe because with him she could simply be Piper rather than trying to prove her strength.

It was another hour before the stands filled and the cage around the green, barbed-backed wyvern dropped. Katana sat forward, chewing on one of her nails as the two beasts collided midair. The hit sounded like a crack of thunder, and the snarls like the terrifying sounds of a nightmare.

“All Mother above,” she whispered as the red bit into the arm of the green and drove it to the sandy ground. They wrestled and rolled, snapping and clawing. “Is this to the death?”

“I’m not getting in there to stop it,” Ronan said over his shoulder. “No one else is either.”

The fight went on for a good twenty minutes before the red got ahold of the green’s throat and tore it out. The crowd erupted into cheers, chanting, “Kane! Kane! Kane!” The red pressed his massive paw on the dead green’s belly and roared.

Three dragon shifters in their beast form came out of doors that opened in the arena walls. The main difference between the shifters’ dragons and the wyverns was size; the dragons were twice as large and had four legs with their wings out of their backs. The wyverns’ wings were part of their front legs.

A cobalt-blue dragon snapped at the red wyvern, a warning bark. It backed up with a hiss, but didn’t challenge him. Then two dragon shifters picked up the dead wyvern and carried him off, while the third raked the sand with its talons to spread the blood and clear the guts. The champion walked over to a door in the wall, scratched at it, and it opened to allow him inside.

“Is there more?” Katana sounded afraid of the answer.

“Oh, yes,” Ronan said with a grin. “It’s only getting started. A new pair will be out shortly.”

A door behind them clicked open and heels tapped on the stone. “Ronan, what is this surprise?”

Thane turned to find the Queen of the Dragons, Nyrovia, striding into the room. Her silver-blonde hair was a shade lighter than Ronan’s. They resembled each other, down to the icy-blue eyes and pale skin, like two winter storms. Her crimson, strapless gown hugged her bodice and flared at the hips.

“Hello, Mother. I invited friends.”

Thane made his way over to greet her, and she dipped into a curtsy. “Hello, again, High King Thane.”

Thane took her outstretched hand and kissed her knuckles. “Good afternoon, Queen Nyrovia. I hope you have been well.”

She smiled and her gaze drifted to Piper and the smile turned into something more pinched. “Always. What brings the High King of the elves and his companions to our home?”