Page 81 of The Dragon Warlord

As if on cue, a portal opens, and out steps the dragon lord in full gear as if he expected he might have to head into battle. Behind him are Rayne and Brock.

Tristan’s mouth drops open. “But you …” He looks between Ikara and the dragon lord. Ikara’s blank gaze turns sheepish.

“He didn’t say no, okay? Of course, he said yes. Father has always wanted an ice dragon.”

Tristan’s body sears with heat as his dragon’s blood boils. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why send me and your children alone, putting us all at risk? We could have used the army.”

“You didn’t need a whole army. You did it all by yourself. Well done, Warlord.”

I’ll kill him, he says to me through our bond. Yeah. We have that now. I should probably be mad too, but we got so many things out of this foolhardy mission that I find it hard to regret it.

“Was this a test?”

“Yes. I wanted to see how far your training had come. Ikara handed me the perfect opportunity. I’ll take those bracelets back now, my dear.”

There’s a shimmer of copper as she removes bracelets that have a suspicious amount of sarsen stone in them. The Warlord sees what I see.

“You can’t make a portal from nothing, can you?” Tristan says.

Father shrugs. “Maybe or maybe not. Ikara can’t do it without those and a strong moon.”

The Warlord jostles behind me and stands us up, keeping a firm grip on my neck and then there’s a growl that turns into a snarl as he flashes his teeth. “They took my omega.”

“And you got to play the hero. Aren’t you two adorable?”

“I just spent the last hour hoping my skin and our bond was enough to wake him up from that fucking Wasteland beast spell.”

“It was. All is well that ends well, Omega. Now, it’s time for you to release your temporary hold on my ice dragon,” Father says.

Said ice dragon is stretched out in a way he probably hasn’t been in many years. He’s fast asleep surrounded by an aura of content that is likely the Warlord’s doing.

“What will you do with him?”

“First, I’m taking that hideous thing out of his neck and then it’s none of your fucking business.”

“Maybe I don’t take my hold from him, hmm?”

Tristan would challenge his master. He might do it less than he used to, but it’s an integral part of his personality. He’s less apt to do so over menial things, but I know he’s grown protective over his temporary charge, and he’s pissed off.

“I understand you want to protect him, pet. It’s in your nature to do so, but I can make you and while I’d enjoy it that route leads to punishment and you would not.”

Tristan fumes. He knows all of that too well. The warning must be due to Father’s good mood, getting an ice dragon, and witnessing the competence of his Warlord on the same day. There have been times Tristan’s chosen punishment, trying to make a point, but the dragon lord is never swayed, and it only ends with Tristan doing the thing he didn’t want to do and a welted backside.

“Do I need to remind you of your place?

“I know my place, Alpha.”

Tristan breaks the connection with the dragon and the dragon lord takes over seamlessly, without any trouble at all. The dragon doesn’t even wake up while Rayne and Brock head over to fuss with the evil collar.

“As for you,” Father continues, “I’ll allow the lapse in decorum, seeing as you were attending to your omega, but you haven’t come this far in your training from me being easy on you. What should you be punished for?”

“Punished? I deserve an award, maybe several. A party flowing with dragonmead. I destroyed every Wasteland beast in that fortress. I got you an ice dragon,” he tries.

“You know the answer. You have five seconds to tell me before I add—”

“My omega never would have been taken in the first place if I’d had proper protections over my rooms,” he says and sighs. “For that, I deserve at least one hundred lashes and I’ll take them admirably.”

The dragon lord sniffs. “I appreciated your dedication, but the price is five. You don’t have adequate protection over your rooms. Let this be a lesson to you.”