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Chapter One

I stared down at the Morilren Sea through a frame of dragon claws. This wasn”t my first time flying within the talons of a dragon, but it was the longest flight I”d taken. Flights actually. We had to break the journey in two, taking three hours to cross Sken and Vix to reach the coast. My Dragon escort and I had spent the night on Vix”s coast in a fishing village that smelled—wait for it—of fish. I know. Shocking. Gunrel, that”s the Dragon, didn”t like the fish smell so much. Nor was he impressed with the selection of entrees for last night”s meal. Yup, all seafood. But hey, it was fresh, and my fish—sauteed in butter and fragrant spices—was the best I”d ever had. And I”ve dined in the Royal Castle of Sken. That”s right. With the Dragon King himself. Well, not at his table, but near it. I was there by his invitation, as a thank you for my help with a beetle issue in Riscavik. No, I”m not a bug expert. I”m a Master of Vegetation. Yes, that”s a real title. I have a certificate and everything. I went to school for it. It took years to graduate.

So do not call me a gardener.

If anything, it”s more accurate to label me a scholar. But I”m a scholar who deals exclusively with plants. Which is exactly what brought me to my current elevation over the sea. Evidently, another Dragon King needed my services (there aren”t a lot of Masters of Vegetation around). I was hoping it wasn”t another bug problem, but it had to be big for him to send for me. And offer me so much gold. Enough that I could retire after this. Either the Dragon King didn”t give a shit about money or he had a huge job for me.

Then I saw something in the water below us. Something enormous.

“Holy shit!” I shouted up at Gunrel”s horned head. “Look! There”s a dragon down there.”

“What are you on about, human?” Gunrel angled his head to glare at me, but then his massive green eyes widened.

Because there, below us in the waves, was a surfacing sea dragon. That”s sea dragon in lowercase because it was in beast form. Its long, sinuous body could be seen clearly, even from our height, and it was impressive. It? Him? They? We”ll go with it. As I mentioned, it was in beast form, so I couldn”t tell its sex. The sea dragon was wingless but impressive. And glorious. As it lifted its horned and finned head, the sunshine set its scales to gleaming, turning what I”d thought was green into brilliant blue. Gunrel was a red dragon. Striking, to say the least, but he wasn”t iridescent. Oh, how I loved iridescent things. Some plants were iridescent, and a lot of bugs were. But I”d never seen an iridescent dragon. My heart felt as if it were flying from the sense of adventure filling it. As if I could have shot through Gunrel”s claws and just glided beside him.

The sea dragon lifted its head and roared.

Gunrel roared back, forcing me to cover my ears.

Worth it. So worth it. I could feel their roars in my bones. My teeth rattled. Oh, what a life I was living! And me, a mere human.

“I hope that was a friendly greeting,” I shouted. I had to shout, what with the wind and all. Conversation is not easy while traveling via dragon.

“It was,” Gunrel assured me. “We are simply acknowledging each other. It”s also a reassurance that I”m just passing over his territory.”

“Territory? Is that a king?”

“No. But all dragons consider their homes to be their territories, and the sea, this section of it at this moment, belongs to him.”

Him. It was a male. Nice to know.

“Ah.” I kept staring at the sea dragon until he dove. Even then, I watched him until I couldn”t make out his shape. “That was amazing.”

Gunrel snorted. “They are just Dragons who can breathe water. I”d rather fly.”

“You heard that?” I asked in a normal tone.

“Yes.”

“So, why have I been shouting?”

“I have no idea.”

I snorted a laugh and sprawled across Gunrel”s claws. “Unbelievable.”

“That”s what I was thinking. It”s as if you thought my senses had diminished in this form. If anything, they are sharper.”

“That wasn”t it at all. I thought the wind would mute my voice.”

“I have Dragon hearing. You could whisper in a storm, and I”d hear you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you”re all fabulous, and we humans are pathetic. I get it. You know what you should get? Over yourselves.”

Gunrel snorted a laugh. “You are a funny man.”

“Thanks.” I stuck my hand out between his claws and made waving motions through the air currents. “That”s what I”m going for. I like to laugh. I think laughter cures most anything.”

He snorted again. “You”d best watch your words around King Shaleros.”

“Why? I thought he didn”t care about anything?”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“I researched Latur after you conveyed his proposal. The book said, and I quote, ”Latur is one of the smaller Dragon Kingdoms, though very prosperous and known for the ferocity of its warriors. The current ruler is King Shaleros the Indifferent.”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Indifferent means that you don”t care about anything.”

“That is not precisely true in regard to our king.”

“You haven”t said much about him.”

Silence.

“That was me prompting you to tell me more about him,” I said.

Gunrel sighed, blowing a cloud of steam before us. The heat was nice since it was winter, although the temperature had been rising as we crossed the water, heading north. It was still chilly, especially up there, but nothing like it currently was in Sken. Shit, this was right down balmy compared to the ice kingdom of Sken.

“He can”t have earned that title through kindness,” I tried another prompt.

“It wasn”t through unkindness either,” Gunrel said, nice and vague.

“Oh, for the sake of the Gods, just tell me!” I huffed. “I”m flying halfway across Serai to work for the man. I need to know what I”m getting into.”

“Then you should have asked me about him earlier.”

I snorted. “You”re right. Why don”t you just turn around and take me back?”

“What?” Gunrel growled and lowered his head to me again, locking a glossy green eye on me. The slit pupil widened.

“Well, if you don”t tell me why he has that title, I don”t think I want to take the job.”

“Son of a human!” he growled.

“That”s exactly what I am. Don”t make it into a curse.”

Gunrel snorted. “Very well, Sebastian,” he emphasized my name. “King Shaleros is called the Indifferent because he lost his mate and survived.”

“What?” I whispered.

“Yes. No one knows how he managed it, but after Duchess Erelis died, King Shaleros became . . .”

“Indifferent?”

Gunrel snorted again. “Yes, but only to his emotions. He looks after his kingdom, maybe even better than before. But everything he does is methodical. He shows no rage, no humor, no pain, and certainly no affection. It”s as if he tore out his heart. Thus, he was named the Indifferent. At first, it was whispered behind his back. But then he overheard it and didn”t react. Not at all. And so it has become his moniker. If he felt anything, I”d say he liked the title, but it”s more that he doesn”t care.”

“That”s sad,” I said.

Gunrel let out another sigh. “I have served King Shaleros in his King”s Guard for six years now. At first, I thought him sad. But, as I said, he has no emotions. It becomes difficult to feel sorry for him when he doesn”t feel sorry for himself.”

“I still think it”s sad.”

Gunrel chuckled. “You will learn.”

“Is that land up ahead?” I leaned my head out through a space in his claws.

Gunrel turned to face forward, his long neck smoothly maneuvering his head without shaking the rest of his body. “Well spotted, human. Yes. That is the coast of Latur. It is good to be home.”

“Can you stop calling me ”human,” please?”

“Why? You said that it is not a curse.”

I chuckled. “Well, at least you”re not calling me a gardener.”

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