“You should understand this by now.” Vetr’s frosty gaze tookin the assembled group. “All of us should understand. We must know how to fight in our human form. We cannot always reveal our dragon.”
Vetr straightened. His big body, naked from the waist up due to his earlier sparring in the ring, rotated in a small circle so that he could meet everyone’s eyes.
He was an imposing figure. Like Fell, he was well over six feet with broad shoulders and a thickly muscled body. A warrior’s body, I would have thought before. Ihadthought before—of Fell, the first time I saw him. Now I realized my mistake. Fell’s body—Vetr’s body—was a dragon’s body, camouflaged in the skin of a human.
We spent most of our days walking about as humans. That was our natural baseline, our starting point, the way we were born, but the dragon was always there, even when not visible. Swimming beneath the surface, a viper beneath the water, ready to emerge when summoned.
Everyone nodded and murmured their understanding of Vetr’s words … of his authority. Except for Nayden.
“Why are you not angry ather? She can’t even control her blood yet. Is that not equally important? Doesn’t remaining in our human form also mean never revealing our dragon blood? Isn’t that what you taught us?” Nayden pointed to the damning evidence of the purple blood I’d spit out in the arena. I knew I’d be scolded for that mistake, but I had not imagined it would be by this brat.
I swallowed miserably. As much as I wanted to punch Nayden in the throat for flinging my weakness, my failure, in my face—in Vetr’s face—he was not wrong. No matter how hard I tried, the art of bytte, controlling one’s blood and keeping it red when in human form, was a struggle for me. Everyone else had mastered it because they had complete control over themselves, over their dragon. I’d come far, but this I still struggled to learn. As with many things.
“Until she can learn to do that, she’s useless!” Nayden got to his feet, his fiery eyes flashing in defiance. He crossed over to me and spat at my feet, narrowly missing the toe of my boot.
It was the wrong thing to do.
With a snarl, Vetr seized him by the neck and flung him through the air to the far edge of the ring. Nayden cried out as he landed and rolled directly into the border of rocks.
“Come now, Nay,” Kerstin called out in a chiding voice. “You’re just sore because you couldn’t best her without resorting to fire.” She shrugged. “Lucky for you, she didn’t do the same and useherfire on you.”
“I’m not scared ofher!” Nayden’s eyes sparked with such hatred as he looked at me. He clambered to his feet and took a step, a wince crossing his face. Clearly Vetr’s treatment had not left him unscathed.
Vetr took a menacing step toward Nayden. “No? How about me? Are you scared of me, pup?”
Nayden flinched and shrank back, and that was answer enough. He was no match for Vetr and he knew it. We all knew it. His defiance only went so far. He would not take on the alpha.
“She’s not like the rest of us,” Nayden complained, his voice smaller now. Clearly he thought he might yet sway Vetr. “She grew up withthem.” He tossed a wild hand in the direction of the large opening that led from the training arena, indicating that other world, the world beyond, outside the pride, outside the Crags … the world of humans to the south. My former home. Penterra.
Again, he wasn’t wrong. Ididgrow up there. In my memories, it was still home. A place that once felt so right and natural, with family and friends … with Stig. I pushed the memory of him away, shoved it down deep. He was another thing lost to me that I would not dwell upon anymore.
“She is one of us now.” Tension feathered Vetr’s cheek.
I started at that.She is one of us now.
Could he mean that? I’d been working toward that goal since I’d found myself here, desperately attempting to carve out a place for myself among them.
“Heed me,” Vetr continued, and then sent everyone a threatening look. “She needs us as much as we need her. Weallneed each other. I’ll not stand for division among us. We already have enoughopposition out there, those that would seek our downfall.” He gestured with a wave, indicating the world outside their cave.
She needs us as much as we need her.
Not since my arrival had I heard anyone here say I wasneeded. Everyone generally treated me with a cool reserve (at best) or with narrow-eyed contempt (more often).
I’d been surviving but not thriving. Try as I might, building a life here was not an easy thing. Most days, I felt like I was dying inside, a fish out of water, gasping, my body struggling and shuddering to live. Dying and no one cared. Because there was no onetocare.
Nayden compressed his lips into a mutinous line, as though not trusting himself to speak further.
“Go,” Vetr said, sounding suddenly tired. He motioned in the direction of the tunnel leading out of the arena. “Wait for me in the command den. I will decide a suitable punishment for you.”
Nayden turned, but not before shooting a glare full of hot reproach at me.Great.I inhaled, the smell of fire still smoking on the air, filling my nostrils.
With a sigh, I regained my feet, dusting off my hands on my trousers. I swallowed, inhaled, exhaled, and swiped at the loose strands falling in my face that had escaped from my unraveling braid.
My fingers grazed my forehead. Sweat beaded there despite the frigid air of the cave. I was still hot, burning up, overheated from the exertion and my brush with danger. The fire simmered inside me. I’d followed instructions and held it at bay during the fight … but it prowled under my skin, eager to blast free and escape.
Vetr glanced at me, and his expression changed then, darkening at whatever it was he saw in me. He strode across the fighting ring, stopping before me. He regarded me for a long moment, silvery eyes looking me up and down in assessment. Yes, they were Fell’s eyes. And yet not. Fell’s eyes had been warmer. Not this icy spider’s web.
“Are you injured?” he demanded.
