I shuddered, then smiled at the snail. I didn’t know why, but I felt as if Cobalt would like it, too. I gently picked it up and placed it in the bucket with some water from its home.
Poppy bounded over. “Muzo, you caught something! What is it?”
I proudly showed him the bucket. “Look!”
When he peered inside, his fur flattened in disappointment. “Oh. It’s... just a snail?”
“It’s not just a snail,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s something special about it. I feel it in my gut.”
Poppy didn’t seem convinced, but tried to keep an optimistic expression. “Well, it’s a good start. Let’s keep trying.”
He went back to fishing, but I was finished. I had the only catch I needed.
“Hey, little guy,” I whispered to the snail. “You and me—we’re gonna win this challenge. I just know it.”
The snail wiggled its antennae.
Fourteen
Cobalt
The last placeI wanted to be right now was trapped in a hotel office with the twins.
My leg bounced impatiently. After my brief appearance at the start of the challenge, I was ushered away against my will. Apparently, my presence might’ve influenced the contestants’ decisions, and Jade thought the challenges would seem fairer if I wasn’t there fawning over Muzo the entire time.
I suppose he had a point.
I sighed in frustration, sinking back in my chair. The longer the Games went on, the more I agreed with Crimson’s initial disdain for them—itwasa whole lot of bullshit.
I wasn’t left completely in the dark, though. The producers provided a TV in the office airing a live stream of the challenge so I could watch it from a distance. The footage was only meant for me, but the twins were famously nosy. They snuck into the office before I even showed up, so I didn’t bother kicking them out—even if theywereblocking half the TV.
Aurum and Saffron crouched shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the screen, loudly narrating and commenting on everything like they were watching a football game.
Out of all my younger brothers, the twins felt the hardest to reach emotionally. Ever since they hatched from the same egg, they’d lived in their own little bubble, always preferring each other’s company to the rest of the world. They respected me as the eldest dragon, but at the end of the day, each other’s input was more important.
To be honest, I worried for them. How would they find fated mates if they were constantly attached at the hip? The Dragonfate Games were originally Saffron’s idea, so I assumed he wanted a mate, but Aurum only showed interest in watching the Games, not participating.
“Dude, are you seeing Alaric right now?” Aurum asked. “He’s straight up tanning during the challenge.”
Saffron snorted. “He needs one. He’s paler than a ghost.”
“Harsh. But true.”
It was safe to say neither of them were fated to Alaric. I obviously wasn’t, either. From what I could see over the twins’ matching golden heads, the cameraman was interviewing Alaric on the beach. I wished the live feed would pan away from him already.
“He’s the one, right, Cobalt?” Aurum asked with a snarky grin.
“No,” I growled.
They snickered among themselves.
“We already know which oneyoulike,” Saffron said smugly. “His name starts with M and ends withuzo.”
“Yeah, he likes the one who almost drowned.” Aurum rolled his eyes. “I still don’t know how that showed off his water affinity, but whatever.”
The hairs on the back of my neck bristled. “You wouldn’t understand,” I said quietly.
“Yeah. I don’t. That’s literally what I just said, bro.”
