The three then kept walking in the direction of the tents.
In the next round, Prince Luther smashed Lord Morton into the ground. Prince Ash gasped. When Lord Morton shifted, he walked unsteadily off.
Prince Ash ran to Lord Morton when he reached the edge of the field. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I promise.” Lord Morton stroked Prince Ash’s hair. Then he pulled the man against him.
Meanwhile, Prince Luther flew through the sky, roaring. Warden Onyx cheered and whooped. When Prince Lutherlanded and shifted, a servant ran out, handing him his cane and robe.
When Prince Luther was close enough, he yelled at Lord Morton, “That’s to make up for you beating me in the contest.”
“Pfff. I was just going easy on you because of your injury!” Lord Morton said.
“Fuck off! You were trying your best, and I beat you fair and fucking square evenwithmy injury. You’re just a sore loser.”
Lord Morton laughed. Ash leaned against him, tucked beneath his arm.
Chuckling, Warden Onyx stepped over the rope and approached the group. Together, they all headed towards the tents.
It seemed common practice now for the spouses and the betrothed of the competing dragons to leave the reserved area to accompany their partners to their tents.
Well, almost all partners. All except Elias.
Chapter
Twenty-One
As the fights continued, Elias found himself the only individual in the reserved section.
Well, almost the only individual. Four warrior doves, four Draconian guards, four servants carrying trays of food and wine also stood with Elias in the roped-off area. Elias grabbed a goblet from one of the trays.
Beau, who stood outside the reserved area beside his betrothed, Duke Albert, threw Elias a look. He smiled.
Elias looked away and sipped his wine.
The herald blew her trumpet. “In the first semifinal, Princess Senta will battle against Duke Albert. Prepare yourselves.”
Soon the dragons flew and fought above the stands on the opposite side of the field, right beside the cliff face where more onlookers stood on top.
Elias’s eyes narrowed.
They’re very close to that cliff face. One wrong move could end in disaster. The cliff face could crumble, and rocks would land on the stand of civilians below. And the spectators on the cliff above could end up falling if the rock gave beneath them.
Princess Senta darted forward, trying to get past Duke Albert and move the battle out over the field. But Duke Albert swung his tail, keeping her back.
Is he trying to keep her between himself and the cliff face, directly above the spectators?
Throughout the fights, Elias had always noticed that the dragons avoided fighting above the stands. But Duke Albert seemed to want to keep Princess Senta there.
The princess glanced back at the cliff face and the people above. She dove forward. Duke Albert struck her in the face with his claws. She roared. Princess Senta didn’t seem to be fighting back, just trying to get past Duke Albert so she wouldn’t be endangering the civilians.
But Duke Albert clearly didn’t give a fuck. He lunged, struck, and swung any time she tried to get past him.
What an absolute prick!
She could not fly higher than the clifftop. That was a rule that resulted in an immediate disqualification. Elias didn’t know all the rules, but he knew that. Still, she kept refusing to fight in a way that might harm the civilians.
Duke Albert lunged towards her. She dodged, and his claws just grazed the cliff face. Elias’s heart leaped into his throat. Thankfully, the cliff didn’t crumble.
