“I don’t understand. If you all hated me, why did you come here and fight at all?”
Reneta laughs. “It’s cute you think we had a choice. Have you met Rauk?”
“Reneta,” Thorne starts in again.
“Yes, I have actually met the man, and yes, he’s ridiculouslyhard-headed and stubborn.
But—" I pause, not even sure what I was going to say.
“Yeah, that right there,” Reneta says, pointing at me. “Thatbut.That’s why we all follow him. He's stubborn, a pain in the backside, ornery even on his best days.” Thorne turns to look at Reneta, but she ignores him. “But he’s also fair and just and a good leader, and he protects our kingdom time and time again. He would give his life for any of us. So, yeah. Thatbutis why we’re loyal to him and followed him when he told us we needed to be here to end these psycho guivres.”
I blow out a breath. “Yeah, he’s the guy that took guivre fire to his back to protect me. Man, he makes me so angry!”
Reneta gives me a sympathetic small smile. “Yeah, that’s him, our fearless leader. We hate him but also love him at the same time.”
“We don’t hate him,” Thorne says in a low voice. “Nobodyhates him.” Reneta shrugs at that.
“Harper!” I turn to see Kaldar jogging towards me with Shane in tow. “What happened to you and Rauk? Kinsley and Farrah have been beside themselves.”
“It’s a long story involving a guivre and a long fall. But the short of it is this, Rauk got burned. Badly. I need Sryena to make whatever she made for Kinsley when Kinsley got burned, and I have to take it back to Rauk.” The fact that he’s able to keep up with my word vomit proves he’s definitely Kinsley’s mate.
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know exactly, but Redara does. We were somewhat southwest of where the battle was.”
He nods. “I’ll find Sryena; she’s been busy after the battle. You take a minute to find Kinlsey and Farrah and let them know you’re alive. Last I saw, they were in the dining hall.”
“Okay. Great idea, but I can’t.”
He blinks, and I get the idea that he’s not used to people telling him no. None of these kings are. “You can’t take a moment to let yourfriendsknow you’re alive?”
Hmmm. I always thought he was the laidback one.
Maybe focus on not angering the one person who can help Noxlyn’s bonded,Redara sends.
No fun,I send back. I meet Kaldar’s disapproving stare. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” I start.
Thorne must have decided he’s had enough because he buts in. “She has a broken leg.”
Kaldar reacts in such a calm manner, it would make me laugh...if I weren’t in so much pain. “You flew here with a broken leg?”
“Well,” I start, but Thorne edges into my line of sight, giving me a hard look that I don’t need anybody to translate for me. He wants me to play nice and get the medicine we need for Rauk. I frown but pull back the flippant remark I was going to say about walking here and nod instead.
“Which leg?” he asks.
“This one, but don’t touch it,” I tell him, shying away when he crouches down.
“It needs to be set and seen to.”
“Yes, all the things I’m looking forward to. Right now, though, I need to get back to Rauk...you know, the dragon king that’spassed out on the side of a hill somewhere.”
Kaldar sighs and stands. “Let me find Sryena.” He looks at Thorne and Shane. “Are you going back with her?”
“No,” I say at the same time they both say, “Yes.”
I roll my eyes but don’t fight with them because the sooner Kal finds Sryena, the sooner I can get back to Rauk. “Let me find her.” Kaldar leaves us, and I face the three soldiers from the Dragon Kingdom.
“How do you think you’re going to go with? I’m going to fly Redara there.”
