Free Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) by Ava Richardson

face.
    “Thea!”
    I knew the voice. I turned as Beris bowed. “Prince Justin?” My heart was still pounding from the fight, and a tremor ran through me for the rage I had almost unleashed.
    The prince looked at Beris, who’d gone red-faced. “Beris Veer, let us not keep you. And tell your father that Prince Justin is looking forward to seeing him at court.”
    “Certainly, your highness.” Beris nodded again, before shooting me a poisonous glance as he strode away
    The prince turned to me, and I bowed low. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Thea, we’ve known each other long enough, haven’t we?” He smiled.
    I straightened. “What brings you to speak with me?”
    “Just to see how you are getting on.” His smile widened, and I had to admit it was hard to remember the little brat I had known. His smile made me want to smile back at him, and I had to resist that tug. It wasn’t that I couldn’t like him, but someday he was going to have to marry—and I wasn’t able to think of myself as ever being a princess. Or a queen.
    Rubbing my sore ribs, I said, “I think you’ve caught me on a bad day.”
    He frowned for a second. “About that…did you have a preference for your eventual squadron placement?”
    “Black Claws.” I grinned. “Could you put in a good word for me?”
    His face darkened with worry. It was suddenly clear the prince had some different notions for where I should end up. “I thought you said that your navigator—what was his name? Smith?”
    “Sebastian Smith.”
    “Yes, the smith’s boy. You once said he wasn’t much of a fighter?” The prince began to walk.
    I fell into step with him. “Seb is amazing with the dragons. To be fair to him, he is far better than he used to be. And he has already been of great service to the Crown.”
    Prince Justin nodded. “I must see what your brothers think, of course. It was just—I was hoping you might have a desire for the signals corps?”
    “You mean never see combat? Fly around delivering goods?”
    He winced, stopped and faced me. “To be blunt, it’s your mother, Agathea. To have all three of her children on the front lines, it’s…it’s become clear to her that she might lose all of you. She has petitioned my father—”
    “The king?” I felt dizzy. “For what? My dismissal?”
    His face paled. “I’ve put my foot in it. Look, come on a ride with me tonight—not dragons, just a simple horse. We’ll talk. Your mother doesn’t want to take your position from you, she is just thinking to have you further back from any battle.”
    “I thought you said everything was fine?”
    “Of course,” he said just a little too quickly. “But come. Meet me by the back gate, bring a pony and we’ll talk about old times.”
    That was the last thing I wanted to do—despite his charm and his smile. But this might be the only chance I had to convince him I could be a Black Claw. I smiled, agreed, and even added a curtsey. The prince turned away, leaving me worried and cold.
    Something was very wrong.
    *
    By the time practice ended for the day, I was feeling sore, tired and wishing I had one more bout so I could pound someone. Senior riders had been coming and going, helping the staff to erect a large wooden board at one end of the training yard. The different squadrons were written at the top of large columns and names would be going up.
    The King’s Own—the smallest unit, made up of bodyguards to the King and Prince Justin. After that came the Black Claws, then the Storm Blues, who acted as a reserve troop, the Green Flag messenger core, and the Heavy Whites who carried goods, and the Far Flyers, who served as long-distance scouts. It had been hard to keep my eye on the battles as names were added to the boards—and the names kept changing as the instructors and senior riders were working out the best fit in each squadron.
    Jensen and Wil stayed securely in the Storm Blues with their dragon, Dellos. Beris and Syl were also put