Free Dragon Sacrifice (The First Realm Book 3) by Klay Testamark

“Step to the left—one, two, three, four…”
     
    I was about to join in when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Angrod and Mina, wearing long winter coats. A quick glance told me I was the only one who’d noticed.
    Angrod grinned. Then he put on a serious face, or tried to. Mina was frowning. I love that woman, but she sure knows how to scowl. She stood in front of the bars and sighed.
     
    “Heronimo.”
     
    “Step back—one, two, three, and four,” Jodo said. “Step forward and back. Step and kick, turn to the left!”
     
    Angrod coughed. “Looks like I missed a hell of a party,” he said.
     
    “Be serious,” Mina snapped. “This is not good for your political career.”
     
    He yawned. “Sorry. Been a long night. You guys want to visit the Winter Fair afterward?”
     
    “I’d like to,” I said.
     
    “That’s not possible,” Mina said. “I’ve spent the last four hours cleaning up your mess. You almost killed an elf—can you imagine if she’d died?”
     
    “You broke her back, but fixing that was easy enough,” Angrod said. “The others had scrapes, cuts, and bruises. You gave better than you got.”
     
    Jodo, Kodo, and Lodo high-fived. “Dwarf bros for the win!”
     
    “Ironore dwarves should know better,” Mina said.
     
    “Well excuuuse me, princess.” Kodo crossed his arms. “Defending one’s honour isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
     
    “You assaulted elves in an elven city. This is exactly the sort of thing that gets our people hanged.
     
    I recommend laying low for a while.”
     
    “Lower than usual for a dwarf, anyway,” Cruix said.
     
    I frowned. There was the faintest hint of Dagonet’s perfume in the air. I reached for my sword before I remembered it wasn’t there. Angrod’s aide always put me on edge. There! A flicker of movement in the corner. Had to be her under a cloak of invisibility.
     
    “Heronimo?” Mina said. “Listen. How do you feel about a trip to the Northlands.”
     
    “Eh?”
     
    She crossed her arms. “Angrod will be taking a year off to attend to some personal matters. The plan was for us to continue touring without him, but this brawl of yours makes that unlikely.”
     
    “It’s not so bad,” Angrod said. “The kids decided not to press charges. Turns out their masters hadn’t given permission for their little excursion. The kids weren’t going to tell me, but I know slackers when I see them.”
     
    He coughed. “It’s because I was such a good student.”
     
    “What were their names?” Jodo asked.
     
    “Let’s see,” Angrod produced a roll of parchment. “The leader was Rava Nagata and her boyfriend was Kame Arata. The big guy was Sipho Jest and the cutie was Kunda Zeto.” He frowned at Cruix. “Did you have to scratch up her face? It was a work of art!”
     
    “It’s what she deserved for attacking me,” Cruix said. “Never fight a dragon unless you’re prepared to kill him.”
     
    “There won’t be any scandal,” Mina told him. “But that won’t stop the rumours. And you and Heronimo are too well-known to lie low. You need to be elsewhere for a while.”
     
    “I am not a coward,” I said. “If any swordsman craves battle with me, I shall meet him on the field of honour.”
     
    “We don’t need more blood on our hands. You will be Angrod’s representatives. You will establish a relationship with the king of the Northlands. The more recognition Angrod gets, the stronger his position as prince.”
     
    “What about us?” Lodo asked.
     
    “You’re free to go. Your regular jobs keep you hidden well enough, but no dance classes for a while. I’ll trust you not to discuss what we’ve talked about here. It’s a secret to everybody.”

    “Urggh.” Cruix leaned over the side.
     
    “I didn’t know dragons got seasick,” I said.
     
    He wiped his mouth. “It’s this damnable elf body. How would I know it would vomit after losing sight of land?”
     
    We stood on the