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He doesn’t pause, just lifts into the air, and I know he’s going to fly right over me so he can attack his brother from the other side. I throw myself over Cyrus, trusting that Midas won’t do anything that would risk hurting me. He shifts into a man as his feet touch down. “Get out of the way, Jeslyn.”
I stand up and face off with him. “No.”
Midas growls low. “He almost killed you.”
I cross my arms and stare him down. “That’s not what happened. I slipped, and he saved me.” Just like I thought he would.
“I can fight my own battles,” Cyrus says from behind me. “If he wants to do this now, let’s do it.”
“No!” This is not going how I planned. I swing around to face Cyrus. “You promised me you’d wait until I made my choice. I have one more day.”
“He started it,” Cyrus growls.
“Are you really that immature?”
His scowl is so much like his brothers. I know Midas is wearing the same face behind me.
“A threat to the Ra’a is a threat to the horde. I could banish you for this.”
I spin on my heel to face Midas. “Would that mean he couldn’t challenge you?”
“No,” they both say at the same time.
Shit. That would have made this all a lot easier. With my hands on my hips, I stand my ground in front of Midas. “You’re not going to banish him. You’re going to go back inside and let me finish my conversation with your brother.”
“Like hell I am.” Black smoke puffs out of his flared nostrils as he looks over my shoulder at Cyrus.
“Am I Queen or not?”
Midas closes his eyes, flaring his nostrils even more.
“Am I your mate, Midas?”
“Yes,” he says immediately.
I put a hand on his chest and soften my voice. “Then trust me. Please.”
The hot smoke dies out, dissipating on the cold wind. His eyebrows pinch together, gaze softening as his eyes meet mine. “I can’t lose you.”
I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight, letting him know I’m not going anywhere. When I let go, he gives his brother one more bitting look, then walks past him, back towards the temple. There’s a small group of dragons at the entrance, watching the exchange. I let out a sigh as I turn my attention back to Cyrus. He’s looking at me quizzically, like there’s something he can’t figure out.
“Thank you for saving me,” I say, trying to reclaim my calm.
His chin slowly drops to his chest. “I don’t want to kill him.”
“Then why issue the challenge?”
“He’s let the Silver Horde walk all over us for two hundred years. I’ve tried reasoning with him, but he won’t listen. They need to pay for what they did to our parents. What they did… it’s unforgivable.”
“You’re right.” His jaw falls open at my agreement. “They’ve taken too much from you. But do you really want them to be the reason you lose your brother, too?”
With that, I walk away, leaving Cyrus to think about what I said, and praying it’ll be enough.
On my way back into the temple, I walk past Lennox, who saw all of it.
“You’ll make a good queen,” he says quietly. “Midas has had to carry the weight of the horde on his own for too long.”
I meet his eyes for a moment, silently thanking him for his encouragement, because I’m not nearly as confident that I can do this. I’m pretty sure I just royally messed that up, and I have no idea if Cyrus will listen to anything I said.
