Page 57 of Hero of Havoc

“No need for concern? You do realize there were close to a thousand of them,” he retorts as I stuff my hands between my thighs again.

“A thousand what?” Teddy encourages.

“Dragons,” I mumble, and the room erupts in chaos.

Sax matches Baron’s stride as they both pace back and forth in opposite directions while Archer talks animatedly with his hands and Teddy aims a finger in the dragon rider’s direction, fury clouding his vision.

I really do want to go to the party, and I don’t have time for this.

With a huff, I stand and march toward my closet to grab my outfit for the night. It’s slightly surprising that nobody stops me or stomps after me, but the why becomes clear when I reenter the room. They’re still in the exact same positions, talking over one another.

Hurrying to the bathroom door, I curl my fingers around the handle before taking a deep breath. “Be quiet!” I yell, louder than I had to tell a cave filled with a thousand dragons in attendance, and all four of them spin their gazes my way, surprise flickering in their eyes as they blink at me. “If you can’t be civilized, get out,” I grumble, giving each of them a pointed look. When no one makes a move to leave, I exhale. “The dragons are my allies; Rapture said so.”

“Who the hell is Rapture?” Archer grunts, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“The leader of the dragons.”

His eyes almost bug out of his head.

“Since when are we cleared to meet with the leader of the dragons?” Teddy asks, and I shrug.

“Since he informed me that dragons and phoenixes are allies, or they were until my mother came along. But Lucky and Alaric vouched for me, and Rapture agrees.”

“On what?” Sax asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

“That I’m not like my mother.”

Teddy scoffs. “We could have told you that, Princess. It would have saved you the danger,” he insists, and I roll my eyes.

“It happened, and it’s done. There’s nothing else that can change about the matter, but I, for one, think it was a great meeting.”

“Because they were bowing to you,” Baron mutters, and I cock a brow at him.

“What role were you jealous of? Being bowed to, or doing the bowing?” I mutter, my brain swirling with how many times bowing has been said in such a short amount of time.

I never want to hear the word again.

“I wasn’t jealous of any of it,” he retorts, and I nod.

“Excellent, then wrap your head around it while I get ready, but I have no interest in it being the topic of conversation when I return,” I declare before stepping over the threshold into the bathroom.

“Do you need any help?” Teddy offers, desire in his eyes when our gazes collide, and I huff.

“Not when you’re all behaving so dramatically. I’ll take perfectly good care of myself.”

I let the door fall closed before he can breathe another word, sagging with relief as silence engulfs me. The reality is, I know the situation is overwhelming, but I need a minute to figure it out for myself without dealing with other people’s emotions.

It was pretty eventful for my first time flying a dragon.

First time.

That’s the truth of it.

Apparently, all I have to do in the future is ask.

I don’t understand the whole picture, but something tells me I will soon enough.

Rapture was short and to the point. It seems the entirety of our meeting was to see me in person, judge me, and make a decision. A little like my personal judge and jury, but thankfully not my executioner.