Velkaris was on the far end of the dragon field, sprawled in his favorite spot, golden scales catching the afternoon light.

He lifted his massive head when Onyx approached, and something softened in the dragon’s posture.

Onyx tripped over his own tail, on his way. He was a baby and still looked at the world with enormous golden eyes that expected it to be kind to him.

He chirped when he saw Velkaris, and bounded toward the larger dragon with the uncoordinated enthusiasm of a puppy greeting its favorite person. Velkaris lowered his head and let Onyx headbutt his jaw, which Onyx did with enough force to rattle his own skull. He shook it off, peeped again, and climbed onto Velkaris’s foreleg.

Velkaris permitted it. The way an old lion permits a cub to gnaw on its ear. Patient. Tolerant. Vaguely amused.

The training for Onyx today was simple in theory: hunting.

Morholt had ordered a live chicken released into the dragon enclosure. Standard protocol for juvenile dragons. The instinct was supposed to be innate: see prey, chase prey, kill prey, eat prey. Basic survival. Every dragon did it.

The chicken was released.

Onyx watched it.

The chicken scratched at the dirt, pecked at a seed, and clucked with the mindless contentment of an animal that did not realize it was supposed to be dead.

Onyx tilted his head.

Then he walked over to the chicken and sat down next to it.

They regarded each other.

Nothing happened.

"Kill it," Morholt ordered.

Onyx looked at Morholt, looked at the chicken, and then nudged the chicken gently with his snout. The chicken startled, flapped three feet sideways, and settled again.

Onyx followed. Sat down again. Nudged it again.

The chicken clucked. Onyx chirped.

They were playing.

The dragon handlers stared. Morholt pinched the bridge of his nose.

"He has no hunting instincts," one of the handlers said, voice flat. "None."

Dex turned to Velkaris. "Show him."

Velkaris, who had been watching this entire display from his lounging position, lifted his head. He considered the chicken. Then his rider.

Then he huffed.

Dex knew exactly what the dragon was saying. It was the draconic equivalent of: No. That’s cruel. I eat dragon feed. You don’t see me killing my meals.

"Velkaris," Dex said. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Velkaris huffed again, louder, and turned his head away.

"My dragon is morally objecting to a hunting demonstration," Dex said aloud, to no one in particular.

"Velkaris, you’ve killed men in battle. You’ve burned ships. You incinerated a Dark Fae battalion. And you’re drawing the line at a chicken."

Serena’s hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh no," she breathed, eyes wide. "He won’t."

Elara had an identical reaction, both hands covering her mouth, staring at the chicken with an expression of mounting horror.

"Don’t you dare," Elara whispered, though it wasn’t clear who she was addressing.

Hale burst out laughing.

"Elara you ate duck last night," he said, grinning ear to ear. "How exactly do you think that ended up on your plate?"

Serena stared at him.

Elara stared at him.

"That’s different," Serena said.

"It is absolutely not different."

"It’s very different. She didn’t watch the duck die."

"The duck still died, Serena."

"I’m aware of that, Hale. Thank you for the clarification."

Velkaris huffed a third time, and this time he held Dex’s eye with an expression that, on a human face, would have been smug. As if to say: See? Even she agrees with me.

"My dragon is using my mate to win an argument against me."

"Your dragon is right," Serena said.

"He’s a dragon. He’s supposed to hunt."

"He eats dragon feed. He’s civilized."

Dex glanced at Morholt with the expression of a man who had lost control of the situation entirely.

Morholt exhaled. "Fine. Dragon feed."

Velkaris nudged Onyx toward one of the juvenile feeding troughs. Onyx sniffed the dragon feed, took a tentative bite, chewed, and looked mildly interested. He took another bite, smaller, then turned and looked toward Serena.

Serena held up his bottle.

Onyx abandoned the feed and bounded toward her, tail wagging, wings flapping.

"Compromise," Fin said, stepping in before Morholt could object. "Half feed, half bottle. Wean him gradually."

Morholt’s jaw worked. "No other dragon in the history of this program has been bottle-fed past two weeks."

"No other dragon in the history of this program has been adopted by two women who treat him like a firstborn child," Aeron observed from the sideline.

Morholt looked at the sixty-pound baby dragon currently curled in Serena’s lap, wrapped around her torso, drinking from a bottle held by Serena while Elara stroked his head and cooed at him.

The sight was, objectively, ridiculous. Onyx was too big for her lap. His tail hung off one side, his wings draped over the other, and his head was tucked under Serena’s chin with the bottle angled between them.

Serena was sitting cross-legged in the grass, still in her half-destroyed acid-burned training suit, petting a dragon like he was a housecat.

Elara was scratching behind his wing joints, murmuring things like "good boy" and "you were so brave today" while Onyx made a sound that was disturbingly close to a purr.

"I have never encountered a dragon that plays with its food and then sits on someone’s lap for a bottle. This is unprecedented. I’m taking notes," Morholt said flatly.

Fin looked at Dex.

Dex looked at Fin.

The ceasefire held.

"No one mentions this to Tiberon," Morholt added.

"Agreed," said every man on the field simultaneously.

"Frostborne. You are late." Hyran’s voice rang out.

Serena jolted at the sound of her name. Onyx let out a shriek that didn’t belong to a dragon.

"Sorry buddy." Serena handed the oversized baby to Elara and swallowed.

"Maelor is waiting," Hyran clipped.

Serena followed Hyran and let out a long breath, that looked nothing short of depressed even though she was trying to hide it.

Dex watched her go.

"Did she mention anything about those trainings to you?" Dex asked, arms crossed. Casual. Or trying

Fin dropped his voice. "She did about Maelor."

Dex frowned.

Aegon: She told him something and not us. Find out what it is.

Dex: I’ll ask her.

Aegon: Ask him. Now.

Dex exhaled. "What did she say about Maelor?"

Fin considered him for a moment, glanced to Aeron who was clearly eavesdropping.

"I’m glad you asked. Could we have a word in private?"