Two thousand years of peace had made the marketplace loud.Declan Thorne sat across from Viktor at a table near the eastern edge of the square, where the stone gave way to packed earth and the smell of roasting meat drifted from the human vendors' stalls. A plate of cured venison sat between them, half-eaten. Viktor was telling a story about a territorial dispute in the northern peaks — two younger dragons who had decided the same cave belonged to both of them — and Declan was listening the way he always listened to Viktor, which was with one ear and most of his patience."So I told them," Viktor said, leaning back, "that if they couldn't settle it by sundown, I'd collapse the cave and neither of them would have it.""And?""They settled it. Took them four minutes.""You're a diplomat.""I'm fifteen thousand years old. Diplomacy is just being too tired to argue."Declan smiled. It was a small thing, barely a shift at the corners of his mouth, but Viktor had known him long enough to co
Last Updated : 2026-10-28 Read more