Winning Skyhunter (Stonefire Dragons Universe 1)

He'll tell us when he's ready. Just be patient.

Says the dragon-shifter who demanded sex ad nauseam until she got it.

That improved all of our chances of winning. There was a purpose behind it.

Honoria doubted that was her dragon's main reason for the badgering, but she focused back on the tablet in her hands and went through the questions. Each was a situation that could come up for a clan—such as trade negotiations with the local counties, or dealing with enemies such as the dragon hunters or Dragon Knights—and she answered as best she could. The other candidates came in sporadically, but she did her best to ignore them.

Only when she finished the last question did she survey the others taking the same test on their tablets. While she wasn't familiar with all the people beyond the public information she'd found, there was one glaringly obvious difference—she was the only female in the room. It seemed there were only two other sets competing along with her and Asher. Although how Shane Farhall had made it this far, she had no idea.

Her beast spoke up. He probably learned things from his older brother, even if Shane was in Wales and his brother here.

Shane's older brother h

ad been head Protector under the old leader. I'm not sure how that's a positive.

It probably means he knows how to give good-sounding answers.

That won't be enough for Bram and Finn.

For all we know, they could be keeping him in to push the rest of us.

Yes, that sounds more reasonable. Or, so Honoria hoped. Shane's temper should've gotten him disqualified already.

While she waited for everyone else to complete the task, Honoria did her best to memorize the faces and any sort of ticks and tells she noticed on the other contestants. The smallest detail could be the deciding factor in who won the trials.

Eventually, the final male-male pair raised their tablets and handed them over to the DDA human. Once Penny put them aside, she clapped her hands. "Right, then it's time to do the next section. This bit will be more familiar to you, as it involves physical tests that push your mind to the brink." She looked at each pair in turn. "And since all of you are competing as teams, there is one important difference. Both of you must complete the set of tasks and remain together at all times. If you leave your teammate behind—well, beyond short distances as laid out in the materials you'll receive—you'll be disqualified."

One of the males spoke up. "What if our teammate is injured? Should we leave them to find help?"

"Of course, but that still will disqualify you. You see, this is a true test under pressure. You will be going in blind, with only three rules. The first is you're not allowed to kill or mortally wound anyone. The second is you must remain within the confines of South Downs National Park. Where the park runs along the Channel, you may fly up to fifty feet within shore. But otherwise, you must remain in the park. And lastly, even though it should go without saying, you can't interact with or disrupt the humans in the area. We have eyes, ears, and CCTV cameras everywhere, so don't think you can cheat and get away with it." Penny motioned toward the door. "If you agree to these rules and wish to carry on, you need to gather in pairs at the main landing area. Robin will give you the first set of instructions before releasing you in timed intervals."

It looked as if the trials would finally be heating up and becoming competitive.

Her dragon grunted. Good. All of these human things are boring. I'm ready to fly and explore.

We don't even know what the task will be.

No, but if one of the rules is to stay within South Downs, then it involves leaving the clan.

Honoria didn't hesitate to stand, nor did Asher, and they exited the building. Her dragon shuffled her feet impatiently inside her mind, anxious to get started. She said to her beast, Just wait. If we rush, we could miss something.

Her dragon fell silent, and once they were outside, she whispered for Asher's ears only, "From here on out, communication is key. We must work together and share everything, lest we be disqualified."

Asher nodded, a smile curving his lips. "I like it when you're bossy." She narrowed her eyes and he grinned. "Okay, okay, I get it—no teasing right now." His expression turned serious. "And yes, share everything and stick together, no matter how difficult things become."

She wanted to take his hand, but resisted. Now wasn't the time.

Her dragon spoke up. Why not? It may make the others underestimate us. After all, they'll think we're a scared female, looking for comfort from her male to protect her.

She mentally snorted. True.

Reaching over, she took Asher's hand. His gaze found hers, but she gave an infinitesimal shake of her head. Asher must've understood because he looked straight ahead once more.

A quick glance over her shoulder revealed Shane pointing toward them.

Her dragon spoke up. See? I told you.

Yes, so keep your ideas coming. I may not agree with all of them, but we need to work together as best we can, too.