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someone change into one. She stared in awe, a weightless sensation swamping her. It was as if she’d lost feeling in her limbs, and all she could sense was the pounding of her heart.
    Larkan was at her side in an instant. “What are you doing here?”
    Keltie heard him, but her mind was snagged on the sight in front of her. The bronze dragon was terrifying, but he was also beautiful. Up close, his hide was supple and smooth, tiny iridescent scales reflecting as if they were a thousand mirrors. His back and neck, darker in color, were actually downed with a feathery coat. The creature was lovely—and deadly. There was no missing the ferocity of his amber eyes.
    Slowly, she became aware of the buzz of the crowd. The trial had been interrupted, and everyone in the place had something to say about it. Many of them sounded angry, but she didn’t care. For once in her life, she wasn’t backing down. She had an ax and she was staking her claim. Gasping in a breath, she willed herself to form words. “You can’t be in this fight alone, Larkan. You belong to me.”
    His eyes had gone wild. “Keltie, get out of the arena! You’re not a dragon.”
    Of course he was right, but that sounded too much like Switzer telling her she didn’t belong in his academic circles. “Better to be stubborn than a coward,” she said darkly. “And don’t tell me to go home.”
    Larkan gave her a sharp look. “Then aim for the extremities. You will not kill Rand, but you do have a hope of driving a blade through his skin. And watch the tail.”
    Keltie nodded, getting a better grip on the ax and feeling as if a door had just burst wide. “Understood.”
    The dragon’s huge head swung down in a graceful arc, sniffing at Keltie with huge, wet nostrils. Larkan faced off against the beast, cuffing him across the jaw with his fist. “She is not for you!”
    Rand snorted in what might have been amusement and gave his great head a shake. Keltie estimated that the punch would have felled a bull. Cold sweat trickled down the small of her back. For a long, frightening moment, no one moved.
    Nadiana broke the cut-glass silence. The queen gave a sharp command and Rand swung his head her way, lifting his long neck until it was even with the stone platform where the queen stood. To Keltie’s astonishment, the figure in green stepped onto the dragon’s head, delicately balancing between his short ivory horns while the creature lowered her to the ground. The queen jumped lightly down.
    The effect on the combatants was clear. Rand remained with his head bowed low, and Larkan knelt stiffly. But the queen wasn’t interested in them. Instead, the veiled figure turned toward Keltie.
    Keltie felt a moment of confusion, unsure whether to kneel or curtsy or fall flat on her face, but then she gave up. She didn’t bow for anyone, and with a giddy skip of her stomach she guessed she was probably going to die anyway. No point in groveling now.
    “You challenge me,” said the queen. “You do not show respect.”
    The words startled Keltie. She hadn’t been expecting anyone besides Larkan to speak English. “You have to earn it first.”
    Queen Nadiana laughed, sounding oddly girlish. She pointed toward Larkan. “You fight me for him, yes?”
    “Keltie, no!” Larkan exclaimed. He grabbed her hand and rose to his feet. “My queen, this is not right. A human stands no chance against one of us. Not by herself.”
    “But she said you belong to her. Therefore, she steals from me, and I fight for what is mine. That is the way of dragons.” The queen’s accent was thicker than Larkan’s, but Keltie had no problem following her words.
    The bronze dragon gave a low, rumbling snarl. He had a stake in this game, too.
    With a graceful gesture, Nadiana pulled off her spangled veil, revealing eyes as green as Larkan’s. Suddenly the room was in an uproar, as if they had never seen their monarch’s face. “I answer your challenge, human, and you will pay for your