Sword of the King Read Free Page A

to anyone else, except to ask questions. He's a master, got a dragon with him, and he keeps asking about Rust and the pits. Claims to be independent."
    He kissed her cheek. "Thanks. I'll take care of it."
    She smiled, patted Erie's head affectionately and then scurried off. On stage, Silver finished and was replaced by Snowflake, a dark-skinned beauty dressed in a shimmery white number. She was almost finished with her routine when the stranger in the back corner finally approached. Blaze ignored him.
    Then Erie stopped eating his ice cream and gave a low, curious growl; something he only did when meeting a new dragon. Blaze took another swallow of his drink, then finally dragged his eyes up. 
    He'd been expecting the usual sort: men and women looking to make a name by kicking his ass, kids barely old enough to go out alone, young thugs who thought winning a couple of fights meant they could take on a Master, or resentful assholes who thought that because he was only twenty four that he was young and easy to beat.
    The man before him was none of those things. He was tall—taller than Blaze, but who wasn't? He had dark brown hair that was dirty and in sore need of a trim, hazel eyes shot through with exhaustion, and lightly tanned skin. His clothes looked rumpled, like he'd been stuck wearing them too long.
    Just behind him was a dragon that looked ill at ease to be in human form. His coloring was pale:  white blonde hair, skin that clearly got more moonlight than sunlight. Only his amber eyes stood out as a splash of color. He was slender, and a little shorter than his master, but despite his unease at being human, he was clearly ready to defend his master.
    "If you want something, spell it out and stop lurking."
    "I saw you fight earlier today," the man said, voice deep and even with no hint of a telling accent. Blaze cocked his head, indicating he could continue speaking. "You treat your dragon well."
    Whatever Blaze had expected the man to say, it wasn't that. "Of course I do. If your goal is to piss me off, then you're succeeding."
    The man shook his head. "Usually pit fighters treat their dragons like shit. You actually care, which is fucking awesome. If not for the fact you pit him, I might actually like you."
    "I don't give a fuck if you like me or not." Erie growled a warning in reaction to Blaze's growing anger, and Blaze reached out a hand to comb soothingly through his hair. "If that's all you've got to say, then go somewhere else. I'm here to relax, not get into another fight. If you want to fight, sign up to pit."
    Shaking his head again, the man abruptly sat down in the seat next to him. "I have no interest in fighting anyone. I mistakenly thought you felt the same way."
    Blaze eyed him, hoping his dismay didn't show. If some random asshole could pick up on his reluctance, who else could? "I do as I'm told. Rust gives the orders, and I'm happy to obey them."
    The man eyed him, clearly not believing a word.
    Fuck. "Got a name?"
    "Ken. You're Blaze, right? I think that's what they called you."
    "Yeah, that's me," Blaze said. He took a long swallow, finishing off his drink. "What the fuck do you want?"
    Smirking, Ken replied, "A fuck is exactly what I want."
    Blaze's wariness kicked up another notch; while normally he might be tempted by the offer, he wasn't going to trust someone who already seemed to know too much. "Who the hell are you? And if you tell me 'Ken', I'll ruin that pretty face."
    "Just an aimless owner."
    The word made Blaze freeze with surprise. Owner. That was the term Amr had used a few times, before shaking his head and correcting himself to 'master'. Blaze had tried to ask about it a couple of times, but Amr had only said it was an outdated term.
    Why was this asshole using it?
    Deciding ignorance was best, Blaze asked, "What the fuck is an owner?"
    Ken frowned at him, puzzled. "An owner. As in we own dragons."
    "You mean a master," Blaze said, then ignored him in favor of thanking Cherri as