Once war ends, no antagonism must remain between Ryns. Hold no grudges against those who act honorably in battle. They fight for their colony, not their own interests. Forget your ire and only have respect.

This Is Our Law

~ From the Dragonling Grimoire

"I look ridiculous." I hissed.

"I think you look beautiful."

"Liar."

Alek was helping me dress in diplomat robes, though "cloak" would be a better word to describe it. It was made of sturdy orange silk, inlaid with red and yellow thread around the hood and cuffs. The Thundercrash insignia, a lightning bolt curling from storm clouds, was emblazoned on the back. Underneath the robe was a plain brown tunic with an orange silk sash. It was lavish and horribly uncomfortable. I found the clothes to be a poor imitation of a phoenix's colors. My only consolation was that Alek and Dmitri - all of our colony diplomats, in fact - had to wear the same thing. 

I had hoped my broken leg would help keep me out of the spotlight - and maybe in my dragon form - but they had brought a healer in and he cleared me as perfectly fine. I had wanted to strangle him.  

Gently lifting me up, Alek carried me to a sofa in our lavish guest room. It wasn't as nice as our rooms at home, but the Kestreldive colony certainly took great care to please their guests. The room was far more decedent that I would have preferred - silk and velvet everything - but it was a nice change. There was even a heated pool in the corner, warmed by burning coals underneath the marble floor.

"Ani, when I say you look beautiful, I mean it."

Alek gave me a look of such pure adoration that I couldn't help but cave. I rolled my eyes to show him exactly how I felt about the fact, but leaned against him anyways. His body wasn't as solid as Dmitri's, but it was softer and more pliant. "I love you." I felt him kiss the top of my head softly before he sat down beside me.

"And I love you, Ani." Alek began to braid my hair with his nimble fingers. The gentle tugging felt nice and I began to relax.

"Thank you." I mumbled. Alek just hummed lightly in reply, as is he were just doing what he was supposed to. In a way, I guess it was true. Not all mate bonds were close. I had gotten lucky by having two caring mates - many wyks didn't get the chance at two ever. Some of them never even got one.

I closed my eyes and leaned against Alek. The movement pulled my hair our of his hands, much to my disappointment. I liked the feel of his gentle but sure touch against my scalp. Though as his hands circled around my waist and pulled me tight against his own body, I had to admit this was good too. Dmitri hardly ever cuddled with me. When he did, it wasn't as soft or caring as Alek.

A flash of guilt racked through my body suddenly and made my body feel cold despite Alek's warm arms around me. How could I even compare Alek to Dmitri? Dmitri was the one who held me when nightmares haunted me. Maybe I didn't like how he babied me, but it was just because he cared for me. What kind of mate was I? A bad one.

As if he had heard my mental berating, Dmitri chose that moment to walk in. I could see the moment he noticed my stormy expression. His eyes darkened and slid to Alek before he strode over and sat beside us. "Ani, please tell me we agree on how horrible these clothes are?" He tugged me closer towards him so that I was cradled between both of my mates.

I couldn't help but smile, the tension melting away. Yes, I couldn't compare my mates. They were too different.

"Alek thinks they're beautiful."

"Only on you." Alek mumbled. "Why do you have to out me like that?"

"It's good that she does. Can't have you running around spreading awful ideas like that." Dmitri glanced down at me with a suggestive grin. "Ani may be the only creature these hideous colors can look good on, but I'm sure she would look much better without them on at all."

At the little smirk I could see appear on Alek's lips, I jumped up. "Keep it in your pants." I groaned. Both of them just laughed at me.

I hate when they agree on the exact opposite of what I want.

"You two are gonna be the death of me." I grumbled as I retrieved my sword and sat down on a chair across from them to polish it with some oil that a Ryn had brought to me.

"Don't you want us to get along?" Alek said teasingly.

Dmitri grinned wickedly. "We've been good, you know. At least reward us."

"You haven't tried to kill each other." I said dryly. Truly, I was ecstatic that they were no longer arguing. Not that I would let them know that. "I noticed. But don't think I haven't also noticed the dirty looks and shoving."

Alek sighed dramatically. "That's what rivals do."

I rolled my eyes as I finished with the edge and moved to the central ridge. "Very funny. You're my mates. Mate-brothers, remember? You're supposed to help each other."

"But that's no fun." Dmitri argued back in that annoyingly cute way of his. I felt like smacking him. With my sword, preferably.

As I finished with the blade and found a soft cloth to buff the leather hilt, I gave them a scathing glare. They just smiled, Dmitri with a wide grin and Alek with a roguish smirk.

Rude.

"You're patronizing me." I grumbled as I set my sword down and moved onto my shield. "Be nicer or I'll go find a new mate in this colony." To my shock, they started laughing. My eyes shot up to stare at them.

"I don't think you'll find someone to your... taste here." Dmitri practically purred.

When I looked up at them, Dmitri and Alek shared a conspiratory glance. I looked between the two, suspicion growing in my chest. "What are you two hiding?"

It was Alek who spoke, giving me a sly smile. "The Kestraldive dragonlings... they're not like other colonies."

I felt my stomach drop.

Alek really wasn't kidding.

The proceedings were supposed to be a formal affair, but the Kestreldive dragonlings didn't seem too bothered about tradition. They had a relaxed idea on the customs most colonies displayed - instead of a stiff courtroom with barren decor and hard faces, we met in, of all things, the queen's drawing room.

Ten Ryns, four Liras and a queen in a small but luxurious room would have been the start to a great joke if I wasn't the punchline.

Several dozen plush sofas, chairs and chaise lounges of various shades of purple were set up in a circle around a glass table that held various snacks and teas. A piano made of ivory rested in the corner next to a violin, something that was quite a rare sight. But, honestly, it somehow fit in with the ornate lavender curtains decorated with little amethyst flowers. Real amethysts. The flamboyance of the room took my breath away, but the others didn't seem fazed.

Dmitri, Cody, Derek, Leon and I were the Ryns invited to attend, with Alek and a Lira named Molly coming to finalize the plans. I had hoped May would come too, but it was Cody, of all Ryns, who came instead. May told me to just ignore him, but something about the albino made me grit my teeth any time he walked into the room.

If I was honest, I felt a little lost without May, but having Alek back reminded me how much I missed him. Much to Dmitri's dismay, I sat next to my other mate on a small sofa and left him to sit between Leon and Derek. Cody was sitting next to Molly, who look flustered to be under the attention of the albino fyn.

The Kestreldive Ryns were more complacent than us, their voice soft and their movements beautiful. It made me shift into Alek's side self-consciously. It was so weird to see just how different they really were. They were happily chatting to each other whereas we were silent. One of their Liras curiously turned to Alek and motioned towards me. "Are all of your Ryns like this?"

I suppose it was an innocent enough question, but it still set my nerves on edge. Something about this Lira's voice and the way he talked to Alek and not me rubbed my pride the wrong way. He reached over to tilt my head up as if I was some specimen under observation.

Alek's hand slammed down on the fyn's wrist. "I would advise you not to touch her." His voice was as icy as I had ever heard, rivaling the frost from our first encounter.

The Lira just laughed it off and withdrew his hand. "Ah, my bad. I didn't realize your colony was so strict with touching."

"Our dragonlings are smart enough not to touch stranger Ryns." I growled out, biting back 'especially ones we were just fighting.' The Law demanded we let go of our anger towards past enemies. It would have been a disgrace to mention it.

As if he could read my mind, Alek gave me a small warning glance, but said nothing. The Lira simply laughed again and turned to a Ryn on his other side to start talking to.

Then, the queen finally spoke up. Every pair of eyes flashed to her immediately.

Queen Gertrude wasn't large or muscular like most kings and queens. She looked rather soft, with a plump body and kindly features. In the back of my mind I wondered if she had actually fought for her place or if these languid dragonlings just gave it up to her.

"It's time to begin." The queen said in a high, lofty voice that reminded me of a bird. Not as lovely as Mishal, not as rough as other dragonlings. "I believe you have your demands?" Her pale turquoise eyes lazily drifted to Molly. The Lira quickly straightened up and pulled a scroll from a bag beside her.

Unrolling the heavy paper covered with neat scrawl, Molly cleared her throat and began to read. "Our queen requests land on our northern border, including the Crested Mountains."

The sideways looks from the Kestreldive dragonlings alerted me to the fact that it was going to be easier than we thought to take the mountains. Their eyes were full of a certain glee and relief that I had only seen in the faces of draggies who had gotten out of chores. That made my mind spin, working to figure out just what that meant. Was it full of wyverns or rogues? Too difficult to patrol? Fought over by different colonies?

Molly hadn't seen the look and had already continued on. I was startled to realize I had missed some of the demands. "... and, finally, my queen requests that trade no longer be hindered by your colony."

Trade? My eyes flicked to Dmitri, whose face was a cool mask. Did he know what that meant?

Irritation rose up in my chest as I realized just how unprepared and under-experienced I was for this job. Why couldn't May or literally anyone else in our squadron come in my place? Uncertainty crawled up my spine like a spider. Was it just a test? Did Queen Dominique want to see if I was going to sabotage the agreements?

"Agreed." Molly said. I blinked and mentally cursed myself. More information I had missed. May was right - I thought too much. Dominique was my queen. There was no reason for me question her judgement. I was a Ryn, a warrior who should only think of battle.

And right now, this was my battlefield. I shouldn't be daydreaming or imagining that my queen had ill will for me - instead, I should be focusing on my possible enemies. Namely, Queen Gertrude and her strange dragonlings.

The aforementioned queen had turned to the Lira beside her. He was writing into a scroll as well. A scribe. "Did you get all of that?" At his nod, Gertrude faced us with a satisfied smile. "Good. Then I believe our work is done." She stood up and strolled out of the room. I was stunned. Was that it? After my big epiphany, I felt a little cheated. To my continued annoyance, the other Kestraldive dragonlings scrambled out of the room after her, laughing and joking loudly.

Derek cleared his throat. "Uh, please tell me I'm not the only one that thought they were weird. Did they seem a little... off to anyone else?"

"Incredibly so." I sighed, sitting up. Quiet laughter rippled through our group.

Alek stood and offered his hand to me. "I warned you." I stuck my tongue out at him before using his wrist to heave myself to my feet.

Dmitri scoffed as he walked over, slipping his arm around my waist. Once glance at Alek's face ensured me he hadn't missed the deliberate slight. I would have to deal with Dmitri later.

"It could have been worse." Leon called softly, his jade-colored eyes glittering thoughtfully. "It could have been Wolfskull."

"Something tells me I would have preferred that." Cody sneered. Beside him, Molly paled at the thought of it. "These dragonlings are more like pampered pets than actual fighters."

Dmitri rolled his eyes, pulling me closer to his side. "Once you've met Wolfskull dragonlings, you'll love coming here instead." I leaned my head against his chest as he spoke and reached out to take Alek's hand. There was a twitch in Dmitri's bicep and I knew he was upset about that little fact. He carried on with his conversation with self-control that I could only dream about having. "They would love nothing more than to tear you apart."

Molly scrambled to her feet and away from Cody. "Can we... not talk about it?"

My surprise was mirrored in the faces of our companions. Liras weren't as aggressive as Ryns, true, but they were just as brutal as other dragonings. Younger Liras like Jordan were uneasy around that kind of stuff, but they grew up to be used to it. Was Molly... squeamish? The thought brought a wicked idea to my mind. How easy would it be to make this Lira freak out?

A tug on my sleeve drew me from my thoughts. Alek was leading me out of the room. Damn. I was thinking too much again.

"Ani," Dmitri murmured as we left, "you need to learn to control your face a little more." Startled, I jerked my head up to stare at him. He smiled grimly down at me. "We could read your face like a map. That's dangerous."

Mortification flickered through me. "Are... you serious? Everyone?" Dmitri nodded and my stomach churned with dread. I thought I had perfected a emotionless mask back when I was in training. Was I really that stupid?

Alek scoffed lightly. "Dmitri, it isn't as important as you think." The tension in the room hitched. Dmitri turned to glare at him, letting go of me.

"What do you know about Ryns?" Dmitri growled. "Maybe it isn't such a bad thing for you, but we need to keep our emotions on lockdown around enemies."

Alek's eyes flashed darkly when Dmitri said "we." Alek stood to his full height - taller than Dmitri by a good few inches - and drew his robe closer around his slender shoulders. It struck me then just how truly different they were. Dmitri, fierce and confident, against Alek, brilliant and cynical.

And I loved them both. Embers of my mortification were fanned into annoyance. I hadn't realized how stressed I was, but, now that they had decided it was a good time to argue, it came down on me like an avalanche.

"Stop bickering!" I hissed and grabbed the both of them by their wrists. They looked down at me with mirrored faces of surprise and contempt. It only served to make the annoyance swell into anger. "The two of you are supposed to work together! You were fine earlier. What made it suddenly okay for you to start fighting again?" I let go of both of them with a growl, then turned my back on them and stormed off after Derek, who I could see walking through the halls up ahead. It hurt me to be so blunt to my mates, but they had to learn. Maybe I did too. Would it be better for them to stay separate?

Derek noticed me hurrying after him and stopped to let me catch up. "Trouble in paradise?" He asked, eyes sliding over watch something over my shoulder. I forced myself not to look.

"I would prefer not to talk about it." I muttered, taking Derek's hand as I walked past. "Is there anywhere we can eat? I'm starving." It wasn't true, but eating sounded like a much better idea than dealing with my problems right now. Derek's lighthearted outlook on light might soothe my frayed patience - what little of it that I had.

"Of course." Derek laughed and laced his fingers with mine. I have him a questioning glance which he returned with a sly smile. "Let's make them jealous, hm?"

A grin spread across my face unbidden. "Well, that sounds like the best idea I've heard a fyn make today."