Within the Dragon Empire, Frederick arrived late, to his outrage.
He had missed the day that the Emperor had allowed most of the Outlanders to escape by only a week. The only one they had kept had been a young man who had no blood relation to any of their citizens.
Frederick fumed. He might not have cared about any of that if the core system of Gabriella's ship hadn't been received by the Emperor with merely, "It is indeed the original."
For all he knew that lazy old Dragon had shoved the thing into a corner, somewhere in the ridiculous 'palace' he had created to shelter the much younger Dragons who visited the planet.
He stalked along the hallway that was too small to hold a Dragon who had survived more than a handful of centuries unless they compressed themselves uncomfortably. Of course, it led to the kitchens where the food was stored. He could have gone out to hunt instead, but even if he didn't want to admit it, flying for years at a time had made him weary.
