"He planned around a Bearer with regional allies. Wolves, bears, serpents, lions—they're powerful, but they're territorial. They'd defend their own ground. They wouldn't move north beyond their borders to confront a threat they couldn't see." Alex was thinking out loud now, following the thread. "He didn't plan for Drakar. A Dragon Lord who has no territory obligation. Who could move anywhere. Who has resources and lifespan and—"
"—and no political reason to stay out of the conflict," Lucas finished, quiet.
From the edge of the camp, Drakar said: "I am not deaf."
Alex startled. The dragon lord had been so still he'd read as landscape.
"I know," Alex managed.
"Good." Drakar's molten eyes reflected the firelight. "I am also not absent from the calculation you're doing."
"I wasn't trying to exclude you—"
