Some stares, Riley decided, could follow a man into his nightmares.
The kind of eyes that burned into your spine, crawled up your neck, and settled there like they planned to rent a room for life.
The dragons, who conveniently decided to visit the main estate today of all days, had that exact look.
They had finally started walking again after the crowd realized that Kael, Dragon Lord and reigning king of cold shoulders, did not particularly care about their unblinking inspection.
That did not mean the gawkers had given up. Oh no.
A few of the bolder ones even started to drift closer, perhaps to "try their luck" after the failed attempt of the claw-presenting dragon earlier. But they stopped when they noticed what Kael was doing.
The Dragon Lord did not speak a word. He did not make a show of it. He simply swept away the small pebbles scattered across the path ahead of Riley. A flick of magic here, a quiet ripple there, stones and grit rolling harmlessly aside.
