Chapter 9 The Trap Backfires

• The staging stables behind the Grand Square were loud and chaotic.
• Grooms ran back and forth with buckets of fresh water and bundles of sweet hay. Dozens of magnificent dragons rested inside the wooden stalls, their colorful scales shining beneath the morning sun as their young masters made the final preparations for the Imperial Parade.
• In the shadows of the back alley behind Stall Seven, a hooded figure moved quietly along the stone wall.