The Last Dragon Shifter

Chapter Twenty-Three

The time to find out arrived quickly as the school held its assembly the next day. After their last classes, the students were ushered into the gym for the big reveal. Alongside Naomi, Lark buzzed with energy as they entered the stadium.

"This is exciting. Are you nervous? Is Malcolm nervous? I bet you're nervous," Lark chattered on, squeezing Naomi's arm.

She wished to tell her friend she'd be a lot less nervous without her viselike grip. However, she was too busy seeking out Malcolm. They were supposed to sit as a pair in the first row of the bleachers. It made it easier for them to come up on stage if they were chosen.

The seats were a sea of blue and purple as the uniformed students vied for the best spots. Finally, Naomi spotted Malcolm on the front row, with Figgis and Sam stationed behind him.

"Got to go, Lark. I have to support my 'partner,'" she said, parting ways with her roommate.

"Good luck!" Lark gave another, final squeal of encouragement.

Naomi waved a quick good-bye before taking up her place next to Malcolm. Greeting her fellow guards, she took in Malcolm's stoic figure. The usually composed prince appeared a bit green.

"You okay over there?" She eyed him warily.

"Fine. Why do you ask?" he said, keeping his voice cool. A sharp contrast to his fidgeting fingers.

"No reason. Because there's no reason to be nervous. We'll win. A prince and dragon shifter competing together? Who wouldn't want to see that?"

"She's right. All we'd need is popcorn," Sam chimed in. As his eager eyes focused on the stage, he looked like he wanted a snack right then.

Once Dean Wellington came out and stepped onto the stage, the typical nonsense began: thanking everyone for coming, thanking the contestants for competing, comment on the large voter turnout. It went on to the point where Naomi started fidgeting almost as much as Malcolm.

At last, the woman got down to the business of announcing the winning teams.

"All right, everyone. We're going to do this by grade level." She continued to draw everything out as she pulled out the envelope with the winners' names on them.

"First up, our senior team will be...Oliver and Olivia Rockwell."

Naomi hid her surprise and clapped along politely with the rest of the audience. Oliver and Olivia? Naomi was sure that dynamic duo would have lost. The seniors found their bland personalities more interesting than she did.

After Oliver and Olivia gushed their thanks, Dean Wellington went on to the second envelope.

"Our junior team is...Quinn Hunter and Soraya Dean."

Naomi's applause was more heartfelt. Quinn deserved to compete, and—

And Naomi had a serious problem with how Soraya was clinging to his arm as they walked onstage. The girl was wrapped around him like a snake as Quinn spoke into the microphone.

"Thanks for voting for us. We're going to win this thing!" He pumped the juniors up. Soraya seemed overexcited herself as she kissed Quinn on the cheek.

Yeah. Naomi wanted to find out more about their relationship. She didn't get to hypothesize at the moment, though, as she felt someone's nails dig into her skin.

"What the—" Naomi jumped, noticing Malcolm was clawing at her arm.

"We're up next," he hissed, his face pale.

"I know that. Calm down." Naomi wiggled free of his grip.

Rubbing at her arm, Naomi focused in on Dean Wellington. She was becoming more and more exaggerated, doing a drumroll before she announced the last group.