"If dragonkind's ancestors hadn't died in that war, an invader like you..." Okov glared at Adam with the deepest hatred. He bitterly regretted ignoring Maurice's advice. If he had reined in his own stupidity and greed back then, he would never have ended up like this.
Adam cut him off without the least courtesy: "If your beast ancestors hadn't died, the one who came would have been an explorer far above my level, so the outcome would be the same. You should count yourself lucky—this is my first mission. Otherwise you'd have died years ago."
Adam was telling the truth. For a first exploration mission, the Spire could not possibly have issued him anything too difficult; that would amount to murder. Running into two planes on the brink of war was nothing but coincidence. But Okov knew none of that—he only thought Adam was humiliating him. "Big talk. You—"
Okov never finished the sentence, because at that moment the firmament trembled.