Using another knight's scales was how most people would feel about sleeping with another man's wife. Some coveted that sort of thing, and dreamt it all the sweeter simply because they weren't supposed to have it. But most of them, the ones who were right in the heart, felt as though even the thought of it was shameful. The bond between the knight and the dragon was strong, and intimate. It was a personal gift.
But these weren't normal times. And it wasn't a normal task they had. He'd only been jealous of another's scale once. Wind That Sighs had sent a fire wyrm to the next step and had been granted tremendous power...
One of them had that scale now. The enemy. A large one, practically the size of a buckler, taken from the dragon's chest plates. Actually that's how Wind had worn it, strapped to the forearm and ready to set everything all hellish.
"It's not offensive," he said quietly. "At least, it would be more offensive to find later that accepting such a gift could have brought us victory. If you offer something like that, it must be taken seriously, and I would never abuse the privilege."