"I'll go last," he said. "Decide the order amongst yourselves."
"Well then, if that's the case," muttered the candidates, not refusing Ragnar's gesture to go last. After all, he was the one who had introduced this trial in the first place; he might even know how to succeed already.
'But if it's just a matter of being first, the game changes,' thought the nobles, eyes gleaming with barely restrained greed. They exchanged glances, each thinking the same thing: as long as they went in first and claimed the dragon's heart, they would have the advantage. Ragnar caught their expressions and chuckled to himself.
'Go on, dance for me, clowns,' he thought. He knew that gaining the dragon's heart required reverence, something none of these power-hungry candidates seemed capable of showing. 'And when you all fail, I'll prove myself the true king.'