Read Online Broken Gates by D. T. Dyllin - Free Book Online Page B

gruffly before he turned to seek out Bryn.
    Satisfied in knowing that Khol would bring Bryn back to me, in a manner of speaking, I sunk back down on the bed and studied the note that had to be from the dragon Queen. The first part of let him go had already come to pass, but what about the second part? How long would I have to remain in this cabin? I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.
    And what about the whole Bryn and Khol situation? By letting fate decide the outcome of who I would mate with, was I really being cruel to both of them? I was determined not to need either one of them, but I was kidding myself if I thought I wouldn’t want either one of them.
    I sat on the bed and stared out the window until the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars crested the night sky. Where the hell were Bryn and Khol?

6

    “Paige Joplin Stone, awake now . . . for we have much to talk about and a very short time to do it in.”
    “Huh?” I mumbled as I reached up to groggily rub my eyes with the backs of my hands. Then realization hit me. “The Queen!” I blurted as I tumbled out of bed focusing in on her. But there was something not quite right. She stood before me, exactly as she had looked in my visions, except she seemed almost transparent.
    “Be careful. You wouldn’t want to injure the little one growing inside of you,” she said with tenderness in her voice.
    “What’s wrong with you?” I asked without thinking, and then flushed with embarrassment. One simply shouldn’t ask a queen what was wrong with her, at least I would imagine because I’d never met one before, human or otherwise. “I’m sorry. I—”
    She brushed my comment aside with a wave of her dainty, yet almost transparent hand. “Surprisingly, you remind me much of myself at your age. Or rather I should say it might surprise you, because of course it’s no surprise to me.” She smiled at me and I found myself studying her more closely. It was the first time I’d seen her smile, and there was something very familiar about it. If only I could put my finger on what it was. She stepped toward me, distracting me from my current train of thought, and focused down on my stomach. Her gaze glazed over for a moment before she looked back up to meet my eyes. “He will be beautiful.”
    My heart skipped a beat. “You can see him? Can you also see who the father is?” If she could tell me—
    “Yes, I can see who the father is, but I won’t tell you.”
    “Why not?” I demanded in a shrill voice. “If you know—”
    “Because it will change the path for all of you and I cannot let that happen. Too much is at risk already. Just know he will be perfectly healthy.”
    Then her words truly sunk in. A boy . I was having a boy. An image of Bryn when he was a child flashed in my mind, his black hair tousled and hanging in his bright blue eyes that always seemed to glitter with mischief, his patented smile complete with dimples inviting me to join in on the fun. My heart clenched. I wanted it to be his so desperately. “Why am I here?” I asked trying to dislodge the image of the Bryn that had first captured my attention when I was still a child myself.
    “First I will answer your question of what is wrong with me.” Amusement twinkled in her eyes. “I’m not really here. At least my body isn’t. This is the only way I could come to you.”
    “But if you could leave your body, then why make me travel to you? Why not come to me if it’s so important?” I was about to bombard her with more questions but then I stopped myself. She was the friggin’ dragon Queen after all, not just some random dragon. I could at least try to show her some respect.
    “I want you to be at ease with me,” she said in a very Khol-like manner, in which I mean it was as if she had plucked the thoughts right out of my mind and answered them. But then again if Khol could do it, then I’m sure the dragon Queen could do it as well. I exhaled a huge