Read Online Dragonfire: Freedom in Flames (Secrets of the Makai Book 3) by Toni Kerr - Free Book Online

Alvi has been in the Makai longer than I have.”
    “It’ll be fine,” Landon said. “I’m sure nothing will change.”
    “Exactly. Everything will stay the same.”
    An uncomfortable silence suffocated the room. “No,” Tristan finally said. “It can’t stay the same. You can’t risk your life every day if you have a wife and kids to take care of. You can’t be around me. It’s too risky.”
    “We all know the risks, Tristan. And believe it or not, we want to be here. The entire direction of the Makai is shifting, and I like where it’s going. Alvi does too.”
    Tristan shook his head, horrified by the thought. “What do you mean, shifting?”
    “You’ll have a team, Tristan. Not just me and Landon and Donovan, though Donovan can out power all of us.”
    Tristan covered his face. For a second, he thought Victor was implying he’d have a team of supporters. But maybe what he meant was, he’d have a team in place to take him out if he lost control. “Bad idea. I don’t want a team. It’s hard enough knowing you guys are risking your lives. I don’t want anyone else involved.”
    “It’s too late, Tristan.”
    “No, it’s not! I won’t even know these people. At least with you guys, I should hope to recognize you as a friend—”
    “We’ll pass along your concerns,” Landon said. “See the Slayer Museum, Stop Being a Finicky eater.... What else did you want to add to the list?”
    Tristan sighed. “Any research you find, I want it in writing. And I’d like it on paper, not on some digital thing.”
    “Why can’t we just tell you?”
    “I don’t want to forget, plus—” Tristan turned away from the table. “I might not always have you around.”
    “So, you’ll take the information and run?” Landon shook his head, but added it to the list.
    “I won’t take the information and run.”
    “Next?”
    “You aren’t going to like this one, but I need to find the Forest of Darkness.”
    Victor barked a hearty laugh. “Like Donovan would ever allow that. Why would you want to go there?”
    “Because I need to know stuff. He’s the only actual dragon I can think of who can tell me anything.”
    “Why would he help you, and why would you believe anything he says? You have nothing to negotiate with and I’m sure he still thinks killing you could free him.”
    “Maybe I can free him. I can experiment on him or Lazaro’s brother…take your pick. But at least the dragon is already dead.”
    “You’re crazy,” Victor said. “And I mean it in the nicest way.”
    “What information do you need that would make it worth the risk?” Landon asked.
    “I feel like I know absolutely nothing about what to expect. Plus, it’s what Pink said about the whole hibernation thing. I need to know if I have any control over how long it takes. What if I fall asleep right now, and I don’t wake up for another fifty years? You could all be dead, except Donovan, and who knows what he’ll be doing fifty years from now. So I need to know how much time I have to get this stuff done.”
    Victor and Landon looked too stunned to speak.
    “Maybe I won’t hibernate unless I’m a dragon, and then I can avoid it altogether by never being a dragon, right? I mean…a person wouldn’t sleep for fifty years.”
    “You can’t assume fifty—”
    “Let’s look at bears. It’s a seasonal thing based on temperature and light, right? If we knew what the conditions are for me, Samara could help prevent it. Right? Samara?”
    “Sleep is a required part of a life cycle,” said the disembodied voice. “The nature of something cannot be altered.”
    Something. Was he no longer a someone? “Well, we know I won’t survive out there, and I won’t survive in here either if I shift and everyone grows old and dies. So either way, I have to work through this list as quickly as possible.”
    Landon tapped the eraser on the paper. “You’ll survive fine if you can learn to recognize all the trigger signs. You know