Read Online Kindle the Flame (Heart of a Dragon Book 1) by Tamara Shoemaker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tamara Shoemaker
Ads: Link
the night skies. She imagined Julian's sarcastic rejoinder. Soaring the night skies and burning villages to the ground with a single breath. Nice, Kinna. Brilliant, really.
But as Kinna stared at the Dragon before her, witnessing the confusion and fear that lit the creature's eyes, she knew it was a terrible thing to chain the beast, to cramp him into a man-made hole and keep him from the skies.
Instead of offering freedom, men had enslaved him, forced him into servitude, bound and confined him into a world where he felt alien, a stranger.
Kinna knew exactly how he felt.
She didn't know how to be a Pixiedimn. She'd never fit in, not as a young girl and not as a maid of seventeen, either. She was expected to act like a lady, to have her life pulled together, to find her psuche with a Pixie. But she'd only disappointed her Clan and embarrassed herself, her Pixie, and her parents in front of the Council of Elders.
Snap! The Dimn again lashed the Dragon's snout.
Kinna flinched with the Dragon. The glass barbs dug deep, carving hard into his leathery flesh that lay unprotected by scales between his nostrils. The Dragon retracted with a roar that shook the ground.
Kinna ducked backward as the Dragon drew a massive breath. She lost sight of the Dimn in the river of fire that poured over him. She half-stepped forward, lurching to a stop as the Dimn's body collapsed beneath his heavy shield.
Then the arena was teeming with confusion and noise. Shouts echoed across the loft. Arena doors groaned open, and four Dimn pelted inside. They crowded behind the beast, hurling their maces at him, and Kinna could feel the beast's confusion, his uncertainty as he turned toward the doorway.
Feet pounded down the stone steps in the hallways beyond Kinna's vantage point. With a shudder, the massive doors opened, and the arrogant blond boy sprinted into the arena, swinging a pike beneath the beast's chin to snag the chain on the Dragon's collar, tugging the beast's head to the ground.
Kinna swallowed. The boy risked a fiery death, even more so than the roasted Dimn, when he did that. But the Dragon did not breathe fire on the boy. The beast had been in confinement for too long, perhaps cowed into believing that there was no use, no freedom to be found in fighting his captivity.
The Dragon exited the arena, the slow thuds of its footsteps treading into the hallway. The doors swung shut again, and Kinna held her breath, praying to the Great Star that they would lead the Dragon the other way, lest she be discovered. She needn't have worried—the footsteps continued farther up the hallway, soon disappearing altogether. Quietness descended upon the corridor.
Kinna took a step out into the open. She needed to return home before she was missed, and Julian had only promised to cover for her so long. However, when she entered the wide corridor, instead of turning left toward the exit, she turned right, following in the footsteps of the Dragon.
She pressed against the wall, her hands sliding along the cold stone as she made her way through the glinting torchlight. She was nearly to the stairs when she heard voices. Two Dimn stood near the arched doors, swinging their maces haphazardly and talking in low voices.
Kinna held her breath. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears. She didn't want to face the questions that would arise if anyone found her in the Dragon keep. She'd be accompanied to the Dragon Clan's guardhouse immediately, and she had no idea if her father’s negotiation power would be enough to break her from it.
With a twist of silent movement, she tugged her loose tunic, pulling her shoulder into view. The Pixie mark was already fading again. Tristan had tried several different kinds of ink on it, but thus far, nothing had remained permanently on her skin.
The boys' voices undulated. They were discussing the smoldering Dimn.
“Do you think he'll live?”
“It was a bad one. He was twitching when they carried him off, but you never can
But as Kinna stared at the Dragon before her, witnessing the confusion and fear that lit the creature's eyes, she knew it was a terrible thing to chain the beast, to cramp him into a man-made hole and keep him from the skies.
Instead of offering freedom, men had enslaved him, forced him into servitude, bound and confined him into a world where he felt alien, a stranger.
Kinna knew exactly how he felt.
She didn't know how to be a Pixiedimn. She'd never fit in, not as a young girl and not as a maid of seventeen, either. She was expected to act like a lady, to have her life pulled together, to find her psuche with a Pixie. But she'd only disappointed her Clan and embarrassed herself, her Pixie, and her parents in front of the Council of Elders.
Snap! The Dimn again lashed the Dragon's snout.
Kinna flinched with the Dragon. The glass barbs dug deep, carving hard into his leathery flesh that lay unprotected by scales between his nostrils. The Dragon retracted with a roar that shook the ground.
Kinna ducked backward as the Dragon drew a massive breath. She lost sight of the Dimn in the river of fire that poured over him. She half-stepped forward, lurching to a stop as the Dimn's body collapsed beneath his heavy shield.
Then the arena was teeming with confusion and noise. Shouts echoed across the loft. Arena doors groaned open, and four Dimn pelted inside. They crowded behind the beast, hurling their maces at him, and Kinna could feel the beast's confusion, his uncertainty as he turned toward the doorway.
Feet pounded down the stone steps in the hallways beyond Kinna's vantage point. With a shudder, the massive doors opened, and the arrogant blond boy sprinted into the arena, swinging a pike beneath the beast's chin to snag the chain on the Dragon's collar, tugging the beast's head to the ground.
Kinna swallowed. The boy risked a fiery death, even more so than the roasted Dimn, when he did that. But the Dragon did not breathe fire on the boy. The beast had been in confinement for too long, perhaps cowed into believing that there was no use, no freedom to be found in fighting his captivity.
The Dragon exited the arena, the slow thuds of its footsteps treading into the hallway. The doors swung shut again, and Kinna held her breath, praying to the Great Star that they would lead the Dragon the other way, lest she be discovered. She needn't have worried—the footsteps continued farther up the hallway, soon disappearing altogether. Quietness descended upon the corridor.
Kinna took a step out into the open. She needed to return home before she was missed, and Julian had only promised to cover for her so long. However, when she entered the wide corridor, instead of turning left toward the exit, she turned right, following in the footsteps of the Dragon.
She pressed against the wall, her hands sliding along the cold stone as she made her way through the glinting torchlight. She was nearly to the stairs when she heard voices. Two Dimn stood near the arched doors, swinging their maces haphazardly and talking in low voices.
Kinna held her breath. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears. She didn't want to face the questions that would arise if anyone found her in the Dragon keep. She'd be accompanied to the Dragon Clan's guardhouse immediately, and she had no idea if her father’s negotiation power would be enough to break her from it.
With a twist of silent movement, she tugged her loose tunic, pulling her shoulder into view. The Pixie mark was already fading again. Tristan had tried several different kinds of ink on it, but thus far, nothing had remained permanently on her skin.
The boys' voices undulated. They were discussing the smoldering Dimn.
“Do you think he'll live?”
“It was a bad one. He was twitching when they carried him off, but you never can
Similar Books
![Taming Heather [Cariboo Lunewulf 1]](https://fs.dianahicksbooks.com/447568/thumbs/152x264/taming-heather-cariboo-lunewulf-1.jpg)