Read Online Shattered by Mari Mancusi - Free Book Online

dangerous or not, it has to be done. Keeping dragons locked up long term is asking for trouble. Sweet as Emmy is, if she doesn’t get to fly around once in a while, she’s going to start getting restless. And then she’ll start growing wild. Dangerous.”
    Trinity sighed, thinking back to their conversation in the barn. Emmy had been so frustrated. So angry. And that was after spending the night flying free. What would she have been like if Caleb hadn’t been letting her stretch her wings on a regular basis?
    “She has to understand it’s for her own good.”
    “She’s a teenager, Trin,” Caleb replied bluntly. “Or the dragon equivalent of a teenager anyway, seeing as they mature much faster than we do. But the idea is the same.” He gave her a hard smile. “Imagine a thirteen-year-old who can breathe fire. Do you want to be the one to tell her she’s grounded and can’t go to the mall?”
    Trinity grimaced. “Point taken.”
    His smile faded. “Keep her locked up and, at best, she’ll start to resent you. At worst…” He shrugged. “She may turn against you. Find another to bond with instead.”
    Trinity stared at him, startled. “What?” she cried out before she could stop herself. “She wouldn’t do that. I’m her Fire Kissed. We’re bonded.”
    We’re destined…
    “Only because she chose you to be,” Caleb pointed out. “And she can un-choose you just as easily.”
    Trinity bit her lower lip, wanting to argue. Wanting to insist that Caleb didn’t know what he was talking about. That Emmy was like her sister, her daughter, her best friend—that the dragon would never even think to leave her side. But how did she know that for sure? She thought back to Emmy’s secret nights with Caleb. Her mysterious broken scale.
    Emmy had asked Trin if she trusted her. But did Emmy trust Trin?
    Slumping to a nearby boulder, she scrubbed her face with her hands. I’m doing the best I can, Em. You know that, right?
    She felt Caleb’s pitying stare. “I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, his voice softening. “Trust me, I’m not trying to freak you out.” He dropped to his knees and took her hands in his. His touch was warm, gentle, and against her better judgment, she found herself meeting his eyes with her own. For one fleeting moment, she wished she could just hide out here in this world forever and leave all the struggles of real life behind.
    But that, of course, was impossible. Caleb might be able to justify checking out, but she couldn’t. The world needed her. And so did Emmy.
    “Look, Trin,” Caleb continued. “I’m only trying to get you to face reality. We can’t go on like this, despite what my illustrious brother might think. We have to do something. We can’t keep running away.”
    “You’re one to talk about running away,” she couldn’t help but mutter.
    “Excuse me?” Caleb’s eyes grew hard. He dropped her hands.
    She sighed then made a sweeping gesture over the bleak world around them. “How many times have you come here in the last few months?” she asked. “It seems like every time I turn around, you’re back in the Nether.”
    “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”
    “Is it?” She raised an eyebrow. “You had thirteen gems last week. How many do you have left?”
    His face flushed. “I don’t know. Plenty, I’m sure. I didn’t count them.”
    “Well I did,” she said, “before I came here to find you. You have two left. That means in the last week you’ve come here eleven times.”
    A shadow of horror crossed Caleb’s face, as if he himself hadn’t realized how much he’d been using. And maybe, she thought uneasily, he hadn’t.
    “You shouldn’t be going through my stuff,” he growled, as if that were the real issue here. “And besides, what do you care how often I come?” He scrambled to his feet, turning away so she couldn’t see his face. “This is between me and Fred. It has nothing to do with you. I come here for her.