Read Online The Hearts of Dragons by Josh VanBrakle - Free Book Online

you say is true, then you could end the war as easily as
Iren could. All you’d have to do is kill him and take the Muryozaki. He can’t
use magic, and you say he’s useless with a blade.”
    He’d meant to unbalance
her, to trick her into revealing her true personality. But Hana took his
suggestion in stride. “You’re crueler than I would have thought,” she said. “I
thought Iren was your friend.”
    The former general
shrugged. “He is, but I’m a knight of Lodia first. If Iren’s death meant peace
for this country . . .”
    Hana smirked. “You
wonder if I might kill him, but it sounds like you’re the more likely suspect.”
    “Not at all!” Balear
stammered. This wasn’t going the way he’d intended. “Even if I became the Holy
Dragon Knight, it would be wasted on me. Iren has a better chance of regaining
his magic than I do of getting some in the first place. That’s why I’m helping
him. Iren is Lodia’s best hope to end this civil war.”
    “I get it. You help him,
and he’ll owe you a debt. Tit-for-tat.”
    “That’s how you see it?
Iren would aid Lodia regardless. But if I help him, he might get his magic back
sooner. I might save him from death at the hands of raiders. It’s not about
owing people favors. It’s about doing what’s right.”
    Hana folded her arms.
“That’s a fine sentiment,” she said, “but it isn’t true. There’s no such thing
as altruism in this world. Everyone has something they want out of it. Iren
wants his magic back because of the power and freedom it offers. You’re helping
him because you want him to end the war for you, and you want the war to end so
you can rest your conscience about betraying your fellow Lodians.”
    “If that’s how you feel,
then that’s a sad way to look at the world,” Balear said. “Still, I don’t think
you believe what you just said. After all, even if Iren and I have something to
gain from helping each other, what about you? Why did you rescue us in
Orcsthia? Why are you helping us now? What are you gaining?”
    The corners of Hana’s
mouth crinkled upward. “Honestly? I’m not sure yet. But I’m traveling with the
former general of the First Army of Lodia and the first person to become the
Dragoon. Whatever I get, I’m sure it will be good.”
    She reached down and
loaded her arms with wood. “This should be enough. Grab as much as you can
carry.”
    By the time Balear
picked up his load, Hana had already left. He’d hoped to learn more about why
the girl had come with them, but he’d ended up with more questions than
answers. He wondered if she truly believed that people only looked out for
themselves. If so, what could have happened to her to make her feel that way?
    It made him pity her.
She was so beautiful, so strong, so intelligent, yet so distant and jaded.
    Balear made up his mind.
He couldn’t change whatever had happened to Hana in the past, but he could
influence the present. He could show her that there was such a thing as
altruism.
    Hana had said she didn’t
know what she would gain from helping them. If it could be up to Balear, he
knew what he would give her. He would give her faith.

CHAPTER TEN
Voices
     
     
    Minawë couldn’t see or
move, but she could hear voices. They spoke in her mind, their language like
nothing she’d ever heard. It wasn’t Kodaman, or Lodian, or even Maantec, what
little she knew of that.
    Since she couldn’t do
anything else, Minawë listened. At first she could only hear a few voices, but
the more she relaxed, the more she heard. Soon they surrounded her until she
feared she would drown in the cacophony. She panicked, and at once the voices
disappeared.
    After an eternity of
silence, Minawë calmed herself. The voices slowly came back. Focusing now, she
tried to isolate one of them, to understand it and why it was inside her head.
    The best she could
manage was a pair of voices that seemed intertwined. Their languages weren’t
made of words or even thoughts.