Read Online Wyvern's Prince (The Dragons of Incendium Book 2) by Deborah Cooke - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Deborah Cooke
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word?” Gemma demanded in an undertone.
“Pavofel. We don’t have them here, and she isn’t a great reader.”
“Do you think he heard?”
There was no point in lying. Venero sighed. “Yes.”
Gemma swore with the vigor of a hardened mercenary, and Venero was astonished yet again by her. She then ran faster, galloping down the stairs with a wanton disregard for his comfort.
“Don’t drop me!” he insisted, knowing he’d be smashed by the fall. Gemma closed her hand around the opening of the pocket.
Venero was jostled and bounced in her pocket but wished he could see her running. She had to be as graceful as the cervus he’d hunted on Sylvawyld during his incarceration there. They were such beautiful creatures that he’d always regretted his need for food and had never eaten their meat since.
Venero felt the change in the air when Gemma reached the ground floor, because it was cooler there, then heard her throwing open the bolts on the kitchen door. He smelled the herbs in the garden as she took the most direct path to the gate, and felt the heat of the pavofel when she scooped it up into her arms.
The miserable creature reached a paw into the pocket of the dress, and Venero tucked himself as far away from those claws as he could.
“Control your pet!” he cried.
“Because I don’t have enough to do,” Gemma complained. Even so, she lifted the pavofel higher, much to his relief.
He could see a patch of morning sky through the opening at the top of the pocket, then the branches of the trees on the perimeter of the forest etched against it. The skirt spun and he had to hang on to the lip of the pocket as Gemma turned back to face the palace.
And at the height of the tower, Venero saw a male figure, silhouetted on a high balcony. Urbanus.
“Oh no,” Venero whispered.
“What’s he doing?”
The crown prince raised his hand, scattering something into the wind, and Venero swore himself when he saw the glitter of spelldust.
Chapter Three
“Run!” Venero bellowed, but Gemma didn’t need his encouragement. She had already spun to flee. She leaped over fallen branches and raced deeper into the forest, panting but never slowing down. He was amazed by her speed and her agility, and by her determination to outrun the spelldust.
But he heard Urbanus calling to the wind to aid him and Venero guessed that Gemma could hear it, too.
“What do I do?” she demanded.
“Keep it from touching your skin. Can you see it?”
“It glitters. What is it?”
“Spelldust.”
She groaned. “Trust my luck that I end up trapped on a planet filled with magic.” Her scorn was clear and intrigued Venero. “What does spelldust do?”
“It takes whatever it touches out of the time stream.”
“What?”
“It immobilizes things, freezing them in one moment, either for eternity or until released by the spell caster.”
“Anything?” Gemma sounded incredulous.
“Everything.”
Gemma swore again. She splashed into a stream, and Venero saw the first sparkle of the dust descending. It touched the tree tops and they glittered, then stilled. It was a sight that Venero always found both fascinating and horrifying. Immortality lost any allure it might have had the first time he saw spelldust in action.
“Quick!” he urged. “Under the water.”
Gemma didn’t hesitate to take his advice this time, which was an encouraging change. She dove into a pool of water so quickly that Venero barely had time to take a deep breath himself. The pavofel was furious and yowled in protest, at least until the water closed over them all—then it fought wildly.
Venero was glad to see someone else injured by the creature. He saw it make a trio of long scratches on Gemma’s arm, deep enough to draw blood. But Gemma remained calm, even as she wrestled the miserable feline. He had to admire that.
Venero would have been inclined to let it go, but Gemma hooked her ankle around a branch sunk to the bottom of the pool to keep
“Pavofel. We don’t have them here, and she isn’t a great reader.”
“Do you think he heard?”
There was no point in lying. Venero sighed. “Yes.”
Gemma swore with the vigor of a hardened mercenary, and Venero was astonished yet again by her. She then ran faster, galloping down the stairs with a wanton disregard for his comfort.
“Don’t drop me!” he insisted, knowing he’d be smashed by the fall. Gemma closed her hand around the opening of the pocket.
Venero was jostled and bounced in her pocket but wished he could see her running. She had to be as graceful as the cervus he’d hunted on Sylvawyld during his incarceration there. They were such beautiful creatures that he’d always regretted his need for food and had never eaten their meat since.
Venero felt the change in the air when Gemma reached the ground floor, because it was cooler there, then heard her throwing open the bolts on the kitchen door. He smelled the herbs in the garden as she took the most direct path to the gate, and felt the heat of the pavofel when she scooped it up into her arms.
The miserable creature reached a paw into the pocket of the dress, and Venero tucked himself as far away from those claws as he could.
“Control your pet!” he cried.
“Because I don’t have enough to do,” Gemma complained. Even so, she lifted the pavofel higher, much to his relief.
He could see a patch of morning sky through the opening at the top of the pocket, then the branches of the trees on the perimeter of the forest etched against it. The skirt spun and he had to hang on to the lip of the pocket as Gemma turned back to face the palace.
And at the height of the tower, Venero saw a male figure, silhouetted on a high balcony. Urbanus.
“Oh no,” Venero whispered.
“What’s he doing?”
The crown prince raised his hand, scattering something into the wind, and Venero swore himself when he saw the glitter of spelldust.
Chapter Three
“Run!” Venero bellowed, but Gemma didn’t need his encouragement. She had already spun to flee. She leaped over fallen branches and raced deeper into the forest, panting but never slowing down. He was amazed by her speed and her agility, and by her determination to outrun the spelldust.
But he heard Urbanus calling to the wind to aid him and Venero guessed that Gemma could hear it, too.
“What do I do?” she demanded.
“Keep it from touching your skin. Can you see it?”
“It glitters. What is it?”
“Spelldust.”
She groaned. “Trust my luck that I end up trapped on a planet filled with magic.” Her scorn was clear and intrigued Venero. “What does spelldust do?”
“It takes whatever it touches out of the time stream.”
“What?”
“It immobilizes things, freezing them in one moment, either for eternity or until released by the spell caster.”
“Anything?” Gemma sounded incredulous.
“Everything.”
Gemma swore again. She splashed into a stream, and Venero saw the first sparkle of the dust descending. It touched the tree tops and they glittered, then stilled. It was a sight that Venero always found both fascinating and horrifying. Immortality lost any allure it might have had the first time he saw spelldust in action.
“Quick!” he urged. “Under the water.”
Gemma didn’t hesitate to take his advice this time, which was an encouraging change. She dove into a pool of water so quickly that Venero barely had time to take a deep breath himself. The pavofel was furious and yowled in protest, at least until the water closed over them all—then it fought wildly.
Venero was glad to see someone else injured by the creature. He saw it make a trio of long scratches on Gemma’s arm, deep enough to draw blood. But Gemma remained calm, even as she wrestled the miserable feline. He had to admire that.
Venero would have been inclined to let it go, but Gemma hooked her ankle around a branch sunk to the bottom of the pool to keep
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