Dragon Fire by Dina von Lowenkraft Read Free Book Online Page B

other dragon can enter without my approval. Until then, my fiery mate.”
    Dvara flung herself once again at T’eng Sten’s throat, but he just laughed and shifted out of the room in a swirl of indigo rimmed with the violet and fuchsia of his bodyguards.
    Dvara howled and punched the air where T’eng Sten had been.
    Rakan let his mind-touch run over T’eng Sten’s shields. “How many shields did he place?” Their rooms had been turned into a sound-proofed fortress.
    “He’ll know every time we go in or out,” Dvara said, exploring the shields with her mind-touch. “And no other dragon can enter. Not Yarlung, not Khotan, not Jing Mei. No one. Just us. And T’eng Sten. Whenever he wants.” Dvara sank to the couch. “I can’t undo it. If I do, the house will explode. And so will we.”

Chapter 4 Pressure
    A SLOW SHADOW SLIPPED ACROSS LAKE LHANG-TSO as Yarlung circled around Dvara, taking in her crisp scent of a mineral spring. “Perhaps the time differential and the fact that you have come of age to breed can be used to our advantage.” The corner of Yarlung’s mouth twitched up. “Yes. I’m sure that several of the male Kairöks would give me their vote in exchange for the chance to breed with you. And I only need one more vote to have the majority.”
    “That won’t be necessary,” Khotan said. “Kairök T’eng Sten—”
    “—can’t be trusted,” interrupted Yarlung with a snarl. “Dvara, however,” Yarlung said, tilting Dvara’s chin up, “will bring several of them to me groveling.” Yarlung smoothed back her daughter’s pitch black hair. “The Dwarf Jewel. Your name suits you, Dvara Azura.” Yarlung smiled. “Perhaps you will be useful to me after all.”
    Dvara stood stiffly, trying not to show any reaction, but Rakan felt her rage.
    “That still doesn’t excuse your incompetence,” continued Yarlung, her voice scathing. “How can you not know where Haakaramanoth is? He would never leave Paaliaq alone with two unknown dragons even if they are New Dragons. Especially not after T’eng Sten showed up in your rooms and turned them into a real dragon lair.”
    “But T’eng Sten is on their side. He said Kraal was the traitor not—” Dvara began.
    “—enough,” Yarlung said, cutting her off. “T’eng Sten would change the color of his hide if he thought it would gain him more power. Everyone knows that.” Yarlung turned to Rakan. “You’re a trailer. I trained you myself. Where is Haakaramanoth?”
    “I don’t know. He disappeared when we arrived.”
    Yarlung hissed and sent a shock wave through the lake. “That makes no difference. All you have to do is follow the trails to his lair. And then you’d know.”
    “I tried. But he’s brushed out most of his trails – except for a few in public places and up in the mountains. There’s no house or place where the trail is stronger.”
    “That’s not possible. No one can erase their tracks. I said tread carefully, not do nothing. The trails will fade. Or have you forgotten even that?”
    Rakan didn’t answer. He hadn’t been doing much else, but he still couldn’t find anything distinct enough to know where the male dragon’s lair was. And there were some faint trails of… void. He had never come across anything like it and had no idea what else to call it. The energy of the void trails vibrated in a weird way. Like it was there and not there at the same time. So he had come to the inexplicable conclusion that the dragon had somehow learned to erase his tracks.
    “And you haven’t found a single trigger, trap or any other detecting device in spite of being Khotan’s apprentice?” Yarlung snarled at Dvara.
    “No. Nothing.”
    “You’re both useless. How can you find nothing? No dragon would live unprotected. Not even Paaliaq and Haakaramanoth would be so foolish.”
    Dvara didn’t answer. They both knew that when Yarlung was angry it was best to say as little as possible. And especially not to try to explain