Dragon Kiss by E. D. Baker Read Free Book Online Page A

them speak.”
    “That’s true, Grandmother, but a lot of ice dragons have talents that have nothing to do with where they live. Grandfather can fly high wherever he is and Mother’s graceful all the time. I bet Frostybreath could freeze things even if he was someplace hot. I just hope my talent is a good one, but whether it is or not, it will have nothing to do with Millie.”
    Song of the Glacier stopped pacing and turned to face him again. “If you truly love Millie, there is one other thing you need to consider. Dragons live for hundreds of years while humans have a much shorter life span. We never have more than one mate. Are you sure you want your mate to be someone who will not live as long as you will? If you marry her, you will do so knowing that you will outlive her and have to endure many years of grieving once she is gone.”
    “I understand that, Grandmother. It is a price I am willing to pay if it means I can have even a few years with Millie.”
    “Then I hope she loves you as much as you love her, my dear grandson.”
    “Will you talk to the king and the other councillors for me?” Audun asked.
    Song of the Glacier sighed. “You’re very persuasive, Audun. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

Five
    O nce more it was Frostybreath who came to tell Audun that the king had summoned him. “But I thought he didn’t want to see me again,” said Audun, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
    “A king can change his mind, just like everyone else,” the big dragon replied. “But be careful what you say. He seemed mighty worked up about something.”
    “I hope he has changed his mind,” Audun said, suddenly feeling much more hopeful. “Why did you come for me? Still filling in for your friend?”
    “I was on my way to the top,” said Frostybreath. “So I told my friends that I’d save them the trouble. I’m adding a curlicue to the first part of the chute. I thought an extra flourish would be fun.”
    “I went down your chute with Loolee yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun before. It’s great that you can use your talent to make other dragons happy,” said Audun.
    Frostybreath grunted. “I do what I can. It seems to me that a talent isn’t worth much if you can’t use it to help others.”
    Audun waved good-bye to the dragon as they parted ways. He hadn’t discovered his own talent yet, but then few dragons did until they reached their twentieth year. Although he wasn’t worried, he hoped that his talent would be something worthwhile. His grandfather could fly higher than anyone else. His father could fly faster. His mother was as graceful as a drifting snowflake. But his grandmother’s talent was so subtle that she didn’t seem to do anything except sit with her eyes closed, so that she almost appeared to be asleep. When she finally opened her eyes, she would tell Audun and his parents what the glaciers were saying deep in their depths. Sometimes she said they talked about the changes in temperature or what was in the water around them. Sometimes it was about the creatures that lived in the sea nearby. When two or more glaciers bumped into one another, regardless of whether they thundered or whispered, they usually talked about one another.
    As a little dragon there had been times when Audun thought that his grandmother didn’t really have a talent and that she was making it up, but everyone else seemed to believe her and she always did know when a glacier was about to move or when there were new fish in the area. Sometimes dragons came to ask his grandmother for advice and she would go off by herself to listen to a glacier. Eventually, Audun came to understand that she really was special, but it had never occurred to him that the king might think so as well. The more he thought about it, however, the more sense it made that a talent like his grandmother’s could be valuable to anyone who watched out for the welfare of dragons who lived on and around glaciers.
    Audun had