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

almost reached the audience room when he began to wonder what talents the other councillors might have. He’d been so concerned with getting the king to agree to help him that it hadn’t occurred to him to ask his grandmother about the other dragonesses. Although most dragons knew about the king’s history, little was generally known about the dragonesses who advised him. Audun hadn’t paid much attention to them the last time he was in their presence, but he did seem to recall that they were older than Song of the Glacier, and at least one of them had looked at him with kind eyes. Perhaps she would help Song of the Glacier change the dragon king’s mind.
    Audun was about to enter the chamber when a dragon wearing the satchels of a messenger strapped to his back emerged, looking harried and tired. He nodded at Audun who waited until the exterior door had closed before opening the door to the audience chamber.
    King Stormclaw wasn’t seated on his stone pillar as he’d been during their last interview. Instead, he was pacing the length of the room, his tail twitching in agitation. The king stopped when he spotted Audun waiting nervously by the door. “Come in, young dragon. No need to stand there looking like I’m about to rip off your head. You’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve reconsidered. At first I thought you were crazy for wanting to learn how to turn into a human so you could be with a human who can turn into a dragoness. I’d never heard such a thing! And knowing who the dragoness is, I must tell you that I was tempted to lock you away for your own good. However, out of regard for your grandmother, I have reconsidered your request and am willing to give you the opportunity to show me that you deserve to be taught how to turn into a human. You will have to complete five tasks to prove your worth.” He gestured toward the dragoness seated farthest from Song of the Glacier. “Frostweaver will tell you what you must do.”
    Audun turned to the dragoness and bowed, so excited at the good news that he couldn’t help but grin. The old dragoness was smiling at him when he looked up, and he could see that at least two of her fangs were missing. The flesh on her jaws was lined with wrinkles and her white scales were dull and yellowed with age. Her blue eyes bore a filmy cast but, even so, he saw excitement gleaming in their depths. Frostweaver looked so fragile that he couldn’t help but wonder if she could still fly.
    “Good day to you, Audun, grandson of my new friend, Song of the Glacier. It gives me great pleasure to tell you of your task and to set you on the road to achieving your goal.” When the old dragoness waved a talon before her face, Audun thought she was about to fall over. It took a moment before he realized that she was using frost to draw a map in the air as if she were writing on ice. The frost shimmered and grew more solid, until he thought he could almost reach out and touch it.
    “Far from here,” said Frostweaver, “lies the kingdom of Aridia. In the southern half of the kingdom you will find the Arid Desert. Although many believe that the shifting sands harbor no life, we dragons know that is not true. You must fly to the Arid Desert and look for the rarest of all birds, which can be found only in the driest of lands.” With a swipe of her talons, the map faded away, and the picture of a bird replaced it. The bird was ugly, with a bald head and small, piercing eyes. It looked scrawny at first, but as Audun watched, its body filled out until it looked like a different bird entirely. “You may find the desicca bird in either of its phases, but it is not the bird itself that you seek. Locate the bird and follow it to its nest, buried deep within the burning sands. Retrieve one of the eggs and bring it back here. If you are to succeed at your task, you must ensure that the egg remains intact and that the chick inside lives. Upon successful completion of this test, you shall receive your