Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl Read Free Book Online Page B

that was painfully beautiful to behold.
    â€œI thought as much,” said Gleamdren with a satisfied smirk. “You smelled burnt like a dragon, not dead like mortals do. So tell me, dragon, are you looking for the Flowing Gold too?”
    â€œI am,” said Hri Sora. Her voice rasped between her sharp teeth.
    â€œOf course you are. I know where it is; did you know that?”
    â€œI did. And you will tell me.”
    Gleamdren laughed outright. Her laugh was artificial, as though she’d forgotten long ago what a real laugh was supposed to sound like. She wiped one eye with her thumb and turned a smile upon the dragon. “Oh, honestly! Do you really think that’s how it’s going to work? I’m not about to just tell you a secret like that, older than the foundations of the world! You’re going to have to kidnap me.”
    Hri Sora hissed and fire gleamed in her mouth. “Tell me what I want to know, and there will be no need for kidnapping.”
    â€œWhat? And spoil all the fun? I think not! No, no, it’s much better that you steal me away to . . . wherever you live. I do hope there’s a goodhigh tower there. It’s proper if you lock me in a high tower. That’s how these things are done.”
    The dragon rose from the bed. Fire burned through her skin, and the green nightgown caught and smoldered at the neck and sleeves. “Tell me what I want to know.” The heat of her words melted the gilding on the bedposts, on the walls, on the mirror’s frame.
    â€œNo. Sorry. Kidnapping it must be.”
    â€œAre you not afraid?”
    â€œWhy should I be afraid? I have scores of suitors, and they’ll all come to rescue me. Can you imagine how romantic that will be? Much more so than epic poetry. I’ve never been kidnapped before, but I’ve always rather liked the sound of it! So yes, why don’t you just spread your wings like a good dragon and carry me off?”
    Hri Sora gnashed her teeth. Fire fell from her lips, setting the counterpane ablaze. Even Gleamdren had the sense to take a step back, blinking rapidly. But Hri Sora reached out and took hold of the front of her dress, dragging her so close that Gleamdren thought her nose might melt away. For the first time that evening, a flutter that might be akin to fear stirred in Gleamdren’s breast.
    â€œI’ll carry you off, little maid,” snarled the dragon. “I’ll lock you away fast and far. And believe me, you will tell me what I wish to know, or you will die.”
    â€œDon’t . . . don’t make a fool of yourself,” Gleamdren gasped, still trying to keep her voice light. “The people of Rudiobus don’t die. ”
    â€œPerhaps not.” Fire surrounded the dragon’s tongue as she spoke. “But you can be killed.”
    Gleamdren opened her mouth to speak but found she had no words. That thrill of fear she’d known for the first time only moments ago returned suddenly, paralyzing her. She went limp in the dragon’s grasp, made no struggle as she was caught up in two powerful arms and borne to the window. It may have been some spell. It may have been the overwhelming poison of the dragon’s breath no longer disguised by an attractive enchantment. Either way, Gleamdren found herself unable to move, unable to speak, unable to so much as cry out for help.
    The dragon flung wide the casement, and the fire of her hair and hereyes lit up that dark street within the mountain, angry red light bursting through every window and startling all sleepers into instant, panicked wakefulness. Then she roared in a powerful voice that carried not only throughout all Rudiobus Mountain, but also across the lake, into the Wood and the worlds beyond. The language was one never before spoken in the land of the Merry People, and it would never be heard in those halls again.
    â€œYaotl! Eztli!”
    War and blood. Fire and terror. The words