Dragonkin Read Free Page B

welcome. Good luck on your trek. You have our leave.” He returned to the column of books by his desk.
    Kestrel left and let his words sink in. It didn’t matter what he said. She would find a way to the Northern Mountains and the dragon king.
     

Chapter Three
     
    She stared at the map on her bed. If she were to ride, the journey would take her three months or longer. After that, there was no telling how she would get to Blaze Mountain. There are no discernable roads to the mountain. The best way to get there is to fly. Which means I need a dragon. The one person she could think to ask was Dathan. They hadn’t spoken since Castigan had died. What she remembered of their last conversation, they had gotten into a screaming match. They ran into one another in the halls now and again, but they never spoke. He won’t want to see me, but he still owes me for saving his ass during the wars. It’s the least he can do.
    The wind caught a few strands of her hair while she peered out her window. Her view consisted of the massive aerie that had been built ages ago by the first spellcasters. It rose above the Athenaeum, a mini-mountain, and the hill it was built into was honeycombed with caves where the dragons resided.
    Castigan had enjoyed staying deep underground, where it was hot. She never liked his small cave due to the heat, but she spent time with him wherever he was. Kestrel wrapped her arms around herself. He’s not coming back. I’m always going to be alone. This journey is probably a waste of time. I have to try. I can’t keep rotting in the library. Dathan’s going to take me whether he likes it or not.
    Kestrel walked out of her room and headed toward the aerie. The last time she had set foot in it was to gather her belongings from Castigan’s cave. As far as she knew, no one else had occupied it since. She walked through the heavy iron gates and made her way up the path that wound along the side of the aerie until she got to a side entrance. The heat of the place hit her immediately. Small windows dotted the walls and ceiling to let in the air. The musky scent of the dragons filled her nose. The ground rumbled underneath her from the dragons moving about. She grabbed the wall to steady herself. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. Once they did, she walked up to the upper levels where Dathan and his dragon roosted. The wooden door was partially open into Pena’s nook. She watched them through the crack. Dathan’s back was toward her. His copper hair was cropped short. Wide shoulders showed his solid frame.
    His dragon, Pena, slept curled up in the corner. Small tendrils of smoke trailed from her nostrils. He stood by her side and petted her emerald scales. A pang of jealousy shot through her. The door creaked on its hinges when she opened it.
    Dathan turned.
    “By the dragon’s tail, what are you doing in here? I thought you were banned from the aerie.”
    She gave him a small smile. “Not from the aerie itself. The dragons want nothing to do with me, so I stay away.”
    “So what are you doing here when you have no dragon?”
    “I need to ask you a favor.”
    Dathan chuckled. His laughter started off soft, and then it bellowed through the nook. Pena opened her eyes and peered at them. The dragon’s presence played against her mind. Another gift Cas had given her was the ability to communicate with all dragons, when normally a spellcaster could only hear his or her own dragon.
    “You’re coming to me after you did this!” He gestured to his scarred face. The left side of his head was a mass of twisted flesh. Half of his ear was missing. His eye was white from blindness. The hair didn’t grow on that part of his scalp. The marks extended down to his torso. He had limited movement in his left arm. Before the accident, he had been one of the most handsome men she had known. Women had hung onto his arm wherever he went. Now she didn’t know if he was with anyone.
    She bowed her