The Balborite Curse (Book 4) Read Free

it,” said Tallin.
    "That ’s not terribly surprising. Like me, Brinsop is the only survivor in her bloodline. The memory must be painful for her. It’s possible that Brinsop never discussed it with Sela; it’s a very private subject."
    Tallin waited for Duskeye to continue his story, but he fell silent and did not speak again. The future of the dragon race was precarious. No one had discovered a wild dragon in years, and chances were slim that any other survivors remained. Tallin never stopped searching, but he was beginning to lose hope.
    During the Dragon Wars, thousands of dragons had been mercilessly slaughtered. Even if there were a wild dragon out there to be found, Tallin could not be sure that they would welcome contact with outsiders. In fact, they might be outright hostile, having learned to shun anyone who might cause them harm.
    Besides Tallin and Duskeye, Parthos hosted four other dragon riders: Elias and Nydeired, the only surviving white dragon; Galti and Holf and their two black dragons, Orshek and Karela; and Sela and her carnelian dragon, Brinsop.
    There was one dragon rider in the east, Chua and his dragon, Starclaw. They lived in quiet solitude in the Elder Willow, a mystical grove of trees. Both had survived horrific physical torture during the war, and as a result, they were both blind and disabled. Chua could not walk, and Starclaw would never fly again.
    A few dragons lived in Brighthollow, the land of the elves. The elves refused to disclose how many dragons lived among them, but it wasn ’t more than a handful. Dragons were unable to reproduce in Brighthollow, since the enchantments that pervaded the elvish lands suppressed dragon fertility. There would be no new hatchlings from there.
    Tallin’s shoulders slumped. He had hoped that the dragons would begin their path to recovery by now. However, no female dragons had been willing to nest. Perhaps it was too soon, or they were still too uneasy. It weighed heavily on him.
    Tallin tucked the vial of kudu oil back into his pocket, pondering what its presence in Parthos could mean. Had it been intended for him? For one of the other riders? Or one of the dragons themselves? He could only speculate, and none of the options was at all pleasant. There were so few dragons left already. Tallin felt a sense of dread. Was it too late, he wondered, for these noble creatures to recover their numbers after such a catastrophic decline?
    Was it too late to save the dragons from extinction?
     

Blood Raven in the Desert
    Sela ended her telepathic contact with Tallin. Her eyes closed and her body went limp —she felt dizzy.
    "Are you all right?" asked Brinsop. The dragon ’s dark eyes showed concern.
    “I’m fine.” Sela’s eyes fluttered open, her vision returning slowly as the desert landscape swirled back to normal. “I just need a few moments to recover. You know that mind-spells are difficult for me. There’s no need to worry.”
    "You push yourself too much," said Brinsop.
    “So do you,” Sela shot back.
    "Humph!" Brinsop grunted. " Do we have to return? We just got here." She tried not to sound disappointed. They had taken a few days ’ vacation, relaxing in the north where it was cooler. As usual, their holiday was cut short.
    “I’m sorry; we must go back to the city. Tallin discovered another kudu smuggler. That’s the second one this month. We cannot ignore it. The gatekeepers can’t catch everything, and it’s possible there are several vials inside the city already. I’ve got to return and interrogate the prisoner.”
    "Can ’t you force the truth from him?"
    Sela shook her head. “It’s not that easy. Truth spells are a powerful weapon, but they’re tricky and unpredictable, so they’re often ineffective. I could brew a truth serum, which usually has better results than a spell, but it would take weeks to prepare. There’s no simple solution. Sometimes I wish I had been born an elf… it’s easy for them to coerce mortals to