Smolder (Dragon Souls) by Penelope Fletcher

Author:Penelope Fletcher [Fletcher, Penelope]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: C429, Extratorrents, Kat
Publisher: Feedbooks
Published: 2011-01-17T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The palace below mesmerized Marina, and she craned her neck to see as Daniil landed. She slid off his back, and as soon as she climbed down the ladder set into the side of the landing pillar, she strode over to the manicured gardens.

It had five stories of lacquered wood and pillars, each alternating storey getting smaller until the apex. A pointed roof of dark green slate was topped with a thick column that looked very much like a landing pillar from the deep gouges and scratches from dragon talons in the stone.

There was a pool of water surrounding the house’s sturdy stone pillars. Since it backed onto the lagoon, Marina knew this was Koen’s home, at least, the place that would be home if he wasn’t hunted.

The doors to enter were engraved with the Raad crest as was the flat stones leading to them through the water.

“It’s built for dragons,” she murmured.

“Of course,” Daniil said and summoned his clothes with a flicker of his eyelids and a wave of his hand. “We are dragons that can shift human, not humans that can shift dragon.”

“Koen seems to look at it differently.”

“Koen has issues.”

Marina couldn’t argue with that.

They were greeted by a kind old man in dark grey robes with a long white beard.

Marina followed Daniil’s lead and pulled off her muddy boots and left them outside before stepping into a spacious room, the floor covered in woven mats. Light streamed in through segmented screens, and they were led by the old man into a guest room. Seated on oblong cushions, Marina studied the intricate dragons painted onto the surface of low rectangular table in front of her.

Knelt motionless on the other side was an exquisitely beautiful woman Marina’s age. Dressed in diaphanous robes with long funneled sleeves that covered her hands, she was refinement personified, and exuded a sereneness and composure Marina knew she would never be able to imitate.

Behind the hostess was a hanging scroll depicting a gory battle in blood red ink. Below it, a stick of incense burned off into a tray, and the snappish fragrance of ginger stole through the room. In the farthest corner sat another young women, plucking on elaborate string instrument.

“Tea ceremony,’ Daniil murmured to her. “It is an honor dragon lords receive when on an official visit in human form.”

“Official visit?”

“Our time here will be recorded and sent to court. There are scrolls the dragon lords of the gentry can peruse at their leisure, and it keeps them abreast of current alliances and any problematic ties or associations. Of course, most often court gossip is a more reliable source of information.”

The hostess smiled prettily as she prepared the tea leaves by crushing them in a clay pestle.

Just off to her side was a square hole in the mats, and Marina could hear the gentle coming and going of water on rocks. Suspended on ropes was an ornate metal plate with a glowing brazier, and hanging over that a cast iron kettle of boiling water.

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