Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett

Author:Heather Fawcett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

Twelve

Through the Falcon’s Cage

Fire dragons continue to grow for at least thirty years, and live to well over one hundred. A captive dragon in India lived to 151. The beasts’ longevity has no doubt given rise to the phrase, “As long as a dragon’s memory.”

—TAKAGI’S COMPENDIUM OF EXOTIC CREATURES

It was Sir Abraham who helped her to her feet and led her, clumsy and stumbling, back to camp. Lady Tennenbaum had recovered—Ember was dimly aware of her cooing and tsking over her. They seemed in agreement that Ember had fainted from fear for Prince Gideon’s life. How relieved she would be, the lady said, when the shock wore off and she realized that he had successfully slain the dragon! Ember ducked inside her tent without speaking a word, and was aware no more.

She awoke properly some hours later, wrapped in blankets. Nisha and Moss were there, whispering, but Ember didn’t stir. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She had failed. True, they had saved the other dragons, for it was likely that more would have been killed if the hunters hadn’t been distracted. But that didn’t change the fact that a dragon had died. Oddly, though, her thoughts kept drifting from the dragon to Chesterfield. She wished she had never heard of the Winterglass Hunt, or Prince Gideon, or any of it. She missed home so much she felt it would choke her.

It was her stomach that eventually forced her to move—it gave a mighty rumble, reminding her that she had missed breakfast and lunch. Grudgingly, Ember sat up.

“You’re awake!” Nisha was at her side in an instant. “I’m so glad—we were worried! Are you all right?”

Ember was silent, and for the first time, her honesty didn’t rise up inside her. Her honesty didn’t know the answer any more than she did.

“That horrid Prince Gideon,” Nisha said. “I wish I had been there with you—but then, I’m glad I didn’t have to watch. Moss threw up. Do you want some hot chocolate?”

Ember wanted to lie back down and close her eyes and have nothing more to do with any of them. But she couldn’t. She had failed the dragons once. She couldn’t fail again.

She shook her head. “Where’s the prince?”

“Off with his scouts and a few of the hunters. They don’t think the dragons will return here, so they’re going to try to track them south. The other hunters are preparing the dogsleds for an expedition.”

Ember swallowed. “Then I have to go with them.”

“We have to go with them.” Nisha grinned her warm grin. She took Ember’s hand. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

For a moment, Ember thought about telling Nisha everything, but fear stopped her. If Nisha knew what she was, would she still want to help her? Nisha wanted to protect the dragons, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid of them. Would she still see Ember as her friend? To her surprise, Ember found herself frightened at the thought of losing Nisha’s friendship. It would be too painful on top of everything else.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.