Breath of Innocence Read Online Free PDF Page B

temple when the call finally came. They would fly to Singapore and from there, Kris and Issa would meet them and fly them to the Monastery.
    “Did she say what she needed us for?” Camille asked after Eben ended the call.
    “It’s mostly you she needs. There are ancient texts in the vault at the Monastery. Accounts of the lineages and bonds of the previous Court dragons who each Verdanith fragment belonged to. They actually wrote all this shit down back then. It’s in a dialect older than the Unbound that serve the Monastery, so you’re the only person who is capable of translating it in detail.”
    Camille raised her eyebrows. “That’d have to be Dark Ages or older if it predates any living dragons who would be able to translate it.” She fidgeted in her seat and rubbed her palms on her khaki-clad thighs. Eben eyed her in amusement. “What? I’m just eager to get started. I’m better at translating ancient dragon dialects than your wonky moods, so let’s get going already.”
    ***
    If it weren’t for the incessant white glow of Camille’s dragon mark, Eben could have pretended life was perfect. He didn’t begrudge her the obvious desire she had to have a baby. In fact, he believed she’d be a fantastic mother and could easily imagine her boundless curiosity and enthusiasm affecting the child in what could only be a positive way. He just didn’t see where he would fit in the whole arrangement. He could deal with three. Sharing her with Roka had never been an issue, even though now that it was just the two of them he relished having her to himself. And the truth was, he missed Roka every bit as much as Camille did. Two more giving lovers he could never imagine he would have, and the Guardian generally provided a mellow counterpoint to Camille’s vibrance, giving her something different to focus on during the rare moments when Eben wished for solitude.
    But he felt like a fraud every time he saw that mark and knew his own still lay dark and unresponsive. She had to have noticed it. He knew Roka had, but the Guardian had avoided mentioning it. One advantage of the marks, however, was that with the magic infusing him he had no concerns about accidentally getting her pregnant. Even though he knew she would be over the moon if it happened, his lack of true desire for a child was the perfect form of birth control. Too bad the dragons couldn’t bottle that magic and sell it world-wide. They’d make millions.
    Eben looked forward to their trip to the Monastery. Erika would understand how he felt, at least. Maybe she’d even be able to help him put the whole situation into perspective, or at least figure out how to explain himself to Camille. The leader of their little group had been his best friend and lover for years before they’d discovered their dragon mates. She probably knew him better than anyone, the same way he knew her. They’d both professed early on to not wanting kids until their careers were well established and they’d done all the living they could do. At twenty-eight, Eben felt that he had barely even scratched the surface. Now that they had centuries, he saw no point in rushing.
    Camille was her effervescent self, bouncing off the walls while she packed, her chipper excitement infectious to the point that he felt just a little buzzed himself.
    “I wonder if they’ve found her yet,” she said as she rolled her cotton panties into tight little bundles and stuffed them in the trekking backpack she preferred to travel with.
    Eben looked up from his own more haphazard packing. “She had a few weeks’ head start on them, but Rafe said she was new to being a dragon. Hopefully if they haven’t, they will soon.”
    “Just as long as that doofus of a Shadow doesn’t run himself dry again,” Camille said with a sardonic look. Her expression darkened as another thought crossed her mind. “You don’t think Roka would…you know.”
    Eben blinked at the suggestion. The possibility had never