Dragon Bonds (Return of the Darkening Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

as if everyone knew not just my family name but all about my brothers, my father and mother and, of course, the instructors had expected me to live up to House Flamma’s reputation for producing the best Dragon Riders.
    Your name or your skirts won’t change what I need from you, Flamma! Instructor Mordecai had once shouted that at me—which was ridiculous really, because I had never asked for any special treatment. I had proven myself one of the best fighters, a solid protector. Growing up with two brothers, I’d had a lot of practice holding my own.
    But while my family name had been impossible to escape from at the Academy, Seb’s background as a nobody from Monger’s Lane had singled him out for everyone expecting him to fail. He hadn’t. He was the best navigator—and he had the Dragon Affinity. Not many could claim that. He’d even been teaching me how to communicate with Kalax with thoughts. But I could see why he’d never invited me to see where he’d once lived.
    Monger’s Lane was a wreck now, but I could see from the tight press of ruined houses and the narrow streets that this had never been pretty. And it stank. I’d known it was the poorest part of Torvald. And everyone had heard you didn’t go to Monger’s Lane wearing rich clothes if you wanted to keep your money and life. My father had often muttered darkly about how it should be burned to the ground and rebuilt.
    Well, now he’d gotten that wish.
    Monger’s Lane and all streets around it looked gutted by fire. Around it, the houses built from stone had mostly survived the dragons, the Wildmen and the raiders. Down here, the whole neighborhood had been crushed. Blackened piles of things that might have once been buildings littered the streets. The narrow lanes wound through the piles of charred wood as if they’d been planned by a demented, mostly blind spider. Tiny alleyways gave way to the entrances of now hollow warehouses. Streets didn’t seem to lead anywhere. I could see no open plazas, gardens or public buildings—this wasn’t anything like the wide streets I was used to. In the distance, I could hear the clash of metal on metal—fighting still going on. Cries echoed around us, but so far away from this place of desolation.
    I was never going to find Seb.
    Nudging my arm, Ryan asked, “When do we give this up?”
    I glanced at him. “I didn’t ask you to come. You invited yourself along. You can give up anytime. I won’t. Seb’s my navigator.”
    He gave me a crooked smile. “What? Leave all the fighting to you? And what else would I be doing—joining Father and Reynalt in their crazy thinking?”
    “Thinking about treason,” I muttered.
    Ryan put a hand on my arm and stopped me. “I am not going to be telling King Justin any of what they said. I don’t think you should, either.”
    I pulled away from him and started walking again, but I said, “Don’t worry, I still hope it was only talk. I just can’t believe Reynalt would ever consider trying to depose the rightful king. As for Father and Mother…?” I let the words trail off.
    That was the entire problem.
    I’d been at the deathbed of the old king when he’d declared Lord Vincent—his enemy—to be his rightful successor. The old king had obviously been under the influence of the Memory Stone. Luckily for us, the only other people to have been there had been Seb and Instructor Mordecai, who’d sworn us to silence on the matter.
    Not that it should matter—King Justin had been the only heir to the throne. The only true heir. But he was young, and he, too, had come under the influence of the Memory Stone. What if Lord Vincent killed King Justin, or brought him under control of the Darkening? Or was King Justin still under the influence of that dark magic? Was his plan to attack Lord Vincent’s forces just a way to lead us all to a final defeat?
    Shoulders slumping, I glanced around at the ruined part of the city. We were headed into even more trouble, and I