Dragon Legends (Return of the Darkening Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

her jerkin. “Here, let me do that,” I said, trying to make up for my earlier bad temper.
    “Thanks.” Varla lifted her arms, letting me tighten her training gear.
    Finished, I slapped her on the back. “There. Good as any of the best.” I was trying hard to sound chipper, but it was more than difficult. That dream was hanging onto me, and today was going to be a hard day for all of us. What I really wanted to do was crawl back into my bed and sleep another hour. That wasn’t like me and I tried to shake off the mood.
    Varla frowned at her image in the long mirror my mother had sent me for the room. The rest of the room was pretty bare. We had our two narrow beds, two chests for our clothes, the mirror and the carpet. Varla’s mother had sent that to her—I knew it was a tempting reminder of the luxury back at Varla’s home. I’d have the same at House Flamma—poor Varla got letters every other day from her parents, urging her to return, telling all she was missing by not acting like every other noble girl in Torvald. Varla wasn’t like me in many ways—she was skinny, awkward at times, and liked books better than people. But she was a Dragon Rider—we had that in common.
    Turning to me, Varla shrugged. “I just wish…well, I’m glad Feradima was okay with choosing Merik instead of going back to the enclosure. But sometimes, I just wish I was like any other rider on any other team. Everyone’s always pointing us out—like we’re the odd ones here. ‘Oh, look, there’s one of the few girls here, and she’s the one whose dragon had to make a second choice.’”
    I nodded. Varla and I were two of the only female riders—that was why we roomed together. It was enough to make us feel like we didn’t really belong here. I also knew Varla’s folks were still pressuring her to give this up and go back home where she could marry and raise kids. I shivered—and it wasn’t just from the cold. At least my father had seemed proud that I was following Flamma tradition by becoming a rider.
    But one of the other problems of a second choosing was that the dragon and its riders didn’t often have the same connection as from a first choice rider. I knew Varla always worried about that when she flew.
    “Cheer up. Merik is a good navigator. He’s the best at signals, better even than the senior riders. Besides, today is practice tournaments, all padded weapons—and no one’s in danger of being sent home. We’re not cadets anymore. And it’s the sort of training that might just save us in a real battle.”
    Varla grumbled, but she helped me get ready.
    We headed down to the keep to break our fast of the night. Our boots clumped on the stone stairs.
    Out in the practice yard, the sun had just cleared the walls. A chill hung in the air, stinging my cheeks and burning my lungs. I headed over to Seb—who was looking worried as usual, and probably thinking about the Armor Stone. Sometimes he thought way too much. We fell in step and headed for the keep, falling in line with the other riders to get our meal.
    “Tomorrow,” Seb whispered to me. The heavy, padded woolen tunic we all had to wear for today’s training made him look broader than I knew he was. However, he had filled out. He was no longer the skinny boy I’d first met on choosing day. “I was talking to Merik and he says that we might be able to get a day off tomorrow.”
    I nodded. The unease from my dream hadn’t left me. The morning light seemed a little too bright, too washed out. Was I coming down with something?
    Not feeling hungry, I settled for bread and a small bowl of porridge. Merik joined us and the talk shifted to the training for the day. We were all looking forward to some action—at least I was.
    After clearing the tables, we headed out of the keep and assembled in the practice yard. The Dragon Horns—the great, brass horns that shaped our lives—blew to announce the start of the day’s training.
    Shifting on my feet, I heard