DragonFire Read Online Free PDF Page B

mirrored by them. Kale laughed and spoke to her friend, “We haven’t changed.
You
are different, Gilda. You’re whole.”
    A slow smile spread across her lovely features. She lifted a hand to Regidor. He jumped forward and took it. Gazing into her eyes, he raised it to his lips.
    She giggled, a sound that seemed inappropriate for the stately Gilda. “The first time you’ve kissed me, and you missed my mouth by a yard.”
    He jerked her forward and into his arms. The next kiss did not miss and made up for years of being unable to touch.
    “Well,” exclaimed Granny Noon, placing her fingertips on her throat and giving a shiver. “I’d say this calls for a celebration. If we can get the attention of our two lovebirds.”
    Regidor threw back his head and howled in jubilance. He swept Gilda up and swung her around the room.
    Bardon and Kale laughed, clapping their hands. The minor dragons soared and chittered, adding to the merriment. Regidor paused before Kale and allowed the two women to hug before he twirled Gilda around the room once more.
    “Tea and daggarts,” said Granny Noon and moved to her cupboard.
    “It’s a miracle,” said Kale.
    Regidor put his bride down on the floor but kept an arm around her. “A miracle? Yes, it is! No less a miracle because Wulder used us to perform it. No less a miracle because the answer was already written in His design of the universe. A miracle!”
    Granny Noon’s offer of tea and daggarts expanded to a lovely spread of nordy rolls, oaten honey bread, cakes, tiny sandwiches, a pot of stew, and candies made from mordat. The party lasted all afternoon and into the evening. Gilda took delight in touching things, stroking the minor dragons, holding a spoon, and sipping from a delicate teacup.
    Kale gasped as she watched Gilda raise a brown nordy roll and sink her teeth into it. Gilda paused and tilted her head, sending the Dragon Keeper a look of inquiry.
    “I never thought,” said Kale. “I mean, it never occurred to me. How did you eat? What kept you alive? All those years in the bottle. You should have starved to death.”
    Gilda smiled with the serenity that heightened her beauty. “Regidor kept me alive. His research was divided between seeking ways to sustain me and ways that might cure me.”
    Regidor patted her hand and then, with obvious pleasure, intertwined her fingers with his.
    After Kale cleared the table and Bardon helped her wash up, they moved into Granny Noon’s comfortable den area. Kale settled on the floor and rested against Bardon’s legs as he sat in an overstuffed chair. Gilda snuggled in Regidor’s embrace on a sofa.
    The warm room exuded comfort and peace. Granny Noon, sitting in her favorite chair, took up her knitting, gave the rocker a little shove with her foot, and took a stitch. “My dears, you’ve been ensconced in your self-absorbed bubbles for too long. I’m afraid it’s time to come out and see where Paladin needs you. We all have work to do.”

          5          
    N IGHT T ALK
    Bardon stooped to keep from hitting his head on the roots woven into the ceiling of the small bedchamber. On his shoulder, Dibl dug in his claws to keep from slipping and let out a chortle. Bardon ignored the minor pest and gazed at Kale, already sitting in the tiny bed under one of Granny Noon’s homespun blankets. She pulled her knees up to her chest and did little to hide the mischievous smirk on her face. With the good humor dragon influencing his mood, Bardon edged sideways around the wall without grumping.
    He nudged the bright minor dragon from its perch and shrugged out of his shirt. “It’s a good thing we’re not urohms.”
    Kale imagined a giant husband and wife bumbling about, trying to fit into the bed. The mental image invaded Bardon’s thoughts and caused the corners of his mouth to lift. Dibl did an aerial somersault but bumped into the wall. The six minor dragons chirred their amusement.
    Contentment filled the