Dragonfire: Freedom in Flames (Secrets of the Makai Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

realize. Fair well, Tristan. It’s been an honor to know and work with you.
    Wait! I can’t do this alone.
    You’re not alone and I must face my sentence. If I were you, I’d start by locating as many gems as possible for future reference, but do not touch. We have theories about the power you absorb, but none are easily explained. Just be the dragon you were meant to be, and all will—
    Tristan held his breath in the eerie void of silence. Will what? What sentence? How do I get rid of the power?
    “Maybe he’s hibernating?”
    Molajah? I have more questions! Please don’t leave. Though he couldn’t think of what he’d ask. He’d need a day or two just to digest all the information he’d been given. Fear and guilt and mourning squeezed at his throat and lungs. What was the punishment for High Treason? “No! Let me speak!”
    “Tristan!”
    Tristan rolled from his back to his feet in a sorry attempt to put as much space between himself and whoever was touching him. The green blob of a man seemed to be ushering the two orange blobs of Landon and Victor in the opposite direction. He shaded his eyes against the intense sunlight and looked for a way out between the trees; a way to reach Molajah. But every direction was blocked by vertical bars of speckled birch trees.
    “Tristan!”
    Tristan spun to face the source of the voice, unable to get a full breath into his lungs. The glowing green man was offering a wooden staff in one hand, and holding the other out empty. Tristan retreated in mirrored steps as the man approached.
    “Donovan.” Tristan said the name as soon as it popped into his head. “Don’t push me. Not now.”
    The man stopped inching forward. He tossed the staff after a brief hesitation, landing it with a thud in the dry leaves near Tristan’s feet. Tristan knelt slowly, refusing to break eye contact until the staff was safely in hand.
    “What is it you wish to speak about?”
    Tristan rested his head against the staff. “Molajah—”
    “Did you tell him I wish to have an audience with the council?”
    “Yes, and he said the council can’t be trusted. He’s on trial for treason.”
    “When?”
    Tristan turned away, facing the trees instead. There was nothing he could do for Molajah, except die to be there in person. Which would completely defeat the purpose of Molajah’s sacrifice. “Right now.”
    “Perhaps he will be found innocent of these charges.”
    “He’s not denying the charges.”
    “Does he have a plan?”
    Tristan shrugged. “Something about a revolution. He hopes others will take down the council. Samara being down is the only reason he was able to contact me.”
    “It is unlikely that Molajah was executed in the same moment the room regained enough power to operate. Come with me.”
    Tristan glanced at Donovan, daring to hope. Was he being freed? Even if only temporarily? Donovan produced a pair of dark sunglasses. “If you think this is bright, it’ll be even brighter outside. Assuming it is daylight.”
    Tristan put on the dark shades and felt the immediate relief.
    “Roo—Samara. Let us out.”
    “Not a wise decision, Donovan,” replied Samara. “He’s showing signs—”
    “We don’t have time to wait. We’ll be back.”
    A simple white door appeared through the birch trees. Tristan concentrated on slowing his heart rate, focusing on Molajah’s wellbeing rather than his own anxieties. He followed Donovan, who no longer appeared green through the dark lenses.
    They stopped at the door with Donovan’s hand closed around the knob. “Don’t use the glasses if you don’t have to—they’ll just be another crutch. The tunnel is dark.”
    Tristan took the glasses off. The birch forest seemed a breathtaking fire of its own, harvest yellow and gold leaves flickering in a reddish sun.
    “It’ll still be here when we return.” Donovan opened the door and stepped into the dark tunnel.
    Tristan looked past Landon and Victor, searching the forest for signs