Redheart (Leland Dragon Series) Read Online Free PDF

Red.”
    She was instantly sorry she’d asked. She never meant to, but she always asked just one too many questions. She huddled against the cave wall and hugged her knees to her chest.
    Kallon swung his head to stare out into the sky. Darkness was unraveling, sliced by horizontal, purple ribbons. She watched his eyes reflect this sparkle. Then, without her even asking, he spoke. “Long ago, dragon territory was the whole earth. Used to be more lines than now.” He blinked slowly, and turned to her. “Mine isn’t the first to die out, and won’t be the last. You humans will see to that.”
    “Why don’t you fight back?”
    “Fighting. All you humans know.” He nodded his head toward her cheek, and she touched the tender place where she felt bruised. “You prey on one another, use violence to feel powerful. It’s beyond you to understand not every creature thinks the way you do.”
    “You don’t think like everyone else?” Riza asked, and smiled.
    He only swung his gaze back to the mouth of the cave. Once more, his eyes reflected the sun that was now a glowing half-nugget of gold against the horizon. The wash of color filled the cave, and the songs of early birds filtered cheerfully into the dusty air around them. “Sun is up. Safe for you to go,” he said, his voice flat.
    She didn’t know what she’d said that made him want to send her away, but she affected a lot of people that way. She slowly pushed to her feet. “I’m sorry,” she said, and she meant it.
    When her dizziness passed, she took a step toward the outside. “I think I will be fine now.” She watched him, waited for him to respond. Or nod. Anything. But he only stared into the sky. “Riza,” she whispered. “That’s my name, in case you were wondering.”
    He must not have been wondering, because he didn’t react. So she kept moving. Each step became stronger than the last. She reached the outside, and breathed deeply of the sweet morning light, drenched with dew. She gave a last glance over her shoulder to the dragon, who seemed no more than a statue. Then she lifted her chin, and faced the new day by walking directly into it.

Chapter Six
     
    Riza wasn’t sure how long she’d walked before she finally stopped to rest. She leaned against the scratchy bark of a willow trunk and slid to her bottom. Where was she going, anyway? She looked up at the blistering morning sun. Rays stabbed like flames through the naked arms of pin oaks and knobby ash trees, and raised tears to her weary eyes. She was forced to look away.
    Before she was taken to the dragon’s cave, she’d been traveling south. With a few saved coins in her pouch, a sack of dried meat and bread, and her father’s knife, she’d headed out before dawn woke the village. She’d offered no goodbye to her father, no note, no explanation. No explanation would have been good enough, anyway.
    She’d spent several days walking and several eerie nights alone, surrounded by the sound of wildlife that seemed more ominous than she’d remembered it sounding when she was home, safe in her bed. But she had begun to grow accustomed, if only a little, to the sounds of nature all around her. It had helped remind her she wasn’t completely alone.
    She felt alone now, though. She was in far worse shape. She had no knife, no provisions, and no money at all. Perhaps she’d been hasty in leaving the dragon’s cave, despite the overpowering stench. She hadn’t even asked directions.
    What she needed was a plan. She looked back from where she came, recognizing the gradual up-slope of the dry earth. Rubble and stone lay like a trail of crumbs for her to find her way back to the cave, if she needed. After all, the dragon had helped her once, and finding him again would be better than starving to death.
    She looked forward. The earth continued downhill, until it flattened out around a patch of sapling pin oaks with branches too gnarled for trees so young. This forest was as thirsty and