Silver Dragon Codex Read Online Free PDF Page B

it. “I’m something strange.”
    “Maybe he’s wrong. Did you ever think of that?” Jace asked, tucking the flap of his bag closed and tying the strings tightly together. “Maybe Mysos is crazy, and you’re just a herdsman’s daughter with a gift for dancing. Don’t let that wizard’s arrogance make you think he’s knows everything.”
    “I guess.” Belen’s face pricked into a thin smile.
    Jace took her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
    She sighed. “I will be, once we find something to prove that I’m innocent.”
    “If we don’t find something, we’ll make something up.” Cerisse poked her head up from her pile of belongings, tossing a pair of socks into her already bursting travel sack. “Don’t worry.”
    “Cerisse!” Jace thumped the cot, shaking some of herloose items down on her. “We can’t just invent evidence and give it to the White Robes!”
    “Why not? He’s not coming with us. How would he know if we did?”
    “He’s a wizard. He’ll find out,” Jace said.
    “Aha.” Cerisse shook her finger at him. “So your problem isn’t using false evidence, it’s getting caught?”
    “Wait, I didn’t say that!”
    “Close enough. Don’t worry.” Cerisse winked. “I’ll handle it.”
    “Cut it out, Cerisse. We won’t have to make anything up,” Jace said between gritted teeth. “Belen’s innocent.”
    “I’m sure she is, whether or not we find something to prove it. Therefore, ta-da and va-voom, we will find something, even if we don’t find anything. You trust that she’s innocent, right? So no matter what, we come back with something that says so.”
    Cerisse’s argument was pretty good. As much as Jace hated to admit it, the goal was to prove Belen’s innocence. After five years, any evidence that might have been left behind was probably long gone, and they might have to resort to less than honorable methods in order to prove that Belen wasn’t responsible. As long as Belen really was innocent, what was the harm in creating “evidence”? Lying was better than coming back empty-handed and lettingMysos take her away. Still, it didn’t feel right. “We’ll see when we get there,” he said finally, shirking the whole thing. He didn’t have to think about it now.
    Belen shook her head. “I’m glad that you trust me, Cerisse, but what if you’re wrong? What if I
did
hurt a lot of people and I just don’t remember it? I don’t know much about dragons, but I do know they are very powerful. If a dragon is angry, who knows what harm it could do?”
    “Belen, you aren’t the kind of person who would—” Jace started, but she cut him off.
    “I’m not that kind of person
now
. Who knows what kind of person—or dragon—I was then? I might have been very different.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I might have been mean.”
    “Hard to imagine, Lady I-Don’t-Even-Like-To-Step-On-Bugs.” Cerisse chuckled. “Don’t worry. Even if you turn mean, Jace here will snap a whip and hold up a hoop for you just like Worver does when he’s taming the lions. He’ll do anything for you. It’ll be fine.” Jace felt his face flush at Cerisse’s teasing. And he was going to have to spend three days in the forest with her? He’d wring her neck before it was over!
    Belen rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Cerisse, that’s a wonderful image. Will the circus be keeping me in a cage and feeding me raw meat as well?”
    “Why not? Might improve your temper,” Cerisse teased.
    “Be serious!” Belen thrust her fists on her hips, glaring.
    “I am! Well, partly. Look, Belen, nobody can see the future. Not me, not Jace, not even … well, maybe Ebano can, but nobody understands what he’s saying. We’ll just go and see and worry about it then.” Cerise dug under her bed for a few more things, overturning her footlocker to shove the last of her stuff into an already filled-to-the-seams bag. “Back to business. I don’t need my tights or my heavy juggling