Smoke and Fire: Part 1 Read Online Free PDF

she couldn’t stop herself.
    “Con knew drastic action had to be taken.” Ryder cleared his throat and slid deeper into his chair. “We created a dragon bridge, linking our realm to another, and we sent every dragon across it. It was their only chance at survival. Though it killed us to see them go.”
    “You sent them away?” she asked in outrage. “Ryder, that’s horrific. Those were your people. Why would you do that just for the mortals?”
    He met her gaze solemnly. “We made a vow to the mortals. And we hoped that we could return the dragons one day. Had we known what would happen, I doona believe we would’ve sent the dragons away. But the simple fact is, our two races couldna live together.”
    “We came after you. Yet you sacrificed your way of life for us.” Kinsey felt ashamed for the actions of her ancestors.
    Ryder’s lips softened a fraction. “Sending our dragons away wasna enough. It took Con longer than he wanted, but he eventually got all the Kings back on his side except for Ulrik. We still had Ulrik and four of the largest of his Silvers to contend with. We trapped the Silvers and used our magic to make them sleep.”
    “Did you send them with the others?”
    He hesitated a bit too long. “Nay. They’re here.”
    “Here?” she asked in disbelief. “As in, here?”
    “They’re in the mountain behind the manor in a cage bound with magic.”
    That didn’t make her feel any better. How could a cage hold dragons? And large ones at that? She decided to move past that for now. “What happened to Ulrik?”
    “We united our magic to bind his. He would be unable to communicate with his Silvers. We also made sure he could never shift.”
    “So he’s in dragon form?”
    Ryder looked at the floor. “He’s in human form.”
    “Damn,” she murmured. “That was cruel.”
    “We also banished him from Dreagan.”
    She shook her head at Ryder when he looked up at her. “Why? Didn’t any of you realize he was hurt? Why take such drastic measures?”
    “He started a war, Kinsey. Because of that we lost thousands of dragons and hundreds of Kings. And let’s no’ forget we had to send our dragons away.”
    Kinsey crossed her arms over her chest. “No, you didn’t. You could’ve stopped all of that from happening by doing several things. First, Ulrik should’ve been told what his woman was doing. He should’ve been allowed to do what he wanted with her. Second, vow or no’, you could’ve stopped all the dragon killings by using your magic on humans. Whether to kill them or stop them, something could’ve been done.”
    “We were no’ thinking that way.”
    “You reacted almost as harshly as Ulrik. I applaud your race for wanting to look after humans, but in the end, you sacrificed your own kind for us. Look where you are now.”
    “Doona remind me,” he murmured. “Would you rather we had killed mortals and wiped their existence?”
    “I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that Ulrik was punished for a quick reaction, and yet Con and the rest of you reacted just as quickly, but in another way. Both of you are to blame.”
    Ryder stared at her a long while before he said, “You’re the second human to tell us that.”
    “It’s because I’m awesome that way.” Then she got curious. “Who was the other?”
    “Darcy. She’s mated to Warrick.”
    Kinsey grinned. “Then she’s a smart woman. How did she come to my conclusion?”
    “She saw Ulrik’s memories.”
    “What?” Kinsey nearly fell out of her chair she was so surprised. “I think you might’ve skipped some parts.”
    Ryder leaned up and typed in something on the virtual keyboard before he turned to her. “With Ulrik and his Silvers contained, the rest of the Kings retreated to Dreagan. We bound our border with magic to keep all humans out, and we took to our mountains to sleep. Hundreds of years passed as we waited for mortals to forget and the stories to turn into legends and myth.”
    “That