Breath of Flame and Shadow Read Online Free

the arms of a human man again. Wherever necessary, she chose another man to seduce, but made a point not to let her intentions be misinterpreted. The magic trails sometimes led her to wild places where she didn’t speak the language and the people were primitive, but they were somehow even more attuned to her intentions when she arrived. They rejoiced in her presence and treated her like a goddess, sometimes celebrating in ritualistic fashion, catering to her specific needs without even having to be seduced by her breath.
    She spent one glorious night in the jungles near Kilimanjaro, serviced extensively by a well-endowed villager who kept referring to her as “sunshine” in his own language.
    The longer she flew, the more she understood what it meant to be what she was. Perhaps it was a long dormant instinct that awakened in her and grew stronger with each infusion of magic. She didn’t know precisely why, but Rafe’s friend’s words came back to her time and again. Leave and live as a human if you wish, but you can have no further contact with other dragons.
    She’d run from the choice, yet now she understood there was no going back to her old life—her human life. She considered returning to find that dragon—Kol—and confess that she wanted to be a part of their world, but only if she never had to see or speak to Rafe again.
    But Rowan gradually began to doubt that any other dragons even existed. She’d been following what she was sure was their secret path through the upper reaches of the atmosphere for weeks, and had yet to encounter a single dragon. At least she believed it had been weeks. She neglected to check the date the last time she paused to replenish her energy.
    Somewhere over Southern Asia she encountered a trail of magic that was far more potent than the other fading paths she’d followed so far. This one made a vast swath across the clouds, as though dozens upon dozens of others had traveled it, and recently. Unable to contain her curiosity she followed it. It wasn’t until she reached the end of the path that she felt a sense of uneasy excitement.
    Unlike the other convergences of trails that led to desolate mountain peaks and dormant volcanoes, this one led to a very lively and populated mountain. Like her other stops, she approached it in the middle of the night after flying for days. The path of magic led through the air to a concentrated swirl above a well-lit clearing, paved with flagstones and surrounded by stone lanterns. Human figures wandered about in loose robes and for the second time in her life she saw another dragon in its full, native shape. The winged figure took flight from the center of the clearing and quickly dwindled into the distance, a pale blue speck soon blending into the dark indigo of the sky. A shimmering contrail of magic stretched behind it and gradually faded into the air. Rowan was sure that if she flew across the clearing she’d be able to sense that trail and follow it.
    This might be a place like those wild villages she’d found where she had been received so eagerly. Still, she wasn’t comfortable approaching from the air even knowing a dragon in its true form wouldn’t cause alarm.
    She found a shadowed rocky ledge, the far side of which was concealed by dense greenery, and descended in the darkness. Once shifted, she conjured herself a robe similar to the garb she’d seen on the humans and made her way down the slope.
    “Gone on flyabout have you?” a deep voice said from somewhere just above and to one side. Rowan stopped cold in her tracks and turned toward the sound.
    The voice cursed softly when she looked up, letting her hood fall away.
    “You shouldn’t be here,” the man said.
    Rowan could see two figures resting above on the smooth, flat surface of the large rock she’d landed behind. She hadn’t seen them in the dark when she landed.
    “Why not?” she asked. She could make out one reclining nude man with inquisitive eyes. An older man