Dragon and Phoenix Read Online Free

a captain, she thought sadly. It was still all bright and shiny and new.
    And the thought of being trapped in the Keep for the long northern winter nearly made her scream in panic.
    Though she knew it would do her as much good as beating her head against the proverbial stone wall, she had to try once more. “Must we stay here? I’d like to see my family and friends in Thalnia one last time. I never had a chance to say good-bye to them.”
    Linden sighed and rubbed his cheek against her hair. “I’m sorry, dearheart, but you know what the Lady has decreed. She’s concerned because you can’t Change; she feels it’s safer for you here. Besides, there is the matter of Kyrissaean.”
    Ah, yes; the matter of Kyrissaean. The recalcitrant, irritating, inexplicable dragon half of her soul. Who refused to speak to any Dragonlord or even another dragonsoul, yet always lurked in the back of Maurynna’s mind. Who would not let Maurynna Change, who kept her earthbound and chained to the Keep.
    Damn Kyrissaean. It would be long and long indeed before she forgave her draconic half.
    Maurynna fumed. “I hate being coddled. And you’re coddling me—all of you.”
    “Yes,” Linden agreed equably. Maurynna wondered if he guessed how tempted she was to kick him for it. “We are; I am,” he went on. “It’s been far too long since there was a new Dragonlord. And I waited far too long for you, love. Bear with us.”
    And if you all drive me into screaming fits because you’re smothering me? Then what? But she held her tongue; the last thing she wanted to do was fight with Linden first thing in the morning. Especially not when he nibbled her neck so gently.
    Eyes closed, she let her head fall back against his shoulder to make it easier for him. His hands slid upward. Oh, yes; a fight could wait at least until after breakfast.
     
    But when, much later, they reached the great hall where the meals were served, something drove all thoughts of argument from Maurynna’s mind.
    A young man stood with his back to her. As tall as Linden, though not as broad of shoulder and chest, he conferred with Tamiz, one of the kir servants. His hair glinted red-gold in the late morning sunlight that poured through the tall, narrow windows. He wore it in the Yerrin fashion, as Linden did his: shoulder length save for a long, narrow clan braid hanging from the nape of his neck and down his back. But where Linden’s braid bore the four-strand pattern of a noble and was bound with the blue, white, and green of Snow Cat clan, this man sported Marten clan’s black and green tying off the three-strand braid of a commoner.
    Curly, reddish hair was common among Yerrins, and Marten a large clan. It might be anyone. Still …
    Tamiz nodded, a sudden grin appearing on her short-muzzled face. She beckoned the man to follow. The set of shoulders and head was distinctive, but it was the horseman’s walk that gave him away beyond a doubt.
    “Raven!” Maurynna gasped. Then, louder, “Raven—what are you doing here?” She ran across the wide floor.
    Raven stopped, looked back over his shoulder; his face lit up at the sight of her. “Beanpole!” he cried as he caught her in a hug.
    Maurynna hugged him back, forgetting that she was now much stronger than she had been as a truehuman.
    “Ooof!” Raven wheezed in surprise.
    “Oh, gods, Raven—I’m sorry. I forgot,” Maurynna said, laughing in delight. What was her best friend in all the world doing here?
    Raven avoided her eyes. “So did I,” he said at last. “I’m sorry, Your Gr—”
    Maurynna went cold. Not from Raven. Please—not from the boy she’d traded black eyes and heartfelt secrets with all her life. She couldn’t stand it.
    “Finish saying it, lad, and you’ll be lucky if all she does is knock you down,” Linden said as he came up. He clapped Raven on the shoulder. “Remember me? We met when you were a child. When did you arrive?”
    “Late last night, Dragonlord.” Raven bowed,