Revealing the Dragons (Stonefire Dragons #2.5) Read Online Free Page B

to live without daily fear of what could be done to their parents or even themselves when they reached maturity. Dragon-shifters should be admired for much more than the healing properties of their blood.
    Not only that, but if things went well, she might finally have the chance to invite her family and friends to visit her. She loved her life on Stonefire and was grateful technology allowed her to communicate with her family, but sometimes she missed talking face-to-face with other humans about her old life.
    None of that will happen unless you grow a spine and stand strong, Hall. Straightening her shoulders, Mel answered, “I’m ready. Let’s get this over with.”
    Bram nodded. With Stonefire’s leader on one side and her mate on the other, Mel felt safe. The two dragonmen would never allow anything to happen to her.
    As they moved past the gate and toward the stage, the crowd fell quiet. The silence caused her stomach to churn and her palms to sweat.
    Once Mel stood behind the podium, she forced down the butterflies in her stomach and took a deep, fortifying breath. Careful to project her voice since there wasn’t a microphone, she addressed the crowd. “Thank you all for coming. My name is Melanie Hall-MacLeod and I’m the author of Revealing the Dragons . As much as I’d like to answer all of your questions, there simply isn’t enough time in the day, especially as a mother of young twins.” One or two women in the crowed smiled. That was better than nothing. She continued, “I’m going to give priority to those who have actually read the book. If you ask about my personal life, you lose the privilege of asking questions and I’ll move on to the next person. Now, who’s first?”
    Twenty hands shot up as everyone asked questions at once. Picking one of the women who had smiled at her comment, Mel pointed. “Yes? What’s your question?”
    The rest of the crowd fell silent. At least, they were well trained. The woman with glasses and brown hair asked, “Your exposé makes the dragons appear almost human, except for a few minor differences. How do you respond to those who say your book is fiction and shouldn’t be taken as truth?”
    Mel was careful not to frown. “I have a degree in Social Anthropology. I’m trained to observe and record what I find, with the least amount of bias I can muster. While it’s impossible to completely ignore my love for Clan Stonefire, I didn’t write about my own family here. I wrote about the clan’s history and practices as a whole. Those who wish to believe it’s fiction will most likely never change their opinion, so it’s pointless for me to worry about them.”
    The same woman asked a follow-up question. “I did talk to a former sacrifice, who recounted her time with Clan Skyhunter. Her account differs greatly, in that she was treated as a second-class citizen and pretty much shunned the entire year she was there. How do you respond to the other woman’s statement?”
    Evie had prepared Melanie for this question, so she answered without hesitation. “Each clan is semi-autonomous, almost like a country within a country. The easiest reference to compare are the Native American tribes in the United States. How one runs their tribe is different from another. Not all dragon-shifter clans will have the same opinions, customs, or behaviors. According to a former Department of Dragon Affairs official, Skyhunter has the worst track record for abusing the sacrifice system in the UK. A simple information request to the DDA would back up that claim, so I would take the former Skyhunter sacrifice’s words with a grain of salt.”
    Nodding, the woman scribbled in her notepad.
    From the corner of her eye, Mel saw a man push his way toward the front of the crowd and Tristan tensed at her side. She placed a hand on his arm in warning. The man wasn’t a threat, yet. He might just want to move closer to have a better chance at having his questions answered.
    She focused back