WinterMaejic Read Online Free Page A

red dragons flew. The second illustration showed a group of red dragons sitting in a circle, as if in council.
    As I looked at the second picture, a movement from the first one caught the corner of my eye. When I looked at it directly, it was exactly the same as it had been before. But when I turned my head a little and didn’t look quite straight at it, the picture seemed to come alive! The young dragons cavorted, swooping and soaring, while their mother bugled at them in good humor. I could almost hear her!
    As I watched, scarcely able to breathe in the excitement of my discovery, all the pictures began to move, and soon I’d pieced together the story they told. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t read the accompanying text—the pictures told their own tale.
    The copper matriarch, Xylera, brought forth eleven red dragons, the like of which had never been seen before in all the world. Her mate, the silver dragon Qonth, ruled Alloway together with King Gren. Qonth decided not to tell Gren of the surprising brood his offspring turned out to be. Instead, he sent Xylera and their young into the mountains, that humans would not learn of them. Together, Qonth and Xylera breathed power and knowledge into their progeny, desiring that in some future day, their descendants would wrest ruling power away from the humans.
    The last picture showed a large formation of fire-breathing dragons sweeping down into battle.
    My breath caught in my throat as I looked away from the book. That must have been the battle where they were overcome. I knew that story. Yallick seemed to think that it was linked to Xyla—and to me—here and now. So that’s why he wanted me to study this book. I ran my fingers lightly over the images, feeling the texture of the ink and gold leaf.
    I began to turn the page, eager to see the next story, when Yallick called to me.
    “Donavah, I need you to go check on Xyla.”
    As I walked past the group gathered in the main room, Yallick caught my eye, and a pulse of understanding shot through me. He needed for me to be outside, out of earshot of the council. I frowned. After everything I’d already been through, everything I’d done, when would I be old enough to participate?
    I found the dragon sleeping yet again. The thin sunlight shone on her, although it didn’t seem to actually warm the air much. Well, it was going to get colder before it got warmer. I pulled my cloak more tightly around me.
    For a little while, I just stood and looked at Xyla. I still hadn’t gotten used to the idea that this breathtaking animal was my friend. She was the only known red dragon; the rest were white, silver, gold, copper—colors like that.
    The story was that the dragonmasters in Ultria had been trying to develop new hybrids, and the Ultrian Prince, Havden, had sent an egg from one of the clutches to Princess Rycina, the king of Alloway’s eldest daughter, as a gift to celebrate their betrothal. En route, the egg had been stolen, and by a very strange set of circumstances, ended up in my brother Breyard’s possession, whereupon it hatched. Breyard released the baby dragon into the woods near Roylinn, the magic academy where we were both students, but the egg had been traced and Breyard arrested. I knew he hadn’t stolen the egg, but he was tried and convicted anyway, and sentenced to death in the king’s dragon-fighting pits.
    I gave a little half-smile. If I hadn’t gone after him to try—foolishly and unsuccessfully—to prove him innocent, he would be dead now. For that little baby dragon, Xyla, had gone to Stychs—a mysterious place out of the world entirely—to grow, then flown Traz and me to the capital city, Penwick. Unfortunately, she’d been spotted and captured. Apparently thrilled to have acquired a new, unique, full-grown dragon, the king had decided to pit her against the biggest criminal in the land, egg-thief Breyard. As the “fight” began, Traz’s magic staff had broken the net of spells covering