Heir of Amber and Fire by Rachanee Lumayno (non fiction books to read TXT) 📗

“Sorry about that, though,” Denaan said. “Didn’t know you were coming. If I had, I’d have asked if you wanted to join in.”

“Maybe after dinner,” I said. Farrah and Rhyss nodded in agreement. Beyan rolled his eyes.

“Don’t encourage him,” Pazho said to us. “And please forgive my neglectful manners. This is my mate, Denaan. Denaan, meet Allayne, Beyan, Farrah, and Rhyss. They’ll be staying here tonight.”

“Splendid, splendid,” Denaan said, wiping his hands on his apron and enthusiastically shaking each of our hands in turn. “There’s room enough for all of you, so you can each have a room to yourselves if you like. Any horses?” Beyan shook his head no. “That’s easy enough, then. Just go ahead and go on upstairs, you can pick out your rooms. Dinner starts in an hour.”

“I’ll see you all in an hour,” Pazho told us, turning to go.

“Wait,” I said. “You don’t have to leave. I’d be happy to stay and talk with you while we wait for dinner.”

“I’d rather you have a chance to rest,” Pazho said. “I plan on us having a long conversation later this evening. It won’t take me long to go home and come back. Denaan and I live right next door.”

With that, he left. Denaan went back into the kitchen, where we could hear him giving orders to as yet unseen staff. The rest of us trooped upstairs to pick out our rooms for the night.

AFTER A MUCH-NEEDED nap, I went downstairs, following the savory scent of cooked vegetables and spices. My friends were already seated, with Pazho, at one of the long tables in a back corner of the room. The room was quickly filling up with customers waiting for one of Denaan’s meals.

As I joined the group, Farrah smiled up at me. “Finally!” she said. “I know you needed your sleep, but I’m starving! You don’t know how hard it was waiting for you to get down here.”

My eyes caught the wide array of dishes on the table. All were unbreakable, no doubt, and all were piled high with food. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting. Let’s eat.”

“Can you believe it, they don’t serve a single meat dish!” Rhyss said as I sat down next to him. “I hope you guys aren’t too hungry. I’ll have to eat twice as much to get my fill.”

Farrah smirked at Rhyss from across the table. “You’d eat twice as much as any of us no matter what was being served.”

Pretty soon, our table was filled with the sounds of eating, drinking, and laughter. Pazho kept the conversation light. Denaan would come by every so often to say hello, but as the night wore on he stayed in the kitchen while a boy and a girl, both about twelve, ran around delivering plates and cups and clearing the tables. Pazho told us that they were twins, the children of Denaan’s sister. “They’re hummingbirds, that’s why they’re so fast.”

“They’re like birds, you mean?” Farrah questioned.

“Yes, exactly.”

We finished eating. Denaan’s nephew quickly scooped up our plates while his sister carefully poured more mead into our cups. Pazho leaned back, satisfied.

“My mate really is the finest cook in the kingdom. He’s a huge bleeding heart, even if he does act prickly sometimes. It’s the antlers.” He said this last directly to me, tapping at his head like he was patting horns on the top. I smiled.

“I’d like to know what all this alluding to animals is about,” Beyan said, ever the plain speaker.

“A secret for a secret,” Pazho said. “What brings all of you to Annlyn?”

The table fell silent. Farrah and Rhyss exchanged glances, but left it to Beyan, as the group’s leader, to speak up. If he so chose.

“We seek the dragon Joichan,” Beyan said.

“I thought as much,” Pazho said. “But it’s good of you to say it so I could be sure.”

“You said you could help us. I take it that others have tried to find him?”

“You are not the first to seek out Joichan, no. There have been countless others before you. Very few are successful.”

“What do we need to do? We have gold we could offer him. We — ”

“Why are you looking for him?”

If I had been alone with Pazho, I probably would have told him the truth. But with the others sitting there, I couldn’t disclose the complete reason for my search.

“I was tasked by Queen Melandria of Calia to find Joichan,” I said.

Pazho studied me. I sensed he knew I was holding something back, but he didn’t pry further. “Your intentions are honorable,” he stated.

“Allayne asked me to help her find Joichan,” Beyan said. “I am a dragon seeker. Farrah and Rhyss are part of my team when we are on the hunt.”

Pazho turned his assessing gaze on Beyan. “Hunt is an accurate word. I would advise you against it. It’s not too late to change your mind.” Beyan shifted under the weight of Pazho’s stare. “Seek wisdom, not vengeance. You will get what you want that way.”

“That’s the help you offer?” Beyan stood, angry. Farrah touched his arm, but he shook her off.

“My advice is free, but if you choose not to heed it, you could pay a heavy price for years to come,” Pazho said calmly.

“Come on, Beyan,” Rhyss said. “You know he’s right.”

Slowly, Beyan sat down.

“Now you know why we’re here,” Farrah said. “It’s your turn now.”

“A secret for a secret,” Pazho reiterated, nodding. “What I tell you is not widely known beyond Annlyn, and I will tell you now that in the rest of the Gifted Lands, this is viewed as just a rumor, and rarely believed. But my mate and I, and the other citizens of this kingdom, are shapeshifters. We each have an animal form that we can become at will.”

Farrah and Rhyss stared at Pazho, openmouthed. Even Beyan was intrigued, although still a little upset.

Farrah regained her voice first. “Wow,” she breathed. “Not even the Fae can do that, at