[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the perimeters of her awareness, alert but unobtrusive. The dragon s neutrality
irritated her, but she stomped down on the annoyance. She wasn t stupid enough
to deliberately pick a fight with him. Besides, calm was good. Calm meant she
wouldn t allow Miranda to get the best of her.
I ll take that, Alyssa said. The rustle of plastic bags receded into the kitchen.
Cora glanced sidelong at her mother, who stood near the door and carefully
unwrapped the blue silk scarf she wore tied around her hair. Is Diane alright?
Miranda folded the scarf into a square and tucked it away. She ll be fine. Her
scalp is only burned in a few patches. She s been prescribed burn ointment and
mild pain medication.
Her hair?
Will grow back. Miranda shrugged out of her coat and sat on the futon. Sit
here with me.
I don t really have anything to say. Her stomach rumbled a response to the
sesame and cabbage fragrance of fried rice that came from the kitchen.
21
Dragon Queen: Book 3: Dragon Bound
I have plenty. Sit down, she ordered.
Christ, Cora muttered beneath her breath. Miranda s eyebrow climbed at
the epithet. She ignored her mother s displeasure and dropped into the chair
opposite the futon. Fine. There. What are you doing here?
Alyssa called me.
I know that. But why did you have to actually come here? You could have
called.
Why waste my minutes leaving messages you re not going to check?
I don t have time for family drama right now, Ma.
I don t have time for my daughters to behave like know-it-all brats, either,
but here you are. Here we are.
What do you mean, know-it-all ? I ve asked for guidance.
You ve asked questions that are irrelevant and have not confided the full
circumstances of your situation, Miranda said, exasperated. Even though you
obtained more details along the way, you ve kept them to yourself. You never told
me that the mating call was manipulated!
I found out late. What does the how have to do with anything now, though?
How has everything to do with it. I thought you called two of the dragons
naturally!
Sorry to disappoint, Ma, she said bitterly. I m not extraordinarily talented
after all.
Why do you assume that everything is leading to a judgment, Coraline?
Never mind. She waved her hands, brushing the question away. Don t answer
that. You can enumerate my parental failings another day.
Alyssa stole into the room and deposited a pair of yellow enameled rice bowls
on the coffee table. She also left a porcelain teapot and a pair of cups, then made
herself scarce. Cora glowered into her rice. What difference did it make whether
she d called dragons on her own, or she was maneuvered into summoning them?
The end result was still the same: possession of a pair of dragons she didn t know
how to handle. No, correction: one dragon. Salim maintained solid claim of Da ar
Es Saleem, despite her taunts to the contrary.
Across the short space, Miranda pushed a bean sprout around her bowl. Cora
cleared her throat. So what s the big deal with a falsified call?
Her mother balanced her chopsticks across the top of the bowl. Only one of
them is truly yours. The other belongs to with someone else. She fingered the
hem of her skirt and glanced away. With another Lune.
Cora choked on a grain of rice. One of them is Diane s? Lurid images of
tangled limbs and long dark hair, her sister s straight locks and Salim s springy
ringlets, pulsed behind her eyes.
In the other room, the television volume lowered. Cora glanced over her
shoulder, but the bedroom door was closed. Jealousy and possessiveness tangled
in her stomach, renewing her sympathy for Alyssa s situation. Alyssa loved a
woman who longed for something else, something that she couldn t provide.
Miranda shook her head. Perhaps, but not necessarily. We have cousins
sisters. Distantly related, and I m sure some whose names I don t know. The
original sisterhood& She shrugged. Families divide, especially families that
22
Dragon Queen: Book 3: Dragon Bound
aren t tied by blood. Some have probably lived well into middle ages older
without finding their dragons.
Watching her mother closely, Cora added, And some found, then lost, theirs.
The older woman studied the edge of Alyssa s coffee table. Her cheeks were
eggshell-white; her hands shook. She folded them together, cleared her throat.
It s difficult to hold onto everything you acquire in an entire lifetime. Things get
misplaced.
Stolen.
And stolen, Miranda said tightly.
What kind of person hoarded That s why you won t let me go to Beesom,
isn t it? He s a trapper, and you re worried he ll grab mine away from me.
Life isn t the same without your dragon, Coraline.
Right. I know. Witches die when their familiars are snatched away. Another
reaffirmation she couldn t return to Salim but& Ma, you re not dead.
I think it s a different matter for Lunes, but only where the dragon aspects
are concerned. They re stronger older than your average totem. They can
survive alone, but they thrive as one of three points.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]