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anywhere without me. As it is, if I had any choice, I wouldn t put them within
fifty leagues of the battle, but there s no other way.
Roland felt Lana come to his side, her little hand gripping his reassuringly.
 You couldn t keep me away, Roland. Her voice was low but he knew it carried
to all present.  This is one of the few things I can truly help you with. I
don t want Tor in danger either, but we need to do this. Salomar hurt us both
too much. Tor and I already talked this over.
We don t want to see Salomar hurt anyone else if we can help prevent it.
He tugged her into his arms, hugging her tight. His Lana had more courage than
fifty knights.
 I understand, he said softly, his eyes grim.  That s why we re all going
together to the Northern Lair, but when it comes time for battle, you and Tor
are staying in the Lair. I won t have either of you put directly in harm s
way.
She nodded solemnly up at him and he kissed her hard and fast, sealing the
deal.
They flew far that night, pausing a few times to let Tor rest, but by morning
they were at the Northern Lair. Word spread quickly of their
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The Ice Dragon arrival. Within moments, Hal and Jures were there to greet
them, but
Hal s usual teasing smile was missing. The man had become all warrior now that
a serious threat faced his family and the people and dragons of his Lair.
 Welcome back, sire. Thank you for coming. Jures respect was evident in his
formal tone as they started walking toward the inner recesses of the Lair.
 What news? Roland asked as they walked.
 The bulk of the enemy army has settled on a plain not far distant where the
river bends and narrows. Hal spoke from the other side as they continued
walking urgently down the wide hall. Lana kept close at
Roland s side while Tor followed behind.
 I know the place, Roland said tersely, nodding.
 We believe they will try to cross there.
 It makes sense, Roland mused,  though why so obvious? Head-on fighting is
not Salomar s style. He s more devious than that. What deeper game is he
playing, I wonder?
 Perhaps he thinks his new weapons will be surprise enough to defeat you,
Lana said, noting all the men were listening attentively.  Or even if they re
not a surprise, perhaps he thinks they ll cause real trouble for you and your
dragons.
 Could be. Roland escorted her into a large chamber where a group of dragons
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and knights already waited, some of whom she knew from her earlier visit to
the Northern Lair. The humans stood as Roland entered, making signs of
respect, and the dragons bowed their heads slightly as he passed.
This was the war council, the meeting clearly in progress. Roland seated Lana
at his side, taking charge of the meeting and going through what they knew and
what they surmised from scouts and
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Bianca D Arc reconnaissance. Tor walked over to the other dragons, happy
enough to settle between Tilden and Rue, who greeted him with soft snuffles
and touches of their sinuous necks to his. Roland called on Tor s expertise as
they discussed Salomar s weapons in much greater detail than they ever had
before.
Lana, Tor and Roland stayed closeted with the war council of the
Northern Lair for most of the day. Roland seemed to have energy to spare, but
Tor and Lana started to feel the strain of the long night s flight. Roland,
apparently sensing their fatigue, called a recess and took the time to escort
them to the suite of rooms they d used before. He settled them both before
going off with the knights for more discussions of strategy and preparations
for war. Lana wanted to stay with him, but she was just too tired. The
momentous events of the past few days had finally caught up with her. She fell
asleep between one thought and the next.
When she woke a few hours later, Tor was still curled in his warm wallow, but
there was a strange, small black dragon at his side. Cocking her head in
question, Lana knew the black dragon had to be one of the royal princes, but
from his size, he had to be quite young and to her knowledge, she had not yet
met this one.
She had only a moment to consider it, for Roland walked in as she was about to
go looking for him. He stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of the
little black dragon, his eyes flashing fury.
 William! he thundered, causing both sleepy dragons to blink blearily.
The little black scampered back from Roland s obvious wrath. He hopped out of
the wallow and changed to human form. Lana realized he was just a boy, maybe a
teen at best.
 What do you think you re doing here?
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The Ice Dragon
 I wanted to meet your girlfriend and the Ice Dragon.
Roland advanced on the boy, anger in every movement.  We re about to go to war [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]