Heir of Amber and Fire by Rachanee Lumayno (read aloud books .TXT) 📕

Calia and Rothschan seemed unlikely, although with my mother and Hendon’s marriage, it now had precedent. A union between the two kingdoms meant others would be unlikely to oppose us — the combination of might and magic would be formidable.

And now I was in Orchwell, our closest neighboring kingdom. An easy day’s ride away, it had taken me about two and a half days of walking. I was fortunate that the long summer days gave me extra time for traveling.

Orchwell was also called the Land of Seekers. I wondered how the ability to seek worked. Did you have to study and practice it, like magic? Or were you just able to execute your skill flawlessly from birth?

And what if what you sought did not want to be found? With his abilities, my shapeshifting dragon father could easily hide if he wanted. I just hoped that once he realized who I was, he wouldn’t want to hide from me. While I was determined to find Joichan, I only had one month to stop the wedding, dragon or no dragon.

I joined the crowd of people entering Orchwell’s gates confidently, sure that the Calian riders were long gone. The throng of villagers, merchants, and other visitors pushed forward. Soon, I was inside the gates of Orchwell’s capital.

Once inside, I gaped at the city around me. I had only been here once, when I was very little. And even then, I had been in the royal carriage, curtains buttoned up against the outside world. We had gone straight to the palace, not taking any time on our visit to tour the kingdom of Orchwell at all.

Everywhere I looked, I saw brightly painted signs. On the doors, in the windows, on wooden slats hanging over entryways. It seemed that seekers were not coy about being found. Each sign advertised what, exactly, the occupants of that particular location were good at finding. This person specialized in jewelry; that one’s focus was on finding a child’s hidden talent. Some seeking talents seemed very broad, while others had only one highly specialized skill. Yet as I looked all around me, lost in the colorful signage, I couldn’t find anything that screamed I find dragons!

I wandered down the street, taking it all in. I was so caught up in the spectacle around me that I didn’t notice the produce woman until I bumped right into her.

“Oh my goodness!” I said in dismay. In my absentmindedness, I had run right into her and nearly tipped over her little wheeled stand of fruits and vegetables.

I reached out to steady her cart before any of her produce could fall into the street. “Please excuse me, madam. I was so busy looking up I didn’t look where I was going.”

The middle-aged woman laughed good-naturedly. “You must be a visitor, then. Newcomers always gawk when they get their first look at Orchwell’s capital city.”

“It is overwhelming,” I admitted. “How does one seek a seeker when there are so many of them?”

“You could spend days looking at all the signs, trying to find the one you’re looking for,” she agreed.

“Are you a seeker?” I asked, eyeing her cart. What would she seek? The perfect vegetable?

The woman laughed. “Contrary to the rumors, not every citizen of Orchwell is a seeker,” she said. “I’m just a mere farmer. Many of my friends are seekers of some sort, however. After seeing what they go through, I’m happy to be ‘only’ a farmer.”

“Oh?” I wondered what she meant.

She motioned me closer and pitched her voice lower. “Seeking is a double-edged sword. It’s a rare and wonderful talent, but it can also drive a person mad if they don’t use their gift regularly. Sometimes it can lead them into physically or emotionally dangerous places. Like it or not, the things a seeker seeks must be found. And sometimes it’s better to leave things lost, if you take my meaning.”

She leaned back and spoke in her regular tone. “But I’m sure you didn’t come to Orchwell just to sightsee. No one ever does. Are you looking for someone or something in particular?”

“Yes, actually,” I said. “A man — or woman — named Kye. Have you heard of this person?”

“Oh, Kye,” she said, smiling. “He’s easy enough to find. Just continue down this way, turn right at the first street you can, and you’ll find his home on the right. He’s got the dragon sign on his door.”

“Thank you,” I said. To show extra appreciation, I decided to purchase an apple from her stand. As I was paying her, she said, “Funny, though. You don’t look like the adventuring sort.”

What did that mean? Before I could ask her, she turned away to talk to another customer. I shrugged and started walking down the street, eating my apple as I went.

I had finished my apple just as I found Kye’s house, following the woman’s directions. Sure enough, there was a picture of a golden dragon on the weathered gray door. I studied the picture, admiring the artist’s work. The dragon was fierce, but majestic and beautiful as well. Was that what my father Joichan was like?

I knocked on the door. A panel slid back in the door and a pair of rich brown eyes suddenly stared at me from the golden dragon’s face. I stepped back, startled.

“Yes?” A muffled male voice spoke from behind the dragon sign.

“Ah... hello,” I said hesitantly.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes,” I said, trying to gain confidence. “I’m looking for Kye. I was told I could find him here?”

“Kye doesn’t seek anymore,” the voice said.

“Please. It’s important.”

The brown eyes regarded me, expression hard and unreadable. Then: “Fine. Six hundred pieces of gold, half of the money up front.”

“Three hundred pieces of gold?” I said in dismay. While my mother had been generous, that amount was considerably more than all the money I carried. “I... I don’t have that much money.”

“Too bad, then,” the voice said. The panel started to slide shut.

“Wait!” I called out. The panel stopped mid-slide and slowly