Free Dragonfire: Freedom in Flames (Secrets of the Makai Book 3) by Toni Kerr Page B

know about the contract the better. Clearly, you are not seeing the bigger picture.
    But, you’re not giving me any information. The Earth is getting worse! Maybe it’s not ideal for the races, but the flowers Pink needs to reproduce might not even exist anymore. What condition will the Earth be a thousand years from now, and what chance will Pink’s race have then? Tristan sucked in a breath as the orbs of bright light dimmed, becoming a line of tall, pale dragons and half a dozen people. Almost like a court setting.
    This little clone of a creature you speak of has no relevance to the contract. The environmental infrastructure of the Earth is the result of human negligence; the humans won’t survive long in the conditions they’ve created.
    I agree we’re terrible keepers of the world, but—
    You are not one of them. The sooner you see that….
    You wouldn’t let him be one of us, called a distant voice. Tristan spotted a middle-aged man bound to a post by some sort of cord, glowing with a greenish essence.
    Jacques?
    The man grinned before the power of the cord expanded to cover his head.
    You were supposed to free him, Tristan shouted, turning back to the human figure who had been speaking. I had a deal with Molajah!
    Molajah is no longer part of this discussion.
    If you don’t free him, I’ll release every creature from every gem I can get my hands on.
    Do not be so juvenile. How long will a few little fish survive in a sea of hungry sharks? You will be the cause of their extinctions, and that will disgrace all of us.
    Maybe they’re stronger than that. Maybe the thought of one more day in captivity is killing them. Maybe—
    The terms of this contract are not up for negotiation.
    But what if the Earth continues to deteriorate, and it’s because the magical races are being held prisoner? What if this stupid contract is disrupting the natural balance of—
    You know nothing of the wars and politics that brought this contract into being, and you would do well to keep your personal wants and needs out of your decision-making process.
    Tristan took in the silent spectators. Were they as divided as Molajah implied? You’re right. I don’t know what was going on when this contract was made. But tell me this—what happens if I break the contract?
    Breaking the contract will undo the oath that binds us to protect the races.
    But what will happen to all of you?
    We will be…free of this responsibility. To some, the oath is a burden. To others, it is an honor to uphold.
    But free…free to live? Free to die? What does that mean exactly?
    No one can say for sure.
    Will your souls be free to move on to wherever they would have gone after a normal lifespan, or will they be condemned because they failed to move on when they should have?
    As I said before—
    But since you don’t know what will happen, isn’t that a good reason for me to keep the races held in captivity, so you can keep living the way you are? What else did Molajah say about the council’s motives? You are trading the lives of others so you can live longer. How does that not disgrace the honor of dragons?
    You risk charges of High Treason, deliberately ignoring the laws of our people—
    I don’t care! Tristan let the surging energy fuel the frustration that had festered for the past year. No one seems willing to tell me what the laws are, and for all I know, I’m the only one left who can make a difference! If I wasn’t, I’m sure you’d all be happy to tell me there are a thousand other dragons more capable of doing the same job.
    Obviously we’ve had difficulties in finding a means to communicate with you. However, we have upheld this contract for thousands of years and we aren’t about to permit a youngling’s impulsive conduct undo everything we have built. It is the purpose of this council to make decisions of this manner, and you must follow our lead.
    To what end? said Tristan. I’ll bet you’ve been sabotaging every living dragon in