Read The Broken Dragon: Children of the Dragon Nimbus #2 for Free Online

lovely as Lily, or cute as Sharl and Jule. I’m nothing.”
    “You are our son.”
    “The second son, born eleven moons after Glenndon because Jaylor the greatest magician of all time had to prove he could sire a child on you just like the king did.”
    A resounding crack startled him before he knew that Mama had slapped him. Hard. His scarred cheek burned. She jolted him into silence.
    “I have never struck you before. I have no intention of ever doing so again. Unless . . . unless . . .”
    “I’m sorry, Mama,” he whispered through clenched teeth. He didn’t know if his lip had split when it came into sudden contact with his teeth. He didn’t want to chance shedding more blood in her presence. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
    “But you did mean to insult your father. Your Da. The man who loves you above all things.”
    “No, he doesn’t. He loves Glenndon. He loves the girls. He loves you—though lately he’s never around to show you his feelings.”
    “He doesn’t have to be here. I know how much he loves me, and I him. He is my life, and I his.” She sighed wistfully. “Though I wish he’d linger longer when he does come home. But he will always come home.”
    “He’d just as soon forget me,” Lukan grumbled. “I’ll never have a great talent. I’m only an adequate magician, which is why he handed me off to Master Marcus for training. He’d rather forget me than admit he sired a son who is less than Glenndon.”
    “Lukan, you will swallow those words and escort me to the University courtyard. You will then travel with your father and me to the capital to wish your sisters good journey.”
    “And who’s going to look after the little ones while you’re gone? Or does Da wish to forget them too?”
    “Sharl and Jule are with Mistress Maigret and Princess Rosselinda . . .”
    “That’s Apprentice Linda. We agreed to forget her title and treat her like any other student.”
    Suddenly Mama stilled. She frowned and wrinkled her brow in puzzlement. “Lukan, why are you so angry with the world?”
    He shrugged. The source of his problems with the world was obvious to him. It should be to her too.
    “Seventeen. You are seventeen and your body is maturing faster than your emotions. Nothing fits, not your clothes or your skin. That’s your problem. I wish you’d hurry and grow past this.” She heaved a sigh, shouldered her pack, and set off on the trail to the University.
    Lukan stared after her. “It’s more than that!” he shouted.
    “Is it? Well, if you won’t come with us, you can start in on fixing the leak in the roof above the girls’ loft. And make sure you dig enough yampions to keep you fed for two days.” Then she stalked off, leaving him to deal with the curdle in his stomach and his bleeding fist and lip by himself.
    Always by himself. No one cared about him. They were always too busy taking care of everyone else.

CHAPTER 4
    “Y OU KNEW THIS day would come, Mama,” Valeria whispered to her mother as she hugged her tightly.
    “Just not so soon. You have both just reached your sixteenth birthday.” Mama didn’t bother wiping away her tears. She clung to Val fiercely, her fingers digging into her back. “You’ve never been strong. I worry about you being gone so long, on your own.”
    Val shared a desperate moment of loneliness with her mother. But there was something else deep within her. Val linked her mind to Lillian on the other side of the old University courtyard. Lily had an empathic talent most magicians did not recognize as real magic. But healers treasured the ability to feel and understand what their patients endured, and thus know what to remedy.
    Do we need to worry more than we already do? Should we insist on staying home until she’s well
? Val asked her sister.
    She’s hiding something. Hiding it deep. Something to do with the new babe
, Lily replied.
She won’t let us stay even if she needs us
.
    Even from across the wide-open space