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“Dimitris tore through Gregori’s compound with a vengeance, destroying all that was in his path, until he came upon Ileana in her bathing chamber. He was lovestruck—the beauty of her body and the fire in her eyes an aphrodisiac he couldn’t resist. He changed to dragon form and took her. He flew her to a place no one could find—a place on the other side of the world just on the edge of this Realm and the next. They were surrounded by water and couldn’t be tracked. Not by her family. Not by his.
“Dimitris’ clan thought he was dead and roamed aimlessly waiting to see if another Archos would rise to power. But Dimitris was still very much alive. He bedded Ileana every night for a century against her will until she bore him a son. When Julian was born, Dimitris wrapped him tightly in the stars and sent him to me to care for. He knew I held no allegiance to my father Thelos, and that I’d chosen to live with the Faeries. Ileana was so enraged that he took her child—because she truly did love Julian—that she challenged Dimitris in battle.
“It is said their battle lasted years. Julian heard the stories of his parents’ war even among my people. But by the end, both of their wounds were so severe that Ileana finally set flame to them both, just to end the misery. They cursed each other as they turned to ash.”
I was horrified for the child. Drakán children were our most precious possessions because they were our future. For Julian to be thrown into the middle of a battle at conception was beyond reprehensible. It certainly explained a lot about his personality.
“So Julian was raised with the Faeries?” I asked.
“Yes, after Thelos kidnapped my mother and she bore me, she gave her own life to send me to live with her family in the Realm of the Fae. I don’t remember her, but I thank the gods daily that she sacrificed her life so I could know the other half of my heritage. Because I wouldn’t have gotten to raise Julian if she hadn’t. He is like my own son.”
The affection in her voice was obvious, and her Fae heritage couldn’t have been more pronounced than when she spoke of him. Affection was not a Drakán trait.
“Julian learned how to rule from my maternal grandfather, the King of the Faeries. It is why he knows so much of other cultures. I could tell Julian was destined to be special from the first moment I held him. I knew he was not The Promised Child as the gods had foretold. But I also knew he was not The Destroyer. Julian is greatness itself. And his destiny is still untold. The question is, Rena Drake, will you be a part of his destiny?”
“That’s a decision that will be between him and me.” An image of the blue fire that had enveloped us only a few hours before went through my mind.
“Can you tell me what a mating fire is?” I asked.
Esmerelda gasped and looked at me in surprise. “Have you seen such a thing? Have you experienced it with Julian?” I felt her rifle through my mind like the rapid flipping of book pages. “You have. You are true lifemates.”
“Please. Could you just tell me what it means?” I asked.
“The mating fire dates back to the time before the Banishment. Drakán were blessed by having one true mate to call their own—a single mate for all of eternity. The mating fire only occurs if you have found the other half of your true self. Your soulmate.”
“No,” I whispered, terrified of what this meant for me.
“You should be ecstatic, my dear. There hasn’t been a sign of the mating fire since the pure bloods set foot on the Earth Realm. It was considered one of the lost powers, and many assumed the mating fire died because of the mix of human blood in our systems, but clearly that isn’t the case. It’s also been speculated that the lack of mating fire is the reason behind our infertility problems.”
An image of a child came to mind so powerfully that I gasped for air. Black hair curled around an angelic face as he smiled, and blue eyes, the exact shade of Julian’s, stared back at me. I viciously wiped the vision away and felt Esmerelda grab my hand.
“You are destined. You cannot fight it. The mating fire is so intense it will devour anyone or anything who comes near it. You can only have each other now. This is a gift from the gods. And if you’ve experienced it, you should treat it as such.”
I didn’t respond. A rush of emotions came over me—caused by my human blood, no doubt—and none of which I understood. I felt an elation that made me want to scream with joy. But there, just behind it, was sorrow and the ever-present anger I knew as my only friend. The gods couldn’t be so cruel as to bind me to a man like Julian for all eternity. And what would happen to me if I chose not to accept him? I was going to take as much time as I wanted to think it through. Eternity was a long time to spend in misery.
“Do you know the names of the others like Julian?” I asked, my throat raw. “The ones who are children of two Descendents? The list can’t be long. One of them will have to be The Destroyer.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t. Julian’s story is not a secret, but there are many who are caught in the middle of two clans because of their parentage. Some choose to live their lives in solitude, and that must be respected.”
“How do I draw him out?”
“You don’t have to. He already knows you’re looking for him. I can see from your memories that you believe he’s taunting you with his kills. He likes the chase. He wants you to belong to him.”
Esmerelda’s dark eyes became unfocused, and I knew she was probing deeper. I embraced my anger at the intrusion, but kept it contained. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop her from looking, and I couldn’t defeat her in a fight. Her face took on a pensive look, soon replaced by one of shock. Her gasp made the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end, and the gold of her skin turned pale.
“What?” I asked. There wasn’t anything in my life I thought was worth that reaction.
Her face cleared and she gave me a long look, choosing to ignore my question. She returned to our earlier conversation as if nothing strange had just happened. “The Destroyeris an arrogant man. He is playing a game, and it is only a matter of time before he gets bolder in his attempts. The Prophecy says that The Destroyer will be defeated by a fearsome warrior. A child blessed by the gods and of mixed heritage. A leader who has no people, but who is followed despite the fact.”
“Which could be anyone. We’re all of mixed heritage. These prophecies are really starting to irritate me.”
Esmerelda giggled. “Oh, I promise, they get much worse. The goddesses are often vague.” She smiled serenely at me and said, “I’m going to give you some advice, Rena. You’re approaching all of this as a human would. Stop. Don’t fight your dragon. Embrace her. She wants to be free. Julian was right about your powers. They’re only waiting on you to use them. As much as you want your human half to rule your emotions, you cannot allow it. Our kind needs soldiers like you. Because there will be a great battle. The Destroyer will not go down without a fight. And you’ll die if you go in as you are. Your humanity will kill you.”
The heat of my anger swelled outward. “I have tried countless times to increase my powers, and what all of you choose to conveniently overlook is that human blooddoesrun through my veins. And it’s obviously weakened my dragon abilities. Other than the strength of my psychic visions and my Enforcer powers of compulsion over other Drakán, there just isn’t anything else inside of me. Believe me, I’ve looked. I can only use the powers I was taught. The ones I was born with. How can anyone expect more from me?”
My rage was to the boiling point, and I hated feeling cornered. Esmerelda had voiced aloud what I’d refused to admit to myself. There was a part of me that envied the humans and their lives of complete ignorance. I envied their capability for love, and their desire to care for others. I wanted those things. I was torn between two worlds, trying to ride the fence and get the best out of both of them. Instead, I was living a half truth. I loved what my Drakán powers brought me, but I was scared of losing my human self completely to the dragon, so I held back. I didn’t want to be like Alasdair.
“To feel greatness, you have to achieve greatness,” she said. “You have many fears inside of you. Fear is an emotion almost unknown to our kind. But you hold it. And you nurture it.”
