Breath of Fire (18 page)

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. 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?”

Eunice 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?”

“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 purebloods 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 Eunice grab my hand.

“You are destined. You cannot fight it. The mating fire is so intense it will devour anyone or anything that 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 descendants? 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.”

Eunice’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 Destroyer
is 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 piss me off.”

Eunice 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 blood
does
run 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. Eunice 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.”

“You’re forgetting about my human blood again. I can’t just cut those emotions off completely. Julian said I needed to open my senses, to feed on the anger of my dragon, to use my full powers.”

“He’s right. Our senses are a large part of our powers. But unfortunately genetics play just as big a part. Your blood is more than you think, and you come from the line of a great warrior. The power is in you if you wish it to be.”

I knew a gift of good genetics did make a difference. I thought of Erik and what it must feel like to live forever and have nothing. To watch others grow and do amazing things and have to stand by and be an observer.

“There are many others like your brother,” Eunice said. “There are so many of our people who are nothing more than long-lived humans. And often they choose to live the life span of a mortal. The powerless lead a solitary existence because Drakán are drawn to power. Many cause their own deaths to keep from having to live an eternity alone. But you are different. Your power is inside you, lying dormant and waiting for you to release it.”

“I don’t know how,” I confessed. The breakfast I’d eaten was like lead in my stomach.

“But you do know how. Can you not visualize yourself as a dragon? Can you not feel the pull and tug of her wanting to escape your fragile shell?”

Of course I could feel her. She’d been a part of me my entire life.

“Our powers are very basic, fed by heat and fire,” Eunice said. “What color is your dragon?”

I didn’t know. Whenever my dragon nudged me too hard, whenever our thoughts were too aligned, I always did my best to push her away—to reject that part of me. I refused to see her. Dragon color was hereditary. My father was red—a red so dark it was almost black, and the members of our clan who could transform were all shades of the color.

I very tentatively called to my dragon. She was already close because she’d felt my turmoil, and I shivered as she rubbed against the inside of my skin. For the first time I looked at her clearly. She shimmered silver, almost the exact shade of my eyes, and I gasped in surprise. She was beautiful, and tears sprang to my eyes.

“Very good, my dear. You’re a fast learner.”

“What?” I asked, opening my eyes in confusion.

She nodded toward me and I looked down. My neck and chest were covered in silvery scales, iridescent in the light. I lifted my shirt and saw my stomach was the same. But I wasn’t fully transformed—my legs and hands were normal. I started to panic, and the flesh of my human body came back into sight.

“Why am I silver? This can’t be right.” Horror pierced my chest as scenarios went through my mind. Was it possible Alasdair wasn’t really my father after all? No wonder he hated me. Did I belong to anyone? There were no silver dragons in any clans that I knew of.

“You are exactly as you are supposed to be,” Eunice soothed. “And Alasdair is your father. But you know as well as I do that genetics are a fickle thing. Sometimes they dredge up the unexpected.”

“I don’t think I want this,” I said.

“You will. It’s really very simple,” Eunice assured me. “If you can close your eyes and see your true self, then the change will happen. You must embrace it, Rena. Don’t turn your back on what you are. You need to practice transforming, and when you’re comfortable I’ll teach you how to fly.”

I wasn’t anywhere near ready to take that step. As much as I hated to fly in airplanes, I couldn’t imagine flying without one. But I was curious enough about the change that I’d try to transform again once I got back to my room. Maybe I’d just imagined the color of my scales. I prayed to the gods that Alasdair never saw the true color of my dragon form, because he’d kill me on sight.

Chapter Fifteen

I searched through the clothes Julian had stocked in the wardrobe for something appropriate to wear to the
sfara
. There wasn’t a damned thing in any color but black, not that I expected there to be. I knew without looking there wasn’t anything in the suitcases I’d brought. I hadn’t planned on attending any formal events while searching for the Destroyer.

My choice of clothing would be important. I had to dress to impress Julian—to impress his people—but at the same time I needed something functional and easy to maneuver in if things became violent.

I paced restlessly around the confines of my room and watched the minutes tick by on the clock. I still had three hours before the
sfara
began, and I was sick of my own company. I had to get out of this place. I was under the impression Julian wanted me to think I was a guest. That I was welcome to come and go as I pleased. But in reality I knew that was an illusion. I’d have to find a way out on my own.

I’d never doubted my compulsion ability before, but Julian and Xana had certainly made me a little self-conscious. I didn’t bother to try to sneak out of the chateau. In my experience, people were more likely to question you if you looked guilty. I grabbed a light jacket and closed the door to my room behind me. I headed down the stairs as if I owned the place.

There were two guards at the front door, both Drakán and both with average powers. I could have taken them, but I didn’t want to if I could help it. Security cameras sat unobtrusively in each corner of the foyer. I turned in the opposite direction and headed toward the back of the house. I figured going through the back garden and over the fence was my best bet for escape.

I hadn’t taken the time to explore the chateau during my short stay, so my knowledge of the floor plan was minimal. I finally came to a small room, something similar to a den, with plush leather couches and a large-screen TV that took up almost an entire wall. It was all black of course, but it also had a set of French doors that led out into the garden. Perfect.

The rain had stopped and the sun was finally peeking out from the clouds. I reached the French doors and had my hand on the silver handle when I felt an ominous presence behind me. One I wasn’t familiar with. I whirled around and ducked low into a fighting stance. I swept my leg out and hit what felt like a block of cement. Something cracked in my ankle, but I ignored the pain. The man didn’t fall flat on his back as I had planned. I hadn’t budged him an inch.

I moved to attack again, but he held up his hands to stop me and backed out of reach.

“You shouldn’t sneak up behind me if you want to live,” I said. I finally looked him over from head to toe. He was intimidating—the size of a small tree and bald as a billiard ball. The dragon tattoo on his skull moved when his facial expressions changed, making it look alive.

“I am Olaf,” he said.

“Of course you are. Why were you sneaking up on me, Olaf?”

“I was not. I swear on my oath to my master. I was sent to give you a message.”

“Let’s hear it.”

I put a few more steps between us just in case, but never took my eyes off his. I didn’t trust Olaf.

“Julian wanted me to remind you that he prefers you stay on the grounds. He says it isn’t safe for you to wander about the city until he has introduced you at the party tonight. There are still many of our people who do not know of your arrival.”

“Sure, no problem.” I waited until Olaf left the room, and then escaped out the French doors.