The Dragon Legion Collection(27)

“Then how did he breathe dragonsmoke? And why did he glimmer blue just before he died, exactly as you do before you change shape?”

Alexander stared at his old mentor, clearly shaken by the idea. “He always insisted otherwise,” he said. “He always said he simply watched for the signs, but you’re right. He couldn’t have done that otherwise.” His voice dropped in awe, becoming almost a whisper. “I thought I could smell his nature, but he told me I was wrong.”

“How could you be wrong about his scent?” Lysander demanded.

Alexander smiled. “I believed my mentor, instead of my nose.”

“Didn’t you ever see him as a dragon?” Lysander asked and Alexander shook his head.

“Nor did he ever see me as one. He always encouraged discretion, but I didn’t realize how much he showed himself.” Alexander frowned, then turned to Lysander. “When the power comes to you, you must learn to manage it. They will teach you how at Delphi, but you must treat it as a secret. You must not show many people or tell them of it. You must trust your instincts, then hone them.”

“Because then I will know my fellow Pyr by their scent.”

Alexander nodded and took the boy’s hand. “Come here and draw deeply of this scent. That yellow dragon was a Slayer, the most evil of our kind. Learn the smell of them, that you might be warned of their presence.”

Lysander did as he was instructed, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. The sight of Alexander teaching his son, something Katina feared she would never see, brought tears to her eyes. She bent to remove Pelias’ helmet and his greaves, blinking back her tears.


“You’re upset,” Alexander said suddenly from beside her. His hand was warm on her elbow and there was a lump in her throat when she met his gaze. Lysander was still breathing and memorizing the Slayer’s scent.

“I liked Pelias, though I didn’t know him well.”

“That’s not all of it.”

She forced a smile. “You’re so good with Lysander. I’m just glad to see you together.”

“I’m sure he had no lack in your care.”

“I sometimes lose patience with all his questions.”

“I shouldn’t have left you to raise him alone.”

She eyed him, hearing what he didn’t say.

Alexander frowned and stepped away, once again putting an invisible barrier between them. “We expose our dead to the four elements, so that their bodies can’t be violated,” he said to Lysander, his tone practical.

Katina remembered that the Pyr were the defenders of the four elements.

“There is air and earth here,” Lysander said.

“And there will be fire,” Alexander said quietly. “I think you won’t want to watch.”

The boy’s eyes widened in understanding for an instant. “But what about water?”

Alexander winced. He surveyed the arid land that spread in all directions from the rocky hill where they stood. He tipped his head back to consider the sky, which was devoid of clouds.

Katina finally understood why she had been granted the gift she had.

It was time for her to share her secret with Alexander.

“I will give you water,” she said with quiet confidence. Alexander turned to her with open surprise but she smiled. “You’re not the only one with a secret, husband,” she said, then lifted her hands to the sky.



* * *



Alexander was incredulous.

He watched as Katina lifted her hands over her head and closed her eyes. She was as graceful and elegant as ever, but to his amazement, her figure began to ripple. He thought his eyes deceived him, but the rippling grew more emphatic. She was murmuring some chant that sounded like the dancing of a brook over stones and with every passing moment, her figure looked more fluid.

More silvery.

More ethereal.

Her hair seemed to flow around her body like a dark river, one that ran far past her hips. As he watched, her form became disguised by a column of water, a pillar that bubbled at its top and stretched toward the sky. Or had she become the water? Alexander couldn’t tell, but he saw the water pooling on the ground where Katina’s feet had been. It ran over the dry soil. He heard the distant rumble of thunder and watched dark clouds conjure themselves from the clear sky. They rolled closer with remarkable speed, converging from every direction in a way that wasn’t natural at all. The storm clouds collided overhead, tumbling into each other where the pillar of water reached into the sky.

There was a crack of lightning and the first drops of rain fell.

Alexander quickly bent to strip Pelias of his armor and set it aside. He lifted Theo gently and nestled him in Pelias’ red cloak, the signature garment of the Spartans. He would take care of Drake’s son with as much care as his own, and was glad that the boy just seemed weakened. Alexander indicated that Lysander should stay with Theo, then summoned the change.

He was well aware of his son watching him closely, of his wife making it possible for him to do right by his mentor, and his heart filled to bursting with the gifts he had been given. He ached with the loss of Pelias, but already he came to respect that man’s choice. He understood it, because he would have made the same one. He was honored by it, because he’d never expected it. He was glad his son had witnessed this powerful lesson. Meanwhile, the change rolled through Alexander’s body, firing through every muscle and tendon, making him feel powerful and invincible.