The Dragon Legion Collection(50)

Damien took a deep breath, knowing that he had to be completely honest with her to win her agreement. Petra had always been perceptive. “Yes. But I think it’s smart to be afraid of someone who can kill you.”

“I’m not afraid of you and you can kill me,” she countered immediately. “Does that make me stupid?”

“It’s not the same thing...”

“It’s exactly the same thing,” Petra corrected. She leaned closer, tapping her finger on his chest. The darkfire sparked at the point of contact, sending a burst of heat through his veins that made him want to silence her with a kiss. “The difference is that I trust you and you don’t trust me.”

Damien didn’t know what to say to that, because it was true.

“Wait a minute,” he said, snapping his fingers. “You saved me from Cerberus. You didn’t have to do that.”

Petra arched a brow. “No, but I’ve just wanted to tell you what I think of you for a long, long time.”

“I’m thinking it won’t be complimentary.”

“Are other women complimentary when you abandon them, pregnant with your child?”

“You’re the only one. There’s only one firestorm. And it wasn’t like that.”

Petra’s lips tightened. “I beg your pardon, but it was exactly like that. I was there. You left too quickly for me to explain exactly how I felt about your choice.”

“What about your choice?” he demanded in exasperation.

“I did what I had to do.”

“So did I!”

Petra snorted her skepticism.

Damien swore under his breath, then pointed back toward the world they’d left behind. “You turned everyone in that village to stone while I was gone!”

Petra was unrepentant. “And you never asked me why.”

“Could there possibly be a reason to justify that?”

“Obviously, I thought there was.” Her eyes were shining in brilliant and alluring challenge. If anything, her reaction told Damien that he’d been right to leave her.

Even if she was right that he’d never asked why. The darkfire skipped between them, almost daring him to ask a question.

To take a chance.

He heard his voice rise in his own defense. “Well, you’re wrong.” He jabbed his thumb into his chest. “My kind are charged with defending humans, as one of the treasures of the earth. Turning people to pillars of stone is a violation of that sacred duty.”

“Even if it’s only for a day?”

Damien blinked. “One day?”

Petra nodded, obviously enjoying his discomfiture.

Only one day. That meant it was temporary, not permanent. Damien surveyed her, wondering what else he didn’t know. “You never told me that.”

“You never asked,” she replied archly.

“I was surprised. Who wouldn’t be?” he demanded. “You never told me what you were!”

“I thought you knew. I thought you’d guessed.” She leaned closer, challenging him again. “Aren’t dragons supposed to see more clearly than normal men?”

“But I’d never heard of an Earthdaughter.”

“So, your lack of education was my fault?”

“You don’t understand...”

“I do understand, and that’s the problem. I could have imagined you might be surprised.” She scoffed at him. “I never expected you to be afraid. You’re a dragon, for the love of Zeus!”

Damien had to avert his gaze to hide his reaction, but he wasn’t surprised that Petra noticed. Her fingertips landed on his arm, and her gaze brightened.

“Aren’t you?” she asked, her voice so low that he knew she suspected the truth.

Damien turned away, having no intention of confessing his weakness to her.

“A dragon could have easily finished off even a three-headed dog,” Petra said, as clever and determined as Damien remembered. “Why didn’t you shift shape?” She smiled. “Was it a ploy? Did you want me to rescue you?”

“No.” Damien glared at her. “I don’t want to owe you anything. I take care of myself.”

“Really? It didn’t seem to be going very well.”

He exhaled in irritation. “I didn’t shift because I couldn’t.”

Petra’s smile was cool. “Don’t feel badly, Damien.” He was shocked at how his heart skipped when she said his name. It sounded like music on her lips, but then, he’d once thought everything did. Her next words surprised him again. “Everyone has to sacrifice something to come to this place.”

He sobered as he studied her. “Even you?”

“What do you think?”

What if both of them had lost their powers?

That would change everything. Damien could have stayed with Petra if she hadn’t had powers of her own, if he’d been the one to defend them and their roles had been clear.

He realized there was a question he should have asked on the day they parted. “Why did you do it? Why did you turn the villagers to stone?”

“Why are you asking now?”

“Because I really want to know. Because I was wrong not to ask you before.”

Petra lifted a brow, the pleasure in her eyes making Damien catch his breath. “They were saying that you were unnatural. They were saying that you had been touched by the gods and that you would bring ruin upon them. They blamed your arrival for the crops failing and the storms that had come that year.” She leaned closer, her gaze hot. “They were going to trap you and burn you alive.”