The Dragon Legion Collection(56)

On this night, he was cautious.

How could she not know what was outside these walls?

Petra came to him and kissed his cheek, catching his hand in hers and giving it a slight tug. “You must be tired. Come and sit and tell me what you’ve seen.”

“Have you been out?” Damien demanded, for that could be the only explanation for her calm manner.

“Yes. Why?”

He stopped and stared at her. “Didn’t you see?

She glanced at him quickly, something in her eyes made him believe she knew exactly what he meant. “See what?”

“All of the village is turned to stone!”

Petra wrinkled her nose. “Oh. Yes.” She stirred the stew. “Are you hungry?”

“Wait!” Damien seized her arm, compelling her to face him. “How can you be so indifferent? Do you know something about this? Are you responsible for this in some way?”

Petra’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What makes you think that?”

“You’re the only one who isn’t enchanted.”

“I’m the only one who’s pregnant,” she said lightly, her gaze locking with his. “But you’re right. I’m also the only one who is an Earthdaughter.” She said this as if it were perfectly routine, but Damien didn’t know what she meant.

He felt a terrible dread. He remembered his father’s warning that being bound to a single woman could only lead to sorrow and a loss of powers. He thought of the prophecy he’d just been given, the one that said much the same thing. Was Drake’s summons to serve offering him an escape just in time?

“What’s an Earthdaughter?” he asked, trying to keep his voice level. If she’d turned the villagers to stone, there was no reason she couldn’t do the same to him.

Making the prophecy come true. What of the rest of it? Would it all come true? Damien had tried to dismiss the dire prediction, but now he couldn’t.

“You’re not the only one with powers in this household, Damien.” Petra spoke in a practical tone, as if they discussed the weather. She smiled at him slightly. “I wish I could have found another way to tell you, but in the end, there was no choice.” She shrugged and began to ladle out some stew for him. “It was really only a matter of time before you knew and now you do.”

Damien wanted her to say it aloud. “You did this to them?”

“Yes.” She was unrepentant, which angered Damien as little else could have done.

“How could you do such a thing? And why? There is nothing they could have done to you to merit such treatment...”

“Nothing?” she asked, lifting her chin with a familiar defiance.

“Nothing!” Damien replied. “Don’t you think I deserved to know about your powers before we conceived my son?”

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “I didn’t know about all of your powers before that happy deed was done.”

“It’s not the same!”

“It’s exactly the same. You’re more than human and so am I. Frankly, I thought that we’d understand each other as a result.”

“No!” Damien paced the central courtyard of the house. “This is all wrong.” He paced the courtyard, then pivoted to face her. “You might as well know. I have to leave and I might not be back.”

Petra looked shaken. “I beg your pardon?”

“I’ve been called to duty.” Damien didn’t feel as much regret as he had just moments ago. He knew that Petra saw the truth in his eyes. “I have to go.”

Her lips set. “When will you be back?”

“I don’t know.” He swallowed then said it. “Maybe never.”

She held his gaze for a long potent moment. “You’re just fabricating an excuse, because you’re afraid of what I can do.”


Damien didn’t know what to say to that, but Petra didn’t give him much time to think.

“Did you get your prophecy, at least?” she asked.

Damien took a deep breath and recited the oracle’s pronouncement:



A lost child mourned for many years

A mother who will shed no tears

A dragon warrior turned to stone

A woman abandoned, all alone.

Firestorm’s promise will fade to naught

Until stone and fire pay death’s cost.

After a Pyr sacrifice is made

Destiny’s promise can be claimed.



“Cheerful,” Petra said tightly. Her displeasure was a palpable force. “So, you’re leaving, because I obviously am the person who can turn you to stone and your son isn’t going to survive anyway.”

“I don’t want it to be true, Petra.”

She gave him a hot look. “Then you could ask some questions. You could try to find the hidden truth of the prophecy. They often have double meanings, as I’m sure you know.”

“No,” Damien said, shaking his head. “No. This time, the prophecy is as clear as can be. I’m sorry, Petra. I wanted to believe in the firestorm.”

“Not enough to fight for it,” she replied, her tone hard.

He knew she was right. He also knew that given his upbringing and his father’s end, the prophecy and his call to duty, that there was no other answer. He’d been honest with her, but felt she’d deceived him. Repairing the damage would take time, time they didn’t have, and a sacrifice he was unwilling to make.