The war was well behind them, as Linara and Pax again climbed a mountain, one she had not stepped upon before today, though her companion had been here at some point in the past. Summer had come and gone. Fall was fading. Soon there would be snow. And still, they traveled.

Not that their travels were unpleasant. Not at all. Their pace was a leisurely one. They made love often, and Pax fed her well. Some nights he flew and she watched. Other nights she rode upon his back, as Val once had. It was exhilarating. All of it! Flying, loving, moving toward a new life.

Now and then, they danced. By sunlight and moonlight, and by the light of the dragonstone they found here and there along the way, they danced.

On some days, especially if the terrain was difficult to traverse, they covered a great distance by air, but on other days they simply walked. There was pleasure in the journey itself.

Linara knew that dangers still existed in Columbyana, and always would, but she had no fears or doubts about moving on to a new life. Her family was safe, and Pax loved her. There was little else that mattered.

He seemed to move a bit faster than before, on this sunny and cold afternoon. They would soon reach the peak of this mountain, and judging by the history of their journey thus far they would head down and then back up again. Were these mountains endless?

He was there, at the peak, when he reached back and smiled at her. That smile always grabbed her heart. He offered his hand, and she took it. He gave a tug, and pulled her to his side.

Just feet away there was a sharp drop, but that’s not where her eyes went. The land that spread below them was different from the mountains they’d traversed to get here. It was lushly green, even now. As far as she could see, there were rolling green hills. It looked as if the earth had been shaken out like a dusty rug and dropped into place, creases and crevices and all.

Here and there, ponds and lakes dotted the landscape with crystal clear blue waters. Well in the distance, massive, harsh mountains were already topped with snow.

“What is this place?” she asked, her voice low in awe.

“Home,” Pax answered simply. “I have not been here for a very long time, but I wanted to share it with you.”

He began to shift, and she backed away slowly. When the change was complete, she climbed upon his back and held on as he swooped across the lush blue and green lands. With the wind in her hair, she studied the landscape. The hills stretched as far as the eye could see. It was peaceful, beautiful, and as far as she could tell, completely uninhabited.

Was this where the dragon war had taken place, hundreds of years ago? Where man and beast had all but wiped one another from the face of the earth? She suspected yes, but it had been so long there was no sign of the violence that had taken place here. She sensed only peace, not war.

She loved riding on Pax’s back, but suddenly she wished for the freedom of flight for herself. If she were a dragon, she could swoop over these hills whenever she felt the need. She could fly home on a whim to see her mother, her father, her siblings, and cousins. Juliet’s home was not so far away, by air.

Nothing and no one was far away by air.

Pax would surely take her anywhere she wanted to go, but oh, the freedom of flight, the gift of fire…suddenly she longed for it. Surely a dragon would be a better mate for Pax than a half-demon woman. She wished…oh, she wished.

Her spine began to itch a little. She shrugged it off. Then her wrist burned a bit, and there was that itching again. She pushed her sleeve up and glanced at her wrist, and there it was.

A scale, as green as the trees she had been admiring and as tough as the mountains she had traversed, had appeared there, had grown there in a matter of seconds. She imagined the same was happening along her spine as she changed. As she became that which she wished to be. Was it possible? Was it possible that with a wish she could change so completely?

Yes, it was happening. Deep inside, she felt the change.

Linara leaned down and placed her head against Pax’s neck.

You will never guess what’s happening!

I do not need to guess. I feel it, too.

I did not know this was possible.

Neither did I.

He landed in a clearing near a pond that reminded her of the one which was now far away, where they had made love. Where he had learned that she’d planned to kill him and she’d found her Ksana power at last.

Pax took her hand in his and studied the wrist, kissing the single scale there before it faded away.

She gasped. “Where did it go? Was it a temporary thing? Oh, I wanted so much…”

Pax kissed her, probably to end her frantic rant. She did feel quite frantic.

When he pulled away, he said, “I love you, woman or dragon, demon or human. You are all of these things, and they are all mine. You are all mine.”

“Now and forever.”

He leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. “I have so much to teach you.”

She kissed him gently, reveling, as she always did, in the joy of his lips against hers. Teach me to fly, love. Teach me to fly.