Val walked for hours, wading through and walking around flowing, whispering waters. Her mother had hated the voices of the stream, but Val found them not to be too intrusive. Perhaps the life force of the cavern allowed her to pass without much interference because they recognized her purpose. She glanced into the stream to catch a glimpse of her reflection, and for the first time she saw the rainbows in her eyes.

The life force of the cavern did not disturb her because it was a part of her. It was in her soul, in her essence. The voices did not disturb her because they were, in many ways, her own.

By morning’s light, Val and Kitty left the cavern by way of a waterfall that seemed to contain all the colors of the rainbow. She had no qualms about jumping; she did not hesitate. The water she’d waded through had spoken to her as she’d approached the exit, whispering, encouraging, guiding.

The water, the light, the whispering, they were a part of her as much as Kitty.

It might have been wise to toss Kitty ahead, rather than jumping with a sword in her hand, but she could not, would not, let Kitty go. She had no idea where Uryen might be, and Uryen wanted Kitty. Sword in hand, Val descended quickly. She fell, she knew she was falling, but she could almost swear she was being carried. The water embraced her, cradled her, dropping her safely into the pond below.

Soaking wet, Val climbed out of the pond with Kitty gripped in her right hand. The sun was warm and much welcomed. A war awaited. But first, Cyrus.

She would make sure he was all right and then she would send him home. There was no other logical choice, and a warrior must rely on logic. How could she ever trust that he was who he was? If Uryen could fool her once, she could do it again. Cyrus would always be in danger if he tried to remain with her.

For a brief moment she wondered if it had been Cyrus or Uryen who’d admitted that he liked her. She shook off the thought. It didn’t matter. Did it?

Heavens, if Uryen could make herself appear as Cyrus, then she could appear as anyone! The demon daughters had varying degrees of skill and strength. Some were pure evil; others, she had heard, possessed some goodness. There were shifters and those with power over the elements. One, Val had heard, made wishes that came true. She didn’t know what Uryen’s powers might be, but there was the fire in her hair to consider, as well as the more disturbing ability to change her appearance.

Uryen might appear to be Val’s own father or mother. Strangers along the way. Friends. Family. She could trust no one.

She’d always known she would have to do this warrior thing alone, but realizing that she would be forced to remain entirely on her own was startling and disturbing. She could trust no one…unless she killed Uryen.

That was a part of her destiny; she’d known that for a long time. Destined warrior or not, she’d never actually killed anyone. Realizing it was coming and actually seeing the face of a woman — no, demon — she’d have to kill were not the same.

I have killed, Kitty whispered. I will help you.

Those words were meant to be comforting, Val imagined, but they were not.

* * *

Linara stepped cautiously from the cave into the sunlight, wondering if Stasio’s screams would instantly enter her mind as she left the dragonstone behind. She trailed her fingers along the wall as long as she could, but finally, the stone and its protection were behind her.

For a moment there was nothing, and then an angry voice whispered. “Don’t disappoint me. I will make your mother pay in a thousand ways if you do.”

Linara held her breath. Her heart skipped a beat. She should have realized that her dreams of escaping, of staying here, were nothing more than fantasy.

Stasio had never before threatened Sophie Fyne Varden. He had not dared. He’d become desperate in her absence. What was happening below? How was the war proceeding?

She did not care.

Perhaps Stasio had picked up on her recent fond memories of life in the Varden household. She should never have allowed herself to remember the love she had known there; she should never have allowed him to see…

Though she had run away from the family who had taken her in, Sophie was Linara’s mother in every way that counted. If Stasio had threatened that kind woman while he and Linara had been face to face, he would have been dead before he’d hit the ground. Was that why he’d waited until she was so far away?

Her indecision was gone. She’d chosen poorly when she’d aligned herself with Stasio and those demon daughters who called themselves her sisters. She’d been so caught up in wondering who she was and what her place in the world was meant to be, that she’d allowed herself to be led in the wrong direction.

She would break with them all; she would live her own life. With Pax?

Lying with a man had affected her brain temporarily. There was no turning back, not now.

Pax stepped from the cave and into the sun to join her. He was more tempting than before, and her body tingled at the sight of him. That smile, wicked and charming and sexy, grabbed her heart. No, wait…that was not her heart. Her heart was not located between her legs.

He growled a word she did not understand, and then he added, “You’re so damn beautiful.”

“So are you,” she said truthfully.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Forget the dragon. Stay here, with me. War is not for us, Linara. We will fuck and eat and dance. What else do we need?”

It was an amazing picture, one she could see too well in her imagination. One she did not dare to embrace. She wanted it, so much. And yet…

“We have no music. How are we to dance?”

“There is always music.” He took her in his arms and spun her around. Fast, too fast. Then his steps slowed, and he hummed a tune she had never heard before. She rested her head on his chest, wrapped her arms around him, and together they moved in time with the slow tune. He was so warm and strong; he was everything she’d ever imagined a man might be.

She stopped in her tracks, and his tune ended. She made herself step away from him as she said, “Perhaps when my job here is done.”

His smile faded. “After you kill the dragon.”

She thought of her mother, her father, her brothers and sisters. Stasio would not be content with only Sophie. He would kill them all if she did not finish this mission. “Yes. Will you help me?”

“Probably not,” he said. “Why do you want to kill the dragon, anyway? He keeps to himself, he stays on this mountain and does not interfere in the doings of humans below. He’s killed a few of your kind, true, but they were demons intent on bringing harm to the people of these mountains so that seems only fair.”

Linara took a deep breath and exhaled the words. “One born, one hatched, one created.”

“Explain,” Pax said simply.

She did.

* * *

Val retraced her steps. It was not an easy task, since she had to round the mountain and climb to the area where she had been, searching for an entrance to the cave. Cyrus had been wounded days ago. How many days? Two? Five? Had he bled to death while she’d been…

No. She would not allow that to be. A perfectly nice and ordinary boy who liked her, who called her friend, could not die simply because he’d decided to join her on her quest.

She repeated that silently, over and over, but a deeper part of herself was resigned. This was war. Anyone might be sacrificed.

Not Cyrus. Please, not him.

Kitty was annoyed with the delay. Val felt that annoyance. She gripped the sword and felt the power of it, the emotion, the thoughts, as if they were a part of her. She’d need to find a proper sheath for Kitty before she continued. For now, the sword remained in her hand.

Rocks on the other side of the hill were disturbed. They skipped and skittered. Val held Kitty ready, and stepped in that direction. Might be an animal. Might be Uryen. Then again, it could be…

“Cyrus!”

He came into view, and though she knew he had been wounded, the sight of the dried blood on his shirt and one side of his face alarmed her. She was instantly incensed. If Uryen showed herself now, Val would not hesitate to kill the demon.

“Thank the Gods!” Cyrus said, rushing toward her. He stumbled a little, and Val rushed to put her free arm around him. Just to steady him, of course. “I thought…I thought you might be dead, or gone. I looked everywhere…”

“It was Uryen,” Val said. As soon as Cyrus was on firm footing again, she released him. Slowly. Kitty’s energy stung her palm, a little. Her chin came up. “I am glad to see you well. I was afraid…” I was afraid you were gone. I was afraid you were dead. I was afraid I would never see you again. “I thought she might’ve killed you.” Her words were almost without emotion.

Cyrus placed a cautious hand on the wounded side of his head. There was so much dried blood in his fair hair. Why hadn’t he cleaned himself? How long ago, precisely, had he been attacked and replaced? How long had he been unconscious?

Val took a step away, narrowing her eyes to study the boy before her. Was this truly Cyrus? Was Uryen up to her tricks again?

Kitty sounded almost petty as she whispered, It is he, weak human that he is.

The reassurance of a magical sword was more comforting than she’d imagined it would be. Still, Val realized the best thing she could do for Cyrus was to send him home. And so, she tried to dismiss him.

He would not be dismissed so easily.

“You have to retrieve your horse in the village, so we might as well travel there together. Besides, I have something for you.”

“What could you possibly have for me?” Val snapped.

Cyrus nodded toward Kitty. “I have made a sheath for your sword.”

How was that possible? He could not know the proper size and shape; he could not know…

“I dreamed of that sheath for years, until the day came when I knew I had to fashion it myself,” Cyrus explained. “It is made of the finest leather.” He blushed, as if he were ashamed. “I engraved a V on one side. It’s rather fancy. There are some swirls and flowers on the other. You didn’t come, and it seemed silly to set the work aside without making it…special.”

She did need her horse, and she had already thought of a sheath for Kitty. She just had not imagined that Cyrus might’ve made one for her. “Do you have magic?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Then how can you be sure your creation will be sufficient?”

He smiled. Yes, this was indeed Cyrus. “There is only one way to find out.”

* * *

Linara walked to the pond to bathe as she pondered her next steps. Much as she wanted to leave everything she knew behind to remain here on this mountain, that was no longer possible.

She dropped her shift on the rocks and stepped into the pond. It looked warm, but was not. The water was cold, much colder than she’d expected it to be. She trailed her fingers through the water as she stepped deeper and deeper, and wished it was warmer.

Instantly, it was. The once cold pond was now the perfect temperature for a bath, relaxing and soothing. Linara smiled as she dipped down so that the water touched her chin. Was this a sign that she was discovering her powers, or was it a power of the dragonstone that ran through the rock that created this pond?

She did not care.

It seemed clear that when she was under the protection of the dragonstone, Stasio could not touch her mind. Only here and in the cave could she allow herself to think of what she’d do to the wizard who had dared to threaten her mother. In short order she would end the dragon — or he would end her. If she survived, she’d return to the village where Stasio had gathered his army, and she would kill him. It would not be easy, but anyone, anything, could and did die.

She could spare the dragon, she supposed, and simply return to the village and kill the dark wizard. But if he saw, if he knew…Linara’s mother would pay. If Linara slew the dragon, Stasio would never suspect her treachery. Sophie Fyne would be safe, and Stasio would not see his own death coming.

If she could discover and hone her powers, they might help her to do what had to be done. Destroy the dragon. Destroy Stasio.

And then?

She would go home, beg for forgiveness, and do everything possible to drive the demon half of herself out. Was that possible? Was there enough magic in the world to protect her, and those around her, from what she’d been born to be?

For a large man, Pax moved with amazing silence. It was a minor disturbance in the water that alerted her to his presence. She turned to watch him walk into the pond to join her.

“It is warmer than usual. Is that your doing?”

“I don’t know.”

His dark eyebrows lifted slightly.

“My powers have not yet manifested.”

“You are of an age to know what gifts, or curses, you possess.”

“An amulet protected me for some years. Now that I am without it…I wait.”

“Wait for what?”

It was a good question, one that made her heart pound. “For the knowledge of what I might do with what I am.”

Pax reached her, wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close. She reveled in the sensation of his skin against hers, wallowed in the closeness, the desire, the knowledge that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She could very well imagine simply staying here. Perhaps she could fashion something with the dragonstone, something she might wear, that would keep Stasio out of her mind forever. She wanted him out. She wanted him gone.

In Pax’s arms, she could imagine a new life. A simple life. A wonderful life. At least, for a while she could pretend.

Without warning, he dipped beneath the water, dragging her with him, immersing them in the clear, warm water.

The light from the stone danced through the water, pale and bright tendrils dancing around them. Pax’s long hair floated around him, framing his fierce and beautiful face. When he kissed her, she felt as if she were in another world, another universe. There was nothing in existence but the two of them and the light. Nothing but warmth and desire and peace.

She had never known true peace, not until this moment. She’d been floundering all her life, and now…she had him. He was here. He was hers.

Then he was inside her. She thought she’d need to breathe, but there was no water, no air, no need but the need for Pax. They were one, a part of this mountain and a part of one another. She climaxed almost instantly, and so did he. The colors encircling them changed, deepened, grew radiant and enchanting, and then, as Pax leaped up and out of the water, those colors faded.

She gasped for air; he laughed. She took his face in her hands and kissed him. Because she wanted it. Because she could. As he had last night, he fed her, with no ill effects to himself.

As her powers grew, would that change? Would the day come when she could not kiss him? That would be tragic, she decided as she took her mouth from his and placed her head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad I found you,” she confessed.

“I am happy to be found.”

“I wish I could stay here forever. If you would have me, of course.”

“Always, I would have you.” There was a richness to his voice as he spoke those words.

“First I must kill the dragon.”

Pax’s eyes narrowed.

“You would destroy him simply because you have been ordered to do so? He has done nothing to harm you.”

She pressed her lips to his wet shoulder, and then she whispered, “I must.”

He moved away from her, released her, and in his eyes she saw condemnation. Disappointment. He created a physical distance, backing away from her. “You must,” he repeated. “You would choose death and destruction over this. You would choose war over us.”

Linara turned around. She didn’t want to look into those disappointed eyes. If she told him why she had no choice, would he care? Would he continue to help her? She did not rely on anyone other than herself. She did not share her worries, her pain, not with anyone. If she had, maybe she never would’ve run away from home. If she had not kept all her indecisions and agonies locked deep inside, the burden would have been lighter. Perhaps she could share with Pax, here and now.

“My mother,” she said. “My family. He will…” She turned around to face Pax, to try to explain, but he was already gone.

And the water went cold.