Linara clung to the spikes on the dragon’s back as he drifted down, slowly and gracefully moving closer to the ground. She was sharply aware that the spikes shifted into a spine when Pax became man. The color and harshness, the strength and the beauty, were a part of him no matter his form.

Man or beast, he was always Pax.

He lowered himself fully; his talons dug into the grass. That done, he dipped down a bit more to allow her to slip off his back. It wasn’t easy, it was a long way to the ground, but she managed. With Pax’s sword and the borrowed clothes in hand, she dropped to the blessed earth. Her head spun and her knees went weak. She resisted the urge to drop to her knees and kiss the grass.

One would think riding a dragon would be lots of fun, but she had been terrified the entire time. The dragon moved fast, and far off the ground, and to her knowledge, Pax was not accustomed to a rider. Would he let her fall? Accidentally or on purpose? He could, and with all that had happened between them she couldn’t blame him. Not entirely.

He had not let her fall, and that was encouraging.

By the time a small contingent of soldiers reached them, Pax had shifted and was stepping into his trousers. The shirt, he merely tossed over his shoulder.

Perhaps he wanted the cool air on his skin to ease the heat the dragon created. Then again, he had no more reason to hide his back from her, or from anyone else present. They had all seen his true self. They knew he was the dragon.

Linara faced the men. She smiled a little as she recognized the one in the lead.

“General Merin,” she said as calmly as possible. “It’s good to see you again.”

He narrowed his dark eyes. “Do I know you?”

“We met once, years ago, when my parents were visiting Arthes. I was younger then, of course. I have changed. You have not.” She stepped forward and offered her hand. “Linara Varden.”

He took her hand and shook it, briefly, but his suspicion did not fade. “As I recall, Sophie and Kane Varden took you in as an infant. You are…” He could not say it, but she could.

“Ksana, yes. I am a Ksana demon.”

The men behind backed away. Some of them gasped and drew their swords. She was not surprised.

“But I assure you, general; I am on your side. I believe my friend and I have just proven that.”

She looked to the camp behind the soldiers. A small fire still burned. Men had been injured, and a handful of others had remained behind to tend to them. “I can help with the wounded, if you will allow me to do so.”

General Merin appeared to be resigned. He’d fought in many battles in his lifetime, but none quite like this one. “You and your friend saved our asses, Miss Varden.” He cast a slightly suspicious glance Pax’s way. “You can do whatever you’d like.”

* * *

Cyrus opened one eye to see a pretty fair-haired woman bending over him. His heart thudded, hard. It was her, the one who had attacked Val and then him. The one who had kissed him. That kiss had hurt, but he had not been able to turn away.

The demon was back to finish what she’d started. Killing him.

She touched his face with gentleness, and he realized with a touch of relief this was a different pretty blonde. His vision remained fuzzy, he was dizzy, but no, this was not that demon. The one who had kissed him. Still, he struggled against her touch as much as he could. This had to be another demon…

“Be still,” a familiar voice whispered.

Cyrus turned his head, a little. It was Val, kneeling beside him. She seemed to be unharmed, and she was calm. Why was she calm?

Her eyes were so bright, so filled with color. Not her usual green, but every color you might imagine. She…she glowed, washed in all those colors; she lit the night like a cluster of rainbow stars. Must be his injury that made him see things so skewed. Maybe he had hit his head and was hallucinating.

“I’m going to marry you, one day,” he said. He hadn’t planned to tell Val of his plans, not so soon, but the confession erupted from his mouth without any thought.

Her father must be near. That was the general’s usual grunt of displeasure Cyrus heard.

Val’s eyes widened, and the color shifted from all those rainbow colors to the green he preferred. “Hush, now. You’re delirious. You must’ve hit your head.”

“I did, but that’s not why I said what I said.” He wanted to tell her everything, while he could. “I dreamed we would marry, when we’re both older. The same way I dreamed of Kitty’s scabbard, I dreamed of us. The images were foggy, though, as if there was something in the way. A film that covered everything. I think we both have to survive this war before…”

Val looked surprised and uneasy. She squirmed. Then she pursed her lips a moment before saying, “You need to rest. This nice lady is going to heal you, but you must be quiet while she works.”

The “nice lady” was a demon. Cyrus saw that clearly, even though he was not asleep. Normally he only knew things he should not in his dreams. Maybe the head injury had caused some confusion in the gifts he had never wanted. The woman looked at him, hard. She had striking blue eyes like ice in the sky. Her hair was fair, her skin flawless, her features formed what any man might call perfect beauty. But she paled next to Valora, with her wild dark hair and her expressive eyes.

“This film,” the pretty demon said as she laid her hands on him, “the one in your dreams. What does it look like?”

Cyrus had to think a moment, to recall the images that had come to him so often as he slept. “Fire,” he finally whispered, seeing it in his mind more clearly than before. Seeing it as if it were real. And near. “Not just any fire, but massive, curling flames with the power to wipe out anything in its path.” He had not realized that before, but he knew it now.

The demon sighed. “Dragonfire, perhaps?”

Cyrus would have popped up as he heard the words, if she’d let him. His heart pounded as if it was trying to break through his chest. The pretty demon was stronger than she looked. She held him in place. “Yes,” he said. “Dragonfire.”

* * *

Her decision had been made the moment she’d joined General Merin and his soldiers in fighting the attackers. If Stasio knew, if he had seen what happened through the eyes of the demons the way he had so often seen through hers…

She had no time to waste. If Stasio realized what she had done, Linara’s mother was in grave and immediate danger.

The boy was healed, as much as was possible given her distraction. He’d live, at least for now. His injuries from this battle would not keep him from his destined marriage, but she couldn’t guarantee that nothing else would. There would likely be many obstacles beyond this battle.

Linara popped up, brushing dust off her skirt as she turned to look for Pax. He stood alone outside the circle of light from the campfire. The soldiers were leery of him, after watching him shift from dragon to man, and besides, they had their hands full caring for their own. Remarkably, only two had died in battle. There were a number of injuries, though.

She ran toward Pax. “We must go. Now.”

“Where?”

“The village. Stasio. If he saw…”

Pax nodded and began to remove his clothes. “Your mother.”

Linara nodded. She ignored the first shouted wait, but she could not ignore the second, as it came with a firm hand on her shoulder.

She spun to face the young man she had just healed. Cyrus, they said his name was.

“You can’t go,” Cyrus said. His face was pale; he was far from well.

“I don’t have any choice.”

He shook his head. “Finally, they are together. One born…”

“One hatched, one created,” Linara barked. “I am so sick and tired of hearing those words, over and over and…”

“They will be necessary to defeat the dark wizard. His defeat will be the beginning of the end for the demon daughters.” His pale blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

“You’re a wizard?” she asked. He’d felt entirely ordinary when she’d healed him.

Cyrus shook his head. “I don’t know. I used to have dreams that came true, but now it seems that my head is filled with knowledge. I can’t make sense of it all, but I do know we can’t separate them. Not now. They might never again be together, and they must be together. They must.”

The girl, a child, General Merin’s daughter Val, stood close behind Cyrus now, a gleaming sword in one hand. It wasn’t just firelight that made the sword gleam, it was the crystal grip.

Dragonstone.

“I assume Val is the born.”

Cyrus nodded.

“And the created?”

Val held her sword high, and the gleam grew to the point where it was almost impossible to look directly at it.

“Fine,” Pax snapped. “No need to be a nag. I heard you the first time.”

Confused, Linara turned to face him. “I didn’t say a word.”

“No, but she did.” He pointed to Val. “You didn’t hear?”

“No, I…”

Ahh, it hadn’t been Val, it had been the sword. The living being that had been forged into a weapon, the third piece of the puzzle.

Val smiled. “I’m so glad someone besides me can hear her!”

Pax began to shift, and everyone — wounded or not — stopped what they were doing to watch. It was a magnificent and rare sight, one only a handful of people would ever see.

When he was dragon, he lowered himself to the ground so that Val, sword in hand, could climb upon his back. She made much quicker and easier work of it than Linara had done.

A young girl sitting atop a fire-spitting beast, sword in hand, an unexpected smile on her face. Now that was a magnificent sight.

“Stop!” Linara shouted. “I’m going with you.”

Cyrus trailed her as she ran to collect Pax’s sword. “You can’t go. I see it clearly. They will fly into the village, just the three of them, as the sun is rising. That will be the beginning of the end for the daughters of the Isen Demon; that is how it must happen. You are not supposed to be there.”

She would not give up so easily. “They can leave me nearby before they fly in to do what has to be done.”

“Stay…”

Linara collected the massive sword, Pax’s sword, and spun around. Cyrus had to dance out of the way in order to escape the swing of the blade. “I will not stay.”

She met Pax’s eye and reached into his mind in the only way she knew how. We know what must be done. If you can’t burn Stasio, I will take his head.

The massive dragon dipped his big, beautiful head in agreement.