by Judith Leger
His deep voice carried through the door. “All is well,
Seren. Go, finish your visit. You needn’t worry for me.”
Relieved, she twisted to glare at Leo, lowering her voice.
“Don’t scare me like that.”
He tilted toward her, whispering, “Didn’t mean to, but it’s
true. Those wizards do some of the strangest things.”
“Even turn people into toads?”
“I’ve seen it happen.”
Without another word, he took her arm and escorted her
down the hall.
Once she was seated with another steamy cup of the tea-
like drink in her hands, Leo continued. “Wizards spit out
incantations all around. Our fairy tales touch the mere
surface of what they can do. The ones who care for the seven
great dragons, well, they’re the most powerful of them all.
They know how to do magic without spells.”
Apprehension battled with her newfound ease in this
place and won. “So it’s true. There are seven dragons ruling
this planet?”
Leo sat forward, placing his forearms on his knees. “At
one time there were seven, but right now, only six of ’em
gather. The seventh hasn’t been seen for a long time. Some
think it died out.” He glanced at her middle. “From what the
master says, the ones remaining have something planned for
this baby you’re carrying. Largin claims they brought you
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here just to give birth.”
Surprised he knew of her child, and more than a little
shocked at the verification of the dragon’s plans for her, she
set her cup on the table. Staring at him, she crossed her arms
over her abdomen, the need to protect her innocent child
utmost in her mind. “How do you know about my baby?”
“Master saw it in the scrying stone. He swears the vision
was fuzzy, but he saw the baby. Most of the time, he’s right
when he looks into that rock.”
“Did he see him born?”
Leo shrugged. “Didn’t tell me. Just that you were going to
have a baby and the captain was the father. Said the dragons
want one king to rule over them.” A deep furrow formed
between his brows. “I’ve never heard of a human giving birth
to a mixed breed. They’ll have to purify your blood.”
Puzzled, she asked. “Purify? You mean like a
transfusion?”
Leo shook his head. “The clan leaders have to gather to
perform a purification of your blood.”
“How?”
“Don’t know. Never seen it or even heard how it’s done.”
Seren stared at him. The solemn line of his mouth struck
a chord in her. This man should smile, but instead, he
worried about her and the baby. She looked toward the fire,
trying to absorb what he had told her.
She rested her head against the back of the chair.
“Paladin will know.”
“Yes ma’am, he should,” Leo agreed with a nod.
Seren smiled. “Stop calling me ma’am. You make me feel
old.”
Leo shifted in his chair, sat back and stretched his legs
out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. “I wouldn’t
feel right being disrespectful to you.”
She grunted. “You won’t be. Earth has changed a lot since
you left. Please, call me by my name. I’m Seren.”
They sat in the silence. She sorted through what Leo had
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told her. Tired of trying to understand, she glanced at him. “I
don’t know what to think. When I first came here, I was so
confused. I guess I’m still a little fuzzy.”
“It’s the gravity.”
She lifted a brow in question.
Leo grinned. “From what I can figure, Avaris is larger
than Earth, so the gravitational pull is a bit stronger. It’ll take
you a little while to get used to it.”
“Great, not only do I have to worry over the fact that I’m
having a baby dragon, I have to do it while I get used to the
gravity.” She rolled a look at the ceiling. How did these
people expect her to believe all these new aspects without
being skeptical?
“You’ll feel better after a while.”
“Well, by the time I give birth, I should be accustomed to
the pull. Nine months is a long time.” She started to say
something else, but the surprised look Leo aimed at her
stopped her.
“Didn’t the captain tell you?”
“What?”
“You won’t carry your baby nine months. The term for a
dragonseed is four months at the most. A third of the time a
normal human is carried. They develop faster.”
Seren’s mouth dropped open. “Four months?”
He nodded.
Eyes wide, adrenaline pumping, she sat straight. “So
that’s why I can feel him moving.”
“It won’t be long before you’ll be showing too.”
She met Leo’s eyes. “What am I having? Will this baby
come out looking like a dragon?”
Leo waved his hands. “No, no. He’ll be normal. It’s all the
magic in their blood. From what I’ve gathered over the years,
way back when humans first combined their blood with the
dragons, they were almost extinct on this planet. They
needed children. This helped them.”
“Because they could have more children in less time.”
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Amazed, she stared at him.
“That’s right. Also the children had fewer illnesses. A
minority, if any, died.”
A sharp thrill passed through Seren’s stomach. She
pressed her hand against her abdomen. If what Leo told her
was true, as long as nothing happened to him, her baby,
because of the magic in his blood, would live to adulthood.
* * * *
After Seren and Leo’s footsteps moved away from the
door, Paladin glanced at Largin. Under the weight of the
older man’s stare, he shifted.
The wizard continued to watch him, even raising a hand
to tap a finger on his chin in speculation. “You were always a
difficult dragonseed. Never wanting to comply with what was
expected of you. Captain of an airship, bah. What good does
that do your clan?”
Paladin turned his back to Largin, picked up a piece of
the shattered dragonstone, and studied the jagged ends. “It’s
none of your concern. My father approved of my choice.”
“Even the abandonment of your throne? I think not. If
your father had not died unexpectedly, he would have made
sure the crown went to you.”
“The royal advisors decided Rylen was better suited to
rule. I agreed.” He placed the stone on the table and took a
step back, concentrating his magic on the destroyed crystal.
Shards mixed with slivers of the stone trembled. They slid
over the table top. The pieces which were flung wide in the
explosion bounced on the floor then flew to the growing
mass on the table.
Fusing to each other, the broken stone reformed into its
original shape. When he finished, Paladin
angled a glance at
Largin. The wizard, silent during the magical reconstruction
of the dragonstone, stood several feet away, observing him in
return.
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Largin shook his head, something akin to awe in his low
words. “To possess such power and still refuse to rule.”
Paladin grunted in agitation. “A good ruler doesn’t need
great power. My father agreed with me on this matter.”
“Rylen doesn’t. He resents your ability.” Largin walked to
the table, grasped the lower edges of the dragonstone, and
moved it more to the center of the table. “He harbors harsh
feelings toward you. I saw his face the day Bask announced
you had to wed Zuresa. He wanted her and the prestige she
brought to the clan. It’s not enough for him to have stolen
your right as king. He covets all you have.”
Several moments passed while Paladin considered what
the wizard had said. For two years, he had suspected his
brother wasn’t pleased with the decision which tied the black
dragon clan princess to him. He had ignored the constant
warning his senses had pounded him with each time he had
returned home from a journey to discover the growing
closeness between his brother and his wife, Zuresa.
The remembered doubts served to make his head ache.
Largin would never understand his relationship with his
brother. “Perhaps, but my wife is dead. Rylen has nothing to
gain from me. He is king. I am a simple airship captain.
There is nothing for him to fear from me. I swore my
allegiance to his rule.”
A memory of a small boy, gold hair streaming behind
him, racing at his side, laughter filling the space between
them slipped through his mind. The boy, his brother, had
loved him. Paladin fought the onslaught of pain over the loss
of their close kinship. The loss of his brother haunted him,
the pain a festering sore on his soul.
When Arcane had attacked Rylen, their fellowship as
brothers had ended. The child’s eyes, once so alive with joy
mixed with mischief, had become hard and calculating with
an obsessive glint. Rylen had changed. Paladin tried to care
for him in the same manner as before, but his brother had
made it difficult.
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The silence in the room enfolded the two men. Paladin
refused to say anything against his brother. No matter his
faults, Rylen still carried their father’s blood in his veins. For
this reason alone, Paladin’s honor bound him to his brother.
The wizard continued as though the silence had never
existed. “There are rumors. I’ve heard Zuresa did not die a
normal death. It’s been said you had a part in her passing.”
He held Largin’s gaze with his own, resenting the
accusation that he was behind the death of his wife. “Do you
believe this?”
The wizard snorted and shook his head, a brow arched.
“Does it matter what I believe? I traced the gossip to its
roots. Rylen’s court. If he can not kill you, he will ruin your
name.”
Largin turned and walked to the shattered window. Rain
dripped through the broken glass. “I was there the night of
your birth. Bask stood at the foot of the bed. He told your
father to have special care of you because you had been
blessed by the dragon’s magic.”
Staring hard at him, Paladin tilted his head. He had never
heard this before. “You were there also?”
Clasping his hands in front of him, Largin mumbled a
spell. Three claps followed. The area around the window
blurred then righted. The glass became solid once more and
the wood returned to its previous shape. Largin waved his
hands in a circle, reciting a different spell. Rain dried. The
splintered pieces of glass and wood vanished. “There. All
fixed.”
He turned and looked at Paladin. “Now if we could do the
same with Rylen.”
“You did not answer my question. Were you there the
night my mother died?”
“I was summoned by your father. Your mother, dragon’s
breath hold her, had weakened with your birth. He sent for
me to help her deliver,” the old man replied. “No one else,
save Bask, was allowed into the room.”
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Several moments later, Largin continued, his voice soft.
“To remember that night still causes much grief for me.
When Bask told your father about you, he had to choose
which of you would live.”
Paladin swallowed the bitterness this information stirred
in him. “So he chose me?”
Largin moved to Paladin’s side and laid a hand on his
shoulder. The older man squeezed for a second, in an
attempt to offer comfort. “Not so much a choice. The dragons
had decreed how this matter would end. Your father had to
abide by their will. He loved her deeply and to lose her...well,
he was never the same afterward.”
Shaking the hand off, Paladin stepped away. His father
had rarely spoken of his mother. How could he believe what
Largin had said? The man Paladin remembered had been
cold and haughty, abrupt with all around him, including his
sons. How could a man like that have a deep devotion for
someone? “Loved? Is that what you call it? He remarried
within a year. Rylen’s mother was held in high esteem by him
for the rest of his life.”
Shrugging, Largin said, “True, but he never cared for the
woman. Not like your mother.”
“Enough. I’ve heard enough,” Paladin said, raising a hand
to stop the wizard. “I am tired. If you have more to tell me,
let it wait till morning.”
He turned, moving to the door, eager to leave the room.
“Very well, but this evening, think long and hard on what
to do with this woman from the cosmos. Rylen will seek her
out, if not to kill her then to take her from you. Are you
prepared for this to happen?”
Paladin ignored him, threw open the door and strode
down the hall. The old man’s words held a truth he didn’t
care to examine just yet.
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Chapter Ten
A floorboard outside the door creaked. Seren glanced at
the opening to find Paladin standing motionless. Her heart
accelerated at the sight of him. Worry etched his features.
What happened with the wizard?
Leo rose to his feet, nodding in greeting. “Paladin.”
He inclined his head in return. “It is late. Seren needs to
rest and so do I. You may visit with each other over the next
few days.”
Surprised that he’d decided what was best for her, she
narrowed her eyes and almost told him not to worry. She
wasn’t his concern, but there was a haunted look about him.
She found that she wanted to do what he asked.
What had the old wizard told him?
“Yes, sir. I’d imagine you are both exhausted from your
/> journey,” Leo agreed. He continued with a chuckle. “Master
Largin prepared rooms a couple of days ago.”
Seren slid to the edge of the chair and stood. Paladin held
his hand out. She stared at the slender fingers and calloused
palm for a moment. She moved to his side, laying her hand
onto his. Heat spiraled up her arm from the contact. Lacing
their fingers, he led the way into the hallway. She followed,
determined to remain strong and not allow her passion for
this man to override her common sense.
They walked further down the hallway until they reached
a narrow staircase built into the side of the wall. He guided
her up the steps and down another passageway which was
bare of any decorations except for the wall lanterns. Midway,
he stopped in front of a paneled door.
He faced her. “This is my room. I want you with me.”
His deep voice vibrated off her nerve endings. She
shivered. His blue eyes warmed with a spark of fire,
reminding her of her desire for him. She passed her tongue
over her lips.
Raising their clasped hands, she flattened her palm
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against his and straightened her fingers. He aligned his with
hers. She stared, enjoying the friction of his skin against her
sensitive fingertips. “Why do you want me to stay here with
you?”
His other hand swept the hair off her left temple. Gently,
he cupped her jaw. In the same manner as she’d done to him
the first day on the ship, he brushed his thumb across her
bottom lip.
“I want to keep you safe.”
“Nothing more?”
His pupils dilated, and his answer came out in a breath,
“Yes.”
“Who’s going to keep me safe from you?” She released a
low, husky laugh. “Or should I say, you from me?”
“I have no need for protection from you.”
“You want to make a bet?”
He half-smiled at her. “I would lose the wager without a
care.”
She laughed. The tension in her body ebbed. “I’ll sleep
beside you, but I won’t make love with you. I want to go
home. This place is way too weird for me. If we make love
again, I’d be tempted to stay.”
He inclined his head. “As you say. I will honor your
desire. Having you next to me will be enough. For now.”
Paladin opened the door then waited for her to enter
before he followed. Quaint, possessing very little furniture,