Kiss of Destiny

  Kiss of Destiny

  The Third Dragon Legion Novella

  by

  Deborah Cooke

  He will sacrifice anything to win his destined love...

  When the darkfire crystal takes the dragon shape shifters Thad and Drake to an unknown location, only fulfilling his firestorm matters to Thad. Little does he know that in following its light to his destined mate, he’s stepping into the realm of the gods, a place so forbidden to mortals that any who enter it must die. Aura has always been skeptical of long-term promises—but Thad is irresistible. No sooner does Aura surrender than the gods demand their due of her dragon shifter. Can she save Thad and make the dream of the firestorm come true?

  Kiss of Destiny

  by Deborah Cooke

  Digital Edition

  Published by Deborah A. Cooke

  ISBN: 978-1-927477-25-0

  Cover by Kim kat Killion

  Digital Formatting by Author E.M.S.

  Copyright © 2013 by Deborah A. Cooke

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright preserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright holder and the publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names,kat characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Prologue

  Drake had never been more exhausted in his life. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he didn’t dare to close them. He didn’t trust the darkfire crystal to sleep while he did. He didn’t know how long they’d been suffering through this ordeal with the unpredictable stone, but he didn’t think he could survive much more of it.

  There was just himself and Thad left, the younger Dragon Legion Warrior filled with an enthusiasm that Drake couldn’t match.

  They were together in a nameless park, sitting on the lip of a concrete fountain. Night was falling and the stars were coming out. The park, which had been busy earlier in the day, was becoming more and more quiet, as people returned home with their children and dogs. Unless Drake missed his guess, this park was in an American city in the twenty-first century. Their clothing blended in well enough here for them to avoid scrutiny.

  Drake wondered if that would be the case if they stretched out and slept on the benches.

  “I wonder why it brought us here,” Thad mused. He was like a curious child, thrilled with every place the darkfire crystal deposited them and intent upon figuring out the stone’s logic.

  “It could be whim,” Drake said.

  Thad shook his head. “No, there has to be a reason. There has to be a point.”

  Drake said nothing. He’d learned long ago that many events in life didn’t have a point. All the same, he remembered having Thad’s optimism once, many, many years ago.

  “There’s no firestorm’s spark,” Drake couldn’t help but observe. “Maybe your theory is wrong.”

  “No, it makes perfect sense for the darkfire crystal to take us to our firestorms. That way, we find our destined mates and make more Pyr.”

  “Perhaps the darkfire thinks there are enough dragon shape shifters in the world. It was released by the Slayer Chen, and he has no fondness for our kind.”

  “It’s older than he is, I think, and strong enough to use him for its purposes.”

  “You don’t know.”

  Thad grinned. “No, but I like that answer better.”

  “Even if it isn’t the truth?”

  Thad leaned closer and bumped shoulders with Drake, a gesture of such familiarity that Drake was shocked. “Come on,” Thad said. “Don’t you want to go back to Cassandra?”

  Drake didn’t answer that. He stared into the depths of the stone and admitted his secret fear. Although he’d been happy enough with the results of his firestorm at the time, the centuries had changed him. He wanted more than sex and sons. He knew Cassandra was self-reliant and didn’t doubt that she’d provided well enough for herself in his absence. She was practical and not afraid to be tough. She would have raised their son well. He knew, though, that if he returned to her after all his adventures, he would do so as a changed man. The man he had become might not be so content with Cassandra.

  And, to be fair, Cassandra might not be very content with him. He turned the large quartz crystal in his hands thoughtfully.

  When Drake thought of women, he remembered the military widow he’d helped in the modern world. Although their acquaintance had been short and businesslike, Ronnie had made an impression upon him. She was both vulnerable and strong, a woman who was used to having a partner’s support to rely upon, but one who had only begun to understand her own strength. He’d found her extremely attractive, even though he knew his feelings were inappropriate. He’d been shocked that he could find a woman alluring who was so different from his Cassandra.

  Her full name, Veronica, meant ‘little truth,’ and Drake had since concluded that it had been their brief association that had shown him the truth about himself. He wasn’t the man he had once been. He didn’t want what he’d wanted before, or even what he’d had. As much as he wanted to see his son and as much as he understood his responsibilities, Drake had very mixed feelings about being cast back in time to finish what he had begun.

  He couldn’t tell Thaddeus that, of course. The other Pyr wouldn’t have understood. Thad was so filled with wonder and enthusiasm and optimism that Drake couldn’t introduce the idea to him that the firestorm might not be right every time, or that it might not be right forever.

  He might have hoped the crystal would stay dark, but that would have been cowardly.

  When the blue-green spark trapped deep inside the stone began to glow more brightly, it was all Drake could do to keep from groaning aloud.

  Thad noticed immediately. “This is it!” the younger warrior declared. “Do you think it will be you or me this time?”

  “If you’re right that the darkfire is taking each of us to our firestorm, then I hope it’s you.” Drake knew he sounded as weary as he felt.

  Thad shot a bright glance his way. “That makes no sense. You’re just thinking of the men under your command before you think of yourself.” Thad paused but Drake didn’t want to shatter his illusions. “I know you want to return to Cassandra and your son. It would only be right.”

  Drake kept silent and watched the darkfire brighten. Where would it take them this time? Was this the time that they’d be separated once and for all? Or would his Dragon Legion be reunited, after the stone completed its quest?

  “That’s what Alexander did,” Thad said with confidence. “He returned to his Katina...”

  “You don’t know that for certain,” Drake said sternly. “You know only that the darkfire took us to the village where he had lived with her.”

  “Well, why else would it do that?”

  “I can’t begin to guess.” Actually, Drake had many ideas of what might have happened. He and his men had been enchanted for centuries. There was no telling what had occurred at their homes in their absence. There hadn’t been any way to tell when Alexander had arrived at that village. It could have bee
n before he’d even met Katina or long after she’d died, missing him. She could have married again or been glad to be without him, or they might not have gotten along after his return.

  “You sound dire, like Peter always did.” Thad laughed. “I couldn’t believe the look on his face when his firestorm sparked.”

  “There’s nothing saying he succeeded in satisfying it.”

  Thad laughed and the stone brightened even more. It seemed to pulse with that inner energy and Drake could feel it heating his skin. A wind swept through the park, shaking the trees and tugging at their clothes. Drake got to his feet and Thad stood beside him.

  Drake supposed that one of them should have stayed in this place, and that the stone would bring them back until the dragon in question did stay. He wasn’t ready to step away from his last fellow warrior, though.

  Neither, evidently was Thad. The younger Pyr grasped his commander’s shoulder so he wouldn’t be left behind.

  And just in time. The darkfire cracked like lightning and the park disappeared in a swirl of dust and fallen leaves. They were picked up from the ground and flung hard through the air, as if a tornado had seized them. Drake couldn’t see anything but he reached out and grabbed Thad’s arm, not wanting to lose the younger man.

  They were cast down hard upon a stony surface and the wind stilled. The spark in the stone died to a mere pinprick of light as Drake sat up cautiously. The stone even felt cold in his hand.

  They were surrounded by fog, but he had the definite sense that they were at some elevated altitude. The air seemed thin and the silence resonant. He felt there was nothing but wind and sky.

  He realized belatedly that Thad was unusually silent and turned to the younger man in concern. Thad was fine, but sitting on the ground cross-legged. He was staring at the tip of the fingers on his left hand, probably because golden sparks had lit on them. His mouth had fallen open in awe but he grinned when he looked up at Drake.

  “I’ve never felt like this,” he whispered and the light wind seemed to steal his words away. “She’s here. She’s here somewhere and the darkfire has brought me to her!” He leapt to his feet and spun around, holding up his hand in search of a direction. Predictably, the flames flared when he stretched his hand out to one side. The rocks seemed to climb higher there, as if the peak of the mountain was that way.

  Drake had time to dread Thad’s reaction before the other man strode to him and shook his hand heartily. “I don’t know when we’ll meet again, Drake, but thank you. Thank you for all you’ve taught me, and all the times you’ve defended me, and everything.” His eyes were alight with anticipation.

  “Maybe we should follow the flame together,” Drake managed to say before the light in the crystal shimmered again.

  “Your turn is next!” Thad insisted, then shocked his commander by pulling him into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Drake. May the Great Wyvern always be with you.”

  And then he was gone, leaping over the rocks in pursuit of the firestorm’s flame. His figure was swallowed by the fog in no time, leaving Drake looking down at the blinking stone in trepidation.

  He closed his eyes when the wind raged around him. He kept them closed when he was swept off his feet. He grimaced as the maelstrom spun around him, casting him this way and that, tearing at him like he was made of straw. He both wanted it to end and feared what he’d find when it did. He winced when he fell hard against a smooth surface.

  Like concrete.

  The wind stilled and snowflakes landed on his face. It was cold and there was a stiff wind, one that smelled of water. It could have been blowing off a lake. He could hear the distant sound of traffic and he sensed the presence of a dragonsmoke barrier, breathed thick and deep. He caught a whiff of gunpowder and sulfur, of the chemicals used in pyrotechnics, mingled with the scents of Pyr he had known.

  He sensed one particular dragon shape shifter, the leader of the Pyr himself.

  Drake opened one eye warily, already having guessed where he was. He was in Chicago on the roof of the building that contained Erik Sorensson’s loft, and despite himself, he was relieved. He looked down at the crystal in his hand, only to find that its heart was completely dark. Even when he peered closely at it and strained his vision, he could see no glimmer of darkfire within it.

  Its quest was done. Drake was cast into the future to stay.

  The darkfire crystal had brought him here as its last act, because its rightful place was in the hoard of the leader of the Pyr. Drake pushed to his feet wearily, only having the strength to rise because he knew he would be able to sleep as long as necessary within the protective barrier of Erik’s dragonsmoke boundary.

  And that was a greater gift than he’d ever expected the darkfire to give him.

  Chapter One

  His firestorm!

  Thad barely managed to contain his excitement. He was surrounded by a dense white mist, a fog that obscured everything beyond an arm’s reach. Even so, the fog was lit with a radiant orange light, the light of his firestorm, and he spun in place, trying to discern which direction was brightest.

  She would be there.

  He could see the rocky path beneath his feet and feel the chill of the air, but not much more than that. In three steps, he’d lost Drake completely.

  Suddenly, a blue-green flash of the darkfire illuminated the fog behind him. It grew to blinding brilliance then disappeared completely. Thad swallowed, knowing that Drake was gone.

  He was alone.

  But the firestorm’s light meant he wasn’t really alone. Its golden glow shimmered on his fingertips. He lifted his hand and turned in place and, just as earlier, the firestorm sparked to flames that leapt from his fingertips to guide him to his destined mate. He felt a heat in his body and a tingling of desire, one that reminded him of the earthly aspect of the firestorm. The sparks leapt from his fingertips, as if to urge him to hurry. He took a step, saw the flames build a little higher and felt the heat increase in his body.

  What did she look like? What was she feeling? Would he fall in love with her immediately, or would it take time? Thad was desperate to know. He summoned the change in his body with impatience, wanting to have the fullness of his dragon powers for this moment of moments.

  Even the change seemed to be fueled by the firestorm. It swept through his body with a vehemence he’d never experienced before, making him feel so powerful that he might have been invincible. In his dragon form, Thad breathed fire at the sky in triumph. He was delighted that even his plume of flames bent in the direction of his mate. Could she feel the firestorm? Was she waiting for him? He took flight, using his keener dragon senses to try to discern more.

  The fog was impenetrable, but his heart skipped at the faint scent of perfume. It came from the same direction as the firestorm’s sparks led and was wonderfully feminine. It smelled of flowers and made him think of soft warm skin. Thad closed his eyes and took a deep beguiling breath of it, then flew on at reckless speed.

  His dream was coming true.

  Before he and his fellow Dragon’s Tooth warriors had been enchanted, he’d had few expectations about the once-in-a-lifetime mating experienced by his fellow Pyr. The sparks flew to identify the woman who could bear the child of the dragon shape shifter in question. For most of the Pyr Thad had known then, a firestorm was the chance to create a son and not much more. His own mother had been loving and kind, but as a child, Thad had always felt the household was incomplete. He hadn’t been able to name the omission until he came of age.

  Thad had met his own father when he’d been collected from his mother’s household and taken to Delphi. Theirs had been a short acquaintance and not a talkative one. His father had believed in leaving the training of young dragons to those who did it best. His obligation to his kind had been fulfilled by satisfying the firestorm, creating a son, then bringing the son to be trained when he came of age. Even though Thad had felt a yearning to know more about his father and to build a connection, his father hadn’t sha
red his dream. After their arrival at Delphi, Thad had never seen his father again.

  Drake had been different, even when Thad had first met him. Not only was Drake an experienced and respected commander, but he had married his mate and lived with her and his son. He was the first Pyr Thad had ever met who had made that choice. The notion of having Drake as a father and knowing him, of having the ongoing opportunity to learn from him was incredible to Thad.

  But so enticing.

  He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that the Pyr like Drake were drawn to his command. Alexander was another who had made a commitment to his mate. After the enchantment had been broken, Thad and his fellows had found themselves in a future. There, the Pyr who followed Erik Sorensson made permanent relationships with their mates. They were partners, not just biological parents, and worked together to fulfill the mission of the Pyr to defend the earth and its treasures. Some of those dragons had multiple sons, which was remarkable to Thad. The Pyr almost invariably had male children, since there was only one female of their kind at any given time, but for a dragon shifter to remain with one woman and create a family was a modern notion. The contentment of those Pyr was clear to even a new arrival like Thad.

  He had yearned to feel the spark of his firestorm in that world.

  Yet mingled with the promise of such a partnership was a fear that the Great Wyvern had forgotten the old firestorms or the more ancient Pyr. In being enchanted, Alexander and Drake had been separated from their mates. Thad had worried about this. Was it a sign that the firestorm wasn’t forever? Did it mean that the Dragon’s Tooth warriors were different? Did it mean that the firestorm’s promise could be fleeting?

  When the darkfire crystal had cast them through space and time, it had been Thad who discerned the truth and Thad who had been most relieved. Now, his own firestorm sparked at the end of his talon. He would do anything to see it satisfied and pledge whatever was necessary to the woman who would bear his son.