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“I bestow upon you the gift of a sorceress. Like a snake to its prey, you will latch onto any man you choose and pour malice into their hearts. You will be able to force your enemies to feel despair, pain, and loss. You will control them with the magic you hold.”
“I bestow upon you the gift of the siren. Any man whose blood you taste will fall at your feet and do your will. Even if you command him to die, he will do so.”
“I bestow upon you the power of Charon’s kiss. Your lips will breathe death into the mouths of corrupt men. Their spirits will suffer for all their transgressions.”
“Neptune has done you wrong, my child. For his crime, men will suffer. But none who do not deserve it. You and your sisters will go forth and serve me well. You will punish evil men and damn them.”
Some say that Minerva’s mystical gifts have been seeking the right sisters, the ones to right all of mankind’s wrongs once and for all.
Stars save me. It could only be one man.
Only noble-born Romans with the blood of the dragon coursing through their veins could be centurions.
“She spoke to me tonight. And I knew you’d need the coin for good fortune one day.”
“Indeed.” He dipped his chin. “You are wise as you are beautiful, little firebird.”
“In Rome, you are no one. A slave. One of many.”
Dragons were a violently territorial and possessive species. The laws on property were strictly enforced and almost always followed.
I’d thought to never see her again, even knowing what she was to me then, all those years ago, as we stood in the woods beneath the moon and the shadow of the Carpathian Mountains. I’d walked away, knowing it was the only safe path to take. For the both of us.
So I’d dismissed any fantasies of returning to the Carpathian Mountains and finding the girl who haunted my dreams these past years. Now, here she was, thrust into my life through violence and blood. I feared that was the only future the two of us could possibly have. For my destiny, my sole purpose, could only end in violence and blood.
“Both, sweet firebird.” His voice was a velvety, dark caress. “We might both burn for what’s to come.”
I bowed my head and prayed to the gods who would listen that we weren’t both now doomed together.
“I’ll tell you since you’re too coward to admit it.” His hand on my shoulder slid to the side of my neck, and it felt heavenly. “You kept this coin, because it tied you to me. The gods had bound us together. Your gods, mine, it doesn’t matter.”
It was a strange and wonderful gift to glide through the night sky upon a dragon.
“Oh, Lady Fortuna,” I breathed on a whisper. “What have you done to me?”
That meant risking my life. And I would. For her, it was a risk worth taking.
“Because I need to earn your trust. So I must give you something valuable.” “What’s that?” “My life,” he answered easily, as if it were nothing.
Their magic was my gift and it pronounced loud and clear that this Roman, this dragon, was bound to me. And I to him.
