Petra was there. He grabbed her and hauled her to the surface, clearing the muck of the river and a few smaller snakes from her face. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not, and didn’t intend to linger in the river to find out.
Her expression was peaceful, her features so tranquil that he feared the worst.
He strode to the shore that had been their destination, relieved to find the ground rise up quickly beneath his boots. He laid Petra on the dry bank, even as rivulets of water ran from her clothes. Her lashes fluttered slightly, but he saw that the color that had bloomed in her cheeks after his kiss had faded again. Her pallor and the chill of her hands terrified him.
He found himself whispering her name, as if his voice alone could rouse her or repeating her name could reassure him. He ran one fingertip across her cool lips before he realized the same strategy might work again. He bent and touched his lips to hers, hoping against hope that she would revive beneath his touch.
To his relief, darkfire burned and shimmered between them, touching Petra’s features with its ethereal glow, filling Damien’s body with heat. He could only hope that his kiss passed it to Petra. He kissed her again and again, hoping the spark would light to a flame, that the power of his kind could save the woman he loved.
He loved Petra, and he’d never told her so.
Damien only hoped he hadn’t realized the truth too late.
When Petra lifted one hand to his shoulder and parted her lips beneath his own, Damien’s hope surged. He caught her close and deepened his kiss, pouring all he felt for her into his touch, telling her with his embrace what he’d never told her in words. And Petra clung to him, her arms wrapping around him to hold him close, her kiss meeting him measure for measure. He saw the darkfire brighten between then and heat to a brilliant white glow, a hot white light that wouldn’t soon be extinguished. When he lifted his head and reluctantly broke his kiss, she was flushed and rosy again.
Even more importantly, she smiled at him. Her gaze was so warm that he could have basked in it forever.
“Well,” she said. “Thank you.”
“I owed you for Cerberus.”
“Does that make us even then?” Petra teased. “So we now go our separate ways?”
“No! Though we are even,” Damien said gruffly, pleased and confused. Feeling both at the same time was disconcerting, but not all bad. He’d survived the electricity of living with Petra before, after all, and had missed the spark she put in his day.
She was waiting for him to say something, so he tried to indicate his changed feelings. “It’s important in a partnership to keep everything balanced.”
“Is that so? And suddenly you know so much about balanced relationships?” She was teasing him, her tone light and playful.
“No, but I’m trying to learn.”
“Oh, I want to meet these other Pyr,” Petra said with purpose, reaching for his hand to get to her feet. Damien caught both her hands in his and lifted her up. “I want to meet the dragons who managed to change your thinking.”
“It wasn’t them,” he admitted. Damien saw the tentative hope in her eyes and reached to draw her closer again. “It was you.” He tipped up her chin with one fingertip. “I love you, Petra. Let’s be partners.”
She smiled and her eyes lit with the promise of their future. “Oh, Damien, I’ve loved you all along.”
Damien bent his head to kiss Petra again, to secure the agreement with a scorching kiss, but his lips never touched hers.
There was a scream overhead and he looked up to see two enormous birds descending toward them. He tried to shelter Petra beneath him, and struggled again to shift shape without success.
“The Erinyes!” Petra whispered, and Damien saw that she was right. Just like the creature he’d killed, they were women, not birds, women with wings like bats and blood running from their eyes. They had fangs and long yellowed nails, just like their sister.
And writhing snakes for their hair.
Of course.
“Is this when we pay death’s price?” Petra whispered, but Damien pulled his dagger. He was aware of Petra humming, but concentrated on the Erinyes. They swooped low, snatching and screaming. The stench of them was foul. When they dove at him, Damien managed to nick the wing of one of them.
They screamed even louder, even as the blood spurted.
“You broke your word!” she cried at Damien.
“You betrayed her trust,” screamed the second.
He expected Petra to do something, because she’d been humming as she did when she invoked her power. He spared a glance her way and she shook her head.
So, neither of them had their powers.
This was not good.
The Erinyes swooped low again and Damien leapt up to stab at the second one. There had to be a way out of the underworld and a lesser price they could pay than death. What sacrifice would work? He’d already killed one of these creatures.
A snake launched itself from the leg of the second sister, falling on Damien as it hissed and spat. He decapitated it and flung its body aside.
“Oath-breaker, oath-breaker,” chanted the Erinyes overhead.
“But he didn’t break his word,” Petra shouted. “He never promised me anything.”
It was true, but didn’t sound like much of an endorsement to Damien’s ears.
“I invoked you in anger,” Petra said, her tone firm. “It was a mistake.”
The Erinyes screamed as if being tortured, but they didn’t fly away. They dropped lower, wings flapping, eyes bleeding, snakes hissing. Damien wasn’t sure what to watch or where to strike.
Petra distracted him then by crying out in dismay. He looked back to see that her water had broken, and that dark liquid was spreading across the ground. “Our son,” she whispered, the light of hope in her eyes. “He’s coming.”
Damien had to get Petra and their son out of this realm.
“He still murdered our sister, Tisiphone,” the two Erinyes whispered in unison, then lunged at him, claws bared as they screamed for vengeance.
Damien roared and dove after the Erinyes, his dagger held high. They leapt out of his path, in the same moment that a flash of lightning blinded Petra.
She opened her eyes to find Hades himself standing before them. The god was dressed in long dark robes. His beard and brow were silvered and his expression was dim. They weren’t in the same place anymore, because the River Leche was gone. To Damien’s dismay, they were back in the forest of stone trees.
And the corpse of the Erinye he’d killed was at the god’s feet.
“Who dares to slaughter one of my own?” he demanded in a voice like thunder.
The two surviving Erinyes landed on either side of Damien. Before he could evade them, they seized his arms and shoved him forward, so that he fell on his knees before the ruler of the underworld.
He looked up and doubted he had anything to offer that Hades might want.
But Damien was determined to try.
* * *
Damien loved her.
It was everything Petra had ever wanted, and more. He hadn’t just said the words she’d wanted to hear: he’d proved his feelings with actions, as a dragon ought to do. He’d saved her, he’d committed to being partners with her, and now she had to use her powers to get them free of the Erinyes and the underworld.
She would have tried but her water had broken, and the sensation had been enough to take her to her knees. Her womb contracted and she felt her son moving downward.
Petra had feared the worst when the Erinyes attacked, for they could devise the most vicious torments. Damien was determined to defend her, but she knew he was weary. They couldn’t both be confined here forever, not now!
Petra couldn’t argue her case, not with her whole body tightening in preparation for another contraction. It seemed that her son wasn’t just as stubborn as Damien but as resolute, too. Now that he’d decided to be born, he wasn’t going to waste any time about it. She was ba
rely aware of Damien’s finger being cut free, then of Hades himself appearing before them.
“Did you do this deed?” Hades demanded of Damien, gesturing to the lifeless Erinye at his feet.
“She attacked me,” Damien said. “I had no choice.”
“No choice but to die,” Hades said. “And you were already in the realm of the dead.” He bent down and touched the cheek of the ancient hag. Even the snakes of her hair had stilled. “She was always a loyal servant.”
The other two Erinyes began to wail, and the blood flowed more quickly from their eyes. Hades spared them a glance, then granted Damien a stern glance. “You will pay a price for this.”
“I apologize for killing one of your own,” Damien said tightly.
Hades smiled. “The price will be higher than that.” He straightened then reached out one hand in obvious expectation. A servant leapt forward and put a chalice into his outstretched hand. Petra assumed it was wine or another refreshment, but Hades only sniffed the contents. He then poured the dark liquid over the body of Tisiphone. “Tisiphone, the face of retaliation and the avenger of murder, take life again and exact your own vengeance upon your murderer and his kind. Pursue them through all eternity, until your thirst for revenge is sated.”
As Petra watched, the body of Tisiphone began to change. She shifted shape from a winged harridan to a cobra then to a lithe woman with red hair. In the blink of an eye, she was a harridan again, the rotation between forms becoming faster and faster until her form blurred.
And then she disappeared.
“Where did she go?” one of her sisters asked.
“You all three have walked in whichever realm you chose. Tisiphone will live only in the realm of the living until her vengeance is served.” He gave Damien a hard look. “She will strike among the living, even as she abides in secret. His kind will never know of her vendetta until her vengeance is served.”
Petra was appalled. She could see Damien’s consternation, and knew of his loyalty to the Pyr. “But they have to be warned!” she said, even as her womb tightened for a contraction.
“I see no reason for it,” Hades said.
“Let her go,” Damien begged the god. “Let her go so our son can live.”
“It could be argued that he’s dead already,” Hades replied mildly.
“Take me instead,” Damien said with a vigor that shocked Petra. “Take me instead.”
“You just want her to warn the Pyr.”
“Forbid her to do that, but let her go!” Damien appealed, and Petra was amazed that he was more concerned for her than his fellows. “Let her have our child in the world. I’ll stay here instead.”
“Forever?” Hades asked.
“Forever,” Damien said with resolve.
“Snakes and all?” Petra whispered.
Damien swallowed, then looked her in the eye. “Even with the snakes.”
“There’s no guarantee she’ll survive childbirth, even if I do agree,” Hades observed. “Your son might not even survive. You could be sacrificing yourself for nothing.”
“I don’t care. I want to give her the chance.” Damien was resolute. “She gave me a chance and I didn’t deserve it.”
Hades considered them for a long moment and Petra found herself breathing quickly as the pain rose within her.
“No,” he said flatly. “It would set a precedent. It’s far simpler for both of you to stay.”
“You can’t keep Damien here,” Petra argued. “He’s not dead.”
“It’s only a matter of time before that’s resolved,” Hades said. “And we have nothing but time in this realm.”
Petra felt her womb tighten even as her fury rose. She called to the earth, to the stones, to the rocks and roots of the world. She felt the tumult build even as her own contraction grew. She summoned it and gathered it and drew it unto herself to wield it.
“Petra,” Damien whispered in awe.
“What is this?” Hades demanded, even as the ground underfoot trembled. “Stop this immediately!” he cried.
“No! We will not stay!” Petra opened her mouth and roared, commanding the earth to move just as her womb contracted. “We have sacrificed! We have paid! And we are alive!” She felt her son move and channeled the pain with her powers, compelling the element of earth to respond to her command.
The ground underfoot shook hard. It buckled and rolled, then suddenly cracked wide. A large dark fissure opened between them and the ruler of the realm, and snakes spewed from it to scatter in every direction. Damien muttered an oath, but held fast to Petra’s hand. There was a rumble of moving rock.
Petra summoned her strength and pushed harder, directing her efforts upward. The entire realm shook, like a straw house in the wind. There was a deafening boom and the darkness overhead split wide open.
A ray of sunlight stabbed into the darkness of the underworld. The dead throughout the underworld shouted in mingled dismay and delight, but Petra wasn’t done. Their escape path was clear, but they weren’t through it yet. She called to the earth, she drew upon her powers and the land beneath their feet rippled.
It convulsed.
Another contraction began deep in her body and she used it, clenching her fists to drive the power as she wished. The ground folded and shifted, and suddenly shoved them high into the sky. Damien caught her close so she wouldn’t lose her footing, and she held on to him tightly.
“No one leaves this realm!” Hades cried in dismay.
“Try to stop us,” Damien muttered, resolve making his eyes shine. “Come on, Petra. One more good shove.”
“Yes,” she agreed, and mustered her strength again. She was tired, but she had to save Damien and their son. She pushed hard, closing her eyes as she gave her all.
Suddenly, there was a thunderclap. The crack began to close overhead, sealing the underworld once again.
“No!” Damien cried and leapt upward.
He might have called to the shaft of sunlight. It pierced the darkness as if targeting him, and struck him like a bolt of lightning. Petra saw the shimmer of blue-green darkfire roll over Damien’s body and feared Hades had claimed his life, after all.
Then Damien shouted with joy and her relief made her tremble.
“Yes!” he bellowed and Petra knew what would happen. She laughed when she saw the pale blue shimmer of light surround his body and squeezed her eyes shut. Damien shifted shape with glorious speed, and she thrilled as always at the beauty of his dragon form. She opened her eyes to find herself securely in his grasp, his scales cool and hard beneath her hands. She could feel his muscled strength and she delighted in the power of his wings and tail.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he soared toward the sky overhead, holding her safely against his chest as his powerful wings beat hard. Petra felt a waft of fresh wind on her face, smelled the green of the hills and dared to hope that they would succeed.
The crack overhead was closing steadily, as if it would cheat them of freedom right at the last. Petra knew that if they were trapped in underworld, Hades would make them pay for their transgression for all eternity. She could hear him shouting far below and willed the earth to shake violently in the hope of silencing him.
“Faster,” she whispered to her dragon, even though she knew Damien was pushing himself to his limits.
But the crack began to close even more quickly. Petra was afraid it was already too narrow for Damien’s width. He surged forward, his wings beating more furiously. He leapt through the crack with a final burst of speed, twisting as he flew to work himself through the narrowing gap.
The fissure snapped shut behind them and he shouted as it claimed the tip of his tail.
Against all expectation, they were free.
“Are you all right?” Petra demanded and Damien laughed.
“Never better.” He soared high in the midday sky, clearly reveling in the return of his powers. The sunlight glinted on his scales, making him sparkle like a gem.
“Your s
cales,” she said with wonder.
Damien looked over himself, then grinned with pride. “Like it?”
The color of his scales had changed, from deep green dipped in gold to gold dipped in green. He was magnificent in the sunlight, like a piece of jewelry designed to dazzle.
“It must be because you survived the realm of the dead.”
“And I sacrificed the tip of my tail,” he said, his eyes dancing. “I think we have a very good chance of fulfilling the prophecy, Petra.”
Her heart clenched tightly. Claiming the firestorm’s promise sounded wonderful to her, but her son had a more immediate plan. She held tightly to Damien as another contraction rolled through her body. He watched in concern, keeping them airborne.
“A mountaintop?” he asked her. “The soft soil of a clearing? Tell me where you want to be, Petra, and I’ll get you there.”
“With the Mothers,” she said softly. Petra opened her eyes and saw immediately that Damien was missing a scale on his chest. She’d never noticed that before, but there was no time to ask him for details.
Petra surveyed their surroundings and was thrilled to recognize the land. “There,” she said, pointing to a peak crested with stones.
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure. We’re near the Mothers, Damien, which is exactly where I had hoped to be.”
He didn’t bother with questions, although she could see his curiosity. He flew toward the peak she’d indicated, moving more quickly and surely than she’d imagined possible. Petra’s chest tightened as she saw the familiar circle of stones cresting the peak, the clearing in the middle thick with green plants.
She directed Damien to the spot and he circled with caution before he landed, checking their safety with care. As he deposited Petra with care on the thick greenery, the ground shifted slightly to one side, startling him.
Petra smiled, having anticipated that the Mothers would take care of her. A spring bubbled from the crack in the ground, trickling beside her.
“But where are the Mothers?” he asked, glancing around himself in confusion.
“All around you,” Petra said, indicating the standing stones that encircled them. “You’ll see.”