Free Breath of Fire by Liliana Hart Page A

warriors to the Earth, one of the goddesses felt pity for the Drakán, and she came to them in human form. She called them to her and handed each of them a scroll, promising them a way to restore the Drakán Realm. She took one drop of their blood and put it on each scroll, and the words of our Prophecy appeared as if by magic.
    “Not necessarily,” Calista answered him. Her pupils grew large as she looked—into the present or past, I couldn’t be sure. I felt the rush of her power tingle over my skin as she spoke the words.
    “There will be a child born of two descendants, whose power is greater than all who have come before him. A child to rule all, to make peace with the gods as his forefathers failed to do, and return us to our homeland.”
    “But there are two sides to every prophecy, Rena—the light and the dark. One side gives us hope, but the other delivers despair.”
    Her words sank in and the blood drained from my head, leaving me lightheaded. “Shit. I swear I didn’t know. I didn’t realize.” Panic tinged my voice, and the cold sweat of fear ran down my spine. I’d had no idea that what I was hunting for would be the one thing that was supposed to destroy us all. If I’d had all the pieces of the puzzle to begin with I would have figured it out sooner.
    “I know, Rena. But now the knowledge is yours. My visions have shown that the one responsible for these crimes is the Destroyer. And it is someone I’ve met in my time, otherwise the vision would not have come to me. I met Julian when he was just a boy. And I can still remember the strength of his power and his ability to make others want to follow him, even at such a young age. Remember what the second part of the Prophecy says about the Destroyer.”
    “The Destroyer is a great pretender. His power is to be feared. He is seduction incarnate, and all will follow him into battle without knowing the truth. He will destroy humanity, so the Drakán will starve and be forced to feed on the weakest of our own race. If the Destroyer comes to power, then this shall come to pass.”
    Calista looked straight at me—a piercing gaze right through to the depths of my soul. “If the Promised Child is yet to be, then Julian must be the Destroyer, also a child of two descendants and whose powers are said to rival the gods themselves.”
    At the mention of the Destroyer, it was as if a lock snicked open somewhere inside me. There was a connection—an invisible thread that tied us together. I didn’t know why or how. I should have been afraid. But I wasn’t. Anticipation coiled in my gut and held there, ready to spring loose at any moment.
    “You must find the Destroyer, Rena. Seek him out. It is he who is behind these attacks on our people. It is your destiny to keep the balance in our world. But know this—in the end you must make a decision. A decision that will affect us all. For the dark side is temptation unto itself.”

Chapter Seven
    I wasn’t quite as convinced as Calista that this Julian was the Destroyer. Just because he was a Viator didn’t make him the only suspect. There could be other Viators out there that kept their powers hidden. Hell, right now all the signs seemed to be pointing to Alasdair, but somehow my gut was steering me away from him. I didn’t know if it was because Alasdair was truly innocent or because the human in me found it distasteful to accuse my father of being the destroyer of the world. But whatever the case, it looked like Julian was as good a place to start as any.
    Erik’s piercing gaze was almost enough to make me squirm in my seat. I knew he couldn’t read me, but sometimes I thought his intuition was as good a strength as any dragon power. And somehow, after Calista’s foresight about my destiny, it felt as if Erik found me lacking in some way, though he was too polite to say it.
    “I must leave,” Calista announced suddenly. She drank the rest of her whiskey and then threw the glass against the stone of