Free The Dragon Legion Collection 9 by Deborah Cooke Page A

marriage vow, but she sensed that there was something else, some ethical concern that made him wait. She loved that Alexander was a man of honor, but in this moment, she could wish that he weren’t quite so principled.
    Of course, then she wouldn’t love him quite so much.
    Then she remembered his earlier confession. “You don’t know if you’ll be able to stay,” she whispered.
    Alexander bowed his head.
    “You never could lie,” she said softly.
    “Not to you.” He looked at her then, his heart in his eyes, and Katina realized she’d have to show him that she’d take every moment she could have with him, and savor it. She’d tried to send him away, fearing that Cetos would injure him, but now that they were away from Cetos, she couldn’t bear to be parted from Alexander.
    And she knew now that he could defend himself against any man.
    She recognized that his principles would stand between them, along with her marriage vows. As long as Cetos lived and Alexander was uncertain of his future, he wouldn’t touch her. He’d defend her and talk to her, but no more than that.
    Katina wanted more. She had to find a way to solve this.
    “When will you know about your future?” she asked.
    “After I ask the Pythia.”
    “We have to go to Delphi, then.”
    He nodded.
    “The flames, in the sanctuary,” she guessed. “When we first met. I saw them spark between the two of us. I thought it a sign.” Alexander nodded agreement. “It wasn’t a trick, was it? It didn’t have anything to do with the Pythia or the fumes in the temple.”
    “It was the light of the firestorm,” Alexander admitted. “The firestorm burns when one of my kind meets his destined mate.”
    Katina smiled with new hope. “Then we were destined to be together.”
    Alexander shrugged and Katina sensed that, once again, he would protect her from some painful truth. “It’s not such a romantic idea as that. The destined mate is the woman who can bear the Pyr ’s son. The flame burns until their match is made.”
    Katina looked away, disappointed that the magic of their first encounter had only been about the conception of Lysander. “Did I have a choice?”
    “There’s always a choice.”
    Katina remembered the heat of the firestorm, the power of her desire and the connection she had felt with Alexander in that potent moment. She remembered the consuming attraction she’d felt for him and wasn’t sure she could have resisted him then, not for any price.
    She stole a glance at him and acknowledged that hadn’t changed. She hadn’t been able to resist him on this day, even without the spark of this firestorm.
    And she didn’t want to resist him now.
    Suddenly, she realized the implication underlying his words.
    “Bear his son,” she echoed. “That means Lysander...”
    Alexander fixed her with a cool glance that reminded her of the dragon within. “Will be like me,” he confirmed with a calmness that seemed undeserved. “Understand, Katina, that if I hadn’t pledged to serve, then I would never have answered the summons.” His eyes darkened as he watched her, his voice softening. “But if I hadn’t pledged, then I wouldn’t have been in the sanctuary of the temple at Delphi the night you arrived there. I wouldn’t have missed that for all the world.”
    There was a lump in Katina’s throat. “No matter how it ends?”
    “No matter how it ends, I can’t regret having been with you.”
    Katina reached out and took his hand in hers again. “I have no regrets, either.”
    Their gazes locked and held for a long moment. That familiar heat rose between them, reminding her that they had never stopped with one mating. She saw the spark of desire brighten in Alexander’s eyes and dared to hope that he might soften in his resolve. She made to take a step closer, to encourage him with a kiss, but Alexander caught his breath sharply.
    His entire body stiffened in alarm. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the valley and she saw that