“You are the best dragon in the entire world!” I told her as I took it. I kissed her little head and she looked annoyed.
The eye was larger than I had imagined, and I could feel the power swirling around inside it.
That is true. I am the best dragon in the world. And you should have me take the other dragons back to their homes. They grow weary.
Luna had transported them all here. I wondered how vast her powers had grown and what else she was capable of.
“Take the dragons back,” I said.
With a nod she disappeared, and I said, “Dea Drakones,” just to make certain that I had turned the aspect off. Followed by “Dea Soteira.”
My husband said, “It is very disconcerting to only hear one side of your conversations with your lizard.”
“She’s transporting the dragons back because they’re tired.” I showed the eye to him. “She got it for me.”
“May I?”
I gave the eye to him and realized what a huge moment it was. There was a time when I never could have imagined myself doing this. “Do you feel anything when you hold it?”
“No. Do you?”
“I do. There is a great deal of magic in it.”
He handed it back to me.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Now we go and tell the Carians who haven’t already fled to surrender. And then we set about fixing Troas and all the damage that’s been done.”
There was a long road ahead of us, one that I wanted to traverse with him. So long as we were together, we were on the right path.
Even though I still wasn’t sure how we were going to accomplish it.
And I wanted him to have all the information as we worked to find a solution.
“Xander? There’s something I want to tell you.”
He blinked at me several times. “I can’t even imagine what you might have to tell me in this moment.”
“I think I’m pregnant.”
There was immediate joy on his face, and he hugged me again. I was going to have to take a very long bath tonight and throw away this tunic. He swung me around in a circle.
“I’m going to be a father?”
“I think so. I feel this little light inside me. I suppose we’ll have to wait a few weeks to see if I miss my monthly courses to be certain, but—”
“Your word is good enough for me,” he said with a grin as he put me back on my feet and his hand went over my womb. “I can’t believe it. We’re going to be expanding our family.”
His words swelled inside my heart until I almost felt like I wouldn’t be able to breathe. I loved him so much.
“As soon as we figure out how to reopen the temple in Locris without me,” I reminded him.
But he waved his hand, as if that were inconsequential.
“I can just imagine a tiny goddess-blessed boy with your dark hair and honey-colored eyes,” I told him, “running around with Quynh and Thrax’s baby and getting into trouble.”
“Well, I see a smart, beautiful warrior princess who is the spitting image of her mother and is clever enough to wrap her father around herfinger.” Then his mouth turned down. “Wait. You mean to tell me you went into battle today knowing you were pregnant?”
