The pain raced through his chest as the iron rod broke another rib. He struggled to pull his hands free of the binds over his head as he cried in pain. His efforts were useless, his wrists were rubbed raw and blood rand down his arms.

It was hopeless, all he could do was hang there, shirtless and suspended from a metal ring in the stone wall. His toes could barely touch the floor. Enough to steady himself, but not enough to relieve the pressure on his wrists.

“How many times do you want to do this Gersius?” the Father Abbot asked.

“Her name is, Lilly,” he spat with blood in his words.

“Break another one,” the tall uncaring man said from his chair across the room.

A man in black armor who went by the name of Tul wasted no time hitting Gersius on the other side of his chest. With a sickening crunch, another rib broke, sending a new wave of pain racing across his body.

“Now, let's try again. What is the dragons true name?”

Gersius looked up at the man with an expression of hatred.

The Father Abbot nodded to Tul, who punched Gersius with an armored fist swelling his eye.

“Her name!” the Father Abbot demanded.

“Her name is Lilly!” he shouted back.

“Another one.”

A familiar pain rolled across his chest, and his breathing became more painful.

“You are no servant of Astikar,” Gersius groaned out.

“Her name, Gersius.”

“Her name is Lilly!”

Another rib broke even before the command was given.

“We are running out of ribs, Gersius. I will have to heal you again, and start over,” the uncaring man said.

Gersius looked up at the man who was making him suffer. He wore the garments of a high priest of Astikar. Red and white robes with the red star of the god Emblazoned on his chest. Around his neck was a white scarf to indicate he was a man of clean hands. He had shed no blood in the service of the god. Gersius doubted that now as the Father Abbot tortured him.

The Father Abbot noticed the look and smiled back with an almost pleased expression on his face. His eyes glared at Gersius and always looked intense and calculating.

“I will never tell you her name. I swore an oath on my faith never to reveal it.”

“Then you will suffer for your stupidity, and tell me when the pain outweighs your devotion.”

“Her name is Lilly!”

“Have it your way G,...”

“Gersius!’ Lilly called out, waking him from his tormented sleep.

He lifted his weary head and looked up into two eyes so beautifully blue the skies themselves were envious. The face was delicate and lithe, and her skin a pale white. Her hair was long and straight, as it fell about her shoulders and down her back in a cascade of silver-blue. Strange blue interwoven lines ran down her shoulders and disappeared under the waves of hair.

He saw the pain on her face, and her eyes glistened around the edges as she searched his.

“I felt your pain from your dream! It was terrible, Gersius!” Lilly said to him as both her hands came to his shoulders.

He ran a hand through his short brown hair and down his face, He needed a shave, but his hands trembled too much now to do it.

“What were you dreaming about?” she asked him.

“It is nothing, just something I wish to forget,” he said, not wanting to burden her with it.

“Gersius, I hurt inside for you. Whatever you are holding on to is terrible!” she said, putting her forehead to his.

“I am fine, Lilly. I just had a bad dream,” he replied, putting a hand up to her face to caress a cheek through her hair. He took a moment to steady his thoughts as they caressed one another.

“You have grown so much in so short a time,” he said.

“I had you to teach me how to feel, and Thayle to teach me what I felt,” she said, sitting back and looking into his eyes. “But please, don’t teach me how to feel pain like you do.”

“I am sorry, Lilly. It was just a dream. It will all pass.”

She sat on the edge of the bed in the white robe Thayle bought her. It made her look like snow with her pale skin and silvery-blue hair.

It was almost a week since the binding. In that time they began to understand one another like never before. She still preferred to sleep on her coins, but they had shared several intimate nights in his bed, and he was prepared to let her grow at her own pace. She struggled with her dragon nature and now and then she called humans rodents. Her temper would flare up, and she would easily become confused. So much of what humans did and why they did it still eluded her. But she could admit that she loved him now, and that was enough to see them through the hard moments.

“Is it morning?” he asked.

“It is very early, but I believe the maps you requested are on the table outside. The priests brought them with the morning foods,” she said, running a hand down his chest.

He blinked in the dim light of the room. The magic light that illuminated the room could be dismissed with a simple command word. He dismissed it last night, but he could swear the room was brighter. Everything was easier to see, and the shadows seemed less deep.

He got up and began to dress. He briefly considered seeking someplace for morning prayers to open his heart up to Astikar. He wanted to feel the warm embrace of his faith, but then he remembered the dream.

A coin hit him in the back, and he turned to look at Lilly as it clattered to the floor.

“I can feel your sadness! Stop thinking about whatever you're thinking about,” she said from the bed where she was scooping up her coins.

He smiled at her and bent down to pick it up. The binding link had always allowed them to feel a vague sense of emotion from one another, but now that they were bound to each other, the feeling was ten times as strong.

He carried it back to her and bent down. She looked up at his face and smiled a little and then quickly lifted her head and kissed him gently. When he pulled away, she was still smiling, but she trembled a little.

“You are getting much better at that too,” he said.

“I am trying,” she said, going back to her coins scooping them up and putting them in her backpack.

“You are doing fine, the fact that you are sharing with me at all is a significant change.”

She stopped what she was doing and closed her eyes as she blushed.

“Gersius, I have mated with you more times than any dragon I have ever heard of has mated in its lifetime. I think I can bring myself to kiss you.” She took a deep breath. “Now go look at your maps my husb...” she paused again and forced herself to say the word clearly. “My husband.”

“You do not have to keep calling me that,” he said.

“The others insist we are husband and wife. I can accept the name. I just need time to get used to saying it. Besides, Thayle explained to me what a husband and wife are. I like knowing you’re my husband.”

He smiled at her acknowledgment of their relationship and turned to leave the room.

The outer hall was peaceful and still. He heard the faint trickle of water from the basin to his right. To his left, he heard a slight thunk as a cup was set down on a table.

Thayle sat in one of the simple chairs at the table sipping at a cup of water and slowly eating grapes from a bowl of fruit. She wore her simple green robe with gold trimming that looked like vines and leaves. The hood was down, and her raven black hair was neatly brushed and fell about her shoulders freely.

His smile grew as he approached her. Thayle held a special place in his heart, and he loved her for it. She was the most caring and dedicated woman he had ever known. Ever since the day he met her, she worked tirelessly to bring him and Lilly together. She helped them come to understand their feelings and grow the love they shared. She saved their relationship when it was torn to shreds on the road, and she arranged the beautiful moment in the garden. He had her to thank for everything and sometimes he wanted to hug her and tell her so.

Lilly did as well. The binding made it impossible to hide what they both felt for Thayle. She had spoken to him about it at length, and they both admitted they loved her. As much as he wanted to tell Thayle so, they agreed that Lilly should be the one to test her. Lilly would slowly and carefully approach Thayle to see what the woman felt. They were both confident that Thayle had some feelings for Lilly, but what did she feel for him? He set those thoughts aside for now as he approached her.

“Good morning, priestess,” Gersius said.

She turned and smiled at him, her angled eyes and pale skin giving her an air of the exotic.

“Good morning to you,” she said as he walked past her.

He saw the small pile of rolled papers at the end of the table. Lilly was right. The priests had brought the maps he requested.

“How is Lilly?” Thayle asked as he reached the maps and unrolled the first one.

“She is fine. She still insists on sleeping on her coins most nights.”

“Ha,” Thayle laughed and smiled. “She will always be a dragon, I suppose, but what about you?”

“I tried sleeping on them. It is very uncomfortable,” he said.

“No, silly. I meant, how are you this morning?”

“I am fine as well,” he said, looking down at the map under his fingers. “I had a bad dream, and it woke Lilly up. She said she could feel it across the binding.”

“I would imagine she could. Your binding isn't a simple thing anymore. I can see it in your aura. It is something completely new.”

“It must be, I can tell you what she is feeling from here,” he said, not looking up.

“What is our little dragon feeling?” Thayle asked playfully.

“She is irritated; it has something to do with the food.”

“There is plenty of food,” Thayle said motioning to the bowls of fruit.

“I think she wants something specific,” he said as he traced a finger down a section of the map studying it.

The door to his room opened, and Lilly stepped into the hall. She wore her old brown dress with a cream top the farmer’s wife had given her. Thayle and some of the other women of the temple had shown Lilly how to wash clothing and care for them, and her outfit looked clean and tidy.

“Good morning Lilly,” Thayle called out as Lilly approached.

“Good morning, Thayle,” Lilly replied as she scanned the table. “Why is there never any bread?” she said frowning.

Gersius looked up at Thayle with a smirk on his face, and Thayle nodded to let him know he had been right.

“I will ask them to send us some bread and butter from now on,” Thayle replied.

Lilly sat down next to Thayle and began to pick at the fruit.

Gersius went back to his work and let the women talk while he studied the maps. Since meeting Lilly, the only desire of his heart was to get to the city of Calathen. He wanted to fulfill the prophecy of the dragon knight and unite the fractured kingdoms in a new empire. However, his order had turned against him, and his path to the city would almost certainly be barred. He had to find another way into the city. He could think of only one option, but the road to that was too long. He needed to find a way to shorten the trip.

“Their's the Gersius I remember, brooding and pouring over maps,” said Tavis as he joined the group.

Gersius looked up as Tavis approached.

Tavis always dressed in gray pants and sleeved shirts. He wore a black wide-brimmed hat he liked to tip over his lightly tanned face. He said it made the ladies think he was mysterious, a comment that drew icy glares from his wife, Ayawa. He always seemed to wear a mischievous smile as if he had just gotten away with some outlandish prank or lie. Even now, he grinned as he approached the table.

“And how is the lovely wife of the brooding commander?” he asked Lilly as he arrived beside her and Thayle.

Lilly reacted with a blush and a smile at being called a lovely wife.

“I am fine, Tavis,” she said. “How are you and Ayawa?”

“We are in good shape I believe, though Ayawa is rather cranky this morning,” he replied as he swiped an apple from the bowl.

“That’s because I have to wake up next to you,” Ayawa scolded as she came out her door.

Ayawa was a tall and proud warrior maiden of the southern tribes. She had a strong face with sharp features and piercing eyes. Her skin was a coppery almost reddish color, and her hair rivaled Thayles for black. She often wore it braided, and today it was a single long rope woven with red ribbon. She had it thrown over her right shoulder and running down her chest.

She wore a simple tan shirt that hung below her waist and was belted with a brown belt. No matter where she went, she always carried some of her strange narrow knives with curved handles. Several could be seen at her waist as she approached the table.

“Waking up next to me should be the highlight of your morning,” Tavis said, his usual smile crossing his face.

She shot him a playful smile as she walked past him and joined Gersius by the maps.

“So what has you so intensely focused this morning?” she asked him.

“I have decided to go to Calathen,” he said.

“Are you mad?” Ayawa snapped, looking up at him. “You won't get within a hundred miles of the city.”

“I know, that’s why we have to go to Avashire first,” Gersius replied.

“Avashire?” Tavis said

“That’s on the other side of the mountain, and you can't reach it by the east gate!” Ayawa said in a sarcastic voice. “You would have to go west halfway to Calathen to go around the mountain and then turn back east. It will take you over a month to get there.”

“It would if I was planning to go around the mountain,” Gersius said.

“There is no other route unless you plan to go over them,” Ayawa replied.

Gersius stood there bent over the maps his hands firmly planted on the table and stared at her.

“You plan to go over the mountains?” Tavis said his voice sounding amazed.

“I do,” Gersius said in a calm voice as he leaned up and tapped the map before him.

“What fool plan did you come up with that requires you to cross snow-capped mountains?” Ayawa questioned.

“High Priest Lengwin is in Avashire,” Gersius said.

Tavis smiled at the mention of the name. “Ahh high priest Lengwin, he always did have a way with words.”

“The man was always yelling at you!” Ayawa said.

“That’s what I mean.”

“What do you plan to do with Lengwin?” Ayawa asked.

“Lengwin is a good and just man who cares deeply about the faith of Astikar. I want to appeal to him to help me get to Calathen,” Gersius said.

“The Father Abbot will oppose any support Lengwin might give you,” Tavis said.

“I know, that is why Lengwin must become the new Father Abbot,” Gersius replied.

They all went silent for a moment.

“You mean to spark a civil war in the order of Astikar?” Ayawa questioned.

“Hopefully it will not come to that,” Gersius said. “Lengwin is a well respected and loved priest of the order. Many would flock to his banner if he challenged the Father Abbot.”

“And what of Dellain and his private army of butchers?” Ayawa asked.

“I will take care of them myself,” Gersius said.

“You and what army?” Ayawa barked.

“The one you are going to build for me,” he said, locking her eyes with a determined stare. “You are not the only two I told to scatter if my mission went wrong.”

“The others,” Tavis said. “You want us to round up the other people you told to run if they didn't hear from you.”

“Exactly. If you two can gather the others, I can use them to challenge Dellain, and Lengwin can challenge the Father Abbot for supremacy of the order.”

“A bold risk. What makes you think it will work?” Ayawa asked.

“Let us just say, I have faith,” Gersius said, looking over at Lilly.

“You have too many wounds to the head that couldn't be healed is what you have,” Ayawa stated.

Thayle tried not to laugh at the joke but still managed to snicker.

“So while Tavis and I are gathering this ragtag army of yours, you will be doing what? Trying to cross a mountain of ice and snow with a girl?”

“No, I will be trying to cross a mountain of ice and snow with an ice dragon,” Gersius said.

“He has a point,” Tavis said. “She might make the trip easier.”

“It's still a huge risk. She may not feel the cold but he sure will,” Ayawa remarked.

“I can use a blessing of warmth on my armor,’ Gersius said.

“A blessing of warmth keeps people warm in cold weather. That mountain top is a frozen hellscape. You will be lucky if it keeps you above freezing.” said Ayawa.

“It is the shortest route to Avashire and high priest Lengwin. We do not have time to go around the mountains. There are a series of steep valleys and passes we can use. We won't have to climb over them. We just need to go around the steep areas and keep moving north. If I can find a good path, we can be over the mountain in four or five days.”

“You will be lucky to make it in ten,” Ayawa corrected.

“Then it takes ten,” Gersius said. “Which is much less than a month!”

Thayle felt a touch at her hand and looked up to see Lilly smiling at her. Lilly bent over to whisper in her ear.

“Can I talk to you alone?” Lilly asked.

Thayle nodded and got up as Gersius and Ayawa argued away about going over the mountain.

Lilly led her back to the room she shared with Gersius and shut the door behind them.

“Is something wrong, Lilly?”

Lilly leaned against the door and closed her eyes while she took a deep breath.

“I need to talk to you about Gersius,” she said slowly and then opened up her eyes and walked over to sit on his bed. She looked about nervously as Thayle sat on the bed across from her.

“You can talk to me, sweetheart. Whatever is on your mind, you know I will try to help.”

“As you know, I have shared his bed with him,” she stated, not making eye contact. “Your advice worked just as you said it would.”

“I knew it would. Most men can be trusted to get that message.”

“It's getting messages that are the problem,” Lilly said, looking at Thayle.

“I don't understand?”

“Since we bound each other, the link we share is much stronger. I can feel his emotions even now. Ayawa is annoying him with her stubborn insistence his plan is bad.” Lilly paused a moment before continuing. “When we are close, when we touch, I can even read his thoughts. I see what he is thinking about. He had a nightmare today, and I saw it clearly. He was dreaming about what his brothers did to him to try and get my name. I pretended I only felt his pain and hadn't seen it for his sake. What they did to him was awful.”

“So, you're concerned about this dream?”

Lilly shook her head. “No, I am concerned about what I see in his mind when we are together.” She paused to look around and choose her words. “When we are together, he thinks about children.”

“Oh, Lilly, that is perfectly natural for somebody to think about, especially when they are intimate,” Thayle said.

“This is all very hard for me to say, Thayle. Despite my current form, and that I have come to admit I love him, I am still a dragon. We dragons do not have any understanding of these things.”

“You told me dragons have children, though.”

“Nothing we do in our culture is like yours. We dragons only mate once or twice in a lifetime, and never share a lair or a bed. The female always goes out and seeks a male. She mates with the first one she finds, love has nothing to do with it. It is simply a desire on the females part to have a brood.”

“What is a brood?” Thayle asked.

“It is our word for our children. We usually have two to five at a time. They are collectively called the brood; an individual is called a broodling.”

“Lilly, I have to admit I don’t understand what you are asking me,” Thayle stated.

Lilly nodded her head and looked away.

“I love Gersius, and I know he wants to have children even though he has said nothing to me about it, I know it because of the binding link.”

“So, is there something wrong with that?” Thayle asked.

Lilly looked back at her and locked her eyes.

“Thayle, I can't have a child with him; it's physically impossible.”

Now Thayle understood the problem, and a quick pulse of Lilly's aura told her that Lilly believed it to be true.

“How can you be so certain?” Thayle asked.

“There is much about me you don’t understand,” Lilly said. “You out of all of them have treated me the most like I am and always was a human. I think you forget that I’m not.”

“I know you’re a dragon, Lilly. But that doesn't mean you can't have a child. You can take a very human form.”

Lilly was silent for a moment.

“I once told Gersius how this form works. It's a magical projection, a reflection of my solus, my spirit in this shape, but it isn't really me. The real me, the part of me that can have a brood is the dragon.”

“Do you even want a child, Lilly?” Thayle asked.

“If you had asked me a week ago, I would have told you no. Thayle, I have never mated before Gersius. He was my first. I am certainly old enough to have a brood, but I never felt the need. Most dragons never even think about it until the calling comes.”

“Alright,” Thayle said. “Now, what is the calling?”

Lilly looked at her. “A female dragon will feel a deep need to breed once in her life. It comes somewhere between a thousand five hundred and two thousand five hundred. This drives her to desire a brood. My mother told me that females that try to resist it go mad and will eventually rush out and threaten the first male they find with death if he doesn’t mate her. It may be the only reason dragons ever mate at all.”

“So, you don't want a child, then?” Thayle asked, still not following.

Lilly put a hand to her face. “I'm not feeling the calling, Thayle. I feel something else. Some desire to make him happy. He so deeply desires a child and a family, and the bind fills me with this desire making me want nothing but to give it to him. I was so afraid when I realized what he wanted.

“But you’re not afraid now?” Thayle asked.

“I'm still afraid, but this feeling of love, it's stronger than my fear. When I look into his eyes, I see how he looks at me. I also feel how he feels about me across the bind. I would give him anything, Thayle, no matter how afraid of it I was.” She went silent for a few moments as tears began to well in her eyes. “Thayle, I can't give him the child he wants. It’s tearing me up inside, and I don't know how to tell him!”

Thayle leaned over and put her arms around Lilly. “Be at peace, sweet dragon, that you care so much to be upset by this shows how much you have grown in your feelings,” Thayle said.

“He's going to hate me when he finds out. It's all he wants!”

“You stop that right now,” Thayle said, hugging her close. “He will never hate you. You have no idea just how strong his love is for you. I wish you could see his aura, and see how consuming his love for you is.”

“What do I do, Thayle?” She sobbed.

“Lilly, I am a priestess of Ulustrah. If you want to have a child, I will do everything in my power to help you have a baby. There are many things we can try, many blessings I can perform, but you need to be sure you want this for yourself.”

“I do, Thayle.”

“Then I will give you every blessing, and right of fertility, I know how to give. I will go to Prime Arlin himself and have him work on the problem, he is very wise and is skilled above all others on the magic of our order. He will know where to look in our libraries for answers if he doesn't have one himself.”

“Thank you,” Lilly said with sad eyes. She glanced up at Thayle and chewed on her lower lip. “So? Should I. Should I tell him?”

“No!” Thayle said firmly. “Don’t burden him with this yet. Let me ask Prime Arlin first. Once we know for sure, then you should tell him.”

“Thank you, Thayle. I just want him to be happy.”

“Lilly, the depths of your love often amaze me. You have grown so much so quickly. It is hard sometimes to remember you are a dragon.”

Thayle gave her a firm hug and stepped back.

“I will go see Prime Arlin right away. Just relax, sweetheart. There is a solution to this; I promise you,” Thayle said with a smile.

They both returned to the hall as the three at the table argued about going to Calathen.

Thayle sat Lilly down and patted her shoulder.

“Be strong, sweetheart. I will find you a way,” she said and left to find Prime Arlin. She hoped he had a better answer than she did.