The wind swept the cold plains as a gray sky threatened to rain. It was a reflection of the sorrow felt in the hearts of those gathered. Gersius stood in absolute silence as he read the note Lilly had left on the saddle. He couldn’t believe what it said as his heart filled with sadness.

“This is my fault," Sarah cried as she turned her head away in shame. "She tried to talk to me about this, but I shouted her away."

“We have to go after her,” Thayle said. “She was here less than an hour ago. She can’t be very far yet.”

Gersius ran a trembling hand through his hair as a tear dropped to the paper. His wife had flown off to meet the enemy alone, begging him to let her go. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind as he tried to make sense of what had happened, but all he could think of was her. Lilly was his flower, the light of his soul. If anything happened to her, he would not be able to go on. Of course, they needed to go after her, but he was needed in the east with all due haste. If he was delayed even half a day, the war could be lost.

“Don't!" Sarah snapped as she turned to face him. "I can see your thoughts. Please don't use that commander's logic now. I need my baby back."

“I need her back, too," Gersius said as his emotions boiled over. "I do not know how I will live without her, but she chose this path for herself."

“I drove her to it!" Sarah shouted. "Just over an hour ago, she tried to tell me something, but I wouldn't let her. This must have been it, and I refused to listen."

“The letter says she already met them, and they offered her some kind of protection so she could speak," Thayle said. "Do you think they are being honest?"

“They have one of their hated enemies wives in their clutches,” Sarah snarled. “Do you honestly think they will hesitate to put that to use?”

“But they let her go," Gersius said as another tear dripped to the note. "She was already in their clutches, and they let her go." It was the only ray of hope in the dark message where Lilly explained her earlier encounter with the Doan. They would never have let her leave if they had intended to harm her. Still, it was alarming that they had been so preoccupied with war not to notice her earlier absence. Lilly had flown away, met with the enemy, and arranged terms, all while he planned the deaths of thousands. He began to wonder if he was losing sight of what was important. Had Lilly been trying to steer them away from disaster?

“Please don't try to make me see reason," Sarah begged. "You have spent so long trying to get me to embrace these human emotions. Well, I have, and they say I need her back. I need her in my arms where I can keep her safe. It hurts that she is so far away, and I am not there to protect her."

Gersius's hand trembled as he read the letter again, searching for some ray of hope. Lilly assured him she would be safe and only wanted a few days to talk to them. His mind filled with all the ways this could go wrong and what it would mean to their future. This was a risk of unbelievable proportions, and the chances of working were small.

“Which is why we must go after her," Thayle insisted. "The Doan have been at war with the empire for a thousand years. She isn't going to change that by talking to them for a few days. Even if she could change a few minds, the dragons behind them will push them to war anyway."

“I know," Gersius said as another tear dripped onto the paper. "But Lilly believes she can stop it and has begged me to let her try."

“We are going after her,” Sarah pressed and began to undress. “She is too young to be making decisions like this. You told her she was not her own. She had no right to take this risk.”

“She is over five hundred years old,” Gersius reminded.

“In dragon years, that is still a child," Sarah quipped. "She is like a thirteen-year-old in your years. Hardly old enough to handle such a decision."

“Lilly is old enough to love me so much that she burned her hoard away to save my life and bore me a child," Gersius corrected and took out a second letter. This was the message sent from the north where the Doan were launching a series of raids, sending the empire into a panic. He needed to get back now, but to pursue Lilly would put them a day or more behind. He was forced to choose between what was best for him or what was best for the empire.

“Stop it!” Sarah shouted as she read his thoughts.

“We can’t go after her,” Gersius said as he crinkled the letter. “And you know it.”

“Please!” Sarah begged. “I don’t care if it’s wrong. It’s the only way this pain in my heart will end.”

“Gersius,” Thayle said and took his arm. “This is Lilly we’re talking about. She has no appreciation for the danger she is in.”

Gersius lifted Lilly’s letter and began to read aloud so both women could hear.

“If you truly love me, you will give me this chance. In the name of our love and faith in the divines that has guided us this far, let me go. Please, don't come after me."

Sarah shook as she struggled to take a breath, her eyes filling with tears.

“I need her back,” Sarah cried and fell to her knees. “I should have listened to her.”

“We all should have listened to her,” Gersius replied as his eyes grew wet. “But Lilly is an adult who has chosen her path and asked us to honor it. Even if we had listened to her, she wanted Sarah to go to meet them. We are needed in the east, and the only one of us who could have gone was her."

“You don't understand," Sarah said as she pulled her hands away. "The dream you keep having about her daughter. She believes it is a prophetic vision and shows you raising her daughter alone because she is gone."

“What?” Gersius said as he thought back to the dream. “It is just a dream.”

“Lilly is convinced it is not,” Sarah said. “And what if she is right? What if she isn’t alive to see her daughter grow up? What if this is the moment when that path is walked?”

“Lilly believes she is going to die in the war?” Gersius asked as he reconsidered his choices.

“We can't be certain about that," Thayle said. "She spoke to me about the dream as well. She was sure it meant she was gone, but you recently had a new version of the dream, and it changed."

“How did it change?” Sarah asked.

“Lilly saw three children," Thayle explained as she stared directly at Sarah "Her daughter, a little boy, and an infant with red hair in your arms." I am not in the dream either, so either I will die as well, or we were simply not in the dream."

“I was holding an infant?” Sarah asked as she reached up a trembling hand.

“With a tuft of red hair,” Thayle said as she came to take Sarah’s hand. “Yes, you will have a child one day, and our family will be whole.”

“But Lilly?” Sarah asked. “What does the star mean?”

“I don't know," Thayle said and looked to Gersius. "But you always tell the little girl that it is her mother."

“I remember the dream," Gersius said as he considered the vision. Why would he tell his daughter that a distant star was her mother? Was it something to remember her passing by? He searched through how the dream felt, and it wasn't a sense of loss. He felt as if Lilly was right beside him, her presence in the bind strong. He considered the two choices and what they would mean. If the empire fell, there would be no peace to build a happy home, but if Lilly died, no home would ever be happy.

“The only logical choice is to save the empire,” Thayle said as she read his thoughts. “And trust in the divine to carry Lilly safely home.”

"What if the dragons learn about her?" Sarah asked. "The Doan might offer her this protection, but the dragons will ignore it. If she is discovered, they might throw her head on the walls of Calathen."

Gersius nodded as his heart started to break. Once again, he faced a terrible decision between duty or love. He desperately wanted to go after Lilly, but he knew the empire needed to come first. Honor dictated that duty always came before love, but as he searched his heart, he began to see a strange contradiction. The Father Abbot used obligation and duty to try and stop him. His orders had no love for the land or its people, so Gersius had fought against them.

On the other hand, Gersius so loved the land and its people that it drove him to do his duty. It was that love and duty that sent him in search of Lilly and brought him all three of his wives. That same love conquered the empire and brought him to these very walls. Now Lilly had matured and embraced that same love. She loved the land and its people so much that she had gone out on her own mission, determined to change the course of the war. Was he any different than the Father Abbot if he went after her and dragged her back? Was he putting what he wanted for himself above what was right for the land?

“Duty without love is worthless,” Gersius said at last. “I finally understand it.”

“I have never known anyone to look at it like that," Thayle said as she helped Sarah up. "But I believe you have seen the truth. I have known many people do terrible things under the pretense of duty. A good example would be the raven guard and their innumerable crimes. Had they felt love for what they served, I doubt they could have followed those orders, even if duty demanded it."

“Lilly has done this out of love and duty,” Gersius said as another tear fell to the paper. “If I don’t honor that, I am just another monster.”

Sarah looked down as they saw the pain flood her aura. They all knew what the right choice was, but the pain of leaving Lilly behind filled their hearts. She only wanted a couple of days, and Gersius was going to spend every free minute of those days praying to the divines to protect his Lilly.

“We have to go,” Sarah said as last as she disrobed. “Our empire needs us, and Lilly needs to learn how to stand on her own.”

Gersius nodded as he and Thayle stepped aside, giving Sarah room to change. A few minutes later, she took to the air with the two on her back, heading east to rejoin their distant army. The pain they felt as they flew farther from Lilly was a sensation none of them were prepared for. Nevertheless, Gersius vowed to return in a few days and reclaim her, even if he had to march his armies out.

Lilly saw the women on the hill long before they saw her. She circled high above a few times, looking for rival dragons before daring to descend. One of her biggest fears was that the Doan would send word about her presence, and she would fly back to find several dragons waiting. The skies appeared to be clear, but that didn't mean word hadn't been sent. For all she knew, there were dragons on the way already, and they would be here soon.

“I have to do this,” Lilly sighed and circled lower, finally drawing pointed fingers from the gathered women. She landed safely to one side and was about to change when one of the women hurried out to meet her.

“This is for you,” the Doan woman said and held up a Doan dress with a skirt of six colors. “You will stand out too much in your fancy dress,” she explained and set the garment on the grass.

Lilly thought the gesture was a good sign and moved closer so the garment would be inside the cloud when she changed. She then began the transformation, taking her human form and quickly dressing before the cloud revealed her form. She stepped out as the women looked her over, then bowed slightly before speaking.

“Welcome back, mother of the scale," Valindra said as she stepped forward. "We are pleased to see you have returned, but much has happened in your absence."

“Is that bad?" Lilly asked as she looked around, expecting an attack.

“Come, I will explain as we walk,” Valindra suggested and turned to lead the way.

Lilly fell in behind her as the other women formed a group about them, escorting Lilly down a gentle hill toward a vast camp of tents. Valindra explained how the leaders of the various clans felt they were making a mistake by talking with Lilly. Only one leader had expressed indifference but cautioned that this could be considered a betrayal of their masters.

“You mean the dragons you follow,” Lilly said.

“Yes,” Valindra said as she glanced at Lilly. “I do not have to tell you that they are behind our march on your lands. They wish us to conquer your people and erase the last vestiges of your faith.”

Lilly was surprised the woman was being so honest about their plans, but then she supposed they already knew. She nodded to let the woman know she had heard, and Valindra explained the tense situation in the camp.

“This is what we call a neachadhn, a meeting of the clans. The leaders of all the major clans are currently here as we discuss how to deal with your people. The men wish to go on the offensive believing the bandersooks and other beasts will break your walls. We, the wise ones, do not share their optimism. We have been told by our dragons that we must wait until the plan is in place."

“Plan?” Lilly asked as she feared her family was in danger.

Valindra stopped and turned her steely eyes on Lilly as the frown on her face deepened its creases. "You must forgive me, scaled mother, but you are still our enemy. The other wise ones and I will show you all the respect due one of your blood, but you must make a promise to us."

“What kind of promise?” Lilly asked as she grew apprehensive.

“You will hear things that would aid your armies greatly,” Valindra explained. “You must swear on your blood that you will not fly back to your people and warn them of what you hear. You must stay here until the plan unfolds so we can be sure you will not betray our trust.”

“You need me to stay? For how long?” Lilly asked.

“We are not sure,” Jhandi said. “But the time draws close.”

Lilly didn't know how to answer that question as she felt nervous tension rising in her heart. She wished Sarah had come to this meeting as she would know what to do, but Sarah wouldn't listen.

“I can’t be gone for very long,” Lilly explained.

"Then you should fly back now," Valindra said and pointed to the east. "Because the men believe you should be ambushed and killed. They say you will learn of our plans and secrets then take them back to your master. They say we women are not fit to lead the clans or act as the speakers for the dragons because we allow an enemy into our midst at such a critical time. You must swear this promise to us that you will not be allowed to stay."

“We mean no disrespect," Lacindra said as she stood tall. "But the Doan have been at your gates a long time, and the armies grow restless. They are demanding to be turned loose, and the longer we hold them at bay, the more they grow angry with us. We had to promise the clan leaders that we would get such an oath from you, or they would abandon our guidance."

“I understand,” Lilly said as she began to doubt the wisdom of her plan. The leaders were keen to begin the war and considered Lilly a threat to their plan. Would they continue to honor the protection the wise ones had given her, or would they take matters into their own hands? Whatever the case, Lilly had to make a decision, and the women were waiting to hear her reply.

“I swear on my blood to remain until this plan of yours is complete,” Lilly said. “I will not fly back to warn my people.”

“You have done the right thing,” Jhandi said.

“Have I?” Lilly asked as she began to doubt.

Valindra resumed her walk, explaining to Lilly how she was to remain among the tents of the wise ones at all times. She was never to venture into the camp itself or go anywhere without Jhandi and Lacindra at her side. Lilly was to address the people only if the wise ones asked her to speak. When they met with the clan leaders, she was to remain silent and only answer questions if directly asked. She could ask all the questions she wanted when the women were not in council or dealing with a camp issue.

Lilly agreed but began to feel more uneasy about her decision. The women took her to the edge of the camp where people had gathered. Many were angry at her presence, some shouting that she was a traitor to her blood.

“Do not pay them any attention,” Valindra advised. “They will come to understand in time.”

“Your people hate me," Lilly said as she looked at the crowds. Many looked curious, but mixed among them were angry faces that made her feel threatened.

“To us, you are a great evil," Valindra explained. "You seek to restore the goddess that will shatter the world."

“I am not restoring her," Lilly said as she looked at the aged woman. "She was never defeated, only weakened. Her power would have recovered in time with or without me."

“Hmm," Valindra said as a woman to her right spoke up.

“That is not what the scaled ones say," the woman said. "They say Balisha was cut off, and this one has opened the door for her return. She has only to amass enough followers, and the destroyer will come on us all."

Lilly watched as Valindra nodded in agreement and wondered what was going through her mind. Why were these women tolerating her presence at the risk of losing control of their armies? The more she thought about it, the more concerned she grew. If only she had been able to discuss this with Sarah, she would have had the wisdom to see the truth. There was no point in rethinking it now as Lilly was led through the edge of the camp to a compound made up of large tents with blue skins for roofs. Jhandi explained that these were the tents reserved for the wise ones and where Lilly would spend her days.

“Come," Valindra said and took Lilly to the largest tent where thick rugs covered the dusty floor, and several dozen thick cushions acted as chairs. She was bid to sit on a nearby cushion as the other women took their places. Lilly sat down and looked about nervously as Vallindra called for tea and bread.

“Now, we will have some tea and answer any questions you have," Valindra said as a woman in tan skins and a veil ran up with a simple woven tray. It contained a metal pot for pouring water and a dozen small cups with powder inside. Lilly was familiar with tea as it was one of Sarah's favorite drinks, and graciously accepted a cup. Jhandi poured steaming hot water into one for her but cautioned her to mind how hot it was.

Lilly smiled and took up the cup in her bare hands, sipping the brew as the other women looked on in astonishment.

“She is not harmed,” Lacindra said as Lilly set the cup down.

“It would appear the dragons are not averse to the heat,” Valindra said.

“Oh, we are," Lilly explained. "At least ice dragons are. Fire dragons are immune to the heat in both their dragon and human forms, but ice dragons are only mildly resistant to it. In our human form, we ice dragons burn just as easily as you do."

“Then how have you not scalded the skin from your tongue?" Lacindra asked.

“I am protected by Sarah’s love,” Lilly explained.

“I do not understand,” Valindra said.

Lilly found this whole situation rather ironic, considering she was here to learn about them. Instead, they were fascinated by her, so she did her best to explain how it worked. She told them that the ancient magic bound her and the others to one another. As such, their love conveyed their strengths, so Lilly was just as resistant to the heat as Sarah.

“Sarah is the great red that despoils herself with the humans?” one of them asked.

“Cindri,” Valindra quickly snapped. “She has been invited as a guest, do not condemn those she cares about. It is enough to address her as Sarah.”

Cindri bowed her head and asked for forgiveness before Lilly answered.

“Sarah is my wife," Lilly explained. "As is the human Thayle. We three are the wives of Gersius predicted in the prophecy. We all share our powers together thanks to the bind and the dragon blood."

“So the bind alone isn’t enough?” Jhandi asked.

“No, I don't think so," Lilly replied, but in truth, she wasn't sure. Maybe the bind was all it took, or at least the double bind. For now, she would leave them to consider that and not tell them how they were all bound equally or that she had Thayle's power of aura sight. She wanted to be able to detect who was lying to her without them knowing she could tell.

“I do not understand why this would be,” Lacindra said as she looked about the group. “Have any of you heard of such a thing?”

None of them spoke up, but a few whispered conversations took place as Lilly sipped more of her blistering hot tea. Some women began to laugh, so Lilly held the cup below her lips and blew a thin stream of chilled air. The cup frosted around the edges, instantly chilling the tea and driving away the steam.

“By the sleeper,” Lacindra said as Lilly sipped her now cold tea.

“I happen to like drinks cold,” Lilly explained and resumed sipping.

“Well, it would appear we have much to learn from you as well,” Valindra said.

Lilly was pleased to hear that but confused all the same. If they were led by dragons, why was all this so unknown to them? They knew nothing of the human form or Balisha's wishes for dragons. They knew nothing of the bind or the power it conveyed when a dragon loved a human. She wondered if she should tell them about Thayle and Gersius's gifts when Jhandi practically asked the question.

“So a dragon can share its power with other dragons?" Jhandi asked.

Lilly looked to the gathered women and set down her cup. She took a deep breath as she stood up to address them properly. She told them that all dragons could bestow a blessing on anyone they chose, granting that person a small portion of its power. However, a dragon who learns how to love could do much more. Anyone the dragon loved and shared a soul with would gain significant power, becoming almost like the dragons themselves. She explained how Gersius and Thayle had such power and could breathe fire and ice like dragons.

“It cannot be,” Lacindra said as she tested her tea. “Why would the masters not grant us such gifts?”

Her words echoed Lilly's earlier thoughts that the dragons who led the Doan had shared very little with them. In fact, the women appeared fascinated to know more about dragons. Valindra said the masters must have their reasons, but she eyed Lilly with a wary glare as she said it.

Lacindra asked what other powers Gersius had gained from Lilly, so she told them about his resistance to fire and cold and how he could call on dragon strength in battle. She explained how he could use the dragon's power to boost his blessings, delivering a might unseen by normal men.

“That must be how he burned our formation to ash," the woman known as Cindri said.

“Oh,” Lilly said as other women nodded.

“Surely, none has ever called a fire from the heavens like that before," Jhandi added. "It was a great pillar of death."

“He only did that because you were attacking us,” Lilly insisted as women glared with angry eyes.

“We are aware of the necessities of war," Valindra said as she picked up her tea to blow on it. "But many in the camp see you as means to get revenge. They burn with desire to strike at the empire, and how better to do so than by killing one of its leaders?"

Lilly sat down as Jhandi assured her she was safe so long as she obeyedDoan'sn custom and stayed among the blue tents. Other women asked questions about why a dragon would want to know love, and Lilly repeated her earlier comments. Dragons lived pointless lives because they lacked the ability to feel compassion. All the joys of human existence felt pointless to a dragon until they learned how to feel the world around them. Once they did, they unlocked an even greater power, plus the ability to share that power with men. She believed this was what Solesta wanted to prevent, not the weakening of dragons but the elevation of humans.

“An interesting observation," Lacindra said. "That humans could gain from the love of a dragon."

“It is unnatural,” one of the others said. “The blood of dragon and men is not meant to mix.”

“It can’t mix,” Jhandi said. “The old legends state that men and dragons cannot mate.”

Lilly felt nervous by that assertion but held her tongue. The story was true, of course, except Balisha could bestow a blessing that made it possible. Lilly already had a child on the way, proving men and dragons could mate.

“We can no more mingle our blood than a jackal could with a snake,” Valindra stated.

“Look at her form,” Cindri said. “Are we to believe she doesn’t go to his bed?”

All eyes turned to Lilly as she started to wish Sarah was here even more.

“I do go to his bed," Lilly admitted. "I love him as much as any woman can love a man, and I share that love with him every chance I get."

“You see,” Cindri said. “She is a vile thing in the eyes of the other dragons.”

“Hold your sharp tongue," Jhandi snapped and pointed to Lilly. "If she goes to a man in that body, what sin is it to share her love? If one of the masters came to you in a man's body and asked for your hand, would you turn in disgust?"

Some of the women laughed as Cindri glared at her indignantly while refusing to answer the question.

“This is partly why dragons are fighting," Lilly said to deflect the moment of tension. "Your dragons believe we should never take this form. They say this is a curse, and to use it shows weakness. They want to destroy Balisha because so long as she lives, we dragons can take this form. Once she is gone, we will never be able to walk among your kind like this again."

“Why would they want to prevent that?” Jhandi asked.

“Because you can teach us how to love," Lilly explained. "If we can come among your kind, then we can learn about the emotions we lack. We can become more than useless things slumbering in a hole and grow into something more."

“These are lies of the fallen goddess," Cindri insisted. "The clans will chastise us if they knew we were listening to this."

“Are they lies?" Lacindra asked as she nodded to Lilly. "Here is a dragon standing among us as one of us. For generations, we have obeyed the dragons, yet we knew none of this about them."

“We have heard the stories of Gersius and Thayle,” Jhandi added. “They speak of great power that her story explains. It is the love of the dragons that makes them so terrible.”

“Maybe it only works because they are dragon knights?” a woman suggested.

The fifteen women gathered around nodded and spoke, suggesting that this title was the secret to their power and not the love of a dragon. Lilly had to defend her point by arguing that both Gersius and Thayle displayed the powers before becoming dragon knights. However, it did little to dissuade their belief that something more was at play. The debate went on for nearly an hour when a man entered the tents. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with thick black hair woven into short braids at the back. His face was strong with a noble look and deep-set eyes. He wore well-trimmed skins, much like Ayawa did, with a thick belt and long knife at his waist.

“What is it, Hurrock?” Valindra called as the man approached.

“Forgive my intrusion," the man said as his eyes fell on Lilly. "But Grelm and some others are arguing about the soma woman. They believe she should be taken from your protection and punished for her crimes."

“They promised to honor the tradition of Tashin,” Jhandi gasped.

“Why do men never listen?” Lacindra asked.

“It is always Grelm and his hot temper,” Jhandi said. “He is never happy unless he has some way to increase his status among the clans.”

“He wants to be named grand chief of the clannoroc," Lacindra said. "He will never rest until he has achieved the title."

“I will deal with this,” Valindra said as she rose to her feet. She went to follow Hurrock but paused to address Lilly.

“You stay here and do not speak to anyone but the women around you," she said, then hurried away.

Lilly watched her go as a sense of fear gripped her heart. She was surrounded by thousands of people who hated who she was, with only a handful of unarmed women to protect her. If the soldiers came in force, they would quickly overwhelm the women, and Lilly would be dead or worse. She told herself she needed to stay in order to save the two people, but was Gersius right? Was the heart of the Doan too wild to steer off this course?