Pure Destiny (PureDark Ones #12) - Aja James Page 0,51
dragon.”
“Fight fire with fire,” Ishtar murmured. “Dragon against dragon.”
“But the dragonfly landed on both Erebu and Benjamin,” Rain recalled.
“Wait,” Inanna inserted, holding up a hand as she gathered her thoughts.
There was so much information to absorb. It was only hours ago that she learned who Benji’s sire was.
Her own twin brother. A brother she didn’t even know existed until recently.
“Assuming that one or both of them can become a dragon…how is that even possible?”
Cloud stepped in to explain. Only Aella knew his secrets. But they’d now reached a critical juncture where he could no longer keep silent.
“Dragons aren’t meant to be earth-bound. Not since the beginning of time. Or at least the age of the gods. We come when we are needed. As a celestial dragon, I could only transform once on earth before I must return to the heavens. All of the ingredients have to be present—”
“Ingredients?” It was Rain who interjected.
Cloud met her gaze.
“Yes. A spark from all Kinds must be present in the physical shell that would house the dragon spirit. Dark. Pure. Elemental. Animal. And human. Only then would the body be strong enough to withstand the transformation. Millennia ago, I’d transformed in a human body.”
He looked back at Aella, his Mate. Her eyes softened as she held his.
“It was never supposed to happen. There were…repercussions.”
He regarded the rest of the group once more.
“My current form has all of the ingredients, but I am not destined to be an earth-bound dragon. My role now is that of a teacher. A guide. But which of Erebu and Benjamin is The One?”
“Erebu is Tal and Ishtar’s son,” Rain spoke slowly, thinking out loud. “Tal is Pure, and Ishtar is Dark, but she also has an animal spirit.”
“It must be from my sire,” Ishtar inserted. “He was Queen Ashlu’s Blood Slave. My mother never had the animal spirit. She was a Dark One through and through.”
“Yes, I recall now,” Rain said. “When Ava and I tried to find a cure for Tal’s condition, we ascertained that you are related to Medusa by half. You share one parent, but not the other.”
“Different sires,” Ishtar confirmed.
“Who was Queen Ashlu’s Consort?” Tal asked beside her.
“I know.”
Everyone focused on Eveline.
“’Tis the day for unveiling secrets,” she murmured. “He does not even know it himself…”
“What do you mean, Eveline?” Ishtar urged, the hairs on the back of her nape standing on end with premonition.
“Alend Ramses.”
A round of indrawn breaths swept the room.
“The Dark King,” Eveline confirmed. “Many millennia ago, he used to be known as Prince Hulaal. He was Ashlu’s Consort. He was born a Pure Elemental before he turned Dark after suffering the Decline. He is Medusa’s sire. But he never knew. He doesn’t know now. I don’t know how to tell him. It’s so…”
Eveline huffed a sigh and dragged a hand through her fiery mane.
“Complicated.”
“And the fact that we ended her makes it even more so,” Inanna added.
“Understatement,” Eveline muttered.
“Why didn’t you tell us when we relayed the news of Medusa’s…extinction to the Cove?” Gabriel queried. “It could have been useful information.”
Eveline shot him a look of both frustration and chagrin.
“I hadn’t even figured out a way to tell the male I love about the evil spawn he didn’t know existed, who was suddenly no more. Forgive me if my first thought was not to divulge a private matter of this magnitude to the Royal Zodiac at large.”
“Is that how Medusa became the Hydra? Did she have all the ingredients too?” Rain got them back on topic.
“Medusa would have had Dark, Elemental, and perhaps a bit of Pure in her blood, given that Ramses was born Pure. I do not know if his turning into a Dark One changed his chemistry, only that he retains a Pure soul, I believe,” Eveline mused.
“We would have to confirm this with Sophia, given that she can see Pure souls. I doubt she has ever spent any amount of time with Ramses to know. But back to Medusa—she definitely didn’t have human, and I’m not sure how she would have gotten an animal spirit.”
“A mystery for another day,” Aella said briskly.
“Didn’t you say that the Hydra was an unnatural abomination?” she asked of Cloud. “In all likelihood she did not acquire all the necessary ingredients legitimately.”
“And Erebu and Benjamin did?” Ishtar interjected.
“Let’s recap,” Rain refocused their attention. “Erebu is Tal and Ishtar’s son. He has Pure, Dark and animal in him. He is still missing human and Elemental, however.”